National Energy Technology Laboratory Leadership

Antonio M. Ferreira Ph.D. is a Chief Information Officer and Chief Information Security Officer at National Energy Technology Laboratory and is based in Manhattan, Kansas. He has worked as Technical Specialist/Scientific Computing & Engineering Manager at AECOM; Executive Director, Center for Simulation and Modeling at University of Pittsburgh; and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Chemistry at The University of Memphis Company. Antonio studied at University of Memphis between 1993 and 2000, United States Naval Academy between 1986 and 1987, and Syracuse University between 1989 and 1993.

As chief financial officer (CFO) for NETL, Jim Wilson is responsible for planning, direction and coordination of the Laboratory’s CFO, procurement and financial assistance functions; he provides effective oversight and stewardship of the Laboratory’s financial resources. Wilson has more than 30 years of management and finance experience in the energy industry, including serving as president of Wholesale and Retail Energy Trading Businesses within PJM Interconnection, corporate controller for a public electric utility and working as a management consultant in the energy industry and as an auditor with a Big Four accounting firm. Wilson holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Saint Vincent College and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.

Deputy Director and Chief Operations Officer at Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory

As chief operating officer for NETL, Michele Ostraat, Ph.D., provides strategic direction, leadership and management of NETL’s support functions and services, including cybersecurity and information technology infrastructure. Ostraat has more than 20 years in research, including more than 15 years’ experience in leadership. She previously served as senior downstream research center leader at Aramco Services Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she championed the launch, growth and expansion of Saudi Aramco’s Global Research Center. Ostraat holds a doctorate and master’s in chemical engineering from California Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Trinity University.

Experienced technology and research leader with over 20 years of experience of working at the interface of science and engineering. A strategic and critical thinker with respect to innovation and how to advance research enterprise within large organizations. A leadership approach that has embraced open communication, change management and decision making with transparency in large multi-disciplinary research organizations. Skilled in Environmental Consulting, Leadership, Modeling, and Water Resource Management. Strong program and project management professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) focused in Civil Engineering from The University of Memphis.

As deputy director and chief technology officer for NETL, Sean I. Plasynski, Ph.D., is responsible for managing the Lab’s national programs with various DOE national laboratories, universities and industrial partners. The focus surrounds the development of technology primarily for coal, oil, and gas in addition to technologies implemented by NETL for other parts of DOE. Over his 28-year career with NETL, Plasynski has held numerous management and technical positions, including acting director of NETL, chief operating officer, director of the Strategic Center of Coal, director of the Office of Coal and Power R&D, and Sequestration technology manager. He holds a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business.

As chief counsel for NETL, Susan Malie is responsible for the management and oversight of the complete portfolio of NETL legal matters. An accomplished legal executive, she leads the Office of Chief Counsel and administers expert guidance concerning legal authority for and implementation of all activities related to execution of NETL’s mission, including multiple R&D programs and projects, science and technical research, and management, business, strategic, financial and operational functions. Malie has decades of experience as senior in-house government corporate counsel managing full-service legal organizations engaged in a broad spectrum of legal practice. Malie holds a bachelor’s degree from Duquesne University and a Juris Doctor from Duquesne University School of Law.