Joe Powell

About

Joe Powell (Joseph B. Powell, PhD) served as Shell's first Chief Scientist for Chemical Engineering from 2006 until retiring at the end of 2020, over a 36-year industry career leading R&D in new chemical processes, biofuels, enhanced oil recovery, and the energy transition to net-zero carbon. He is a Fellow and former Director of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, co-inventor on more than 125 patent applications, and co-author of Sustainable Development in the Process Industries: Cases and Impact (2010). He chaired the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee and was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2021; he holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BS from the University of Virginia, both in chemical engineering.