Dr. Amer A. Amer PHD., MBA
Chief Technologist, Fuel Technology Division
Saudi Aramco
With over 20 years of broad multifaceted experience in the automotive and oil and gas industries and seven years in academia, Dr. Amer brings to Saudi Aramco a successful track record in engine and fuel innovation.
As Chief Technologist for Aramco’s Fuel Technology Research & Development, Dr. Amer leads a team of more than 70 research engineers and technicians focused on solving tomorrow’s fuel transportation challenges today.
Since his promotion to the positon of Chief Technologist for Fuel Technology in 2011, Dr. Amer has been responsible for the rapid expansion of Aramco’s fuels research in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and in Aramco’s two new Research & Development satellite centers in Paris, France, and Detroit, U.S.A.
In 2009, as a Senior Scientist for Saudi Aramco, Dr. Amer led a major international collaborative initiative to develop improved kinetic models for the oxidation of hydrocarbons suitable for Internal Combustion (IC) Engine simulations. The resulting model, “Aramcomech” is fast becoming the industry standard in modeling base chemistry with over 53 citations to date.
Dr. Amer spent the earlier part of his career (1995-2007) with DaimlerChrysler in Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.A., advancing his career as a result-orientated engine development specialist with several of his design inventions implemented in production engines (3.7L/4.7L/4.7 HO Powertech Engines, 5.7L/6.1L Chrysler Hemi V- 8, and the Chrysler Pentastar Family of engines).
As a highly sought after speaker in the Oil & Gas, Automotive and Engineering fields, Dr. Amer has authored over 33 published articles and is an active member of the Society of Automotive Engineers. A graduate of the University of Jordan, Dr. Amer has a B.S., Mechanical Engineering (1987) and a M.S., Mechanical Engineering.
Additionally, he has a Ph.D., in Mechanical Engineering from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., and a Master in Business Administration from Madonna University, Livonia, Michigan, U.S.A.
Donald Gerard Hillebrand
Division Director
Argonne National Laboratory
Title: Advanced Vehicle and Combustion Technologies
Don Hillebrand is the Director of Argonne National Laboratory’s Energy Systems Division, leading a team of engineers and scientists developing sustainable innovative technologies to improve the efficiency of resource and energy utilization, minimize America’s dependence on imported energy, and enhance U.S. national security.
In 2013, Dr. Hillebrand was elected President and Chairman of the Board of the Society of Automotive Engineers, the largest mobility-focused engineering society in the world.
Prior to joining Argonne in 2004, he worked for Daimler Research in Stuttgart, Germany, as Daimler’s research and technology liaison with the European Commission. From 1996 to 1999, Dr. Hillebrand served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Executive Office of the President in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Technology Division.
Dr. Hillebrand was named by Automotive News as one of the 100 most influential people bringing about the elect rification of the automobile and is listed on the Forbes 10 list of automotive thought leaders. He was named Michigan’s Outstanding Young Engineer of the Year in 1993 and served as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow in 1995.
Dr. Hillebrand began his career in 1983 as a research engineer with Chrysler Motors, where he worked for 20 years in positions of increasing responsibility. He has two patents and is the author of over 100 publications and invited seminar presentations. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Oakland University.
Margaret Wooldridge
Director, Dow Sustainability Fellows Program
Arthur F. Thurnau Professor
University of Michigan
Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Margaret Wooldridge is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, where she is also the Director of the University of Michigan Dow Sustainability Fellows Program. She received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in from Stanford University in 1995 and 1991; and her B.S. degree from the University of Illinois in 1989. Professor Wooldridge is internationally recognized for developing unique and powerful experimental methods to isolate and understand ignition and combustion chemistry, including fuels critical to fossil fuel and biofuel utilization. Her research contributions have been recognized with the U.S. Department of Energy’s highest award for a mid-career researcher – the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award in 2014. Her research program spans diverse areas where high-temperature chemically reacting systems are critical, including the effects of fuel composition on combustion performance in power and propulsion applications, ignition phenomena, and combustion synthesis of nanostructured materials.