Summary

He is a principal engineer in the advanced technologies department of ABB Simcon, Bloomfield, New Jersey, a leading supplier of simulation and control systems for the chemical industries.  For the past three years, he has been responsible for the development of new technologies using artificial intelligence to automate and optimize refinery operation.  Prior to joining ABB Simcon, he worked first as a system engineer and then as a project leader in simulation system design for S3 Technologies.  He received a BA in 1984 from National Taiwan University in Taiwan, and his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1990, all in chemical engineering.

University Education
 
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Sept 1986 - Dec 1990, University of Maryland, College Park
        (Title of Dissertation: A Hierarchical Decision Process for Fault Administration)

  B.S., Chemical Engineering, Sept 1980 - June 1984, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, R.O.C.
 

Continuing Education

Presentation Skill, Baltimore, MD, August 1991
 
Total Quality Management, Baltimore, MD, February 1992

Business Process Engineering and Supply Chain Management, Cambridge, MA, October 1997
 

Employment Summary

 Principal Engineer, 7/95 - present
 Senior Application Engineer, 10/93 - 6/95
 Technologies Dept., Advanced Technologies Group, ABB Simcon Inc., Bloomfield, New Jersey

  Advanced Control and Information System Design, and Application:

• Designed information system for Oil Movement and Storage application by using artificial intelligence technique.  This automates the planning and scheduling of a plant production.

• Architected on-line optimization/control software for optimal control of an ethylene plant.  Project includes first principles model, non-linear optimization (in real-time), and interfaces to Dynamic Matrix Control (DMC) and Centum XL control systems (1995 - present).

• Expert systems development: developed Intelligent Graphical Model Builder using the GENSYM G2 Software.  This software allows the users to build the process model by simply drawing the P&ID graphics (1994 - 1995).

•  Ethylene Process analysis, modeling, and operation in hot section: including quench tower, compression system, caustic water wash tower, condensate stripper, and charge gas dryers (1993).

Chemical Process Analysis, and Operation:

• Methanol Production Plant, including feed gas compression, steam reforming, methanol synthesis, gas purification systems.  National Methanol plant, Saudi Arabia, 1993.

• Urea Production Unit, including synthesis & recirculation, and steam & power plant.  PUSRI plant, Indonesia, 1993.

• Ammonia Production Plant, including NH3 delivery unit, reforming unit, gas purification, and synthesis loop.  PUSRI plant, Indonesia, 1993.

• Optimization design for ammonia synthesis loop.   PUSRI plant, 1993.

• Isobutane Dehydrogenation Process Plant, including reactor regeneration, gas compression, product recovery, steam system, fuel gas, refrigeration system, and cold box.  GOC plant, Houston, 1992.

• Offshore crude production plant, including crude separation, gas compression, oily water treatment, fuel gas, vent & flare, and glycol regeneration.  STATOIL Gullfaks plant, Norway, 1991

Control Systems Application:

• Application of distributed control systems (DCS), including ABB Master Pieces & Master Aid systems, Baily Control systems (PCUs, CIUs, and MCS), and Honeywell TDC 3000 (Basic and Extended controller).

• Implementation of the interlock driver logic for the safety shut down matrix panels.

• Implementation of Houdry CATOFIN reactors PLC interlock logic

  Preparation of Bid Proposals:

• Liquefied natural gas terminal monitoring plant.

• Residue oil fractionation plant, including fluidized catalyst cracker, gas concentration unit, and continuous cracking reformer.

Research Assistant, 8/87 - 12/90
Chemical Engineering Dept., University of Maryland, College Park
 
Expert Systems (Artificial Intelligence) applications:

• Designed an advanced information system to diagnose the acetic acid process using G2 software (project for Exxon Chemicals).

Publications and Presentations

1.  "A Knowledge-Based Approach to Root-Cause Failure Analysis," presented in EPRI Conference at Orlando, Florida, June 1989.

2.  "Autonomous Decision Making Expert System for Fault Administration," ANS Advances in Human Factors Research on Man-Computer Interactions, presented at Nashville, Tennessee, June 1990.

3.  "A Hierarchical Decision Process for Fault Administration," published in Computers and Chemical Engineering Journal, May 1992.

4.  "On-Line Fault Administration: Investigation of The Role of Expert Systems," presented in Artificial Intelligence Research conference, Tokyo Japan, May 1992

5.  "Real-Time Dynamic Simulation of Houdry CATOFIN Process,"  presented in AIChE spring meeting, Houston, April 1993.

6.  "New Simulation Technology: Using Generic Modules Management Framework to Develop A Chemical Plant Simulator," presented in AIChE summer meeting, Seattle, August 1993.

7.  "The SIMCONx Intelligent Graphical Model Builder," presented in ABB Computer Science Forum, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, September, 1994, and also presented in 1995 Simulators International XII, Phoenix, Arizona, April, 1995.

8. "An Integrated Environment for On-Line Optimization Application," presented in AIChE 1997 Spring National Meeting, Texas, June 1997.

9. "Use G2 as an On-Line Optimization Application Platform," presented in Gensym User Society worldwide meeting, Paris, France, April 1997.