Valerie Thomas is the Anderson-Interface Chair of Natural Systems and Professor in the H. Milton School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, with a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy. 

Dr. Thomas's research interests are energy and materials efficiency, sustainability, industrial ecology, technology assessment, international security, and science and technology policy. Current research projects include low carbon transportation fuels, carbon capture, building construction, and electricity system development. Dr. Thomas is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and of the American Physical Society. She has been an American Physical Society Congressional Science Fellow, a Member of the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board, and a Member of the USDA/DOE Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. 

She has worked at Princeton University in the Princeton Environmental Institute and in the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, and at Carnegie Mellon University in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy.

Dr. Thomas received a B. A. in physics from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.

Mark Styczynski is an Associate Professor in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), doing research at the interface of synthetic and systems biology as applied to metabolic systems. His synthetic biology work focuses on the development of low-cost, minimal-equipment biosensors for the diagnosis of nutritional deficiencies in the developing world. His systems biology work uses computational and experimental methods to characterize metabolic dynamics and regulation using metabolomics data. He has received young investigator awards from the NSF, DARPA, and ORAU. He has won multiple department-and institute-level teaching awards at Georgia Tech. He founded and was the first president of the Metabolomics Association of North America (MANA), and is a Council Member in the Engineering BiologyResearch Consortium.

Scott Sinquefield completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 1998 at Oregon State University. He spent three years working with the Multi-Fuel Combustion Group at the Combustion Research Facility at Sandia National Labs (Livermore); where he performed the experimental portion of his thesis research. He joined the Chemical Recovery group at IPST in 1998 and was lead.engineer in the construction and operation of the Pressurize Entrained Flow Reactor facility. He now leads the research program on black liquor gasification. He has extensive experience in the design and construction of pilot research reactors and control systems. He also has expertise in boiler fire-side fouling and thermodynamic modeling of aqueous electrolyte systems.

Prior to joining MSE in July 2003 Professor Singh was a faculty member in Corrosion and Materials Engineering Group at The Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST) since 1996.  While in IPST Singh worked on fundamental as well as applied research projects related to the corrosion problems in the pulp and paper industry. From 1990 to 1996, he was a Senior Research Associate at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, working on various materials and corrosion related research projects, including damage accumulation in metal matrix composites (MMCs), Environmental sensitive fracture of Al-alloys MMCs, and High temperature oxidation of Nb/Nb5Si3 composites. He received the Alcan International's Fellowship in 1988-90 to work on "Effects of Low Melting Point Impurities on Slow Crack Growth in Al Alloys,"  He has published over 50 papers in reputed scientific journals and conference proceedings. He is active member of NACE, TMS, TAPPI and has co-organized a number of international symposiums.

Reliable performance of the materials is very important for any industrial process and especially for the chemical process industry for the manufacture of a high quality product. Material selection is generally based on the required material properties, low initial capital investment, and minimum maintenance. Changes in the process parameters to improve products can often lead to higher corrosion susceptibilities of the plant materials. Moreover, with increase in capital cost, there is pressure to extend the life of existing plant equipment beyond its original design life. Corrosion and Materials Engineers are also playing a key role in selecting, maintaining, and modifying materials for changing needs for every industry. Corrosion Science and Engineering research includes understanding the basic mechanisms involved in material degradation in given environments and using that knowledge to develop a mitigation strategy against environment-induced failures

Richard Simmons is currently a Principal Research Engineer and Fellow at Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute (SEI) where he directs cross-cutting energy projects with an emphasis on clean electric power, vehicle efficiency and alternative fuels. Simmons is also director of the Energy Policy and Innovation Center (EPICenter) whose objective is to perform research and outreach in energy policy and innovation with a distinctively regional perspective. He is also a part-time instructor in Georgia Tech’s Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, with a specialization in design, mechatronics and thermal systems. 

Simmons received his BS from Georgia Tech, and MS and Ph.D. from Purdue, all in Mechanical Engineering. He is a licensed professional engineer (PE) with more than 20 years of RD&D experience in automotive, advanced materials, and alternative energy and fuels. 

From 2009 to 2012, he served a prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science S&T (Science and Technology) Policy Fellowship at the U.S. Department of State, providing technical analysis on international policy issues related to renewable energy. He has recently authored numerous publications including an open-access eBook entitled “Understanding the Global Energy Crisis” (Purdue Press, 2014), several book chapters and journal articles related to advanced energy technologies, transportation energy technology, and future energy policy strategies.

Dr. Sam Shelton is a nationally recognized expert in energy systems. He is the founding director of the Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute, an interdisciplinary technology development-based resource. The institute is actively engaged with industry to facilitate near-term, high-impact solutions to national and regional energy challenges. As a professor for 35 years, he developed in-class and web delivered undergraduate and graduate level energy technology courses. He is currently teaching 30,000 students enrolled in a MOOCs course, Energy 101, with a focus on energy supplies, independence, economics, and society’s demands. 

His primary research focus has been the development and commercialization of sustainable energy technology. He has received over $30 million in R&D funding for this work. Dr. Shelton holds eight patents in sustainable energy technologies and founded two companies developing, manufacturing and marketing energy-efficient products. Starting in the 1980s, he was among the pioneers developing commercial solar energy technologies and the assessment of offshore wind farms. His favorite hobby is flying experimental airplanes