I have a bachelor's degree in hydrometallurgy and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering. I had worked for Monsanto for 16 years as a R&D engineer and had held several R&D managerial positions at MEMC and Merichem Company for over a decade. I have 14 granted U.S. patents and have more patents pending. Most of the patents are in the area of separation and phase contacting devices. While working in industry, I came across a novel solid-fluid mass and heat transfer concept by accident. Finding it both elegant and interesting, I kept working on the concept in my spare time and successfully filed multiple patents to advance this technology. Upon retiring from industry, I decided to start a company to commercialize this technology.