NY-BEST Board
NY-BEST Board members are elected for staggered two year terms at the annual meeting held in March of each year. Board members must be employed by NY-BEST member organizations.
Transparent and open decision-making are hallmarks of NY-BEST. Board meetings are held monthly and are open to all NY-BEST members. Board Members must comply with our conflict of interest policy.
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Richard Fioravanti KEMA, Inc. |
 Richard Fioravanti has over fifteen years of experience working with emerging energy technologies in commercial and consulting roles. Currently, his efforts focus on running DNV KEMA’s electricity storage practice where he assists utilities, manufacturers, state and federal agencies, and energy companies to evaluate advanced storage technologies and markets. He has worked with major storage manufacturers on evaluating battery and traditional storage technologies for applications such as renewable integration and ancillary services and has authored papers on the benefits of fast-response storage for markets as well as studies on the benefits of combining storage with wind farms. Throughout his career, Mr. Fioravanti has used his educational and industry experience to apply emerging technologies across a number of industry fields and applications. He has an MBA in Finance & Marketing as well as an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA
Term Expires: Mar 2015 * |
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Fernando Gómez Baquero B.E.S.S. Technologies |
 Fernando Gómez-Baquero is the Co-founder and CEO of B.E.S.S. Technologies, an Albany-based startup developing a novel anode for lithium-ion batteries. His research focuses on advanced nanomaterials for energy storage applications, and on the economic impact of pervasive nanotechnologies. Fernando holds a Ph.D. in Nanoscale Engineering from the University at Albany SUNY. Term Expires: Mar 2015 * |
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Robert Mendenhall American Aerogel Corporation |
 Robert Mendenhall founded American Aerogel Corporation in 1999, dedicated to the commercialization of nanoporous foams (aerogels). His entrepreneurial experience includes raising venture capital, product development, creating new manufacturing processes, building and scaling new chemical process plants, selling new materials into mature industries and Corporate management activities. As a physicist (California State University and Wesleyan University), he has worked on high energy pulse power systems and low temperature condensed matter projects. He has been published in reviewed physics journals, an aerogel handbook and awarded patents. His non-vocational activities include competitive sailboat racing and include being an officer of the Rochester Frostbite Association. Term Expires: Mar 2015 * |
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Glen Merfeld GE Global Research |
 GE Global Research Platform Leader - Energy Storage Technologies Niskayuna, New York
Glen Merfeld is the GE Platform Leader for Energy Storage Technologies with a span that includes all forms of industrial scale energy storage. In this capacity, Glen is responsible for program activities and strategic developments across GE Global Research as well as for integration with GE Businesses. Additionally, Glen assesses emerging technologies in support of GE Capital investments. Glen’s platform activities are closely tied with the Energy Storage business including continued sodium metal halide battery developments and their translation to commercialization. Glen is a Chemical Engineer with a B.S. from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin.
Term Expires: Mar 2014 * |
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Brian Perusse AES Energy Storage |
 Brian Perusse is a Director of Business Development for AES Energy Storage, an owner-operator of advanced storage projects that provide emissions-free capacity to improve the performance and flexibility of today’s power grid.
Working with leading utilities, Brian focuses on identifying and developing proposed capacity projects, quantifying the benefits of emissions-free capacity, negotiating power purchase agreements (PPAs), selecting and permitting each site, and arranging financing. He is the Project Director for the company’s proposed 400-MW energy storage project in Long Island. Previous roles at AES Energy Storage include Project Director for the company’s 32-MW energy storage project in West Virginia, USA.
Prior to joining AES Energy Storage, Brian has done work for a number of renewable energy firms such as AES Solar, SunEdison, and the Alternative Energy Store. He is a former Peace Corps volunteer and holds an MBA with honors from The McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and a Mechanical Engineering Degree from Cornell University.
Term Expires: Mar 2014 * |
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Paul F. Mutolo Cornell University Secretary/Treasurer |
 Paul is the Director of External Partnerships for the Energy Materials Center at Cornell University. He has worked in the sector of advanced, efficient electrical energy for 10 years, concentrating in micro fuel cells for portable power and battery storage for transportation. He specializes in partnership development between public (Cornell) and private (industry) interests. He has raised over $1.3 million for Cornell research since 2006. Paul worked for the start-up company, MTI MicroFuel Cells (MFC), in Albany where he helped develop Mobion cord-free direct methanol fuel cell technology. At MTI MFC, he worked with vendors and materials suppliers, helped manage quality control, and delivered fuel cell behavior and performance data to system engineers for integration into products. He has been actively working with batteries and related energy storage devices during his six years at Cornell. Select projects in this sector include GM, A123 Systems, and Ultralife Corporation as discussion and active partners. Term Expires: Mar 2014 * |
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Esther S. Takeuchi Stony Brook University |
 Dr. Esther S. Takeuchi is a SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Chemistry at Stony Brook University. She also has a joint appointment at Brookhaven National Laboratory as Chief Scientist in the Global and Regional Solutions Directorate.
Prior to her academic appointment, she was employed at Greatbatch, Inc., where her achievements in lithium battery research, particularly on cells for implantable applications, led to a number of key technological developments, including the lithium/silver vanadium oxide (Li/SVO) battery, which powers the majority of implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs). A prolific inventor, she holds over 140 patents.
Dr. Takeuchi received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania with a double major in chemistry and history and completed a Ph.D. in chemistry at the Ohio State University. Term Expires: Mar 2015 * |
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Wolf W. von Maltzahn Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
 As Associate VP for Research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, I interact closely with the two NYSTAR-funded Centers for Advanced Technologies focused on Automation Technologies and Systems and Future Energy Systems. Both centers have many relationships with NY-based companies that are engaged in energy generation, energy distribution, and energy storage. In addition, I advance the research enterprise and help develop executable plans for achieving research excellence in strategic areas of importance to Rensselaer. I facilitate the development of individual and team proposals to state, federal, and corporate funding sources.
I serve a Professor of Biomedical Engineering and am an elected fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and the Biomedical Engineering Society.
Term Expires: Mar 2015 * |
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Barry Watkins Center for Advanced Ceramic Technology (CACT) at Alfred University |
 Barry Watkins, who has an extensive background in developing and growing business relationships and partnerships, has joined the Center for Advanced Ceramic Technology (CACT) at Alfred University as its deputy director for business development.A native of Plymouth, England, Watkins studied mechanical engineering at Plymouth and Devonport Technical College. After five years’ service in the Royal Navy, he pursued a career in technical sales. Prior to immigrating to the United States in 1986, he was president and founder of Industrial and Marine Acoustics, a leading distributor of noise control and monitoring equipment manufactured in the United States and Europe. From 1986 to 2002, Watkins worked in industrial sales and sales management for a number of technology-related firms. In 2002, he joined the Center for Electronic Imaging Systems at the University of Rochester as associate director for business development.
In his new position, Watkins will be building partnerships among Alfred University researchers, New York State companies, and governmental officials to promote technology transfer and economic development in the state. He sees his initial role as “increasing the visibility of the CACT” and what it can do to assist the materials-based companies in New York State.
Term Expires: Mar 2014 * |
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M. Stanley Whittingham State University of New York Vice Chair |
 Director, Institute for Materials Research and Professor of Chemistry, Binghamton University; Director, DOE-EFRC Northeast Center for Chemical Energy Storage, Stony Brook University. He has been involved in battery technology for 40 years, first working on the solid electrolyte beta alumina at Stanford (received Young Author Award of ECS). Later, he worked on lithium batteries at Exxon, from fundamental research through commercialization of the world’s first rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. He holds 15 US Patents related to batteries. Since 1988 he has concentrated on R&D on advanced materials for the electrodes of lithium batteries. He has than 200 publications, and lectures internationally. He co-chaired the DOE study in 2007 of chemical energy storage (batteries), and helped publicize the recommendations through presentations and a widely publicized article in the Materials Research Society Bulletin. Since 2011 he has been DIrector of the DOE energy storage center at Stony brook he received the Battery Research Award and Fellowship in the Electrochemical Society. In 2010 he received the American Chemical Society NERM award for his contributions to chemistry, and in 2012 he received the Yeager award of the International Battery Association for his lifetime contributions to battery science. Term Expires: Mar 2014 * |
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Aubrey Braz Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. |
 Vice President, Consolidated Edison Company of New York where Con Edison uses batteries in a number of mission critical applications such as providing back-up power at substations. As Vice President overseeing operations, he has been closely involved in the installation, evaluation and maintenance of these important pieces of its electric system. In addition, Con Edison has a number of on-going research efforts related to the advancement of batteries and other energy storage technologies. He has worked closely with in-house R&D teams to identify and prioritize corporate expenditures on this technology. Term Expires: Mar 2014 * |
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Victor Cardona Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti PC |
 Victor A. Cardona is a partner with Intellectual Property law firm, Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C., and is a co-chair and co-founder of the firm's Cleantech Group. He has been a driving force behind the Group’s signature Clean Energy Patent Growth Index which tracks innovations in the Clean Energy area along with the top patent owners, countries and U.S. states for Clean Energy patents. He has spoken and written about this topic in various venues. Victor is experienced in enforcing, and procuring protection for, all types of Intellectual Property including patents, trademarks and copyrights. Victor graduated with a Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School and has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University with a concentration in Environmental Engineering. He is admitted to the New York State Bar and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Term Expires: Mar 2015 * |
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Michael Field The Raymond Corporation Chair |
 President, Operations and Engineering Division, founded in 1949, the Raymond Corporation, the North American market leader in producing electric forklifts for the warehouse and distribution markets. Raymond forklifts use primarily AC inverter driven motor and controls technology, which include regeneration. Thousands of units per year are produced at the Greene, Chenango County plant and all those units require energy storage. The most common storage device is a lead acid battery, though Raymond produces units designed to be powered by fuel cells and continues to invest in R&D in lithium-ion battery applicability. Investigating the use of super capacitors to optimize on board energy management systems integrated in forklifts is underway. Term Expires: Mar 2014 * |
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Catherine Hill CooperHill LLC Vice Chair |
 Partner, CooperHill, an energy consulting practice that connects the right resources, with the right opportunities at the right time. CooperHill focuses on the energy and energy efficiency industries and can help you create meaningful, positive changes for your business. Recently CooperHill advised SU on the $130mm DOE opportunity to create an energy efficiency research innovation consortium in new York State. Prior to that I was a Partner and Counsel at Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna, where I founded that firm’s CleanTech practice which sited over 800MW of wind energy, and where I represented developers and innovators in the solar, energy storage, geothermal, energy efficiency, smart grid and lighting industries. As former Vice President of Corporate Development for MTI Microfuel Cells, I worked with the energy storage industry and markets. I have also entered into strategic transactions with energy storage companies including Duracell and Beacon Power.
Term Expires: Mar 2015 * |
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Jim Misewich Brookhaven National Laboratory |
 James A. Misewich is an Associate Laboratory Director at Brookhaven National Laboratory for the Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Directorate where he is responsible for the Chemistry department, the Condensed Matter Physics/Materials Science department, and the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN). The BES research portfolio is focused on materials for energy applications in four research areas: catalysis and nanocatalysis, correlated electron materials including high temperature superconductors, energy storage materials, and materials for solar energy conversion. Prior to Brookhaven, he worked for twenty years in the Physical Sciences department at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1983, and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, and was elected a Member-at-large of the Group on Energy Research and Applications (GERA) in the American Physical Society. Term Expires: Mar 2014 * |
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Frank Murray NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) |
 President and CEO, NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority). He served as policy advisor to the US Secretary of Energy, assisting in the development of the Clinton Administration’s energy policy. He served as the State Commissioner of Energy and Chairman of the NYSERDA Board of Directors and also served as Chairman of the State Energy Planning Board, a statutory board charged with developing a comprehensive, integrated energy plan for the State that integrated State energy, environmental and economic development policies.
Earlier, he served as Deputy Secretary to the Governor for Energy and the Environment, and as Assistant Secretary for Energy and the Environment in the administration of Governor Mario M. Cuomo. He represented New York in numerous national and regional energy and environmental activities, including the Coalition of Northeastern Governors, the National Governors’ Association, and the Council of Great Lakes Governors.
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Ed Reinfurt Technology and Innovation within the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) |
 Edward Reinfurt, formerly the Executive Director of the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology, and Innovation (NYSTAR), currently serves as Director of the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation within the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC).
Uniting the missions and capabilities of NYSTARUniting the missions and capabilities of NYSTAR and ESDC recognizes that innovation and technology are an integral part of the state’s economic development efforts.
The 2011-2012 state budget for ESDC continued funding for the state’s five Centers of Excellence, fifteen Centers for Advanced Technology and ten Regional Technology Development Corporations (RTDC’s)
Prior to his appointment at NYSTAR, Mr. Reinfurt served as Vice President of the Business Council of New York State, Inc. The Business Council represented more than 3,000 member businesses, chambers of commerce and professional and trade associations.
Mr. Reinfurt is a graduate of the University at Albany of the State University of New York |
