AlgaeVS Team

Ross O. Youngs, Inventor & CEO -   Mr. Youngs has established himself as a leader in the conservation of both natural and industrial resources. As founder and CEO of Algaeventure, he has created one of the most successful renewable energy start-ups in the industry. Mr. Youngs’ technical and business acumen have been confirmed by the recent $6m merit award bestowed by the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E). The highly-competitive award recognizes the superiority of the technology and systems developed under Youngs’ leadership at Algaeventure. Mr. Youngs serves as the project’s Senior Project Manager.

For more than 20 years, Ross has built a strong, environmentally conscious reputation that has enabled him to work with other companies and organizations committed to lessening human impact on natural systems. Ross holds 56 patents, and continues to achieve notable milestones and awards for his product design, year after year. To his role as CEO, Mr. Youngs brings a stellar track record as CEO of Univenture, a position he still holds. Univenture, Inc. has earned a place in INC. Magazine’s “Hall of Fame” for being on the INC. 500 list of “Fastest Growing Companies” for five years. In August of 2009, Univenture, along with Battelle and the Ohio Soybean Council, were presented with an “R&D 100” Award from R&D Magazine for their collaborative achievement of producing a binder partially made from soy byproduct. In 1998, the U.S. Small Business Administration honored Ross as their “Business Person of the Year”.

In his role as Inventor, he holds a number of patents in the US and around the world. Ross’ newest breakthrough technology, the Algaeventure Systems harvester, is used to efficiently extract algae out of water and remove the moisture content with minimal energy costs. His harvesting, dewatering and drying (HDD) technology gives a new significance to the production of algae as an economically viable resource for fuel.

Dr. Ben Stuart, Chief Science Officer -   Dr. Stuart is an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at Ohio University, and serves as Associate Director of the Ohio Coal Research Center. Dr. Stuart’s research has investigated a variety of issues related to energy and the environment. Recent projects include; biodiesel production from renewable feedstocks, CO2 capture using a novel photo-bioreactor, biomass gasification for use in fuel cells, wet ESPs for air toxics control, the impacts of acid mine drainage (AMD) on watersheds, and the utilization of coal combustion by-products for AMD treatment. Dr. Stuart received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Rutgers, and the State University of New Jersey. He is a registered professional environmental engineer in the State of Ohio.

Andrew H. Johnson, interim Chief Financial Officer -   Mr. Johnson has over 22 years experience advising and working with public and private companies ranging from start-ups to multi-national corporations with sales in excess of $1 billion. Previously, Mr. Johnson has served as CFO for a publicly traded human resource company, a privately-held biotech company, and a business-to-business e-commerce company. His experience includes securing financing, acquisitions, restructuring and enterprise sales. Mr. Johnson is a graduate of Ohio University with a Bachelors of Business Administration and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) in the State of Ohio.

David R. Coho, Vice President of Business Development -   Mr. Coho oversees global sales and marketing for AVS and leads commercialization efforts for its technologies. Mr. Coho played a key role in the development of the ARPA-E proposal. He also serves as the ARPA-E Project Director of Commercialization. Along with business development responsibilities, he leads sales, marketing product and business development, sales channel development, global customer relationships and market research.

Coho previously led Univenture’s Sales and Marketing teams as well as its European Operations in Ireland. He has also developed and led the U-1000 Equipment Division and held management positions in both Sales and Operations.

In 2005, Columbus-based business magazine, Business First, honored Coho as one of Central Ohio’s “Forty under 40”‚ a recognition for both career and service achievements. He is also an accomplished industry resource and speaker with presentations at many industry conferences and events and has written and contributed to numerous industry articles.

Mr. Coho holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Chad Hummell, Manager of Government, Industries and Collaborations -  
Mr. Hummell has played a central role in the transition of Algaeventure from an internal Univenture project, to a fully-independent spin-off. He has a diverse background in government relations, business management, operations, and sales. His past experience with government has been an important success factor in Algaeventure’s collaborations with state and federal government entities, including the landmark ARPA-E project.

While at Univenture, he placed UniKeep™ on the Federal GSA schedule. He led government sales efforts until his transition to full-time with Algaeventure in 2009.

Prior to joining Univenture, Mr. Hummell gained public sector experience by serving as Director of the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers for EMTEC. Before that, he gained valuable start-up experience with Champion Industries Corporation and its subsidiary American Babbitt Bearing. He held dual roles as both Sales Manager and Plant Manager, and succeeded in developing government contracts and commercial accounts.

Mr. Hummell earned his BSBA in Economics and Management at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.

Jim Cook, Director of Project Management -   Mr. Cook has extensive experience in project management as well as technology commercialization. Mr. Cook was has been part of Algaeventure since its inception as a Univenture spin-off. He joined Univenture in 2000. He played a key role in developing the proposal that led to Algaeventure’s momentous 2009 award of $6m in ARPA-E funding. Mr. Cook serves as the ARPA-E Project Risk Manager.

Prior to joining Univenture, Mr. Cook was with Metatec, a leading information distribution company providing CD-ROM and DVD-ROM manufacturing services, with annual sales of $120 million. Mr. Cook played a key role in the growth of Metatec (previously Discovery Systems) into a publicly held international corporation with ISO 9000 certification. While at Discovery Systems, he and Mr. Youngs developed an internationally acclaimed process for printing compact discs, and launched an in-house digital prepress system, giving Discovery Systems a strategic advantage over the competition for jobs requiring quick turn-around.

Mr. Cook is a graduate of The Ohio State University.

Amy Bucklin, Executive Project Manager -   Ms. Bucklin has played a central role in Algaeventure’s start-up phase. She has overseen day-to-day administration, including a pivotal role managing outreach activities such as the “Open House” events, which bring industry, government, academic, and public exposure to Algaeventure’s activities. She also serves as primary contact for corporate communications and collaboration requests.

Prior to joining Univenture, Ms. Bucklin was with Applied Innovation Inc., where her duties included serving as Executive Assistant to the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board. Previously, Ms. Bucklin gained sales experience as a Sales Service Representative at Combibloc, Inc.

Ms. Bucklin holds an A.S. in Applied Business from Youngstown State University, and a B.S. in Business Administration from Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio.

Joe Juratovac, Development Project Leader -   Mr. Juratovac manages the multidisciplinary teams advancing the Company’s innovative technologies. Mr. Juratovac joined the Company after sixteen years at Battelle, in a product development role focusing on project management and technology maturation. Mr. Juratovac has contributed to product innovation in the medical and product development fields and has been an instrumental part of developing more than 15 different patents. Prior to Battelle, Mr. Juratovac spent seven years at Plaskolite, Inc., a plastics manufacturer based in Columbus, Ohio. While at Plaskolite, his responsibilities included industrial design, with a focus on product development. Mr. Juratovac received a B.S. in industrial Design from the University of Cincinnati.