Joe Powell (Joseph B. Powell, PhD) is Executive Director of the University of Houston Energy Transition Institute, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, Fellow and former Director of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He served as Shell’s first Chief Scientist – Chemical Engineering from 2006 – 2020, culminating a 36-year industry career where he led R&D programs in new chemical processes, biofuels, enhanced oil recovery, and advised on global strategy for the energy transition. He is co-inventor on more than 160 patent publications (63 granted), has received AIChE / ACS / R&D Magazine awards for Innovation, Service, and Practice, and is co-author of Sustainable Development in the Process Industries: Cases and Impact (2010) and Insights into the New Hydrogen Economy (2024). He chaired the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee (HTAC), served two terms on the U. S. National Academy Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, on the editorial board of Annual Review of Chemical and Biological Engineering. He served as crosscutting team lead for Mission Innovation Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (2017), co-author on dual reports for the National Academy Carbon Utilization Infrastructure, Markets, Research, and Development Committee (2021-24), and currently serves on the U.S. DOE’s Industrial Technology Innovation Advisory Committee (ITIAC) and as advisor to the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development. Dr. Powell obtained a PhD from the U. Wisconsin-Madison (1984) and a BS from the U. Virginia (1978), both in chemical engineering.