John R. Bitler, vice president & principal, Levitan & Associates, Inc.

John R. Bitler, Vice President & Principal with Levitan & Associates, Inc. (LAI), has 30 years of experience in the energy industry encompassing a wide range of fuel, power generation, and emissions control issues. Mr. Bitler advises power generators and other large energy end-users regarding power and fuel market trends, fuel procurement strategies, coal-related technologies, and the economics of emissions controls. He has provided expert testimony on behalf of power generators and industrial end-users concerning fuel and power contract restructuring, generation economics, and fuel conversion issues. Mr. Bitler has extensive industry experience involving feasibility assessments and the commercialization of coalbed methane, intermediate Btu coal gasification, flue gas desulfurization, underground coal gasification, and new coal mining and processing technologies. Prior to joining LAI in 1992, Mr. Bitler was President of Environmental Catalyst Consultants, Inc., where he was responsible for directing technology evaluation studies and market assessments of catalytic emissions control processes for power generation applications. He worked previously at Stone & Webster Management Consultants as an Executive Consultant focusing on coal and natural gas supply issues for power generators and gas utilities. Mr. Bitler's industry experience includes commercial development, market planning and engineering positions with InterNorth, Inc., (formerly the parent company for Northern Natural Gas Co.), as well as research engineering and policy analysis positions with U.S. Steel and the U.S. Bureau of Mines. Mr. Bitler holds a B.S. degree in Mineral Economics from The Pennsylvania State University and an M.S. degree from the University of Pittsburgh in Mining Engineering.

Claude C. Corkadel, vice president, Rentech, Inc.

Claude C. Corkadel III is the Vice-President - Strategic Programs for Rentech, Inc., Denver, Colorado. Rentech is an energy technology company developing a proprietary Fisher-Tropsch process to convert coal, petroleum coke, natural gas and biomass into clean burning transportation fuels and chemicals. In this position, Mr. Corkadel is responsible for overseeing the operations of Rentech's subsidiary companies and participating in critical coal-to-liquids (CTL) projects. He was also the principal responsible for the CTL study funded by the Wyoming Business Council which validated the economic viability of CTL projects using western coals.

Prior to joining Rentech, Mr. Corkadel spent almost three decades with Mobil Oil Corporation working in a broad range of positions including President of Mobil Philippines, Planning Manager for Mobil Nigeria, Marketing & Strategic Planning positions with Mobil's Alternative Energy businesses (including coal-to-liquids, oil shale and tar sands projects), and Global Director for their Specialty Products business (asphalts, waxes, solvents and process oils). He has also been involved in several start-up companies in the Rockies area since retiring from Mobil.

Mr. Corkadel is a graduate of Colorado School of Mines with a BS in Metallurgical Engineering with a minor in Mineral Economics and received his MBA in Finance from Drexel University.

Tim Cornitius, analyst, Zeus Development Corporation, editor, Syngas Refiner

Tim Cornitius, editor of SYNGAS Refiner and Local Content Report, is a principal in the Zeus Development Corporation's global energy practice, bringing more than 20 years of experience in covering such areas as natural gas markets, petrochemicals, lubricants and coal. His experience includes analyzing supply and demand for Exxon Coal USA, compiling data on fuel use and mileage for the U.S. Marine Corp, conducting and maintaining energy statistical surveys and databases for major energy research firms. Cornitius earned a BA degree from the University of Houston in 1981.

Diane Kearney, operations research analyst, EIA

Diane Kearney is an operations research analyst with the energy forecasting office of the Energy Information Administration, an independent statistical agency within the Department of Energy. She is involved in the publication of the Annual Energy Outlook, the International Energy Outlook, and additional energy analyses requested by Congress and other government agencies. Specifically, Ms. Kearney is responsible for modeling coal distribution and coal transportation rate projections. She holds a M.S. degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Maryland.

Henry Liu, president, Freight Pipeline Company

Henry Liu has a Ph. D. from Colorado State University, specializing in fluid mechanics. He is the founder and President of FPC. He is the founder and President of FPC. He started FPC in 2001 after retiring from the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) where he was a chaired professor and the Director of Capsule Pipeline Research Center (CPRC). CPRC was a State/Industry University Cooperative Research Center (S/IUCRC) established by National Science Foundation(NFS) at MU in 1991 to research and develop the capsule pipeline technology for beneficial use. Dr. Liu served in leadership positions on several national and international organizations such as: Chairman of the Aerodynamics Committee, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Chairman of Pipeline Research Committee (ASCE), and President of the International Freight Pipeline Society (IFPS). He received numerous honors including Aerospace Science and Technology Applications Award (ASCE), Bechtel Pipeline Engineering Award (ASCE), Distinguished Lecture Award (IFPS), Missouri Energy Innovation Award, three University of Missouri faculty awards, and the Barton A. Thomas Award for the Best Technical Presentation at the 2005 World of Coal Ash (WOCA) Conference . He is the inventor or co-inventor of five capsule pipeline related patents, and one combustion safety related patent. He has published more than 100 technical papers and two books: Wind Engineering, Prentice Hall, 1991 and Pipeline Engineering, CRC Press, 2003. He is a Professional Engineer (PE) registered in Missouri .

Bob Nimocks, president, Zeus Development Corporation

Zeus Development Corporation is an energy research firm that focuses on world gas development. The company commonly serves manufacturing and oilfield service clients evaluating markets for their products and services in the LNG, GTL, methanol, DME, IGCC and gas-export-related markets. Zeus publishes a number of market-related periodicals, including the www.LNGExpress.com, www.SyngasRefiner.com and www.GasMonetizer.com and organizes workshops, conferences and training programs.

Prior to founding Zeus in 1991, Nimocks was vice president of corporate development for Elders Resources North America, the North American division of an international energy and natural resources company with substantial natural gas production. He earned an MBA from Harvard University (1987), served in the management consulting division of Accenture (1981-84) and obtained BS and BBA degrees from Mississippi State University (1981).