From left to right: Dr. Charles Chamberlin, Marc Marshall, Scott Rommel, Allison Oakland, Richard Engel, Kyle Palmer, Ray Glover, Dr. Peter Lehman, Michael Winkler, Jim Zoellick, Keith Glenn, Greg Chapman, Stephen Kullmann, Mark Rocheleau, Peter Johnstone, Andrea Allen, Ranjit Deshmukh, and Dr. Arne Jacobson. Photo by Kellie Jo Brown, HSU Graphic Services

Dr. Louis W. Schatz (1912 - 2001)

Dr. Schatz provided the funding to create the Schatz Energy Research Center in 1989 and continued to support the lab financially over the years. He had an intense and unwavering enthusiasm for hydrogen and fuel cells. Dr. Schatz received an honorary doctorate from Humboldt State University in May 1994 for assisting SERC and other HSU programs. Through his support of SERC, he made a lasting contribution to the advancement of clean energy technologies. Dr. Schatz passed away on Saturday, September 22, 2001. He had celebrated his 89th birthday on January 20.We at SERC will miss Louis Schatz.

 

 

Team Biographies

Dr. Peter Lehman is Director of the Schatz Energy Research Center and a professor of Environmental Resources Engineering at Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA. Dr. Lehman received a B.S. in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Chicago. He then served as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley where he conducted research on the aerochemistry of photochemical air pollution. Before coming to HSU, he has been a member of the faculties of Sacramento State University, California State University, Northridge, and Deep Springs College.  While at HSU, Dr. Lehman has served as chair of the Environmental Resources Engineering Department, co-chair of the International Technology Development masters program, and faculty advisor to the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology. His research interests include renewable energy systems, especially solar thermal and photovoltaic technologies. Dr. Lehman's work at the Schatz Center includes the development of solar hydrogen generation systems, development and production of fuel cell personal utility and neighborhood electric vehicles, and research and production of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Most recently, the Center is involved in integrating electrolyzers into complete hydrogen generation and dispensing facilities, and developing and producing fuel cell systems for telecommunications, portable power and uninterruptible power supply applications.

Dr. Charles Chamberlin is SERC's Co-Director and technical coordinator. Dr. Chamberlin is Professor of Environmental Resources Engineering at Humboldt State University, where he has taught courses in environmental health engineering, data collection and analysis, and transport phenomena at the undergraduate and graduate level. He has worked on models of photovoltaic hydrogen production and PEM fuel cell polarization curves, participated in the design, development, and operation of the Schatz Solar Hydrogen Project, fuel cell vehicles, and stationary fuel cell systems. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Harvard University.

Dr. Arne Jacobson is an assistant professor in the Environmental Resources Engineering department at Humboldt State University, and he is also the coordinator of HSU's master's program in International Development Technology. Arne has a Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley and an M.S. in Environmental Systems (engineering option) from Humboldt State. Arne's research interests include international development, renewable energy, and the equity dimensions of energy access in a carbon limited world. His work is interdisciplinary, combining a social geography based approach to development studies with expertise in energy policy and renewable energy engineering. Arne has extensive international work experience in Africa, India, and Latin America, including his research over the past five years on the social dimensions of rural electrification with solar energy in Kenya.

Andrea Allen

Greg Chapman is a graduate of the Environmental Resources Engineering program at Humboldt State University. His primary responsibilities at SERC are the design of in-house fuel cells and bench testing of commercially available fuel cell materials. He is also actively involved in the development of a high-pressure hydrogen PEM electrolyzer. Greg's past work at SERC has been focused on hydrogen system design and fabrication for fuel cell demonstration projects. He was responsible for the installation of the hydrogen systems for the SunLine Transit, Schoolhouse Peak and the University of Michigan projects.Prior to attending HSU, Greg served for six years in the U.S. Navy. He graduated from Naval Nuclear Power School and spent four years in San Diego on a nuclear-powered submarine as a steam plant operator. Following his enlistment, he worked as a process control board operator and shift supervisor at an independent oil refinery in Los Angeles.

Richard Engel graduated from Humboldt State University with a B.S. in Environmental Resources Engineering in 1988. He worked for five years as an energy specialist with the City and County of San Francisco's Bureau of Energy Conservation, where he managed energy efficiency projects in city facilities. He was later employed as an energy and water conservation specialist at the City of Palo Alto Utilities, providing services to residential and small business utility customers. He developed his writing skills as a reporter and editor for the trade publication California Energy Markets. Before joining the Schatz team in 1999, Richard served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras for two years, where he met his wife Basilia. Richard's work at SERC has included technical document writing and editing, development of educational materials, grant proposal writing, hydrogen and fuel cell system maintenance and repair, and feasibility research on emerging energy technologies.

Ray Glover attended HSU from 1968 to 1971 as a biology major. He was partner in a bicycle shop in Arcata from 1971 until 1973. He designed and built bicycles from 1973 until 1995, when he began working as a machinist for the Schatz lab. His interest has long been in conservation and low-tech solutions for human needs, but he also loves machines that make things and he likes problems to solve. Despite his fascination with machine tools, it is the process of making things which has always been captivating. And, he still considers himself to be a biologist!

Peter Johnstone is a Research Assistant at SERC and graduate student at HSU. He is working on a Masters Degree in Environmental Systems with the Environmental Resources Engineering Option. His current work at SERC involves maintenance of the Schatz Solar Hydrogen Project, as well as planning and implementation of the solar hydrogen system’s equipment upgrade. Additionally, Peter’s interests include projects related to the hydrogen economy and renewable energy infrastructure. Peter is a recent graduate of North Carolina State University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in Chemical Engineering.

Marc Marshall received a B.A. degree in Physics from Humboldt State University in 2000 and is working toward a Masters in Environmental Systems in the International Development Technology program. Marc's primary responsibility at SERC is the software design, implementation, and testing of LabVIEW-based control systems. Projects Marc has worked on include embedded control of the Methanol-fired Fuel Cell system and version 4 of SERC's internal Test Station Software. Marc also serves as the SERC IT person, maintaining the office computers, local network, and server. Marc has worked at the Schatz Lab since 1997, when he started as a student assistant.

Allison Oakland is a Research Associate and Outreach Coordinator for the Schatz Energy Research Center. She joined SERC in 2001 as office manager and has since included management and coordination of grants, contracts, and finances and education/outreach coordination and development to her responsibilities of organization and management of SERC's daily operations. Allison graduated from Humboldt State University in 1999 with a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies, Botany minor. Her degree combines the disciplines of Environmental Science, Appropriate Technology, and Sustainable Agriculture.

Mark Rocheleau

David Scott Rommel is SERC's Electrical Engineer. With 25 years experience in the electronics industry Scott lends extensive knowledge and expertise to the work we do at the lab. Being very interested in renewable energy and having settled in Humboldt County, Scott discovered that the Schatz Energy Research Center was hiring an electronics technician/engineer. He joined our team in 1996. Some of Scott's accomplishments while at SERC include:

• Integration of harsh environment Data Acquisition and Control computers for three fuel cell powered golf carts and one neighborhood electric vehicle.
• A 3-kilowatt hydrogen fueled PEM fuel cell home power system in which he designed and manufactured the fuel cell control and cell voltage monitoring computers.
• A 100-watt remote power backup system for the solar powered microwave telephone repeater on Schoolhouse Peak. The control and safety hardware is based on analog and digital control circuits and doesn't require a computer for operation.
• Stack in the Box- a portable demonstration system in which Scott designed an analog airflow controller that maintains constant stoichiometric airflow to the fuel cell stack.
• Electrical system integration of the 1 Kilowatt methanol fueled PEM fuel cell power system.

Michael Winkler is a Research Engineer with the Schatz Energy Research Center. Michael's responsibilities include software design and testing, data analysis and technical writing. Mr. Winkler has been involved in software development for the Schatz Solar Hydrogen Project, the Renewable Hydrogen Transportation Project and the Methanol-fired Fuel Cell. Prior to attending HSU and joining the Schatz lab, Mr. Winkler was a senior software engineer with Motorola in the Chicago area and with TRW Vidar and other telecommunications firms in Silicon Valley in California. Mr. Winkler holds a B.S. in Physics, Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Illinois, B.S. in Environmental Resources Engineering from Humboldt State and post-graduate studies at Sonoma State. Mr. Winkler has been frequently interviewed for newspapers, radio and television for his volunteer and philanthropic activities in environmental sustainability. Since 2000 he has been a member of the City of Arcata Planning Commission with a focus on sustainable and energy-efficient urban design. His other interests include global energy supply and ecological economics.

James I. Zoellick is a Senior Research Engineer at the Schatz Energy Research Center. He has a B.S. Degree in Environmental Resources Engineering from Humboldt State University, and has worked professionally in the energy field since 1990. Since 1995 he has been a project manager at SERC and has been involved in the design, development, installation, and start-up of electrolytic hydrogen generation systems, hydrogen vehicle fueling stations, hydrogen fuel cell power systems, and solar electric power systems. Mr. Zoellick was the project manager and lead designer for both the Schatz Hydrogen Generation Center and the Zweig Education Building Fuel Cell System at SunLine Transit . Mr. Zoellick's additional work at SERC has included the development and demonstration of hydrogen fuel cell systems for real world applications, including vehicles and stationary, portable and remote power systems. Mr. Zoellick has also been involved in the design, installation, testing and modeling of photovoltaic energy systems, including the design and installation of a 2 kW AC grid-intertied system at the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology . Mr. Zoellick has taught several college level energy courses. He is the current chairman for the City of Arcata Energy Committee.

The Schatz Energy Research Center is affiliated with the Environmental Resources Engineering department at HSU.