Dr. Jeffrey Seay is the PJC Board of Trustees Engineering Professor and Associate Professor of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Kentucky College of Engineering Paducah Extended Campus Program. He also holds an appointment as Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Dr. Seay joined the University of Kentucky in 2008 after a 12-year career as a process engineer in the chemical industry. His research interests include the integration of sustainable biomass supply chains with thermochemical modeling of biomass utilization processes as well as the application of appropriate technology to the production of alternative energy in underdeveloped regions. Dr. Seay is a past Chair of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Sustainable Engineering Forum (SEF) as well as past Vice-Chair and Education Committee Chair for the SEF. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the AIChE International Committee, Programming Chair for the AIChE Environmental Division and is a member of the Managing Board for the AIChE Institute for Sustainability.
Dr. Seay leads the University of Kentucky Appropriate Technology and Sustainability (UKATS) research group at the University of Kentucky Paducah Extended Campus. UKATS is focused on developing sustainable, renewable energy solutions for underdeveloped regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa and India. His group has collaborated with the African Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (ACREST) in Cameroon and the Organization of Development Action and Maintenance (ODAM) in India to develop a sustainable process for producing biofuel from locally available resources. In addition his group is working to develop metrics for evaluating the impacts for renewable energy processes in developing regions. Dr. Seay is a past faculty advisor to three US EPA funded People, Prosperity and the Planet projects focused on sustainability and green chemistry. Dr. Seay’s outreach activities include hosting local high school students who are interested in participating in sustainability focused research projects. Over 20 students from 5 area high schools have participated over the last 5 years.
Dr. Seay is the inaugural recipient of the AIChE SEF Sustainability Education Award (2013). He has been awarded the Outstanding Teaching Award in Chemical Engineering (2013) and the Dean’s Award for Service (2014) at the University of Kentucky. He is the 2017 winner of the University of Kentucky Provost Outstanding Teaching Award and the 2018 Henry Mason Lutes Outstanding Teaching Award. He has been selected as a Fulbright Specialist Roster Member for 2016 – 2021. Dr. Seay has a BS from Auburn University (1996), an MS from the University of South Alabama (2005) and a PhD from Auburn University, all in chemical engineering.