Director, University of Houston Energy Transition Institute. Professor of Chemical Engineering.

Advice and consulting: Energy and Chemicals, Process Development

Chief Scientist - Chemical Engineering for the Global Shell Group of companies. Process Research and Development for Biofuels, Enhanced Oil Recovery, New Chemical Technology. Innovation (Hunters network). AIChE Board of Directors, Fellow, and CTOC member.Joe Powell (Joseph B. Powell, Ph.D.) is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering (2021), Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and was the first global Shell Chief Scientist - Chemical Engineering 2006 - 2020. In 1988 he joined the Process Development Department at Shell Technology Center Houston, where he led R&D programs in new chemical processes, biofuels, and enhanced oil recovery, in addition to a Hunters innovation group. Dr. Powell has been co-inventor on more than 120 distinct patent applications with more than 50 granted, and has received several industry awards including the A. D. Little Award for Chemical Engineering Innovation (AIChE 1998), R&D100 Award (R&D Magazine) and American Chemical Society Team Innovation Award (2000), U. Wisconsin College of Engineering Distinguished Achievement Award (2009), AIChE Process Development Division Service Award (2012) and Practice Award (2017). He is co-editor and chapter author for the book Sustainable Development in the Process Industries: Cases and Impact, John Wiley & Sons, New York (2010), and has served AIChE in various roles including Process Development Division Programming chair, Spring Meeting Program Chair (2015) and Co-Chair (2012), Chemical Technology Operating Council, Executive Board Programming Committee, Pilot Plants 12B Area Chair, Shale Gas and Sustainability Topical Chairs. Joe has served on the U.S. National Academy Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Technical Advisory Committee, editorial committee of Annual Review of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and was elected to the Board of Directors of AIChE (2016).

Senior Research Engineer for Surfactant Flood Enhanced Oil Recovery R&D. Trained as Reservoir Engineer.