Manuk has 35 years of engineering and R&D experience at Union Carbide, the Dow Chemical Company and at Renmatix, a leading biofuels company. He was instrumental in designing, troubleshooting and commercializing several processes, reaction and, residual solvent/monomer removal systems from polymers, including Unipol for these companies. His areas of expertise include modeling of multiphase reacting systems, solids processing, fluidization and biofuels processing.
Experience
Chief Science Officer Renmatix, Inc, (September 2012 –February 2017) Responsible for developing research capabilities for converting biomass to sugars and leading the R&D effort.
Chief Technology Officer Renmatix, Inc, (February 2011-September 2012) Responsible in overseeing the development of technologies enabling the economic, large scale production of chemicals and fuels from biomass - instead of conventional fossil fuels
Fellow/Senior Technical Leader: The Dow Chemical Company, Core R&D, Charleston, WV. Provided global technical leadership to 30 professionals in Solids Processing and Reaction Engineering Groups across Dow Core and Business R&D; Developed and supervised projects exploring new technologies and opportunities as well as led and implemented capital and improvement projects in Reaction Engineering and Solids Processing technology (2001-Dec 2009)
Part-Time Advisor National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC; Serve on a National Academies committee led by the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board on Nuclear Waste Forms Technology and Performance (Aug 2009-Aug 2010)
Group Leader, Union Carbide Corporation, Research and Development and Engineering Departments; Managed and led the Reaction Engineering and Solids Processing Groups as well as provided technical leadership in all areas related to Solids Processing and Reaction Engineering across the Corporation, including problem solving, troubleshooting and idea generation; Initiated and formed the Solids Processing group. (1996 – 2001)
Group Leader, Union Carbide Corporation, Research and Development and Engineering Departments; Managed and led the Reaction Engineering group; Interacted, consulted and partnered with almost all business and R&D and Engineering Organizations representing a broad range of functions and levels to help troubleshoot, debottleneck, design and commercialize several catalytic, multiphase reaction and, solids processing systems, such as gas-phase, gas/liquid/solid phase reactors, fluidized beds, spray dryers, conveying systems etc. (1993 - 2003)
Project Scientist, Research Scientist, Reaction Engineering, Union Carbide Corporation, Research and Development: Identified, evaluated and invented catalysts for gas-liquid-solid and gas-solid reactions in support of various Union Carbide businesses and processes; Responsible for the commercial scale implementation of several such catalyst and reaction systems; Developed kinetic models for various reaction systems and simulated various types of reactors for several of Union Carbide major businesses; Constructed and operated several automated laboratories as well as developed a variety of computer tools for modeling chemical processes and interpreting laboratory data; Provided plant support to improve or expand processes, improve productivity and efficiency in a number of Union Carbide commercial processes; Developed conceptual processes (1984-1993)
Process Control Engineer, Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., Tacoma, Washington; Automated entire plant operations, including programming and operating a control computer used in monitoring and controlling all processes (1979-1980)
Adjunct Faculty Taught several classes and supervised doctoral students at Marshall University Graduate College, West Virginia University College of Graduate Studies and Washington University, St. Louis (1988-2001)
Education
PhD, Chemical Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon (with Octave Levenspiel)
M.S., Chemical Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon (with T.J. Fitzgerald)
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
Awards
-AIChE Particle Technology Forum’s “Fluidization Processing Recognition Award” (2005)
-Oregon State University Academy of Distinguished Engineers Award (2006)
- Elected Fellow of AIChE (2013)
-Recipient of Service Award for AIChE’s Particle Technology Forum (2013)
-George Lappin Program Committee Service Award meritorious service on behalf of AIChE technical programming and dedication to the profession (2014)
Selected Publications
Colakyan, M., Cantero, D., Alonso, M. J. C., “Supercritical Water Hydrolysis of Biomass” AIChE 2015 Annual Meeting, International Congress on Energy
F. J. Moesler, M. A. Simard, Manuk Colakyan, P. A. Neilson “Energy Recovery when Processing Materials with Reactive Fluids,” US 20150013937, 15 Jan 2015
M. Colakyan, F. Kayihan, “Method for Biomass Hydrolysis,” US 20150037846, 5 Feb. 2015
D.V. Kazachkin, M. Colakyan, F.J. Moesler, “Supercritical Hydrolysis of Biomass”, US 20150176091, June 25, 2015;ibid. WO8999065, April 7, 2015
W. H. Henstock, J. G. Serafin, A. C. Liu, H. Soo, Y. Liu, M. Colakyan, S. Petkar: “Method of Controlling the Production of Silver chloride on a silver catalyst in the production of Alkylene Oxides”, U.S. Pat. No.2011/0160470A1, June 30 2011 ibid. WO 8845975, Jan 15, 2015
M. Colakyan, R. H. Jara-Moreno, “Method for Mixed Biomass Hydrolysis”, US09200337, Dec. 2015
M. Balakshin, E. Capanema, M. Colakyan. F. Lipiecki, “Upgrading Lignin-Containing Residues through Reactive Extraction”, WO15168571 A1, November 5, 2015
Waste Form Technology and Performance Final Report, (Contributor) The National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2011, ISBN 978-0-309-18733-6
M. Colakyan and G. W. Baldwin, Removal of Residual Monomers and Solvents from Granular Polymers in Fluidized Beds: Experimental Methods of Measurement of Diffusivity Parameters for Design and Troubleshooting”, Paper 569f, AIChE Annual Meeting, Reno, San Francisco, Nov. 2006.
M. Colakyan, Selected papers from the 3b Panel at the 2002 AIChE Meeting in Indianapolis, Guest Editor, Powder Technology Volume 148, Issues 2-3, 11 November 2004.
M. Colakyan and R. Eisinger, Removal of Residual Monomers from Polymers in Fluidized Beds”, Eng. Chem. Res.; 2003; 42(12); 2654-2660
M. Colakyan and J. Braithwaite, “Preparation of Isophorone”, U.S. Pat. No. US5627303:, May 1997
M. R. Khadilkar, Y. X. Wu, M. H. Al-Dahhan, M.P. Dudukovic and M. Colakyan,, “Comparison of Trickle-Bed and Upflow Reactor Performance at High Pressure: Model Predictions and Experimental Observations”, Chem. Eng. Sci, Vol 51, No.10, pp. 2139-2148, (1996)
M. Colakyan, J. Braithwaite, “Preparation of isophorone Using a Magnesium/aluminum Mixed Oxide Catalyst”, European Patent Application EP0640387, 24 Aug 1994 (Also, US 112092 ibid)
N. Obuskovic and J.G. Knudsen and M. Colakyan ,”Heat Transfer Between Moving Beds of Solids and a Transverse Finned Tube” , Heat Transfer Engineering, Vol 12, No. 2 (1991)
M. Colakyan and R. Turton, “UCKRON II Test Problem; The Effects of Pore Diffusion” , Chem. Eng. Commun., Vol 76 141-155 (1989)
M. Colakyan and R. Turton, “Cramer's Rule and Partial Thermodynamic Properties, I &EC Research, 27, 721-723 (1988)
R. Turton and O. Levenspiel, M. Colakyan, “Heat Transfer Studies in Fine Particle Fluidized Beds, Powder Technology, 53 (1987) 195-203
M. Colakyan, R.Turton, “The Effectiveness Factors for Various Size Distributions of Catalyst Particles “,Chem. Eng. Commun., Vol 35, 75-79 (1985)
M. Colakyan, O. Levenspiel, “Heat Transfer between Moving Beds of Solids and Immersed Cylinders”, AIChE Symposium Series, Vol 80, pp. 156-168 (1984)
M. Colakyan, R.Turton, “Unsteady State Heat Transfer to Various Shaped Objects, Heat Transfer Engineering, Vol 5, 3-4, 82 (1984)
M. Colakyan, T.J. Fitzgerald, “Elutriation from Fluidized Beds with and without Immersed Heat Transfer Tubes”, AIChE Symposium Series, Vol. 77, No. 205, 1981
Cold Modeling of Fluidized-Bed Combustors, EPRI Report, CS-1476, August 1980, pp 6/1- 12, 13/1, and 20/1-7
M. Colakyan Elutriation from Large Particle Fluidized Beds with and without Immersed Heat Transfer Tubes, M.S. Thesis, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR (1979)