Anthony Nielsen
Chemical Engineering Expert Witness
Anthony is a Northeastern Chemical Engineering Master’s program graduate and Gordon Engineering Fellow with experience in petroleum chemistry, organic chemical formulation, toxicological assessment, chemical synthesis, analytical methods including SEM/EDX and GC/MS, prototyping and product design, fuel cell data analysis, project management, phase gate modeling, and database management.
Strengths & Expertise ● Project Management ● Toxicological Assessment ● Organic Chemical Research ● Training Program Implementation ● Process Improvement ● Team Leadership & Participation ● Quality Control ● Development of In-House Testing |
EXPERIENCE
Mar 2019 – Present
Disruptor Scientific LLC, Sole Proprietor/Formulation Chemist/Chemical Engineer
Reno, NV
Feb 2023 – June 2024
Quantum Ventura Inc., Chemical Engineer/System Operator
Carson City, NV
Jan 2019 – May 2020
Truckee Meadows Community College, Chemistry Professor/Student Coordinator
Reno, NV
Sep 2016 – Present
Independant Consultant, Cannabis Chemist & Engineer
Reno, NV
Sep 2015 – Sep 2015
Blaze Tech, Chemical Engineer
Boston, MA
Acumetrics, Fuel Cell Technician
Boston, MA
Enernoc, Energy Services Project Manager
Boston, MA
Apr 2007 – Aug 2013
Chevron Research Technology Company, Associate Research Chemist
Richmond, CA
EDUCATION
Mar 2019 – Present
Disruptor Scientific LLC, Sole Proprietor/Formulation Chemist/Chemical Engineer
Reno, NV
- Commercial product development
- Process engineering and scale-up
- Chemical formulation of new products
- Management of a private lab on a university campus since Fall 2019
- Hosting and teaching of interns about chemical formulation and engineering methods relevant to current industries
- Consulting on litigation claims ranging from homicide cases to insurance fraud
- Interpretation of third-party GC/MS, HPLC, LC/MS, IC, SEM, and ICP analytical data for material characterization and explanation to clients
Feb 2023 – June 2024
Quantum Ventura Inc., Chemical Engineer/System Operator
Carson City, NV
- Electrochemical recovery of base metals and precious metals from end-of-life PCB boards
- De-manufacturing of PCB boards
- Management of Laboratory Inventory Management and Electronic Laboratory Notebook systems
- Supply chain management of PCB feedstock, chemical inventory, and product output
- Environmental Health and Safety/Occupational Health and Safety management for compliance
- Interpretation of analytical test results including ICP-MS, AAS, and XRF
- Preventative maintenance scheduling of equipment
- Scale-up planning for equipment purchases and reaction vessels
Jan 2019 – May 2020
Truckee Meadows Community College, Chemistry Professor/Student Coordinator
Reno, NV
- Teaching introductory chemistry curriculum to 27 students
- Leading students in laboratory exercises and safety protocols
- Grading homework assignments and laboratory reports
- Counseling and advising students on class scheduling and other various resources
Sep 2016 – Present
Independant Consultant, Cannabis Chemist & Engineer
Reno, NV
- Formulation of an indoor cannabis fertilizer for an East Coast cultivation operation
- Development of analytical methods for terpene, residual solvent, potency, and pesticides in cannabis flower/concentrate for MedMen’s 45,000 sq ft facility in Sparks, NV
- Commissioning of an analytical lab for quality control testing of cannabis flower and concentrate for the Medmen facility in Sparks, NV
- Writing of SOPs for analytical testing and quantification/validation of results for Medmen in Sparks, NV
- Lab design and commissioning for both analytical instrumentation and extraction processes for various bay area companies
- Operation of closed-loop hydrocarbon extraction of cannabis concentrate
- Research and development including the profiling of terpenes and the study of other extraction methods for increasing thc yield in concentrates to 50%
- Provision of analytical expertise regarding HPLC, GC/MS, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and IR Spectroscopic analysis of cannabis related products
- Hydrocarbon extraction and distillate processing, training of technicians, and troubleshooting with Extraordinary Extracts
- Project planning, purchase orders, branding, and design for Extraordinary Extracts brand products
- Cannabis vape oil formulation chemistry for a private cannabis company
Sep 2015 – Sep 2015
Blaze Tech, Chemical Engineer
Boston, MA
- Lead the research and development efforts for a heat suppressant foam driven by a compressed air system for military applications including design, prototyping, performance testing of air and liquid speed as well as foam expansion, analysis of results, and delivering report updates to the client
- Performed toxicological assessment of lethal dose and maximum ingestion of allegedly non-toxic chemicals reported in the high-expansion foam formulation sheet
- Developed various in-house tests such as additives for temperature point depression, foam heat characteristics, and prediction of the fluid dynamics of foam generator systems
- Developed safety training materials including oil refinery incident prevention and Hydrofluoric Acid safety in alkylation plants
Acumetrics, Fuel Cell Technician
Boston, MA
- Performed startup and shut down procedures for all fuel cell test stations and worked with the production team to ensure fuel cells were created to the specifications of the laboratory manager
- Used Solid Oxide Fuel Cell test stands equipped with data loggers to monitor and record electrical load, power density, electrical output, fuel gas concentration effects, and other electrical performance profiles
- Developed new testing methods for failure analysis including the effects of heated Nitric Acid in enhancing porosity of the cell and used surfactants to improve electrical output
- Performed SEM/EDX analysis for further characterization of fuel cells which resulted in detecting Chromium contamination in the initial batch production and Strontium crystallization from the cathode after 8000 hours
Enernoc, Energy Services Project Manager
Boston, MA
- Programmed in Visual Basic to deliver a highly automated cloud-based reporting system prototype for streamlining Energy Services & audit and commissioning reports as well as other key deliverables
- Project managed a multi-regional team of 13 Energy Services members to build the data reporting system prototype
- Held biweekly meeting, used Six Sigma methodologies, and developed a phase gate process to ensure the delivery of the prototype by August 2015
- Performed market analysis for upper management which proved the prototype initiative could potentially bring in $1 million in new business revenue over the next year upon completion
Apr 2007 – Aug 2013
Chevron Research Technology Company, Associate Research Chemist
Richmond, CA
- Managed three separate laboratories and ensured the passing of all audits conducted by upper management, cataloged all zeolite samples, and initiated standard operating procedures per Chevron standards
- Formulation of organic templates used to grow silica/alumina zeolite crystals within a given pore size and viscosity
- Performed zeolite synthesis with autoclaves from 23cc to 5 gallons, ran viscosity measurements of zeolite slurries, washed and worked up samples to send out for various analytical tests, calcined zeolites in 1000⁰F programmable ovens, and further activated zeolites by using an ammonium nitrate ion exchange process
- Conducted quality control with the Technology Marketing Team on campaigns averaging around $1.7 million
- Performed constraint index feed testing using a 50:50 mix of n-hexane and 3-methyl pentane that was analyzed via GC/MS
- Assisted in the commissioning of a new laboratory with 4 automated constraint index test stations with Wonderware software as well as standardization of procedures and training of junior chemists
- Was a member of the Hydrofluoric Acid safety team that conducted drills, wrote job safety analysis reports, disposed of hazardous HF waste, and stocked proper PPE in accordance to HF safety standards
- Conducted scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy
- Performed analytical work in conjunction with the Applied Research and Catalysis team for characterization of their samples and the Failure Analysis team on projects such as an epoxy mounted sample of a cross section from a burst pipe
- Operated a particle size analyzer equipped with a sonicating laser counter to separate and characterize the size of each particle
- Analyzed ball-bearing wear scars using an optical microscope and measured the size of the scratches on the ball bearing for the characterization of different lubricants
- Performed wax crystallization which involved the heating and gradual cooling of a waxy sample of crude oil to determine the melting and freezing point of the wax crystals
- Analyzed contaminated soil samples using liquid chromatography to test for lead content from different refinery locations using HPLC-MS
EDUCATION
- Northeastern University, M.S. Chemical Engineering (2016)
- Northeastern University, Gordon Engineering Leadership Fellow (2014)
- University of California Los Angeles, B.S. Chemistry (2005)