Water Purification and Membrane Filtration Expert

Expertise

Summary

• Product development,and commercialization with specific focus to:
• Water purification, ion exchange, advanced composites, and specialty-commodity chemicals.
• formulated products (floor finishes, hard surface cleaners, boiler-cooling tower water treatments, food sanitization).
• Chemical Engineering scale-up, product and product development, commercialization, and process trouble-shooting.
• PVDF and PTFE membrane filtration and filters.
• Use of low energy electrical plasmas to achieve chemical reactions.
• Marketing Reports, White Papers, Foundation Grant Requests.

Core Areas

• Technology planning: biotechnology, carbon fiber composites; ion exchange, filtration membranes, and formulated products.
• Process safety, EPA/OSHA - GHS regulatory compliance.
• International mergers and acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
• Start-up, turnaround, organizational restructuring and consolidation.
• Specialty and commodity chemicals.
• Advanced carbon fiber composites and pre-pregs.
• Biotechnology.
• Membrane and water filtration.
• Formulated products.
• Ion Exchange.
• Carbon purification and activated carbon.
• Low energy Plasmas.

Experience

Undisclosed Company, President,  2014 - Present

• Consulting group aimed at process development, scale-up, and commercialization of new processes in the biotechnical, advanced composites, specialty chemicals, membrane filtration, ion exchange, and formulated products arenas.
• Supports and aids start-ups and new companies in developing manufacturing sites, potential funding, and process optimization.
• Develops Marketing Reports, White Papers, and Foundation Grants.

Industry Specific Projects

• A medical device company developing methodologies necessary to commercialize new surgery technologies.
• Commercialization of novel nano-TiO2 production methodology.
• Intellectual property issues related to patent applications.
• Economic evaluation of new carbon block technology.
• Safety/Legal evaluation of NFPA-30 regulations re pharma facility.

Commercialization and New Products Projects

• Development of novel SF4 and SF5 commercial process
• New material to remove selenium from waste water
• Development of novel 3-Dimensional solar cell
• Reclamation of brownfield sites using novel microbe.
• Use of plasmas to remove bacterial contamination.

Advanced Plasma Solutions, Malvern, PA - Technical Director, 2015 - 2018

• Start-up Company using low energy plasmas for chemical synthesis.
• Projects included: use of plasmas to fuse CH4 with diesel fuel for upgraded material, use of plasmas to remove char from auto parts, use of plasmas to eliminate coffee roasting odors.
• Plasmas to reduce particulates in diesel exhausts.
• Plasmas to decompose discarded auto tires.

Rochester Institute of Technology, School of Chemistry, Rochester, NY, 2015 - 2016

Visiting Research Scholar – School of Chemistry and Material Science                                                                                                   

• Charged with developing and implementing Grant Proposals to generate departmental funding.
• Focused support for the polymer membrane research programs (grafting functionality on the membrane surface) and for the NSF GOALI program to encourage cooperation between academia and industry.

Rochester Midland Corporation, Rochester, NY, Quality Assurance, 2006 - 2014

Senior Vice President - Research and Development, EHS-Regulatory, QC

• Commercialized and patented novel hydrogen peroxide-based industrial cleaning formulation; developed novel non-caustic, surfactant-based cleaner for commercial fryer systems; formulated a green, non-zinc self-cross linking floor finish with high gloss; and formulated novel materials for suppression of scale in boilers and biofilm in cooling towers - contributing over $200k in annual revenue.
• Developed new cleaning formulations for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and commercial aircraft: $30 thousand in revenue.
• Completely overhauled safety and regulatory departments to prepare for OSHA process safety management and global harmonization regulations and ISO certification.
• Reduced OSHA DART rate to below industry.

Graver Technologies, Inc., Newark, DE, Vice President - Technology, 2000 - 2006

• Commercialized and patented carbon block manufacture technology for water purification and a novel zeolite as replacement for ion exchange water softening, contributing over $150 thousand in revenues.
• Coordinated three corporate acquisitions - Custom Filtration Company, Whatman Filters, TiO2-based filter system.
• Co-developed a series of porous titanium metal filters as part of Chinese joint program: $50 thousand in revenue.
• Negotiated successful membrane research and development program - Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (Moscow) - with $100 thousand revenue.

Pall-Gelman Corporation, Pensacola, FL, Senior Director - Membrane Development, 1995 - 2000

• Restructured department; instituted new grade levels, salary structure, and promotion criteria to meet future expansion.
• Oversaw launch of several product lines, with $20 million in sales potential, including: patented membrane for lateral flow pregnancy tests; family of patented membranes for medical diagnostic testing; a line of coated protein absorber membranes; an improved PVDF membrane for molecular biology and blotting applications, and novel lamination technologies for a new line of PTFE membranes (Garlock vs Pall PTFE).
• Developed a line of "super-repelled" PTFE membranes for urine bag venting applications (in cooperation with Baxter).

Amoco BioProducts, Inc., Naperville, IL, Manufacturing Manager, 1993 - 1995

• Led internal and external production management of start-up FDA-regulated synthetic vitamin D3 operation.
• Assembled multifunctional professional teams, then spearheaded development and manufacture of FDA-approved poultry metabolic vitamin derivative.
• Created and successfully launched 25-OH vitamin D3, while improving spray drying and pre-mixing technology.
• Generated first-year sales of $400,000 to poultry houses.
• Developed financial controls, open order system, and standard costing for production.

Amoco Performance Products, Inc., Atlanta, GA , 1986 - 1993

Senior Product Manager and Senior Research and Development Group Leader

• Directed business unit charged with start-up advanced composites business for products sold to industrial, leisure, and defense markets. Developed and implemented cohesive, action-oriented business team for tactical direction of advanced composites business.
• Delivered $18 million in revenues over three years while achieving gross margins to 40%.
• Improved materials management of raw and finished goods, reducing inventories over 65% in six months, from $7.2 million to $2.5 million.
• Managed 15-person development group with $2.5 million budget, plus managed semi-works manufacturing site for specialty materials production, generating $2 million a year in revenues.
• Achieved technology transfer that successful advanced materials commercial unit, delivering $6 million a year in revenues.

Honors & Publications

Credentials

• Project Management MBA - Crash Course, MSG Group;
• Project Management Workshop - Fred Pryor Careertrack
• Fundamentals of FDA Good Manufacturing Practices, The GMP Institute
• Fundamentals of Filtration Technology, Center for Professional Advancement
• Fundamentals of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Center for Professional Advancement
• Training and background in Statistical Process Control - RIT

License

• Radio License - (General Class)

Languages

• French - read/write
• Hebrew - read/write
• Greek (learning)

Academic and Professional Affiliations

• American Institute of Chemical Engineers
• American Radio Relay League

Awards

• Worldwide Branding VIP of the Year
• Who's Who in Engineering

Patents

• 6 U.S. patents

Education

• Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
• M.A. Chemical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
• B.E. Chemical Engineering, The Cooper Union, New York City, NY