Thomas A.V. Cassel

Phone: 215.573.9016
Email: tcassel @ seas .upenn .edu
Office: 310 Towne Building

EDUCATION:

Harvard Business School (1992-1994). Owner/President Management (OPM) Program. An executive program in entrepreneurial business leadership attended by owners of privately held companies from around the world.

University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D. (1979). Energy Management and Power Program. Dissertation: "Stochastic Multiobjective Decision Analysis -- Investment Behavior by Energy Resource Firms."

University of Pennsylvania; M.Sc. (1973), B.Sc. (1968). Mechanical Engineering. Academic honors, Research Fellowship, Ford Foundation Scholarship.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering & Applied Science (1999-present).
Practice Professor and Director, Engineering Entrepreneurship Program. Joined Penn's faculty in mid-1999 to create the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program. Details provided under Highlights, below.

Reading Energy Holdings, Inc.; Philadelphia, PA (1978-1998).
Co-founder, president, chairman and majority shareholder. Led the company from its founding in 1978 through the sale of its power plant assets 20 years later. Details provided under Highlights, below.

University of Pennsylvania, School of Public & Urban Policy (1977-1978).
Adjunct research faculty member under a contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate the investment behavior of companies in the development of alternative energy resources.

Bechtel Corporation, Research & Engineering, San Francisco, CA (1974-1977).
Engineering Specialist and project manager. Performed and directed engineering and economic evaluations of advanced power technologies, including client-funded and in-house projects on cogeneration systems, geothermal energy, and fission, fusion and fossil fuels. Received several corporate awards for professional publications.

University of Pennsylvania, National Center for Energy & Power (1972-1974).
Research Fellow. While completing M.Sc. studies, performed component tests and developed analytic models to assess the performance and economics of several advanced energy conversion and storage systems.

Kingdom of Lesotho, Africa, Ministry of Agriculture (1969-1972).
Mechanical Engineer. Implimented a cooperative program to provide rural water supplies and irrigation systems under United Nations (UNICEF) and U.S. State Department (Peace Corps) sponsorship. Responsibilities included site selection, engineering, materials procurement, and construction management.

Short-term Engineering & Design Positions.
Carrier Corporation Research Division, Syracuse, NY (heat exchanger research: summer 1973); Westinghouse Electric Company Gas Turbine Division, Philadelphia, PA (gas turbine engineering: 1969); U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia (marine dredge equipment engineering: summer 1968); United Engineers & Constructors, Inc., Philadelphia (draftsman: summers 1966, 1967); Cambridge Filter Company, Syracuse (draftsman: summers 1964, 1965); and Smith & Caffrey Steel Company, Syracuse (draftsman: summer 1963).

HONORS AND AWARDS:

- Provost's Award; University of Pennsylvania's highest award for distinguished teaching (2007).

- Ford Motor Companry Award for Faculty Advising (2007).

- D. Robert Yarnall Award: distinguished alumnus; University of Pennsylvania Engineering Alumni Society (2005).
- S. Reid Warren Jr. Award: outstanding professor and intellectual mentor; University of Pennsylvania (2003).
- American Society for Engineering Education, Entrepreneurship Division, Member (2000-present), Executive Board (2003-present).
- “Perfect Professor,” Penn Course Review (2001).
- Licensed Professional Engineer: New Jersey, California and Pennsylvania.
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member (1974-present).
- Anthracite Region Independent Power Producers Assoc, Executive Committee (1991-96).
- Integrated Waste Services Association, Board Member (1990-94).
- Listed in United Nations' Guide to Energy Specialists, New York (1979).
- Listed in Who's Who in the East (1983-) and Who's Who in the Delaware Valley (1991-).
- Philadelphia Business Magazine's "People to Watch" (1995).

PUBLICATIONS and PRESENTATIONS:

Addressed numerous professional conferences, public hearings, newspaper editorial boards, government agencies, congressional and legislative committees, corporate boards of directors, and other public and private forums on energy and related matters. Appeared in both television and radio media. Published a book and more than 50 articles and reports related to technical, economic and environmental aspects of energy and waste processing technologies. A list of selected publications and presentations is available in the full CV.

CURRICULUM VITAE