Management
Arthur P. KazanjianGeneral Manager
Mr. Kazanjian, named General Manager of SuperPower in 2008, joined the company as Director of Finance in November 2001. As General Manager, he is responsible for leading SuperPower from a technology-focused R&D organization to a customer-driven, full-scale advanced materials manufacturer with a steady sales pipeline. In conjunction with the senior management team, he is responsible for the execution of the roadmap for continuing technology development, achieving financial milestones and overall strategic business planning. Mr. Kazanjian has more than 20 years of experience in corporate finance and management. He holds a B.S. in Finance from Utica College of Syracuse University and an MBA degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Venkat Selvamanickam, Ph.D.Chief Technology Advisor
Dr. Selvamanickam ("Selva") joined Intermagnetics General Corporation in 1994 and was instrumental in establishing the SuperPower subsidiary in March 2000, initially as Program Manager, Materials Technology where he led a team of more than 40 scientists, engineers and technicians engaged in scaling up to manufacture SuperPower's 2G HTS wire, and then as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.
Selva is also responsible for the management of SuperPower's extensive intellectual property portfolio, directing technology development in the company and managing research agreements with National Laboratories and University partners. He has authored 100 U.S. and international patents and applications in high temperature superconductivity, twenty of which have been awarded U.S. and international patents.
From 1993-1994 he was a Research Associate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and from 1987-1993 he was a Post-doctoral fellow and Research Assistant with the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston.
Dr. Selvamanickam has published more than 100 articles on high temperature superconductors, including book chapters, in all major journals that publish superconductivity articles. He authored the most cited paper in superconductivity and the third-most cited in Physics during March-April 1990 and has more than 350 citations to date.
In 1996, Dr. Selvamanickam received the Presidential Early Career Award from the White House. This award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. Government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers and Dr. Selvamanickam has been the only award recipient among 60, to have represented a U.S. industrial company. The award resulted in a grant of $500,000 for five years to conduct research on High Temperature Superconductivity in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force.
In 2005, Dr. Selvamanickam was named the "Superconductivity Industry Person of the Year" by Superconductor Week (see related article in the "News About SuperPower" section of the "News and Events" page.)
Dr. Selvamanickam earned a Ph.D. degree in Materials Engineering in 1992 and an M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Houston in 1988. His B.E. degree with Honors was earned at the Regional Engineering College in Tiruchi, India in 1986.
Traute F. LehnerSr. Director, Marketing and Government Affairs
Mrs. Lehner has been with SuperPower since its formation in 2000 as a subsidiary of Intermagnetics General Corporation. The company is now a division of Royal Philips Electronics. She manages the company’s global sales and marketing program with responsibility for developing and managing key strategic relationships. She is also responsible for SuperPower's community and government affairs program on the local, state and national level. Mrs. Lehner joined the Intermagnetics Magnet Business Group Marketing Department in 1994 and moved to the Technology Development Operation in 1996. Prior to joining Intermagnetics, Mrs. Lehner spent more than 15 years with the AEG Technical Relations Division of Daimler Benz, where she managed technical liaison activities in the US that included market research and inter-company collaborations in a wide variety of technology fields. Mrs. Lehner is a member of the Foundation Board of the Chamber of Schenectady County and a Trustee of the Schenectady Museum. She holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University at Albany.
Drew HazeltonPrincipal Engineer, Applications
Mr. Hazelton joined Intermagnetics in 1980 and has more than 30 years of experience in applied superconductivity. He has been with SuperPower, now a subsidiary of Philips, since its formation in 2000. His activities have included composite superconductor materials processing, mechanical properties and low temperature effects with emphasis on the development of processing for and application of superconducting materials. Mr. Hazelton was named "Co-Inventor of the Year" in 2005 by the Eastern New York Intellectual Property Law Association for the US patent, 6,664,875 relating to the Matrix-type superconducting fault current limiter. Mr. Hazelton has a B.S. in Materials Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Union College.
Ross B. McClure, MBAOperations Manager
Mr. McClure is the Operations Manager at SuperPower’s 2G HTS wire manufacturing facility in Schenectady, New York, overseeing the entire production operation from receipt of incoming materials through delivery of finished product to customers. Prior to joining SuperPower in April 2006, Mr. McClure worked at Clifford R. Gray, Inc. as Senior Project Manager/Chief Estimator. He has over 20 years of experience in materials management, manufacturing production and effectively leading teams in the completion of projects and achieving organizational goals in challenging operations environments. Mr. McClure holds an MBA degree from Union Graduate College in Schenectady and a BS degree in Manufacturing and Materials Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology as well as APICS professional certification in production and inventory management and both APICS and ISM professional certifications in supply chain management.
Yifei Zhang, Ph.D.
Product Engineering
Dr. Zhang joined SuperPower in 2010 as Senior Product Engineer working on product design and testing, as well as the engineering of REBCO-based 2G HTS wire into a practical conductor for electric power applications. His responsibility includes interaction with our customers to address their specific technical requirements on the 2G HTS wire product. Before joining SuperPower, Dr. Zhang worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee as a Research Associate in the High Temperature Superconductivity for Electric Systems Program. He has over 10 years of experience in the R&D of 2G HTS wires, including film deposition and characterization, cryogenic and vacuum systems, and electrical and magnetic measurements. He has more than 30 publications on high temperature superconductivity. Dr. Zhang earned his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2006.
Mr. McClure is the Operations Manager at SuperPower’s 2G HTS wire manufacturing facility in Schenectady, New York, overseeing the entire production operation from receipt of incoming materials through delivery of finished product to customers. Prior to joining SuperPower in April 2006, Mr. McClure worked at Clifford R. Gray, Inc. as Senior Project Manager/Chief Estimator. He has over 20 years of experience in materials management, manufacturing production and effectively leading teams in the completion of projects and achieving organizational goals in challenging operations environments. Mr. McClure holds an MBA degree from Union Graduate College in Schenectady and a BS degree in Manufacturing and Materials Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology as well as APICS professional certification in production and inventory management and both APICS and ISM professional certifications in supply chain management.
Yifei Zhang, Ph.D.Product Engineering
Dr. Zhang joined SuperPower in 2010 as Senior Product Engineer working on product design and testing, as well as the engineering of REBCO-based 2G HTS wire into a practical conductor for electric power applications. His responsibility includes interaction with our customers to address their specific technical requirements on the 2G HTS wire product. Before joining SuperPower, Dr. Zhang worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee as a Research Associate in the High Temperature Superconductivity for Electric Systems Program. He has over 10 years of experience in the R&D of 2G HTS wires, including film deposition and characterization, cryogenic and vacuum systems, and electrical and magnetic measurements. He has more than 30 publications on high temperature superconductivity. Dr. Zhang earned his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2006.
