March 2004

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Wallingford, CT-based Distributed Energy Systems Corp. announced that the president of its Proton Energy Systems subsidiary, Dr. Larry M. Sweet, is leaving the company. Chip Schroeder, president of Distributed Energy Systems, will act as Proton's president until a successor has been named. The company expects to start an executive search. Distributed Energy Systems is the parent for Proton Energy and Northern Power Systems, set up last year.

Prof. Carl-Jochen Winter, chairman of the HYFORUM conference and vice president of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy (IAHE), has given up the chairmanship of HYFORUM04 in Beijing as well as the vice chair of HYFORUM'S organizer, the German "Forum fuer Zukunftsenergien" (Future Energies Forum), for health reasons. Two years ago, Winter suffered a heart attack and underwent two major operations. He will be senior adviser to the conference. Winter launched the Forum 13 years ago. Board member Rainer Laufs is now HYFORUM's chairman

Azure Dynamics Corp., a Burnaby, BC-based developer of hybrid electric vehicle systems for commercial vehicles, has named Ronald Spranger as its new vice president of sales and customer service. Previously, Spranger was global sales manager for the transportation division of Ballard Power Systems

Tulsa, OK-based Syntroleum Corp., developer of a proprietary gas-to-liquids process for converting natural gas to clean fuels, has added Ziad Ghandour to its board of directors. Ghandour is principal of TI Capital, Los Angeles, financing arm of a Middle East-based family business, and vice president of the Falcon Group which transports crude oil

Honolulu-based Hoku Scientific, a developer of PEM fuel cell membrane technology, announced that Prof. James E. McGrath, of the Materials Research Institute and Chemistry Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA has joined the company's advisory board. McGrath is an internationally known expert on polymers, ionomers and fuel cell membranes

James Gustave Speth has been re-appointed to a second five-year term as dean of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Speth was a founder of the World Resources Institute from which he retired in 1991 (The Hydrogen Letter, Aug. 91). He also served as administrator of the UN Development Programme, chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council

Astris Energi, the Mississauga, Ont.-based developer of alkaline fuel cells, has named Peter Nor as its vice president for marketing and corporate affairs. Nor is a professional engineer and MBA

India's Ministry for Non-Conventional Energy Sources has set up a steering committee chaired by Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Sons, to assist the recently established National Hydrogen Energy Board, reports Sify finance, India's financial internet service. The board's co-chairman is Anand Mahindra, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry. The steering group is charged with developing a hydrogen vehicles and power generation action plan in the next four months. Tata Sons is part of the Tata Group, India's largest business group, headquartered in Mumbai

The Washington, DC-based Electric Drive Transport Association (EDTA) has named Edward B. Cohen as co-chairman of its board of directors. Cohen is vice president of government and industry relations for Honda North America. He succeeds Douglas West, of Toyota.