Jack Brouwer, Ph.D.
Director, Advanced Power and Energy Program
Director, National Fuel Cell Research Center

Dr. Brouwer is Director of the Advanced Power and Energy Program, Director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center, Chair of the California Stationary Fuel Cell Collaborative, and Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering with a Joint Appointment in Civil and Environmental Engineering. His expertise encompasses energy systems, fuel cells, thermodynamic and dynamic systems analyses, solid state ionics, combustion, turbulent reacting flows, computational fluid dynamics, detailed chemical kinetics, and the design and operation of advanced experimental facilities for emerging energy technologies. Brouwer is part of the executive committee that organizes the annual ASME International Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology Conference, and regularly presents workshops and short courses targeting the advancement of power generation technology utilizing fuel cell systems. Prior to joining APEP and the NFCRC, Brouwer was on the faculty at the University of Utah, served as a senior engineer at Reaction Engineering International, and as a staff scientist at Sandia National Laboratories. Brouwer holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering and chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.


Scott Samuelsen, Ph.D.
Founding Director, Advanced Power and Energy Program

Dr. Samuelsen is the Founding Director of the Advanced Power and Energy Program (2000 to 2020), the Founding Director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center (1998 to 2018), the HORIBA Distinguished Emeritus Professor, and Professor of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Environmental Engineering with a Joint Appointment in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Working closely with industry, public agencies and academic colleagues throughout the world, he leads research on combustion technologies for stationary and propulsive applications, fuel cells and fuel cell systems for stationary applications, and the development of hydrogen infrastructure for mobile hydrogen-fueled combustion and fuel cell vehicles. He also directs research on advanced near zero-emission coal and natural gas power plants that co-produce electricity and hydrogen. Samuelsen founded the California Stationary Fuel Cell Collaborative and was an invited member of the advisory panel that developed the blueprint for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's California Hydrogen Highway Network Initiative. He pioneered the development of octane posting with the Federal Trade Commission, is responsible for the popular (R+M)/2 posting methodology that is used around the world in the design of internal combustion engines and vehicle fuels, and was recognized by President Obama in 2011 as a "Champion of Change. He holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.


Vincent McDonell, Ph.D.
Director, UCI Combustion Laboratory
Associate Director, Advanced Power and Energy Program

Dr. McDonell is Associate Director of the Advanced Power and Energy Program, Director of the UCI Combustion Laboratory, and an Adjunct Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He has more than 30 years experience in the design, operation, and characterization of continuous combustion and spray systems. His current research focuses on the study of auto-ignition, flashback and emissions, and the development, characterization and monitoring of integrated gas turbine systems. This work includes the development of fuel injection and combustion systems for fuel flexible low emission gas, the development and application of standard test protocols for microturbine generators, and field demonstration studies of combined-heat-and-power systems. McDonell is actively engaged in the Institute of Atomization and Spray Systems (ILASS) and the Western States Section of The Combustion Institute. He is President of the ILASS International Board of Directors, and is co-director of the Pacific Clean Energy Application Center. McDonell received a doctorate in mechanical engineering from UC Irvine.


Iryna Zenyuk, Ph.D.
Associate Director, National Fuel Cell Research Center

Dr. Zenyuk is the Associate Director of the NFCRC and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Professor Zenyuk’s research is directed to enabling renewable energy solutions for transportation and stationary applications with emphasis on electrochemical systems. Her research focuses on low-temperature hydrogen fuel-cells, electrolyzers, Li-metal batteries, design strategies encompassing novel materials, applications of diagnostic tools, and device-level testing. She is a leading expert in x-ray computed tomography imaging of operando devices, using five DOE synchrotron user facilities. She holds a doctorate in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.


Bihter Padak, Ph.D.
Associate Director, UCI Combustion Laboratory

Dr. Padak is the Associate Director of the UCICL and Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Her research focuses on combustion, reaction kinetics, and emission control technologies with the goal to reduce the environmental impacts of generating electricity from fossil fuels. Dr. Padak uses bench-scale experimental systems to elucidate the flame chemistry, and electronic structure calculations to investigate surface interactions and develop kinetic models validated by spectroscopic techniques. Areas of application include oxy-fuel combustion, chemical looping combustion, natural gas and high hydrogen content fuel combustion in gas turbines, selective catalytic reduction and mercury control technologies. She holds a doctorate in energy resources engineering from Stanford University.


Ashok Rao, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist, Power Systems

Dr. Rao is Chief Scientist for Power Systems in the Advanced Power and Energy Program. He worked in industry for more than 30 years prior to joining UC Irvine. He previously was a director in process engineering and a senior fellow with Fluor. He has worked extensively in the design and development of coal and gas-fired power plants, gasification, synthetic fuels plants, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and use of biomass as feedstock for a sustainable future. Rao is the recipient of several patent awards in the area of energy conversion, including a patent for the Humid Air Turbine (HAT) cycle, an advanced gas turbine-based cycle. He is the author of several papers on advanced power cycles and improved Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) designs and engaged today with advanced Integrated Gasification Fuel Cell (IGFC) and oxy-combustion plant designs. He holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from UC Irvine.


Jeffrey Reed, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist, Renewable Fuels and Energy Storage

Dr. Reed is the Chief Scientist for Renewable Fuels and Energy Storage for the Advanced Power and Energy Program. In this role, Dr. Reed is focused on advancing the deployment of renewable gaseous fuels and related storage technologies that support the integration of high quantities of renewables on the electric grid, reduce toxic emissions and reduce greenhouse emissions in the energy and transportation sectors. Prior to joining UCI, Dr. Reed was the Director of Business Strategy and Advanced Technology for Southern California Gas Company. In earlier roles, Dr. Reed was a senior strategy consultant, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development with ABB Power Generation and held various positions in product design, development and research in the defense industry. He holds a doctorate in engineering from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree in management from Stanford University.