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SuperPower announces staffing changes and additions
Sat, 05/16/2009 - 22:00 — ekeehan
SuperPower announces staffing changes
• Selvamanickam transitions to chief technology advisor role• Dackow named director of operations
• Xie promoted to director of product engineering
May 18, 2009 – Schenectady, N.Y. – SuperPower, Inc. is pleased to announce the news of a
number of changes to the company management team:
number of changes to the company management team:
Dr. Venkat Selvamanickam’s role with SuperPower changes from Vice President and Chief
Technology Officer to Chief Technology Advisor. While Dr. Selvamanickam has joined the
faculty of the University of Houston as M.D. Anderson Chair Professor in the Department of
Mechanical Engineering, he continues his strong ties with SuperPower and has joined the Applied
Research Hub of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH),
establishing a joint program to focus on the continuing evolution of SuperPower’s 2G HTS wire.
The program includes several SuperPower senior materials scientists, together with postdoctoral
fellows and graduate students, who will carry out research and development under Selva’s
leadership. This change has enabled the continuation of a strong R&D focus on new product
development for SuperPower, while the Schenectady, New York headquarters and manufacturing
operation are focused on routine production of long lengths of robust and high-performance 2G
HTS wire.
Technology Officer to Chief Technology Advisor. While Dr. Selvamanickam has joined the
faculty of the University of Houston as M.D. Anderson Chair Professor in the Department of
Mechanical Engineering, he continues his strong ties with SuperPower and has joined the Applied
Research Hub of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH),
establishing a joint program to focus on the continuing evolution of SuperPower’s 2G HTS wire.
The program includes several SuperPower senior materials scientists, together with postdoctoral
fellows and graduate students, who will carry out research and development under Selva’s
leadership. This change has enabled the continuation of a strong R&D focus on new product
development for SuperPower, while the Schenectady, New York headquarters and manufacturing
operation are focused on routine production of long lengths of robust and high-performance 2G
HTS wire.
Mr. John Dackow has been named Director of Operations at SuperPower. Prior to joining
SuperPower in January 2009, John spent five years as Director of Operations at SuperPower’s
parent company, Intermagnetics/Philips, overseeing the manufacturing operations in the production
of LTS superconducting magnets used in medical magnetic resonance imaging systems. As such, he
is uniquely qualified to manage the entire manufacturing operation in the continuing transition from
a heavy R&D focus to more broad-scale commercialized production. John holds a B.S. degree in
Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
SuperPower in January 2009, John spent five years as Director of Operations at SuperPower’s
parent company, Intermagnetics/Philips, overseeing the manufacturing operations in the production
of LTS superconducting magnets used in medical magnetic resonance imaging systems. As such, he
is uniquely qualified to manage the entire manufacturing operation in the continuing transition from
a heavy R&D focus to more broad-scale commercialized production. John holds a B.S. degree in
Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Dr. Yi-Yuan Xie is promoted to Director of Product Engineering. In this new role at
SuperPower, Dr. Xie is responsible for interaction with customers to address their specific technical
requirements for the 2G HTS wire product. He joined SuperPower in 2002 as Senior Materials
Scientist responsible for product testing, along with the design and engineering of REBCO-based
2G HTS wire into a practical conductor for real-world applications. He has 18 years of experience
with high-temperature superconductors, including thin film synthesis and characterization, electrical
and mechanical testing, and quality control for 2G HTS scale-up. Dr. Xie earned a Ph.D. degree in
Physics from the University of Kansas, and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Condensed Matter Physics in
1988 and 1985, respectively, from Wuhan University, China.
SuperPower, Dr. Xie is responsible for interaction with customers to address their specific technical
requirements for the 2G HTS wire product. He joined SuperPower in 2002 as Senior Materials
Scientist responsible for product testing, along with the design and engineering of REBCO-based
2G HTS wire into a practical conductor for real-world applications. He has 18 years of experience
with high-temperature superconductors, including thin film synthesis and characterization, electrical
and mechanical testing, and quality control for 2G HTS scale-up. Dr. Xie earned a Ph.D. degree in
Physics from the University of Kansas, and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Condensed Matter Physics in
1988 and 1985, respectively, from Wuhan University, China.
With these changes to the management team, SuperPower looks forward to
continuing and increasing its strong progress in the world of second-generation high temperature
superconductors and to building and strengthening its customer relationships.
continuing and increasing its strong progress in the world of second-generation high temperature
superconductors and to building and strengthening its customer relationships.
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Contact:
Traute F. Lehner, SuperPower
Tel: (518) 346-1414 ext. 3070
E-mail: tlehner@superpower-inc.com
Traute F. Lehner, SuperPower
Tel: (518) 346-1414 ext. 3070
E-mail: tlehner@superpower-inc.com
About SuperPower
SuperPower, Inc. is a subsidiary of Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI), following
Philips’ November 2006 acquisition of Intermagnetics General Corporation. SuperPower was
formed in March 2000 to provide a strong focus for the development and commercialization of
HTS technology for technologies that benefit from high energy density, high magnetic fields and
environmental benefits, including energy, medical, transportation, research and other sectors.
SuperPower, Inc. is a subsidiary of Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI), following
Philips’ November 2006 acquisition of Intermagnetics General Corporation. SuperPower was
formed in March 2000 to provide a strong focus for the development and commercialization of
HTS technology for technologies that benefit from high energy density, high magnetic fields and
environmental benefits, including energy, medical, transportation, research and other sectors.
