Advisors

Dr. Marek Wójtowicz – Scientific Advisor

Dr. Wójtowicz has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from Brown University. He currently leads one of the foremost research teams in Clean Energy, Carbon Materials, and Hydrocarbons at Advanced Fuel Research Inc.

Dr. Wójtowicz previously served as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, where his research concerned the evolution of nitrogen during coal pyrolysis, gasification, and combustion. Dr. Wójtowicz is currently a member of the Advisory Committee for the Chemical Engineering Program at Brown University, and also of the Advisory Board of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centre for Doctoral Training in Bioenergy at the University of Leeds. Dr. Wójtowicz held the position of the Program Secretary of the Fuel Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society (1999-2003), was elected the Division Chair for 2005, and is currently a Trustee of the Division of Energy and Fuels Trust Fund. He is also a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the American Carbon Society. Dr. Wójtowicz has been Adjunct Professor at Brown University since 2010, and he also held a position of Visiting Associate Professor at Tohoku University in Japan (October 2007-January 2008).

Dr. Wójtowicz has strong expertise in fuel science, carbon materials, air-pollution control (NOx, N2O, SOx, and mercury), solid-waste utilization, chemical reaction kinetics, and heterogeneous catalysis, and he has more than 120 book, journal, conference, and patent publications in these areas.

Dr. Wójtowicz received the prestigious NASA Space Act Award in 2005, and also several awards for outstanding papers presented at international conferences. Examples of research topics he has pursued are experiments and modeling of reactions involved in coal and biomass pyrolysis, gasification, and combustion, diesel processing for use in fuel cells, microporous carbons with custom-engineered pore structure for hydrogen-storage applications, conversion of waste tires to value-added products (activated carbon for mercury sorption, carbon black) and development of carbon electrodes for ultra-capacitors (applications in hybrid and future-generation vehicles).

John L. Cusack – Senior Advisor to the CEO on sustainability

Mr. Cusack is the founder of Gifford Park Associates, a sustainability management & finance consulting firm specializing in the areas of strategic sustainable/environmental management and Implementation, socially-responsible investing, clean/renewable technologies, environmental finance risks and disclosure, and the relationship between the environmental, social and financial performance of publicly traded companies. Major clients have included a variety of multinational industrial, energy, and financial firms, including venture capitalists & venture-funded companies, as well as international agencies/governments, including the United Arab Emirates, the UN, DECO, the ICC and the US State Department.

Most recently, Gifford Park Associates of Bronxville NY has won the 2013 Acquisition International Magazine's 2013 "US Policy Consulting Firm of the Year" Award. This award recognizes the outstanding achievements of individuals and companies within the finance sector, encompassing professionals involved in all aspects of financing ranging from equities to renewable energy. AI's Finance Awards identify and honor success, innovation and ethics across international business communities.

Lewis Benson – Mercury Sorbent Advisor and EcoPAC-S Team Leader

Mr. Benson is the founder and principal of Benson Environmental LLC., a firm specializing in providing consulting services in the area of air pollution control at coal-fired electric generating stations and industrial boilers.

Mr. Benson who is an expert in emissions control technology for MATS/MACT compliance had led the design, start-up, operations and troubleshooting of air pollution control processes around the United States. He worked extensively with power generating companies including Big Rivers Electric Coop, American Electric Power, First Energy, Allegheny Energy, NRG, Duke Energy and Louisville Gas and Electric.

Mr. Benson is a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania and holds several U.S. and foreign patents in the air pollution control field.

Technical Advisors/Contract Partners