ESP Biography
JOSHUA VELSON, Energy and chemicals consultant with odd hobbies
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Major: Chemical Engineering College/Employer: Nexant (White Plains) Year of Graduation: 2010 |
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Brief Biographical Sketch:
My name is Josh. Your brain has just gone through an incredibly complex chemical reaction that has led inexorably to the word "duh." I do many things. I am a juggler, a musician, a pyromaniac, a cryomaniac, a video gamer, scifi fan, and a ballroom dancer. I have friends on far corners of the earth. I can take a hint but not an answer. There is too much blood in my caffeine system. In earlier incarnations, I was a long-haried MIT student who loved leather jackets. Alas, I come in a more respectable form these days. I work at a chemical engineering consulting firm in Westchester. I focus on the businesses of energy and chemicals, particularly biofuels and biochemicals, as well as more specialized types of fuel and chemicals value chains. I try to incorporate as much of the information I use daily into classes in my field. If I'm not teaching that kind of stuff, well, expect me to be slightly less professional. Education - Employment - Past Classes(Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)E351: Biomass Energy: Technology and Economics in Splash Spring 2016 (Mar. 12, 2016)
Biomass is often touted as a source of green, sustainable energy, but with everything that's said about it, things get confusing fast. What does "green" mean? How can we define "sustainable"? Can biomass energy compete with wind and solar power? What will the future look like? In this class you will hear a perspective from someone who's spent the last five years working in the trenches on these very issues.
S352: The Chemistry of Gunpowder in Splash Spring 2016 (Mar. 12, 2016)
Pyromania is an underappreciated part of a modern chemistry education.
The historical chemistry of gunpowder, from black powder to modern smokeless gunpowder, is a fascinating look at some of the principles behind how chemists solve challenging problems. Also explosions.
Please note that we will not actually be blowing anything up.
S252: The Chemistry of Gunpowder in Splash Spring 2015 (Apr. 18, 2015)
Pyromania is an underappreciated part of a modern chemistry education.
The historical chemistry of gunpowder, from black powder to modern smokeless gunpowder, is a fascinating look at some of the principles behind how chemists solve challenging problems. Also explosions.
Please note that we will not actually be blowing anything up.
E253: Anatomy of an Oil Refinery in Splash Spring 2015 (Apr. 18, 2015)
Oil refineries are big, complex, and essential to modern life. This class will make an earnest attempt to go through an oil refinery unit by unit, from crude oil to finished products like gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel. We will work from both a chemistry-based and historical perspective to explore how oil refinery components were created to solve specific challenges, from fueling World War II fighter planes to cutting smog.
E57: Food vs. Fuel - an ongoing debate in Splash Spring 2013 (Mar. 30, 2013)
Biofuels, fuels made from biological sources, are highly controversial. One of the most significant but highly debated critiques of biofuels is the "Food vs. Fuel" idea. "Food vs. Fuel" proponents claim that by using food resources and taking up land that might be used for food production or natural vegetation, biofuels harm the environment and the most vulnerable at the same time.
In the first half of this class we will go through the facts on the current state of biofuels in the world today and lay out the ways in which current biofuels technology (corn ethanol, sugarcane ethanol, etc.) affects food resources. In the second half, the two teachers will make the case for their differing views on the subject.
E60: Old-School Chemical Engineering in Splash Spring 2013 (Mar. 30, 2013)
A huge nerd goes through the ways you can reconstruct modern chemistry at industrial scales if you were flung back to the Middle Ages! (and had sufficient resources). We will focus on a few of several modern products that will be chosen by the students at the beginning of class. Products we can discuss will include smokeless gunpowder (among other things that go boom), antibiotics, refrigerants, nitrogenous fertilizers, and chemically-based artificial lighting.
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