About Giner Staff
Giner, Inc. currently employs approximately 65 people, of whom 14 hold Ph.D. degrees in the physical sciences or engineering and ten hold M.S. degrees. Giner employees have over 500 years of combined experience in the development of proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrochemical conversion technology and products. Giner personnel publish extensively in leading journals and make significant presentations at technical meetings in the U.S. and abroad. They also have over 100 U.S. Patents in the field of electrochemistry and PEM development. Key individuals have received awards for scientific excellence and solving difficult problems on time-demanding schedules for government and industry.
Management Team
Anthony J. Vaccaro, President
Dr. Anthony J Vaccaro holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from West Virginia University and a B.S. in Chemistry from Youngstown State University. Dr. Vaccaro has been employed by Giner, Inc. since 2000. Prior to assuming his current position as President of Giner, Inc., Dr. Vaccaro was Vice President and General Manager of the Water Purification Group of Severn Trent Services, where he managed a diverse group of five water treatment businesses with 330 employees and revenues exceeding $90 million. Dr. Vaccaro has authored 6 technical publications, holds 9 patents and has received 2 national awards in the research and development of industrial electrochemistry.
Cortney K. Mittelsteadt, Vice-President, Technology
Dr. Mittelsteadt holds a Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from SUNY/Syracuse University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Dr. Mittelsteadt joined Giner in 1999 and became project director of the General Motor’s sponsored program for the development of membranes for transportation applications. He is currently Principal Investigator of multiple programs for the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency. Under a current DOE grant for “Dimensionally Stable High Temperature Membranes” he was awarded the 2009 Hydrogen Program Research and Development Award. He is author of over a dozen scientific publications as well as two summary chapters.
Timothy J. Norman, Vice-President, Engineering & Manufacturing
Mr. Norman holds a M. S. in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. After leaving MIT, Mr. Norman held engineering positions of increasing responsibility within the energy industry at Baker Hughes, Cabot and Thermo Electron Corporations. Mr. Norman joined Giner in 2001 and his functions include product manager for the current US Navy electrolyzer production program, and the DARPA ISIS aerospace electrolyzer development and manufacturing project. He is currently the Principal Investigator on programs for DOE, NASA and the DOD. Mr. Norman leads an interdisciplinary team of engineers, designers, technical staff and manufacturing technicians as Giner grows its product manufacturing expertise.
Hector Maza, Director, Business Development and Technical Sales
Mr Maza holds an MBA form Hartford University and a BSc Chemical Engineering from UIA/Universidad IberoAmericana. He is also fluent in French, Italian, and Spanish.
Prior to joining Giner Inc, Mr Maza directed various international Business Development & Sales groups, in Europe, North and Latin America with companies large and small such as Tyco International, Balda AG, Tribotek Inc, InTouch Solutions, Elo TouchSystems, Raychem Corporation and Mobil Oil. Early in his career Mr Maza gained an acute understanding of Product Development and manufacturing as he was responsible for the Production & Operations management at Viniflex and NDP National Development of Products. Prior to focusing his career on the front end of businesses, he led a 5 year incursion in Global Supply Management where he was responsible for procurement of critical Raw Materials such as polymer cross-linkers, initiators and catalysts at Raychem Corp. as well as LCD’s and CRT’s for Elo. He has also done technical consulting work for Energy and Energy Efficiency companies such as General Synfuels International where he was VP of Business Development being also responsible for Mathematical Modeling of 3D Insitu-Gasification Processes. With PointVerde he was Director of Technology responsible for evaluating and implementing technologies as well as the automation and control of energy efficiency systems. On the Market Research side, he authored The Touch Screen and Touch Display Reports for VDC Research in 2009.
Founders
José Giner, Ph.D.
José Giner, Ph.D., Chairman, Giner, Inc., started the company in 1973 and has over 50 years experience in the field of electrochemistry. During his 38 years at the company, he has been actively engaged in general management of electrochemical research and development, including electrode kinetics, electrocatalysis and porous electrode modeling. In the area of applied electrochemistry, Dr. Giner has directed research and development in the areas of electrocatalysis, electrode kinetics, fuel cells, batteries, electrochemical reactors, electrochemical sensors, and corrosion.
Prior to forming Giner, Inc. he directed advanced electrochemical, catalyst, and electrolyte work for United Technologies, Pratt and Whitney Division, and Tyco Laboratories. At United Technologies Dr. Giner’s work was directly related to the development of the fuel cells used in the NASA Apollo project. Along with his invention of the dynamic hydrogen electrode, Dr. Giner’s scientific work has contributed to the understanding of the electrochemistry of the platinum electrode, particularly in relation to the oxidation of organic compounds. This work led him to the discovery and study of “reduced carbon dioxide (CO2),” a chemisorbed species which plays an important role in the electrochemical oxidation of hydrocarbons and derivatives on platinum. In addition, he studied the effect of catalyst composition and physical structure on fuel cell electrode performance: a consequence of this work is the “flooded agglomerate” theory of the hydrophobic porous electrode which can be used to design and to predict the performance of fuel cell electrodes. His other contributions include the development of practical electrochemical techniques to study fuel cell electrodes.
Dr. Giner is the inventor or co-inventor in over 30 U.S. Patents and has over 100 publications. The patents deal with the sealed Nickel-Hydrogen cell and battery used in space satellites, an implantable glucose sensor, several fuel cell systems, fuel cell electrode structures, fuel cell catalysts, a bipolar lead acid battery plate, electrocatalysts for redox batteries, gas sensors, and other electrochemical devices.
Anthony B. LaConti, Ph.D., was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Giner, Inc. He had over 48 years experience (25 years Giner, 22 years General Electric, 2 years Hamilton Standard) in managing and directing fundamental and applied research programs for electrochemical applications. At Giner, he was instrumental in obtaining industrial partners for government programs, and in bringing new business to the company. He also redirected company business leadership to pursue and obtain a larger percentage of commercial programs. His leadership has led to technology sales and strategic alliances with Perkin Elmer, General Motors, Treadwell Corporation, and others. His areas of expertise included the development and integration of advanced electrochemical catalysts, electrodes, and PEMs into advanced design configurations of electrochemical fuel cells and gas generators. Dr. LaConti was very experienced in PEM technology both at Giner, and especially as a result of his prior employment at General Electric (GE) and United Technologies, Hamilton Standard Division (now Hamilton-Sundstrand). At GE, Dr. LaConti had the responsibility of managing the materials R&D operation, new technology development, as well as various independent research and development programs (IR&D). For those IR&D programs, he consistently achieved ratings that were higher than other GE departments, and were higher than over 100 alternative DOD contractors. At Hamilton Standard he was engineering manager, directing all PEM-based electrochemical technologies.
Dr. LaConti conducted pioneering research on the development of highly efficient PEM fuel cell components and stacks at GE, including the fuel cell stacks used in the NASA Gemini and Biosatellite space programs. His research on new catalysts, current collectors, and solid polymer electrolytes led to the commercial success of PEM electrolysis technology. The PEM hydrogen gas generator and Navy oxygen generator product lines were a direct result of Dr. LaConti’s creativity and leadership, resulting in more than 40 million dollars of business for GE, and subsequently to Hamilton Standard. He had been successful in the applied research, engineering, and commercialization of electrochemical sensors used to detect carbon monoxide and other gases and vapors. Dr. LaConti also directed materials development efforts in the area of catalyst, current collectors, fused salt diffusion plating, low- and high-temperature fuel cells, electrolysis cells, oxygen/hydrogen compressors, electrochemical capacitors and semipermeable membranes for water purification, artificial kidneys, artificial muscles, and gas transport.
Dr. LaConti was the inventor or co-inventor in more than 52 U.S. Patents and had over 160 publications. The patents involve single and multi-layer ion exchanging membrane designs, various electrochemical cell electrode structures, electrolyzer designs to efficiently produce hydrogen, oxygen, and halogen gases, highly efficient binary and ternary electrochemical catalysts; several bipolar plate designs, several new families of thick film electrochemical gas detectors, novel advanced electrochemical capacitor designs, a transdermal alcohol sensor, and other electrochemical devices, materials, and methods. Some of his technical and management awards include: General Electric Aerospace Instrument Department Engineer of the Year award (1974 and 1979), Hamilton Standard management awards for winning significant new business (1985) and inventor of the year award (1986) and while at Giner, several NASA technology innovation awards, as well as member of the International Advisory Board for “Handbook of Fuel Cells,” Vol. 1 to 6 (2003 to 2009).
