Appendix C
Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
Robert A. Beaudet (Chair) received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Harvard University in 1962. From 1961 to 1962, he was a U.S. Army Chemical Corps officer and served at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a research scientist. He joined the faculty of the University of Southern California in 1962 as an assistant professor and was the chair of the Chemistry Department from 1974 to 1979. He has served on Department of Defense committees that have addressed both offensive and defensive considerations surrounding chemical warfare agents. He was chair of an Army Science Board committee that addressed chemical detection and trace gas analysis. He also was the chair of an Air Force technical conference on chemical warfare decontamination and protection. He has served on two NRC studies on chemical and biological sensor technologies and energetic materials and technologies. Most of his career has been devoted to research in molecular structure and molecular spectroscopy. Dr. Beaudet previously served as a member of the Board of Army Science and Technology (BAST) and as a BAST liaison to the Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program (Stockpile Committee), a standing NRC committee. He is currently a member of the NRC Committee on Review of the Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Disposal Program. Dr. Beaudet is the author or coauthor of more than 100 technical reports and papers in these areas.
Richard J. Ayen received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois. Dr. Ayen was formerly a vice president of technology for Waste Management, Inc., and is now an independent consultant. He has extensive experience in the evaluation and development of new technologies for the treatment of hazardous waste. Dr. Ayen managed all aspects of Waste Management’s Clemson Technical Center, including treatability studies and technology demonstration for hazardous and radioactive waste. Dr. Ayen has published extensively in his fields of interest.
Joan B. Berkowitz graduated from the University of Illinois with a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. Dr. Berkowitz is currently managing director of Farkas Berkowitz and Company. She has extensive experience in the area of environmental and hazardous waste management, a knowledge of available technologies for the cleanup of contaminated soils and groundwater, and a background in physical and electrochemistry. She has contributed to several EPA studies, been a consultant on remediation techniques, and assessed various destruction technologies. Dr. Berkowitz has written numerous publications on hazardous waste treatment and environmental subjects.
Ruth M. Doherty received a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Maryland. Dr. Doherty is
currently technical advisor for the Research and Technology Department, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, Maryland. Since 1983, she has coauthored almost 60 publications in various subjects in the physical chemistry arena, including the chemistry of underwater explosives. Over the past 6 years, Dr. Doherty has conducted over 30 presentations in various aspects of the science and technology of explosives. She has worked extensively in the research and development of energetics materials and explosives with the Naval Surface Warfare Center for over 15 years. She is a member of the editorial advisory board of the journal Propellants, Explosives and Pyrotechnics.
Willard C. Gekler graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a B.S. in petroleum refining engineering and pursued graduate study in nuclear engineering at the University of California in Los Angeles. Mr. Gekler is currently an independent consultant working for his previous employer, ABS Consulting, Inc. His extensive experience includes membership on the NRC ACWA committee and on the expert panel reviewing the quantitative risk assessments and safety analyses of hazardous materials handling, storage, and waste treatment systems for the Anniston, Umatilla, Pine Bluff, Aberdeen, and Newport chemical disposal facilities and project manager for development of facility design criteria for the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal system. His expertise is in hazard evaluation, quantitative risk analyses, reliability assessment, and database development for risk and reliability. Mr. Gekler is a certified reliability engineer and a member of the Society for Risk Analysis, The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and the American Nuclear Society. He is the author or coauthor of numerous publications.
Sheldon E. Isakoff received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Columbia University. Dr. Isakoff is the retired director of the Engineering R&D Division of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. His expertise includes the management of technology. More specifically, he has been engaged in activities encompassing the direction of research and development, market assessment and development, process scale-up, commercial introduction, and leadership of personnel involved in these activities. His expertise also includes materials science and engineering and the development and application of new materials for both industrial and consumer markets. Dr. Isakoff is a former president of AICHE, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1980, and has served on numerous National Research Council committees.
Hank C. Jenkins-Smith is professor of public policy at the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University in College Station. He holds the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Chair of Business and Government at the Bush School. He was previously professor of political science and director of the Institute for Public Policy at the University of New Mexico. Professor Jenkins-Smith’s areas of research include science and technology policy, environmental policy, public perceptions of environmental and technical risks, and national security policy. Professor Jenkins-Smith has written books on the public policy process and policy analysis and has served on a number of committees for the National Research Council.
David S. Kosson has a B.S. in chemical engineering, an M.S. in chemical and biochemical engineering, and a Ph.D. in chemical and biochemical engineering from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. He is chairman and professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and professor of chemical engineering at Vanderbilt University. Previously, he was professor of chemical and biochemical engineering at Rutgers. Well known for his expertise in bioremediation, Dr. Kosson has carried out research and published extensively on subsurface contaminant transport phenomena; leaching phenomena; physical, chemical, and microbial treatment processes for hazardous waste; and waste management policy. He served on the NRC Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program for 7 years, the final 2 years as chair. As a member of the NRC Committee on Alternative Chemical Demilitarization Technologies and the Panel on Review and Evaluation of Alternative Chemical Disposal Technologies, Dr. Kosson contributed to the decision to use alternative methods of destruction at both the Aberdeen and Newport facilities.
Frederick J. Krambeck received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the City University of New York. Dr. Krambeck is a consultant in research and development in petroleum refining, including process and re-
actor design and development, chemical reaction engineering, online and offline optimization, modeling, and R&D project management. He is also experienced in technology strategy considerations for greenhouse gas stabilization. Dr. Krambeck was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1999. He is also a fellow and member of the board of directors for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He has authored or coauthored over 25 patents and 40 other publications.
John A. Merson received a B.S. and M.S. in chemical engineering from the University of New Mexico and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Arizona State University. Dr. Merson is currently the department manager for the Stockpile Stewardship Office at Sandia National Laboratories. His prior experience at Sandia has included research, development, and application of energetic materials and components within the nuclear weapons stockpile. He has been responsible for surveillance, chemical compatibility, energetic material characterization, advanced component development and production. He has designed components for DOE, DoD, and NASA programs. Dr. Merson is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and other professional societies.
William R. Rhyne received a B.S. in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee and M.S. and D.Sc. degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Virginia. Dr. Rhyne is currently an independent consultant and earlier cofounded H&R Technical Associates, Inc., where he remains a member of the board of directors. He has extensive experience in risk and safety analyses associated with nuclear and chemical processes and with the transport of hazardous nuclear materials and chemicals. From 1984 to 1987, he was the project manager and principal investigator for a probabilistic accident analysis of transporting obsolete chemical munitions. Dr. Rhyne has authored or coauthored numerous publications and reports in nuclear and chemical safety and risk analysis areas and is author of the book Hazardous Materials Transportation Risk Analysis: Quantitative Approaches for Truck and Train. He is a former member of the NRC Transportation Research Board Hazardous Materials Committee, the Society for Risk Assessment, the American Nuclear Society, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Stanley I. Sandler graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. Currently, Dr. Sandler is the Henry Belin du Pont Chair and director of the Center for Molecular and Engineering Thermodynmics at the University of Delaware. His extensive research interests include applied thermodynamics and phase equilibrium, environmental engineering, and separations and purification. Among the awards Dr. Sandler has received are the Warren K. Lewis and Professional Progress Awards from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the E.V. Murphree Award of the American Chemical Society. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the author of several books, and has had over 290 technical articles published in recognized journals and conference proceedings. He is a member of the Technical Advisory Board of Aspen Technology, Inc., and editor of the AIChE Journal. He is also a member of the Sierra Club.
William Randall Seeker received his Ph.D. in engineering (nuclear and chemical) from Kansas State University. He is the senior vice president and a member of the board of directors of Energy and Environmental Research Corporation. Dr. Seeker has extensive experience in the use of thermal treatment technologies and environmental control systems for managing hazardous waste. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board. Dr. Seeker has authored over 100 technical papers on various aspects of technology and environment subjects.
Leo Weitzman received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Purdue University. He is a consultant with 30 years of experience in the development, design, permitting, and operation of equipment and facilities for treating hazardous wastes and remediation debris. Dr. Weitzman has extensive experience in the disposal of hazardous waste and contaminated materials by thermal treatment, chemical reaction, solvent extraction, biological treatment, and stabilization. He has published over 40 technical papers
