March 2007

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Update: David K. Garman, who retired from his job as the Energy Department’s Under Secretary of Energy at the end of January (H&FCL Feb. 07), has formed a new federal relations and management consulting firm with two former colleagues, Dr. James Decker and John Sullivan. The firm, Decker Garman Sullivan LLC, is based in Old Town Alexandria, VA, minutes from Capitol Hill. Decker headed DoE’s Science Office for 21 years. Sullivan, recipient of the Presidential Rank Award, is a recognized expert in strategic planning, management innovation and program management.........Seattle, WA-based Neah Power Systems, a developer of micro fuel cell technology for portable devices, has named former astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin to its board of directors. Aldrin, best known for his moon walk during the Apollo XI mission in 1969, earned his doctorate in astronautics from the Massachussetts Institute of Technology. Since retiring from NASA and commander of the Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, Aldrin founded Starcraft Boosters, Inc., a rocket design company, and the ShareSpace Foundation, a non-profit group promoting space tourism........Fuel cell developer Plug Power, Latham, NY says that chief financial officer Jean Nelson has resigned for personal reason and that a search for her successor has begun. Separately, the company said president Gregory Silvestri has resigned as well as part of changes in its corporate structure. CEO Dr. Roger Saillant will now also assume the functions of president. Also, three new vice presidents will now join the executive management team and will report directly to Saillant. They are Allan Greenberg, vice president of sales; Thomas Hutchison, vice president of engineering; and Brad Johnson, vice president of operations. Greenberg and Hutchison were hired last year.........Air Products has named Montgomery (Monty) Alger as vice president and chief technology officer. Alger comes to the industrial gas company after working for 23 years at General Electric in technology, engineering and business management.......Alan Hurd, director of the Lujan Neutron Scattering Center at Los Alamos National Laboratory, has assumed the presidency for this year of the Materials Research Society. He was elected to the post last year by the group’s general membership........The South Carolina Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance has named Shannon Baxter-Clemmons, Ph.D., as its new executive director, effective March 1. Baxter-Clemmons previously was the assistant secretary for hydrogen and alternative fuels policy at the California Environmental Protection Agency where she led the development of the California Hydrogen Blueprint Plan, adopted by Gov. Schwarzenegger in May 2005........Rochester Hills, MI-based Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. has set up a committee of non-management directors to plan an “orderly transition” for the company’s management team, including Robert C. Stempel, chairman and CEO; Stanford R. Ovshinsky, president and chief scientist; James R. Metzger, chief operating officer, and other senior officers and managers.......The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has named 13 leaders to its National Advisory Council. They are: Larry Penley, president of Colorado State University; George Peterson, chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder; Myles W. Scoggins, president of the Colorado School of Mines; James Sweeney, professor in the Stanford University’s Management Science and Engineering Department; Jefferson Tester, H.P. Meissner professor at MIT’s Chemical Engineering Department; John H. Gibbons, President Clinton’s former science advisor; Hank Habicht, vice chairman of the Global Environment & Technology Foundation; Jack D. Hidary, founder of the Jack D. Hidary Foundation; Richard C. Kelly, chairman and CEO of Xcel Energy; Don Paul, vice president and chief technology officer of Chevron Corp.; David J. Prend, managing general partner of RockPort Capital Partners; Susan Tierney, managing principal with the Analysis Group and former DoE assistant secretary for policy and international; and Victoria Tschinkel, former director of the Florida chapter of the Nature Conservancy.......Mountain View, CA-based PolyFuel Inc., a developer of advanced fuel cell membranes, has appointed Don MacDonald to its board of directors. MacDonald is vice president and general manager for global marketing and branding at Intel Corp........UQM Technologies, Inc., Frederick, CO, a developer of propulsion systems for hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, has appointed Dale Stamwitz to the newly created position of manufacturing engineering manager. Stamwitz is a General Electric veteran who worked for GE in various locations since 1968..........Enova, Systems, Torrance, CA, a developer of hybrid and fuel cell power management systems, has appointed Jarett Fenton as chief financial officer. Fenton most recently worked for The Clarity Group which provides financial reporting and compliance consulting for SEC registrants. He replaces Corinne Bertrand who has resigned. In other appointments, Enova has named Jon Hembree as director of operational activities. He joined the company after 14 years with the International Truck and Engine company. He replaces John Dexter who has retired.