Yury Gogotsi, Ph.D., D.Sc.

Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board, Chief Science Officer and Co-Founder

Dr. Yury Gogotsi is a tenured full Professor at Drexel University and Director of the A. J. Drexel Nanotechnology Institute. Yury has experience of over 20 years in the fields of materials science and nanonotechnology, he holds over 30 patents, he authored 2 books, edited 12 books, contributed to 14 book chapters, published more than 180 papers in peer-reviewed journals including 3 papers in Nature and 2 papers in Science and is a recipient of numerous national and international research awards, including R & D 100 Award, Nanotech Briefs" Nano 50 and S. Somiya Award from the International Union of Materials Research Societies. He is an editor of Carbon (Elsevier), which is the highest ranked journal in the carbon materials field. The core technology of Y-Carbon was developed by various members of his group at Drexel University.

Patrice Simon, Ph.D.

Dr. Simon is Professor in the department of Material Science at the Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. He accomplished his curriculum in Chemistry and Physics at the Université Paul Sabatier in 1992 and got his PhD degree in 1995 from the National Engineer School of Chemistry. He joined the Université Paul Sabatier in 2001, after holding an Associate Professor position at the Laboratory of Electrochemistry at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris. He is regarded as an expert in the area of Electrochemical Energy Storage Sources including supercapacitors, psuedocapacitors, batteries, etc. In partnership with Université d’Amiens and Université de Provence (France), Cordoba University and Warsaw Polytechnic University (Poland), he heads the International Master program titled “Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion” at Paul Sabatier. This Master program has received the prestigious “ERASMUS MUNDUS” label from the European Commission. In 2007, he was nominated as Junior Member of the “Institut Universitaire de France”.

Antony Green, Ph.D.

Dr. Anthony Green is the Director of The Nanotechnolgy Institute (NTI) and Vice President - Technology Commercialization Life Sciences of Ben Franklin Technology Partners South Eastern Pennsylvania (BFTPSEP). Dr. Green is focused on Ben Franklin's larger and region-wide technology partnerships and major initiatives, including the NTI, the Mid-Atlantic Nanotechnology Alliance (MANA®), new and evolving life sciences initiatives including the IP Donation Program, Keystone Innovation Zones (KIZs), regional translational research programs and the development and implement new commercialization models. Dr. Green has over 30 years experience in the biotechnology industry, with a specialization in the research, development and commercialization of cutting-edge technologies primarily in small, emerging companies, including Centocor and Puresyn. Dr. Green earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Immunology, with Honors, from Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island and his Ph.D. from Temple University School of Medicine, in Microbiology and Immunology.

John E. Fischer, Ph.D.

John E. (Jack) Fischer is Professor Emeritus of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, and a member of Penn’s graduate group in Physics and Astronomy. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, M.S. in Nuclear Science and Engineering from the Califronia Institute of Technology, and PhD in Nuclear Science and Engineering from Renssselaer. His research interests and activities at Penn include solid state materials physics, structural chemistry of intercalation compounds, x-ray and neutron scattering; phase transitions, lattice and molecular dynamics, doped conjugated polymers and fullerene materials, disordered solids, fullerenes, nanotubes and nanotube composites, porous carbons and inorganic semiconductor nanowires. He has made significant contributions to the science and technology of carbon-based energy storage materials; in particular porous amorphous carbons and carbon nanotubes as potential lithium ion battery anode materials, and carbide derived carbons for hydrogen storage. He has authored or co-authored more than 450 archival journal publications, guest-edited special issues of many journals, and organized numerous international conferences and workshops. His extensive international collaborations have been supported by Fulbright and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science fellowships. Jack was the founding vice president of the Neutron Scattering Society of America, is an active member of the Materials Research Society, and a fellow of the American Physical Society.

Sergey Mikhalovsky, Ph.D.

Prof. Mikhalovsky is a Professor of Materials Chemistry in the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, UK. He has over 30 years of experience in materials chemistry of carbon, particularly for bio related applications. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Chartered Chemist and member of many societies including the International Society for Artificial Organs, American Carbon Society, American Chemical Society and the European Society for Biomaterials. He has contributed to over 100 peer reviewed papers, 10 book chapters and has been granted 12 patents. He has a Ph.D. in Chemical Kinetics and Catalysis from the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Kiev, Ukraine and MSc in Physical Chemistry from Shevchenko State University of Kiev, Ukraine.

Richard Rest, Ph.D.

Dr. Rest is Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Director of the Center for Bacterial Pathogenesis and Biodefense, in the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, and Director of Professional Advancement, Office of Biomedical Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, at Drexel University College of Medicine. Rick has more than 30 years experience as an academic research scientist studying bacterial pathogenesis and host-parasite interactions, including gonorrhea, meningitis and anthrax. He has trained more than 25 graduate students and postdocs, who have focused their research on the molecular and cellular mechanism of action of bacterial toxins, on regulation of virulence factor gene ex-pression, and on the interaction of bacterial pathogens with white blood cells, including macrophages and neutrophils. He is a member of the editorial boards of Infection and Immunity and the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Ken Colwell, Ph.D.

Ken Colwell is an Assistant Professor of Management at the LeBow College of Business, Drexel University. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. His research interests revolve around university technology transfer and the strategic factors that lead to success for startup technology firms, particularly in the field of nanotechnology. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on the emergence of nanotechnology as a distinct organizational field. His current research focuses on regional economic clusters and other network structures that form due to the commercialization of radical new technologies, and the role of individual action in the emergence and evolution of organizational fields and the development of firm capabilities. He teaches Strategic Management and New Venture Planning at the graduate and undergraduate level, and has extensive experience consulting with student teams writing business plans seeking to commercialize university-invented technologies.

Suresh Chandran, Ph.D.

Dr. Suresh Chandran is the Director of Consulting Services at Philip Services Corp., Philadelphia, where he is responsible for operations and business development of the energy and environmental consulting group. He has over 19 years of work experience in consulting and research. He is currently the project director of numerous cutting edge and innovative projects in the energy generation, transportation, chemicals and material sciences sector. Dr. Chandran received his Ph.D. in Engineering and Chemistry from Vanderbilt University. He is the Editor of CarbonNews, India’s first magazine exclusively on Carbon Markets aimed at providing professionals and industry leaders with market information and commentary about the Indian Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), International European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (EUETS) and Joint Implementation (JI) markets. In his leisure time, he teaches intellectual property strategy at LeBow College of Business, Drexel University, where he holds an appointment as an Adjunct Professor of Management.

Ryan Dirkx, Ph.D.

Ryan Dirkx, Ph.D. is the Vice President of Research & Development, Arkema Inc., headquartered in Philadelphia.  In this capacity, he is responsible for all R&D activity in North America, management of the R&D Center in King of Prussia, PA and coordination with the global R&D activities of the parent company, Arkema, headquartered in Paris.  A 20-year veteran of Arkema Inc. and its predecessor companies, Dr. Dirkx has directed global R&D organizations for several Arkema businesses, most recently, those within the Technical Polymers and PMMA (Altuglas) divisions.  He has also held business and market management positions within the Specialty Chemicals division.  He is currently on the Board of Directors for the Industrial Research Institute (IRI) and is a member of the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology (BCST), which is part of the National Academies.  Dr. Dirkx has a Ph.D. in Solid State Science from the Pennsylvania State University and a B.S. in Ceramic Engineering from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.  

Salvatore Pace, Ph.D.

In his present role as Technology Commercialization Manager for  Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, he leads the development of a Water Technology Hub planned for The Navy Yard in Philadelphia.  Most recently he led a Nanotechnology venture as Chief Technology Officer of NanoSelect Inc.  Sal has been a leader in the development of Solid-State Chemical Sensors technology and has been responsible for the  commercialization of sensors based Biomedical Products.  He was the key developer for Technicon’s SMAC® and DuPont’s Dimension MultiPLY® clinical diagnostic systems.  He has held positions as Director of R&D at IGEN International and Chief Technology Officer and VP of R&D at Sensicore Inc. where he was in charge of developing MEMS’s based multi-sensor technology for water monitoring systems.  As a pioneer in the development of Solid-State Chemical Sensors and Lab-on-Chip technology he has authored more than 25 technical publications and is the lead inventor on 9 patents.  Sal has also served on advisory boards within Universities centers of excellence for emerging technologies such as Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) and Nano-Systems (NEMS).  Sal holds a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from Syracuse University and is a Petroleum Research Fund Fellow.  He has also held post-doctoral positions in electrochemistry research at the University of Michigan and Penn State University. 

James Gambino, Ph.D.

James Gambino is Vice President of Technology Commercialization: Physical Sciences for Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/SEP).  Jim is also responsible for developing and managing Ben Franklin’s Regional Energy Strategy, seeded with funding from the Commonwealth’s Alternative Energy Development Program under the Energy Investment Act.  Jim has successfully commercialized high value disruptive technologies across multiple markets as a senior executive in multinational companies, joint ventures, and start-ups. Prior to joining Ben Franklin, Jim was Vice President and CTO at Elementis Specialties, Inc., a specialty chemical company.  Jim is a past Director of the Commercial Development and Marketing Association (CDMA), trustee of the PDMA-CDMA Educational Foundation, and 2008 winner of the CDMA Golden C award for Commercial Development Excellence. Jim is also a board member and trustee of the Chemist Club of New York, and a partner of PolySolutions Advisors LLC, a consultancy to technology start-ups and emerging companies.  Jim earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of New York, and completed the Business Management Executive Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.