June 2008

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One of the first scientists to warn about global warming and among the earliest advocates of hydrogen energy, Laurence O. Williams, died May 7 in Alliance, OH. He was 74. Larry, an analytical chemist and eventually chief scientist for the Ordinance Division of Lockheed Martin for a third of a century, published his first paper on climate change in 1971 in “Applied Science,” and he wrote three books on the subject. He was part of the loose international group of scientists and engineers who in the late 1960s and early 1970s coalesced into a global advocacy group that eventually culminated in the first hydrogen conference, THEME (The Hydrogen Economy Miami Energy) Conference in March 1974, the beginning of the global move to hydrogen and fuel cell energy.........Vancouver, BC-based International Energy, Inc., a developer of technologies for the renewable generation of photosynthetic fuels, has appointed algal fuel expert Prof. Anastasios Melis, Ph.D., to its science advisory board. Melis is an expert in hydrocarbon and hydrogen biofuel production at the University of California at Berkeley (H&FCL March 00).........Albany, NY-based Mechanical Technology, Inc.’s board of directors has elected the company’s chief executive officer, Peng Lim, as its new board chairman. He succeeds outgoing board chairman Steven N. Fischer. Lim will continue to serve as CEO and president of MTI’s subsidiary MTI MicroFuel Cells, Inc.......Hydrogen Engine Center Inc., Algona, IA has named Jan Rowinski to the board of directors of its Canadian subsidiary, HEC Canada. He succeeds the late Tapan Bose (H&FCL Feb. 08). Rowinski is co-founder of and managing partner of Bay Stream Ventures, a corporate development and management consulting firm..........Bothell, WA-based Neah Power Systems, a developer of military fuel cells, has named James H. Smith, Robert J. McGovern and Jon M. Garfield to its board of directors. Smith is director of Unisone, Inc., a patent software company, and previously was president of McKesson Corp., the world’s largest pharmaceutical wholesaler. Garfield is CEO of the technology company Clearant, Inc. McGovern is general manager of The Cura Group.........the stockholders of Mechanical Technology Inc (MTI), Albany, NY have approved the election of Thomas J. Marusak and E. Dennis O’Connor as Class II directors at MTI’s annual meeting last month. Matusak, previously chairman of New York’s Capital Region Center for Economic Growth, was originally named to MTI’s board in 2004. O’Connor, a registered patent attorney, was first appointed to the board in 1993........Nanodynamics Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Buffalo, NY-based Nanodynamics, has hired John Ruberto as president. He will be responsible for commercialization of the company’s “Revolution” microtubular solid oxide fuel cells. Previously, Ruberto was senior vice president of programs at Applied Nanotech, Austin, TX and prior to that he was executive vice president at Eagle Picher, maker of electric and electronic equipment and specialty batteries in Joplin, MO. During the ‘90s, he was a principal deputy assistant to the Secretary of Defense.........Westwood, MA-based fuel cell developer Acumentrics Corp. has named retired U.S. Marine Corps General P. X. Kelley to its board of directors. Kelley served as 28th commandant of the Marine Corps, he was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1983 to 1987, and is a founding member and co-chair of the Energy Security Leadership Council.