Subodh Kumar Das (born 19 June 1947) is a scientist, engineer, and inventor who works in the aluminum industry. He is the founder and CEO of Phinix, LLC, an international consulting firm serving the aluminum industry. Previously, Das has served on the boards of The Aluminum Association, SECAT, Inc., and the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. The American Society of Metals elected him as ASM Fellow in 2002.Luther, Nellie. "Recipient: 2000 Aluminum Distinguished Service Award." TMS. Web. 28 June 2011. . The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society also awarded Das its prestigious Distinguished Service Award in 2001. He was also awarded the JOM Best Paper Award in 2011.

Early life

Subodh was born and grew up close to the Nepalese border in small villages and towns of north-eastern province of

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He came to the United States in 1971.Worden, Edward. "Pull up a Chair and Find out Why Secat's Subodh Das Is Smiling." American Metal Market (2005): 8. AMM.com. 10 June 2005. Web. 28 June 2011. http://www.amm.com/Article/2542554/Search/Results/Pull-up-a-chair-and-find-out-why-Secats-Subodh-Das-is-smiling.html?Keywords=pull+up+a+chair+inmeta%3aAUTHORS~Edward&OrderType=1&PeriodType=0&StartMonth=7&StartYear=2007&EndMonth=7&EndYear=2011&ScopeIndex=0.

Education

Das has attended a number of institutions throughout his career. He received his Bachelor of Science in 1968 from the Bihar Institute of Technology (now known as the

Birsa Institute of Technology, Sindri BIT Sindri, is an affiliated engineering college in Sindri, Jharkhand, India. Established in 1949, BIT Sindri is one of the oldest engineering and technological institute in India. BIT Sindri emerged as rank 1 in the East Zone and 9th in enginee ...

) in Jharkhand, India. In 1972, he received his master's in technology, with a focus in

metallurgical engineering Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

, from the

Indian Institute of Technology The Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) are a network of engineering and technology institutions in India. Established in 1950, they are under the purview of the Ministry of Education of the Indian Government and are governed by the Instit ...

, in

Kanpur, India Kanpur ( Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary financial and commercial centre of northern India. Founded ...

The Aluminum Association. Secat’s Subodh Das Elected Member of Aluminum Association Board. News. 15 Oct. 2007. Web. 29 June 2011. <>. In 1974, he received his PhD in metallurgical engineering from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. In 1982, he received his MBA, with a focus on corporate planning, from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

Career

ALCOA

Das' career began in 1974, when he started working for the Aluminum Company of America (

ALCOA Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

), in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Das served as a research scientist, developing new aluminum smelting and carbon electrode technologies. Das would eventually obtain 20 U.S. patents for ALCOA."Subodh Das Profile." LinkedIn. Web. 28 June 2011. .

ARCO

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Das served as the VP of technology and quality for ARCO Aluminum, Inc. in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. Das was involved in various projects, including the manufacturing aspects of alumina refineries, qualifying an aluminum rolling plant (Logan Aluminum in Kentucky, US), and developing and commercializing ARCO Aluminum's can sheet business. Das' efforts in the region led to the product development, customer qualification, and market commercialization of aluminum beverage can sheet products produced from the Logan Aluminum mill, the world's largest can-sheet mill.Worden, Edward. "Pull up a Chair and Find out Why Secat's Subodh Das Is Smiling." American Metal Market (2005): 8. AMM.com. 10 June 2005. Web. 28 June 2011. .

University of Kentucky

Das worked as an adjunct professor for the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

from 2004 to 2008. During his tenure in Lexington, he launched a number of projects, including SECAT, Inc., UK's Center for Aluminum Technology, and the

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is an American philanthropic nonprofit organization. It was established in 1934 by Alfred P. Sloan Jr., president and chief executive officer of General Motors. The Sloan Foundation makes grants to support origina ...

's Sloan Industry Center for Sustainable Aluminum Industry (CSAI).

SECAT, Inc.

In the August 1999, Das established SECAT, Inc., a commercial technical research firm whose work focuses primarily on the aluminum industry. The company has also provided opportunities to University of Kentucky students, "providing scholarship and assistantship opportunities, as well as summer and full time employment, to promising students". Das served as SECAT president and CEO from 1999 through 2008."UK, MIT Partnership to Focus on Automotive Industry." The Lane Report. Lane Communications Group, Feb. 2007. Web. 17 July 2011. <>

CAT

The same year he founded SECAT, Das also established the University of Kentucky's Center for Aluminum Technology, a research center dedicated to conducting basic and applied research for the global aluminum industry.Bruns, Adam. "Shiny Happy People: Conditions Are Ripe for the Aluminum Industry in Kentucky." The Lane Report. Lane Communications Group, Aug. 2001. Web. 8 Aug. 2011. <>. Das served as center director from 1999 to 2008.

The Sloan Foundation

In 2005, while working with the University of Kentucky's

Gatton College of Business and Economics Gatton College of Business and Economics is a college of the University of Kentucky. Gatton College educates more than 4,000 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students in accounting, economics, finance, management, and marketing and supply ch ...

, Das founded the

's Sloan Industry Center for Sustainable Aluminum Industry (CSAI). The center primarily worked on the business and technology aspects of analyzing, devising implementable strategies and promoting aluminum recycling and enhancing recycling rates for all industrial sectors. Das served as CSAI's executive director from 2005 to 2008.

Phinix, LLC

In 2008, Das founded Phinix, LLC., an international consulting firm serving the aluminum industry. Phinix also provides services in the areas of the renewable energy project developments for agricultural methane and waste to energy from

municipal solid waste Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the American English, United States and rubbish in British English, Britain, is a List of waste types, waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. ...

and carbon management services to cities, states, and countries. Das is the current CEO of the company. In 2013, Phinix LLC published ''Sustainability Gone Postal'', a 15-part guide to green living, based on the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

Go Green Stamp Collection. On 19 September 2013,

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy ARPA-E, or Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy is an agency within the United States Department of Energy tasked with funding the research and development of advanced energy technologies. The goal of the agency is to improve U.S. economic ...

awarded Phinix a grant to develop a new electrochemical cell technology that can recover high-quality magnesium from aluminum- magnesium scrap. Following the APRA-E announcement, Congressman

Andy Barr Garland Hale "Andy" Barr IV (born July 24, 1973) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Kentucky's 6th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the adm ...

congratulated Das for Phinix' success, "I congratulate Phinix, LLC as it is announced that the company’s innovative metal recycling project will receive funding from ARPA-E following a competitive review process...Phinix’s presence in Lexington, established following Dr. Subodh Das’s tenure at the University of Kentucky, demonstrates the important role of the Commonwealth’s university system in providing an educated workforce for the industries of the future."

Publications

Das has published over 45 papers and has edited 6 books in the areas of aluminum processes, product development, and recycling. Das has signed a contract with John Wiley & Sons, Inc. to publish a book titled, ''Carbon Management for the Global Metals Industry.'' The book, scheduled to be published in 2015, addresses the current methods being currently used and suggests new ways to mitigate the carbon footprint.Carbon Management for the Global Metals Industries. Advertisement. Wiley.com. John Wiley & Sons. Web. 17 July 2011.

References

External links

* Subodh K. Das LinkedIn Profil

* Subodh Das' Blo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Subodh 1947 births Living people Indian metallurgists People from Bihar University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni Indian emigrants to the United States