Group Leader, Alternative Fuels Synthesis 

Ohio Research Scholar in Alternative Fuels

Dr. Robota joined the Energy and Environmental Engineering Division in 2009 as the Ohio Research Scholar in Alternative Fuels and became Leader of the Alternative Fuels Synthesis Group.  He brings 25 years of industrial catalyst science experience doing research on: fundamental structure-property relationships applied to industrial petro-chemical processing catalysts; development of product and process technologies for mobile emission control catalysts; syngas conversion to liquid fuels using the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis; and production of mixed alcohols using biomass-derived syngas.  This industrial experience provides a pragmatic foundation for preparing multiple-hundred gallon quantities of novel targeted fuel compositions for the Air Force’s synthetic fuels programs while also providing a rich variety of important fundamental questions to be investigated regarding the performance of fuels-related catalysts.  He has authored over 50 technical publications and is an inventor on 10 U.S. Patents.

Education:

Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in the laboratories of Prof. Dr. Gerhard Ertl, Institute for Physical Chemistry, The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 1982-1983

Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley – Prof. Charles B. Harris, adviser 1981

B.S. in Chemistry, University of Californina, Los Angeles, 1976