Burgeoning Prospects for Waste-to-Energy in the United States

Ted Michaels is a Partner with AJW, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in working with new and advanced energy and environmental technologies to understand and shape public policies affecting their business.  In this capacity, he currently holds the position of President of the Energy Recovery Council (ERC), the national trade association representing the waste-to-energy sector.  ERC promotes the use of waste-to-energy technology as a key component of community programs to manage solid waste.  As President of ERC, Mr. Michaels is responsible for the legislative, regulatory, research, education, and technical services offered to its more than 50 members.

Prior to joining ERC, Mr. Michaels served for five years as the Staff Director of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund and Waste Management, under the chairmanship of Senator Lincoln D. Chafee of Rhode Island. 
Prior to working in the Senate, Mr. Michaels worked for five years as a Policy Analyst in the Natural Resources Group of the National Governors’ Association.  Mr. Michaels received a Masters of Arts in American History from Fordham University and a Bachelors of Arts in History from Providence College.

Marco J. Castaldi is an Assistant Professor in the Earth & Environmental Engineering Department, Henry Krumb School of Mines, at Columbia University. He teaches in the area of combustion chemistry and processes. He is currently involved in research in environmentally benign energy technologies, some of which are being patented by Columbia, including waste to energy, greenhouse gas reforming, methane production from methane hydrates and hydrogen production from coal.

Marco has a number of inventions as a result of his research, supported by 6 issued and 2 pending US patents. One innovation makes catalytically assisted combustion in gas turbines practically feasible. The other inventions relate to the development of Water Gas Shift and Preferential CO oxidation reactors for fuel processing applications related to fuel cell engines.

Marco received his B.S. ChE from Manhattan College.  His Ph.D. is in Chemical Engineering from UCLA and he has minors in Advanced Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics. Marco is the recipient of the 2006 Columbia University, SEAS Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award, and was recently nominated for the Camille Dreyfus Teachers-Scholars Award and the New York Academy of Sciences Blavatnik Award.