Our Management
Dr. Robert C. Schucker Dr. Robert C. Schucker is founder and President of Trans Ionics Corporation. He received his PhD degree in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology focusing on non-equilibrium chemical kinetics. After graduate school, he spent three years with Procter and Gamble Company studying separations using zeolites molecular sieves and carrying out advanced mathematical modeling as a consultant to P&G's various divisions. Following his tenure with P&G, Dr, Schucker joined the newly-formed Reaction Engineering Laboratory at Exxon's Corporate Research Labs in Linden, NJ in 1977. He spent most of his career with Exxon, becoming an expert in petroleum processing, with a focus on separation-based technology. He has a broad background in heavy oil chemistry and characterization, membrane development/processing and electrochemistry. He retired from Exxon after 23 years of service in January 2000 to found Trans Ionics Corporation.
Dr. Schucker is an acknowledged expert in membrane systems with a particular focus on pervaporation. He has a demonstrated track record of creativity as demonstrated by the 47 US patents he holds, most of which are in the membrane area. He has worked in both organic (polymeric) membranes and inorganic membranes and has carried out successful programs in (1) organic liquid separation by pervaporation and perstraction, (2) low pressure hydrogen separation using carbon molecular sieve hollow fiber membranes and (3) separation of residual oils using high temperature ultrafiltration. Over the last five years of his career with Exxon, he carried out fundamental studies of novel electrochemical treatment processes for various petroleum applications. He has presented his research at National and International meetings and was elected to the National Board of Directors for the North American Membrane Society in 1998 for a three-year term.
Since forming Trans Ionics Corporation in January 2000, Dr. Schucker has led the company through its formative years during which time the Company or its subsidiaries has been awarded over $2 million in Federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants, primarily from the U. S. Department of Energy and $1 million from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.
Advisory Board
Trans Ionics has an excellent Advisory Board which contributes in
many ways to the successful operation of the Company.
Dr. Allan J. Jacobson, University of Houston, Houston, TX
Dr. Allan J. Jacobson serves as Trans Ionics' Science Advisor, particularly in the area of Ion Transport Membranes (or ITMs). Prof. Jacobson received a D. Phil. Chemistry from Oxford University in the U.K. in 1969 and spent from 1976 through 1990 on the staff of the Exxon Corporate Research Laboratories in NJ, where he and Dr. Schucker first met. He is an acknowledged expert in solid state inorganic chemistry and holds the Robert A. Welch Chair of Science in the UH Chemistry Department. Dr. Jacobson is the Director of the Center for Materials Characterization and the newly appointed Director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity (TcSCUH) at UH and was formerly the Regional Editor for the Americas for the journal Solid State Ionics. He has a total of over 300 publications and 45 patents and maintains collaborative efforts with major universities and national laboratories in the U.S. and abroad.
Douglas R. Courville, President of ENPAL LC , Houston, TX
Mr. Courville advises Trans Ionics in matters of domestic and international business and marketing. He is co-founder and co-owner of ENPAL, L.C. (Energy Projects Alliance), a privately held project development entity with expertise in global energy. Prior to ENPAL, he had founded several other energy related entities: Energy World Trade Inc. (EWT) in 1984; Supra Corporation, a venture development corporation involving US and Middle Eastern interests in 1980; and International Training Company (Intraco) in 1972, which specialized in technical services and was later sold to Gulf Publishing Company. Mr. Courville began his energy career with Schlumberger, Ltd., serving in several engineering and management capacities from 1965-1972.
C. Douglas Wilson, VP of KCD Services , Houston, TX
Mr. Wilson advises Trans Ionics in all financial matters and serves as the Corporate Treasurer. He is founder and principal of KCD Services of Houston, TX (a professional services firm). He holds a BS in Business Administration from Northwestern University and an MBA from Harvard University. Mr. Wilson also serves as the Financial Advisor and Treasurer for Trans Ionics Corporation. He has more than 33 years experience with companies ranging in size from Fortune 500 members down to start-ups. His experience during the past 20 years has been primarily in the oil and gas business; and, because of this, he is able to provide critical input on business and financial decisions that need to be made.