Officers

Frank R. Alix, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, co-founded Powerspan in 1994. Frank has over 25 years of experience in energy related fields. Prior to assuming his present role at Powerspan, Frank worked as a venture capital investor where he directed investments in early-stage technology ventures. Frank has over 15 years’ experience in the construction, maintenance, and repair of nuclear power plants on submarines. He began his career at General Dynamics and later worked as a senior nuclear engineering manager for over nine years at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. There Frank headed the Nuclear Test Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Divisions where he was responsible for more than 200 engineers and technicians. As the head of the NR-1 Engineering Group, Frank was responsible for all electrical and mechanical propulsion plant systems during the first Submarine NR-1 Refueling overhaul. Frank has a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and an M.B.A. from the University of New Hampshire. Frank is co-inventor on several of Powerspan's patents.

Phillip D. Boyle, President and Chief Operating Officer, joined the Company as Vice President of Engineering in 1996 after spending 20 years with the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. In his role as Program Manager for Shipyard Matters, Phil was responsible for oversight and direction of nuclear work at four public and two private shipyards.  Prior to this, Phil served as the Naval Reactors Representative for eight years at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, overseeing maintenance and refueling of nuclear submarines.  Earlier in his career, Phil led the headquarters design group for reactor plant fluid systems for the Navy's Fleet Ballistic Missile submarine, the TRIDENT Class. Phil holds a B.S. in Engineering Physics and a Master's of Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, both attained at Cornell University.  Phil also holds an M.B.A. from the University of New Hampshire.

Lynn K. Friedel, Chief Financial Officer, joined the Company in 1995. Lynn has over 20 years of combined experience in finance, administration and manufacturing as well as in entrepreneurial ventures. She served publicly traded Termiflex Corporation from 1986 to 1993 as Vice President of Finance, Administration and Manufacturing. She was Vice President of Finance and Administration at Itran Corporation from 1982 to 1986. Lynn has served on several boards of directors for both publicly traded and private companies. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Management from SLL-University of New Hampshire and an M.B.A. from Plymouth State College.

David Bernier, Vice President of Projects, came to Powerspan in 2000 from Hatch Technology Group, an engineering consulting firm that he co-founded. As President, Dave was responsible for strategic planning, business development, design/R&D coordination, marketing, and project management. In his previous position, he was Plant Operations Manager for Molten Metal Technology’s Research and Development facility, where he managed the design, construction and start-up of a “first-of-a-kind” hazardous waste processing plant. He served for nine years at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as a production engineer, project leader, and production engineering manager for the naval nuclear submarine refueling overhaul. Dave earned his B.S. degree in Mechanical/Nuclear Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and holds an M.B.A. from the University of New Hampshire.

Christopher R. McLarnon, Ph.D., Vice President of Engineering and Research & Development, joined Powerspan in 1996. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire where he also received his BS and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering. Chris has worked with radiation initiated chemistry and its application to pollution control for over 20 years.  He has supervised process development of a number of pollution control technologies for application to coal-fired power plant exhaust.  Chris has also directed pilot and demonstration unit testing at operating coal-fired power plants.

Staff

Stephanie J. Procopis, Director of Marketing, joined Powerspan in 1995. At Teradyne Connection Systems, Stephanie worked as a Product Engineer and Account Manager. There she served as a technical integrator for one of this division's largest customers where her responsibilities included improving customer design manufacturability and product quality, and identifying areas for cost reduction. Prior to this, Stephanie worked at McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company as a technical liaison and instructor to NASA's Space Station Training Division at Johnson Space Center. Stephanie holds a B.S. in Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.B.A. from the University of New Hampshire.

Brian E. Kaschak, Director of Procurement, joined Powerspan in 2001. Brian has over 29 years of experience in the construction industry including 24 years in energy-related fields. Brian was Director of Procurement for Hamon Corporation from 1998 and Manager of Purchasing for Hamon Cooling Towers for the previous 12 years. His earlier work includes 15 years of construction management experience with Catalytic, Inc, as Field Administrative Manager, Zurn Industries as Project Accountant, and Research Cottrell as Office Manager. Brian has significant international experience, including working abroad for several years. Related fields include cooling towers, air cooled heat exchangers, chimneys, electrostatic precipitators, scrubbers, fabric filters, and DeNOx systems. His expertise extends to the areas of global procurement, project management, subcontracting, logistics, cost accounting, and policies and procedures. Brian's education includes coursework in contract litigation, construction management, computer technology, and business administration.