Project members who collaborate with Taylor Energy in grant proposals and fulfillment:
Arun S. K. Raju
Dr. Arun Raju is Co-PI for several of the grants we have and are fulfilling for the California Energy Commission. He is a research faculty and Associate Director-Operations at the Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT), at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). He also leads the Sustainable Fuels Initiative (SFI) at CE-CERT. As Associate Director, Dr. Raju leads the development of strategic plans and coordinates with research groups to prioritize long-term growth and success. His research focus is on sustainable fuels production and use, including hydrogen, Renewable Natural Gas, and biomass to energy. His research also involves energy systems analysis, including electrification, high renewables grid management, techno-economic, and life cycle assessment of energy systems. He has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from UC Riverside. UCR Profile
Arun is responsible for research and commercialization strategy development, managing the R&D program, identification, and pursuit of funding and business opportunities, and managing a patent portfolio. • Principal Investigator for local, federal, and international grants to study alternative fuels, greenhouse gas emission reduction, and energy systems analysis. Inventor/co-inventor in 8 pending/issued patents. Winner of the Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation (CCEMC) International Grand Challenge. • Experimental and simulation work on gasification and related processes using batch and flow reactors with feedstocks including biomass, biosolids, and waste matter.
Prab Sethi
Prab Sethi is a consultant for hydrogen production in several grant proposals. From 1991 – 2020 Prab was the Senior Project Manager at the California Energy Commission, Sacramento, California, where he was lead for design and development of cost reduction and efficiency improvement for hydrogen production program at the California Energy Commission. Worked as Senior Project Manager and Natural Gas Program Manager and led the planning, development, and evaluation of advanced breakthrough technologies, including piezoelectric, thermoelectric, nano generation (Perovskites solar cells), biomass, renewable natural gas, assessment of hydrogen production, and R&D barriers, solar, wind and geothermal energy research, development, demonstration, and commercialization. Managed biomass resource assessments and energy technologies assessments, including essential inputs for developing and updating the Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) and RD&D Strategic Plan, including strategic-value analysis to investigate advanced, renewable technologies to address current and future generational energy issues.
Prab coordinated the launch of the California Renewables Collaboratives, a group of energy experts from government, business, academia, and environmental groups for biomass, wind, geothermal and solar technologies at Universities of California at Davis, San Diego, and Merced. Experienced member and chairperson of the technical evaluation committees in evaluating emerging energy technologies. Has managed California Energy Commission’s multi-million dollar research, development, and demonstration projects, including Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC), Public Interest Energy Research (PIER), Energy Technology Advancement Program (ETAP), and Natural Gas Research and Development Program for 30 years. These programs support energy research and projects that will help improve the quality of life in California by bringing environmentally safe, renewable, affordable, and reliable energy services and products to the marketplace.
Kevin Whitty
Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering Professor, Chemical Engineering The University of Utah Education and Training B.S. Chemical Engineering, Oregon State University 1990 M.S. Chemical Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Finland 1993 Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Finland 1998 Research and Professional Experience 2019 – Present Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering, University of Utah 2015 – Present Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Utah 2006 – 2015 Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Utah 2012 – 2013 Guest Professor, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden 2001 – 2006 Research Associate, Univ. Utah Dept. of Chemical Engineering 1998 – 2000 Research Manager, Nykomb Synergetics, Stockholm, Sweden
Dr. Whitty has over 20 years’ experience researching advanced energy technologies, including combustion, gasification and chemical looping of fossil and renewable fuels. Prior to joining the University of Utah, he spent several years in industry managing R&D and pilot plant operations. That experience helped shape his research philosophy, which focuses on bridging the gap between fundamental lab-scale understanding and industrial-scale systems that are not easily characterized. Dr. Whitty is co-director of the University of Utah’s Industrial Combustion and Gasification Research Facility (ICGRF), which houses seven pilot scale research reactors with thermal input to 1.5 megawatts. His research group combines experimental results from those process development units with thermochemical modeling (FactSage) and process modeling (Aspen Plus) to understand and predict performance of larger-scale systems. Dr. Whitty has been Principal Investigator of more than forty government- and industry-sponsored research programs totaling more than $12 million, is a member of the Institute for Clean and Secure Energy and has published dozens of papers on energy technology R&D.
Lyman Frost
Lyman J. Frost, Chief Executive Officer of OxEon Energy LLC, North Salt Lake, Utah Education: Clemson University, BS Chemistry, Purdue University, MS Work experience: Mr. Frost is currently leading a new start-up company, OxEon Energy LLC. His responsibilities are company direction; business development; and technical work related to solid oxide fuel cells, solid oxide electrolysis, hydrocarbon reforming, and synthetic fuel using Fischer Tropsch technology. He is also under contract with Huntington Ingalls Industries to assist in development of technology related to fuel production at sea using high temperature co-electrolysis of CO2 and water. Mr. Frost was previously Director of Business Development at Ceramatec, a subsidiary company of CoorsTek, that specialized in ionic conducting ceramics. Work included technical consulting on solid oxide electrolysis, fuel cells, Fischer Tropsch, petroleum upgrading, and reforming technology. The projects booked during his tenure exceeded $40 million. Mr. Frost worked at the Idaho National Laboratory, as US Department of Energy Laboratory, as Director of Alternate Fuels and Energy Systems and was responsible for development of programs in the area of hydrogen, fuel cells, and fossil energy. Other responsibilities at the Idaho National Laboratory included Technology Transfer, Economic Development, and development of technology spinouts. Prior to the work at the Idaho National Laboratory, Mr. Frost worked for McDermott Incorporated where he managed the corporate portion of its R&D program and managed a patent portfolio of ~4500 patents. For several years, he was responsible for international licensing for The Babcock & Wilcox Company and was a project manager on several large power plant projects. Mr. Frost previously served as Chief Technology Officer for both Western Hydrogen, a Canadian company working on a new process for production of hydrogen in the Canadian Oil Sands region of Alberta and Field Upgrading, a Canadian company developing a process for partial upgrading of bitumen. Under Mr. Frost’s direction of Western Hydrogen a ~$20 million pilot plant was installed and commissioned in Alberta. A $30 million pilot plant is currently being constructed in Alberta for Field Upgrading. Mr. Frost assisted in the design and layout of this pilot plant. Mr. Frost was previously the Executive Vice President of Channel Blend, an Idaho small business. Mr Frost was one of the three founders of Channel Blend and as part of the management team developed the company from six employees to over three hundred. Channel Blend provides first line technical support over the internet to other small companies and scheduling support to a number of other companies. Mr. Frost has made presentations at the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Conference; the Alaskan Rural Energy Conference; Fuel Cell Seminar; the Department of Defense Logistic Fuel Conference; USAF Alternate Fuel Conference; ASME conferences; AIChE Annual Meetings; European Fuel Cell Conference; THERMEC; American Chemical Society; the Military Fuels Conference; the World Coal to Liquids Conference; the World Gas to Liquids conference; and the ASME International Fuel Cell Conference. In the past he has also lectured at various energy conferences in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, China, and Japan. He has conducted lectures at Clemson University, Auburn University, Brigham Young University, and The Imperial College (London) on various energy related topics.nMr. Frost also holds several patents related to solid oxide fuel cells, gasification, hydrocarbon reforming, and Fischer Tropsch technologies.