If U.S. country singer Martina McBride was “country when country wasn’t cool,” then surely Professor Somyos Durongkadej was “green before green meant clean.” Recently appointed CEO of Asian Energy (manufacturers of photo-voltaic energy solutions), Professor Somyos fits the Asian Energy profile a smoothly as the proverbial hand in a silk glove.

Ever mindful of the environment, Somyos skillfully parlayed his hybrid engineering instincts into the development of energy cells and hybrid engines, leading Neah’ Power Systems’ scientific development team in Bangkok, in developing a 300-horsepower hybrid automobile engine based on Neah’s own patented, methanol-powered fuel cell. This new approach to motor soft-start technology can increase lithium ion the life of a battery by as much as 40% in electric vehicles.

Positions in Thailand
Before coming to Neah Power Systems in January, 2010, Professor Somyos held a number of managerial positions requiring his technical expertise in both the public and private sectors in Thailand. He also served as a consultant to the Thai government. Most recently, he worked as General Manager of B&W Auto Parts (2004 – 2005), Managing Director of Chemplus Group Co. (2005 – 2006), and Managing Director of PS Factory Home Appliances Co ( 2006 -present).

Two Decades in U.S. and Canada
Professor Samyos spent early professional career on America’s Eastern Seaboard. After completing his M.S. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo., he remained in America for nearly two decades, where he worked for these companies: Fairchild Company as production engineer, IBM as systems analyst (both in Gaithersburg, MD); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Greenbelt, MD, as Land Satellite Specialist, Dept. of Defense (DOD) in Washington, DC, as Computer Specialist in Charge of Electronic Computer Security in Mainframe.

Professor Samyos left Thailand af ter after earning his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from his native Thailand’s esteemed Clulalongkorn University. He went to Canada and studied computer technology in Montreal, where he worked as an electrical engineer and also as a systems analyst. Finding computer technology and electrical engineering to be complementary fields, he decided to seek further training in computer technology, and moved to the United States.

He registered at Oklahoma State University in the late 1970’s , where he assumed dual teaching assistant’s positions, in computer science and in electrical engineering, all the while pursuing a master’s degree in the then-new field of hybrid engineering.

A Hybrid Pioneer
Professor Somyos earned a Master’s Degree in Hybrid Engineering back when the very concept was in its infancy. Robotics was still mainly on the drawing boards. CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing) software required so much memory that only major institutions and large manufacturers could afford it.

Briefly, hybrid engineering combines the mutually beneficially (characteristics) of two or more engineering disciplines. For example, mechatronics combines the electromechanics of electrical and mechanical engineering with the newer fields of CAD/CAM, computer software, and microprocessors.

Such a vast array of knowledge and expertise is bound to make a person aware and insightful, ever thinking, ever wondering. “If this is going on here, and that is going on there, and I do this to that, what will happen? “ One can only wonder what innovations Professor Somyos will imagine, develop, and implement next. But rest assured that Asian Energy, the ASEAN nations, and the rest of the world will all be cleaner and greener because of him!

Posted by Shayne Heffernan on Mar 13th, 2010and filed underAsia, Latest News, The Hot List.You can follow any responses to this entry through theRSS 2.0You can leave a response by filling following comment form or trackback to this entry from your site