GreenCentre Canada appoints Commercial and Product Development Teams

For immediate release

August 20, 2009

KINGSTON, ON -- GreenCentre Canada  is pleased to announce the appointment of four commercialization professionals to its commercial and product development teams.

The appointments are as follows:

• Dr. Michael Szarka, Director of Commercial Development
• Dr. Jonathan Sargent,  Manager of Commercial Development
• Dr. Preston Chase, Senior Development Scientist
• Dr. Dominik Wechsler, Senior Development Scientist

Dr. Michael Szarka  is a physical chemist and a respected university technology manager. He was instrumental in the launch and operations of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and previously was a Technology Manager at the Innovations Foundation, University of Toronto.  During his tenure at U of T, Dr. Szarka played critical roles in the development of two of the university’s key startup companies, Biox Corp. and Opalux Inc.  He also has expertise in the photonics and small business consulting sectors and is an experienced negotiator and policy adviser in the areas of intellectual property and licensing.

Dr. Szarka received his PhD in Chemistry from University of Toronto and completed postdoctoral work at York University’s Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry. He is Chair of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) transactional metrics committee, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Society for Excellence in Technology Transfer (OnSETT).

Dr. Jonathan Sargent  has more than 11 years of industrial experience in product and business development, in the chemical, materials, and biotechnology fields.  He worked for GE Plastics in a variety of global management roles for seven years and worked in the biotech sector for four years as both a researcher and founding employee.  He has also consulted for the venture capital industry.  He has a PhD and MA in chemistry from the University of Southern California, a BSc from McGill University and is a Six Sigma black belt. He is also currently finishing his MBA at Schulich School of Business at York University.  

Dr. Preston Chase comes to GreenCentre from the University of Toronto where he was a research associate with Dr. Doug Stephan, developing metal-free hydrogenation catalysts. Previously he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He received his PhD from University of Calgary and BSc from the University of Victoria. A recipient of a number of postgraduate and postdoctoral awards, he has published extensively and is a named inventor on two patents.

Dr. Dominik Wechsler brings both industry and academic experience to his position. Most recently he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Queen’s University where his research focused on developing new hydrogen storage media for fuel cells.  Previously he worked for the National Research Council’s Institute of Marine Biosciences, and Jellet Biotek. He received his PhD and BSc from Dalhousie University, where his doctoral research focused on organometallic catalysts.  

“We are delighted to have the expertise of these individuals on our commercial and product development teams,” says Dr. Rui Resendes, Executive Director of GreenCentre Canada. “Their extensive industry and scientific research experience, combined with proven abilities to build companies and networks, gives GreenCentre a strong foundation on which to build North America’s premier Green Chemistry commercialization centre.”

Contact:

Dr. Rui Resendes
Executive Director
GreenCentre Canada
P: 613. 507. 4700
E: rui.resendes@greencentrecanada.com
www.greencentrecanada.com

About GreenCentre Canada:

GreenCentre Canada is a national Centre of Excellence for developing, de-risking and commercializing early-stage Green Chemistry discoveries generated by academic researchers and industry.  GreenCentre Canada is dedicated to developing environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional chemical and manufacturing practices. It is governed and operated with the assistance of industry members from across the chemical value chain. The centre is located at the Innovation Park at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.   

www.greencentrecanada.com