R & D 10 questions with Dr. Tom Butcher, NORA An overview of the new NORA lab In 2016, the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA), in collaboration with the New York Oil Heating Association (NYOHA) and Oil Heat Comfort Corp., opened a research and training facility the—NORA Research & Education Center, in Plainview, NY, under the direction of Dr. Thomas Butcher. ICM’s Publisher, Don Farrell, Butcher spoke to Dr. Butcher about the lab, its funding, its staffing, its projects and its goals. Don Farrell: What is the official name of the research center and what is its mission? Tom Butcher: The official name is NORA Research & Education Center. The mission of the research part is to support the development of advanced technologies that lead to improved efficiency, increased integration of renewable fuels and enhanced reliability of liquid fuels heating systems. Liquid fuels are traditional petroleum-based fuels and also biofuels such as biodiesel and other woodderived liquid fuels. DF: Why choose Long Island for the location? TB: Long Island, NY is an area that’s very strong for heating oil, which is important. Many stakeholders and local industry people who really care come frequently, which is fantastic in helping with the lab. The access to transportation is great, between major highways and air travel. In addition, it’s close to major universities, and of course, Brookhaven National Laboratories, with whom we have had the opportunity to collaborate. DF: Oil Heat Comfort Corp. and New York Oil Heating Association (NYOHA) are two stakeholders as well, correct? TB: Right, but their involvement is more in the technical training/education functions. DF: How is this lab funded? TB: NORA has a mandate in its statute that a minimum of 30% of its budget is spent on Research and Demonstration; this is a major source of funds. Additionallly, the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) is also providing funds for specific projects now and certainly we’re hoping to make that a continuing part of this. NORA mostly funds the day-to-day operations while NYSERDA cooperates by funding projects. DF: What about when you collaborate on joint projects with manufacturers? TB: W are not opposed to the idea of some funds coming in from manufacturers. What could work is that manufacturers could go to a third party—like Department of Energy (DOE) or somebody else—with a package proposal with some funds for the NORA lab, which would then come through the company. Certainly, it could make a lot of sense for the NORA lab to cooperate with manufacturers on research projects as part of a team, in which case the funding would be external—it could be a company or a third party. DF: Who staffs the research center? TB: It is staffed by me and two interns from Stony Brook University. I have a PhD in research engineering with well over 30 years of experience in combustion research. Jonathan McCutcheon, who goes by the name of “Mike,” is a senior, graduating in May, from the Chemical Engineering program at Stony Brook University. He has a great deal of experience in the biofuels lab at Stony Brook, which is we consider to be a partner institution for us. He has a lot of personal interest and experience with biofuels—he’s very strong with analytical techniques for biofuel characterization. He will graduate with a Bachelors in Chemical Engineering. Brian Gainey is a Mechanical Engineer. He is also going to graduate from Stony Brook University in May. He works very closely with the engines combustion lab at the Advanced Energy Research & Technology Center at Stony Brook. We have a very good working relationship with that team as 14 ICM/March/April 2017
ICM March-Apri 2017
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