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 MATRIC held its annual meeting reception at The Clay Center for
the Arts and Sciences on Wednesday, October 10, 2007. Over one
hundred fifty invited guests attended to learn more about MATRIC's
upcoming inititatives. The following officers were elected for 2008: Board
Chair, Paul Arbogast; Vice Chairs, George Keller and Dwight Sherman;
Treasurer, Steve Kawash; and, Secretary, Mark Dempsey. Click
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MATRIC
recognized three Star Employees for their exceptional performance during
2007.
 2007 STAR EMPLOYEE for the Advanced Engineering Systems Business
Area, Dr. Jack Smith, is our senior Quantum Chemist whose breadth of knowledge is only matched by his tenacity to solve problems. Inheriting two Principal Investigator positions over the past year, Jack has distinguished himself by performing an exemplary analysis on Field Programmable Gate Array tools and orchestrating the development of an operational automated software test language analysis tool for NASA. As one of our most experienced systems engineers, Jack is a leader, a mentor, and a tremendous asset to MATRIC.  2007 STAR EMPLOYEE for the Chemical and Environmental
Technologies Business Area, Art Lucas, is one of the hardest-working people in MATRIC, supporting the design and construction of a biodiesel plant for our partner, BEST Energies. Translating the process innovations developed in the lab and pilot plant to the scale of a full-size commercial plant has been a tremendous challenge, and the skills and experience that Art brought to this team effort have been truly invaluable. Art has been a core member of the plant design activity almost from the beginning. As a result of this hard work, BEST will soon begin operation of their new world-class biodiesel plant in Cashton, Wisconsin.  2007 STAR EMPLOYEE for the Chemical and Environmental
Technologies Business Area, Dr. Nye Clinton, has been one of our busiest people over the last year. He has been a key contributor to two of our most significant projects, each of which has at times required heavy time commitments. In his role in our project with the Iowa Corn Promotion Board to develop process technology for producing isosorbide, a potential polymer additive, from corn, Dr. Clinton has provided technical leadership and process chemistry expertise. His work has led to patentable process innovations that will give us a practical, economic route to this high-value material. In addition, he has been a key member of the team engaged in supporting a high-priority litigation case. | ||||||
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 MATRIC scientists and engineers are developing a
low-capital, low-operating cost process for freeing up the carbohydrates
(sugars) present in biomass to make them available for subsequent
fermentation to ethanol. Laboratory experiments are currently underway to
validate this innovative process which will completely solubilize biomass
under relatively mild process conditions. Such a process is the economic
key that will optimize the return to investors.Cellulosic and conventional ethanol are the same product produced from different feedstocks and processes. Conventional ethanol is derived from grains (corn, wheat or soybeans). Cellulosic ethanol can be produced from a wide variety of feedstocks including agricultural wastes (corn stover, cereal straws), waste from industrial processes (sawdust, paper pulp, wood chips) and energy crops grown specifically for fuel production (switchgrass). Conventional ethanol uses fossil fuels to produce heat during the conversion process, generating substantial greenhouse gas emissions. Biomass is substituted for fossil fuels in the production of cellulosic ethanol, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 80%. Ethanol and other biofuels can be used in today’s internal combustion engines. Approximately 1.2 million flex-fuel cars on the road today can run on a wide variety of biofuels including E85, a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Manufacturing flex-fuel vehicles adds costs of less than $200 per vehicle. Cellulosic ethanol as a viable replacement for gasoline in cars and trucks is becoming an attractive alternative. It could reduce our dependence on imported oil and reduce our trade deficit. Rural economies could benefit in the form of increased incomes and jobs. Growing energy crops and harvesting agricultural wastes could increase the value of farm crops, potentially eliminating the need for many agricultural subsidies. Finally, the use of cellulosic ethanol could provide environmental benefits by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. | ||||||
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Certus
Scientific, LLC is a woman-owned small business that provides research
services and creates customized technologies for government and commercial
clients. Certus uses a customer-driven approach and a robust team of
subject matter experts to provide business sector services to the
chemical, energy, defense and aerospace industries.
Core competencies include: catalysis, control system software, critical software assurance, process and plant improvement, radical process innovation, scale- up and technology verification, and techno-economic assessments. Mary Margaret Chandler is the owner and managing member. With more than (10) years national sales and customer service experience with a Fortune 500 company, and an immense knowledge of government needs and processes gained during employment with the US Congress, Chandler is well positioned to manage and deliver quality services to both government and commercial clients. | ||||||
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The
next quarterly meeting of the West Virginia BioEnergy Forum will be
held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 30, at the
National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium at West Virginia
University, 1100 Frederick Lane, Morgantown WV.
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Dr.
Ramona Neal holds a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of
Paris. Ramona is an experienced analytical chemist with exceptional
expertise using a broad spectrum of analytical methods for the chemical
and physical characterization of polymers and proteins. With almost twenty
(20) years of experience with Mobil Research and Development Corporation,
The Center for Molecular and Engineering Thermodynamics at the University
of Delaware, and Union Carbide Corporation, Ramona is our resident
analytical problem solver and is a key participant in most of our
projects. In addition, she is an excellent communicator who is fluent in
English, French, German, and Tagalog (Filipino).
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Manager, Process Engineering: Manage day-to-day activities
of process engineering projects to ensure timely and cost effective
completion. Provide project management including monitoring and scheduling
of all personnel and equipment, required reporting and oversight, training
and supervision. Requires advanced degree and/or professional
certification with at least 10+ years of management experience.
Process Chemist: Apply fundamental chemical principles and practical knowledge in the development of chemical processes for operation in pilot and commercial scale. Interface with chemical engineers to conceptualize designs for most economic operation. Requires advanced degree in chemistry with at least five years of process-related experience. R&D Chemical Engineer: Design, construct and operate laboratory and pilot plant facilities for evaluating the performance of experimental chemical processes. Requires chemical engineering degree and at least five years of process engineering experience. Systems Engineer: Previous aerospace hardware/software experience needed for major project supporting NASA. Requires degree in computer science, software engineering or electrical engineering and at least five years experience. Choose Morgantown/Fairmont or Charleston location. Equal Opportunity Employer. Send resumes by e-mail. | ||||||
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