David Allen
Director
Dr. David Allen is the Gertz Regents Professor of Chemical Engineering, and the Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Resources, at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of six books and over 170 papers in areas ranging from coal liquefaction and heavy oil chemistry to the chemistry of urban atmospheres. For the past decade, his work has focused primarily on urban air quality and the development of materials for environmental education.
Dr. Allen was a lead investigator for the first and second Texas Air Quality Studies, which involved hundreds of researchers drawn from around the world, and which have had a substantial impact on the direction of air quality policies in Texas. He has also developed environmental educational materials for engineering curricula and for the University’s core curriculum. The quality of his work has been recognized by the National Science Foundation (through the Presidential Young Investigator Award), the AT&T Foundation (through an Industrial Ecology Fellowship), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (through the Cecil Award for contributions to environmental engineering), and the State of Texas (through the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award). He has won teaching awards at the University of Texas and UCLA.
Dr. Allen received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering, with distinction, from Cornell University in 1979. His M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering were awarded by the California Institute of Technology in 1981 and 1983. He has held visiting faculty appointments at the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the Department of Energy.
Vincent Torres
Associate Director
Research interests and expertise include energy and fluid systems design, analysis and project management. Other expertise includes measurement of emissions from industrial flares, indoor and outdoor air quality measurements and assessments, and development of specifications for remediation of microbial contamination especially identification of sources and control of indoor air pollution and its relationship to HVAC systems.
Mr. Torres has provided consulting services or conducted research projects for various state agencies, industrial firms, electric utilities, municipalities, US District Court and school districts in the areas of air quality, performance of industrial flares, energy analysis of industrial processes, technical and economic analysis of dielectric heating for industrial processes, market analysis of electro-technologies, assessment of indoor air quality in schools and commercial buildings and its relationship to HVAC systems, development of remediation plans for microbial contamination in schools, homes and commercial buildings, and project management for the establishment and operation of continuous air quality monitoring stations throughout Texas. Has also conducted microbial contamination remediation training of physical plant personnel at The University of Texas at Austin.
