HomeFormer Group Members
Giulio Lolli
Giulio Lolli got his B.S./M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano (Italy) in October 2003. Before graduation he joined Dr. Forzatti's heterogeneous catalysis group at the same university. His thesis work was based on the characterization and control of the sol-gel transition in dispersible nanostructured alumina slurries used as washcoats in supported catalysts. After graduation he worked as R&D engineer in a semiconductor packaging company in Italy. In 2004 he joined Dr. Resasco's group. He is currently working on a Ph.D. degree focused on the production and tailoring of SWNT to meet the needs of specific applications.
Stefano Cosma
Stefano Cosma was born in Cremona (Italy). He graduated in chemical engineering on Politecnico di Milano (Milan) in the academic year 2004 and joined Dr. Resasco's group in January 2006 for a Masters Degree. His thesis work in Italy was about production of MWNTs using Fe/Al2O3 catalyst, and their use in gas sensor applications. His current research at CBME is on production of SWNTS using Co-Mo catalyst on Si wafers.
Federico Scodelaro
Federico Scodelaro got his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from the Universidad Nacional del Sur at Bahia Blanca, Argentina, in July 2004. His thesis work involved the preparation of synthetic clays for use as a filler in polyolefin-based nanocomposites. In August 2004 he joined Dr. Resasco's group where he is working in electrical properties of SWNT and their applications in Fuel Cells and Sensing devices.
Leandro Balzano
Leandro Balzano, co-founder and chief development engineer of Southwest NanoTechnologies, is a Chemical Engineer with 6 years of experience in Catalysis and Reactor Design. He conducted research at the Catalysis Laboratory at Universidad de Buenos Aires where he designed catalytic reactors for the production of Acetal, which is an oxygenated additive for Diesel. With Exxon Corp. (Argentina) he developed departmental tasks automation programs. In October of 1999 he joined Dr. Resasco's group at the University of Oklahoma as a Visiting Research Associate. In this position, he designed a continuous catalytic reactor for the production of SWNT, resulting in several issued and pending U.S. patents. During the following two years he scaled up the production of carbon nanotubes gaining experience in several techniques used for the characterization of SWNTs. After optimizing the reaction and pretreatment conditions, he designed and built a fluidized bed Reactor for the SWeNT process. His current focus is on the further scale up of this process and on the development of different applications for carbon nanotubes such as field emission devices, fuel cells, conductive films and polymer composites. Leandro Balzano received a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 1999, a M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science from the University of Oklahoma in 2002 and he is currently seeking a doctorate degree at the University of Oklahoma. During the past three years Leandro also served as the Principal Investigator in several Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards including a phase II award, from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA).
Jose E. Herrera
Dr. Jose E. Herrera got his B.Sc. degree in Chemistry in 1988 from
the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Before graduation he did a
six-month research on the preparation and promotion of Raney nickel
catalysts. By the end of 1997 he graduated Summa Cum Laude of his class
and took a job as analytical chemist in an environmental regulation
agency from the Peruvian government, where he worked on the development
and assessment of analytical methods for testing volatile organic
compounds and pesticides in potable water. A year later he came to
Oklahoma on a Fulbright scholarship to work on a Ph.D. degree in
Chemical Engineering under the supervision of Dr. Resasco. His research
was focused on the mechanism of SWNT growth over solid catalysts. He got
his PhD degree in August 2003 and inmediately joined Dr. Resasco's group
as a research associate until March 2004. He is currently a postdoctoral
fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Walter E. Alvarez
Dr. Walter E. Alvarez worked as a Research Associate at the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. He is currently a Research Engineer at Phillips Petroleum Co. Dr. Alvarez got his Ph.D. in Materials Science in 1994 from the School of Engineering at the Universidad de Mar del Plata and his B.S. in Chemistry in 1989 from the School of Exact and Natural Sciences at the Universidad de Mar del Plata, Argentina. He has been appointed Assistant Professor (1997-98) in the School of Exact and Natural Sciences, and Lecturer (1989-98) in the School of Engineering, both at the Universidad de Mar del Plata. He has also served as the Principal Argentinean Investigator (1996-99) during the Cooperation Agreement between the Institute for Gas Utilization and Processing Technologies from the University of Oklahoma and the Faculty of Engineering at the Universidad de Mar del Plata. During more than twelve years of research experience, with a strong emphasis on heterogeneous catalysis, he has published more than 25 journal articles and presented more than 40 works on congresses, workshops and seminars.
Francisco Pompeo
Francisco Pompeo came to the University of Oklahoma as a visiting
research assistant in 2000. He got his B.S. degree in Chemistry from the
Universidad de Mar del Plata. He spent his last two years in college
working as a teaching assistant for a junior Physical Chemistry course
and as instructor of General Chemistry for first year college students.
A year before graduation he was granted with a scholarship from the
Spanish government (AECI) to work in the Chemistry Department at the
Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, Spain. His research was focused on
the synthesis and characterization of homogeneous catalysts based on
organometallic compounds of Niobium (V) with cyclopentadienyl and imido
ligands. He is currently working on a PhD degree at the Universidad
Nacional de La Plata, Argentina.
Olga Matarredona
Olga Matarredona is a Chemical Engineer with 4 years of experience as
a researcher in Physical Chemistry of Surfaces and Surface Science. She
got her B.S. degree in 1999 from the Complutense University of Madrid.
After graduation she joined Exxon Chemical Iberia (Spain) where she
developed a market analysis for the implementation of organic solvents
in different chemical processes. In August 2000 she joined the
Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma, where
she worked for two years as a research assistant in the area of
surfactants and thin film technology, in a project with tight
collaboration with the US Air Force. In August 2002 she joined Southwest
Nanotechnologies Inc. Her work was focused on the development of SWNT
based electrodes and electrocatalysts for fuel cells.
Olga L. Rueda
Olga Lucia Rueda got her B.S. in 2002 from the School of Chemical
Engineering at the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) in
Bucaramanga, Colombia. During her undergraduate studies she received an
internship at the Colombian Petroleum Institute ICP, ECOPETROL, and
worked on the synthesis of surfactant agents for thermic refinery
processes. In 2002 she came to the University of Oklahoma as an exchange
student and worked at the Institute of Applied Surfactants. Her research
was focused on the removal of phenolic compounds from wastewater
generated by the pulp and paper industry. She joined Dr. Resasco's group
in the summer of 2002, where she worked on synthesis of SWNT-based
composites.
Nataphan (Mai) Sakulchaicharoen
Nataphan Sakulchaicharoen got her B.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering in 1998 from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. After graduation she joined the graduate program in the Petroleum and Petrochemical College from the same university. Her graduate work was focused on carbon dioxide reforming of methane over platinum zirconia catalysts doped with cerium. In 2002 she got her M.S. degree and took a position as quality control supervisor on a transnational surfactant producer company in Thailand. After a year she joined the graduate program at the University of Oklahoma to work on a Ph.D. degree under the supervision of Dr. Resasco, which she completed in March 2006.