Stephen (Steve) Zitney
Stephen E. Zitney retired from the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in 2024 with over 35 years of R&D experience in process systems engineering (PSE) for advanced energy and chemical process applications and the environment. He joined the NETL in 2004 and conducted PSE research under the Strategic Systems Analysis and Engineering Directorate in Morgantown, WV. Within the Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES), Dr. Zitney led R&D efforts on the design, operation, and control of flexible integrated energy systems. In 2011, Dr. Zitney launched the AVESTAR Center for Advanced Virtual Energy Simulation Training And Research at West Virginia University, where he also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering.
Before joining the NETL, Dr. Zitney held senior consulting and R&D management positions at Fluent, a leading provider of computational fluid dynamics software, Aspen Technology, a major supplier of process simulation software, and Cray Research, a leading provider of supercomputing tools to the process and energy industries. He received M.S./Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois and a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University.
Dr. Zitney has authored and co-authored over 150 publications, 200 conference presentations, two book chapters, and 60 invited presentations on PSE and operations research. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and served as a Trustee of the Computer Aids for Chemical Engineering Corporation from 2010 to 2024. Dr. Zitney is the recipient of numerous awards including seven prestigious R&D100 Awards and seven Federal Laboratory Consortium Awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer.