{"id":15,"date":"2025-06-17T18:55:55","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T18:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.0.24\/?page_id=15"},"modified":"2026-01-26T17:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T17:49:10","slug":"experience","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.eebenson.com\/index.php\/experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Independent Consultant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Nov. 2023 – Present<\/summary>\n
    \n
  • Delivered electrochemical consulting services to global clients in water electrolysis, purification, and energy storage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Supported technical due diligence for early-stage water electrolysis ventures, providing critical insights and recommendations to investment clients.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

    Scientific Board Advisor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    NREL H2New Liquid Alkaline Electrolysis | August 2024 – Present<\/summary>\n
      \n
    • Strategic guidance to the DOE\u2019s H2NEW program on research and development priorities for alkaline water electrolysis technologies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

      R&D Manager<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      AquaHydrex Inc. | December 2019 – October 2023<\/summary>\n

      Managed a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers in the development of a novel alkaline electrolyzer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Responsible for the competitive technological analysis of rivals in the hydrogen industry to inform strategic decisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Demonstrated the unprecedented voltage performance capabilities of an alkaline electrolyzer, achieving world-best performance, similar to PEM systems, at half the cost.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Engaged with executive management and external venture partners in a technical capacity, leading to a successful Series B ($25M) fundraising.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Active member of company leadership team, contributing to company technical and people strategies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Collaborated with team members to co-author numerous internal scientific reports for widespread dissemination within the organization.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Directed the development, selection, and validation processes for components crucial to the electrochemical stack.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

        Technology Manager<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
        Staq Energy | June 2017 – December 2019<\/summary>\n

        Led a team of scientists to develop long-life sealed alkaline secondary batteries for grid-scale energy storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Developed and demonstrated gas management technology\/strategy to enable sealed cell operation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Responsible for understanding long term operation and degradation mechanisms as a function of charge and discharge rates and cycles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Played a key role in cross-disciplinary projects, collaborating with engineers to enhance both round-trip efficiency and thermal management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Contributed to the acquisition process as a technology expert, culminating in the successful sale to Form Energy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

          Postdoctoral Researcher<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
          National Renewable Energy Laboratory | May 2014 – May 2017<\/summary>\n
            \n
          • Fundamental research on the properties (photophysical, electrochemical, etc.) of materials under dynamic strain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Responsible for the purchase, installation, training, and use of a tensile stretcher and gas chromatograph.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Designed and fabricated novel experimental cells for the characterization of materials under tensile strain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Gained experience in soft X-ray techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), tensile testing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) within the field of materials science.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

            Associate Scientist III<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
            Astrix Technology Group @ Amgen Inc. | Aug. 2013 – May 2014<\/summary>\n
              \n
            • Developed a Raman spectroscopy library (~400 chemicals) for identity testing of incoming raw materials and drug product\/drug substance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Implemented use of Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) for the rapid testing of raw materials and biopharmaceuticals through native packaging.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Coordinated sample handling and procurement to ensure robustness of library as well as identifying similar compounds to use as library challenges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Used statistical methods such as Pearson correlation, principle component analysis (PCA), etc. to ensure zero false positives and minimize false negatives<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

              Material and Process Engineer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
              Grace Skis | Jan. 2012 – March 2015<\/summary>\n
                \n
              • Operated and maintained computer numerical control (CNC) router and laser engraver\/cutter for the fabrication of ski cores, molds, and top sheets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Developed, tested, and implemented new processes for more efficient manufacturing of essential parts, and increasing total production capabilities by 300%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Maintained and operated local area network to support digital workflow of design files.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

                Editor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                American Journal Experts | July 2012 – July 2013<\/summary>\n
                  \n
                • Transcribed English as a second language (ESL) scientific manuscripts for publication in English language journals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Corrected phrasing, diction, articles, and spelling while maintaining the underlying scientific ideas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

                  Graduate Researcher<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                  University of California San Diego | Sep. 2006 – May 2012<\/summary>\n
                    \n
                  • Investigated intermediates in the electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Synthesized and characterized novel ligand tripbipy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Isolated and characterized \u2018active\u2019 catalyst species that binds CO2<\/sub>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Performed X-Ray absorption studies (EXAFS and XANES) of air sensitive compounds at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Assisted with synthesis of ligands for surface tethering of catalysts to p-Si.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Co-wrote successful grants\/proposals from DOE, DARPA, AFOSR, SSRL.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Assisted startup of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Experienced with electrochemistry, XAS, XRF, XRD , FTIR, UV-Vis-NIR, GC, GC-MS, EPR, spectroelectrochemistry, inorganic and organic synthesis, the handling of air sensitive materials, and computational chemistry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Deposited 19 X-ray crystal structures deposited to the Cambridge Crystallographic Database.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Experience with budget writing, administration, and reporting3 years of experience managing undergraduate researchers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Published many peer reviewed papers containing, including both original research and review articles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Presented research at national meetings (ACS, Gordon Conference)Maintained and repaired instruments and lab equipment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Installed and maintained lab computers, network, website, and data storage\/archival.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

                    Teaching Assistant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                    University of California San Diego | Jan. 2005 – Dec. 2007<\/summary>\n
                      \n
                    • Led discussion sections in general chemistry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Led analytical and physical chemistry laboratory sections.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

                      Undergraduate Researcher<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                      University of Arizona | Jan 2005. – Dec. 2005<\/summary>\n

                      Micro\/Nano Fabrication Center<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        \n
                      • Maintained Class 100 clean room facilities and equipment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Instructed new users on the use of instruments and facilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Repaired and maintained instruments and equipment as well as assisted the installation of a new low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Gained experienced in photolithography (mask alignment, exposure), planarization (CMP), deposition (thermal, E-Beam), etching (chemical, plasma), and analytical instruments (profilometry, atomic force microscope) used within the facilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

                        Undergraduate Researcher<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                        University of Arizona | Jan. 2004 – Nov. 2004<\/summary>\n
                          \n
                        • Assisted the integration and maintenance team with the integration of the 8.4m Large Binocular Telescope mirror and cell for the Large Binocular Telescope.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • Responsible for the fabrication of boxes for shipping of sensitive materials.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • Trained in MIG welding, forklift operation and HOV certified.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

                          <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                          Independent Consultant Scientific Board Advisor R&D Manager Technology Manager Postdoctoral Researcher Associate Scientist III Material and Process Engineer Editor Graduate Researcher Teaching Assistant Undergraduate Researcher Undergraduate Researcher<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-15","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eebenson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eebenson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eebenson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eebenson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eebenson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.eebenson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140,"href":"https:\/\/www.eebenson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15\/revisions\/140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eebenson.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}