Dr. Jonathan Christian is the Director of Research at Helicon Chemical Company and is also an Affiliated Faculty Member at the University of Notre Dame Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences. At Helicon, he directs the company’s research, product development, and innovation activities, and advises the executive team on existing and future technological and business development opportunities. Prior to joining Helicon, Jonathan was a Principal Scientist serving under Battelle at the U.S. Department of Energy Savannah River National Laboratory. He is considered an international expert in nuclear fuel and nuclear forensics and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in these subject areas. Jonathan holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Florida State University and a BS in Chemistry from Temple University.
Dr. William Harris is the Laboratory Director at Helicon Chemical Company. William directs the company’s day-to-day lab processes, laboratory production, data acquisition, and experimental design and execution. He also interfaces with the technical team to facilitate the development of technological advancements for existing and future product lines. Prior to joining Helicon, William was operating in the nuclear industry through the DoD, DoE, private sector, and various national laboratories. He holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Florida State University as well as BS degrees in both Biology and Chemistry from the University of the Cumberlands. While at FSU, he served for six years as a Research Assistant specializing in chemical theory, and the integration of theoretical models to enable robust all-atom computational simulations for complex biomolecular processes.
Ms. Teresa Guthrie is the Office & H.R. Manager at Helicon Chemical Company. She is responsible for all office procedures and utilizes her strong organizational skills to ensure smooth operations within the company’s busy work environment. Prior to joining Helicon Chemical Company, Teresa served for more than 15 years as the Office Manager at SimiGon Inc., a defense training and simulation company. In her role there, she was also a significant contributor to the financial team. Teresa is from Ontario, Canada and earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Brock University in St. Catherine’s, Ontario. She currently resides in DeLand, Florida with her husband, Phil, and yellow lab, Bones.
Jeremi Rakes joins Helicon as a Sr. Program Manager where he manages the execution of development programs under contract. He has over two decades of experience in product development as a mechanical engineer, manager, and director. In addition, he has over 15 years of experience working in highly regulated industries such as aerospace, defense and medical, where he worked on development programs for rotorcraft platforms, naval warfare systems, spacecraft, and medical devices. His strong engineering expertise, robust industry experience in product development, and technical leadership enable him to accel in the management of complex and advanced development programs. Jeremi holds a B.S. in Engineering Science and Technical Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Jeremi also holds two design patents in technical ceramics material processing.
Dr. Robert DeVor is a Principal Scientist for Helicon Chemical Company. Robert
oversees a highly skilled team of PhDs and technicians in the laboratory and is focused
on the optimization of current laboratory production processes and analyses as well
interfacing with the technical team on the development of next-generation products and
applications. Prior to starting with Helicon, Robert was a Senior Analytical Chemist with
Blue Origin as well as a Principal Investigator for the Applied Chemistry Laboratory at
Kennedy Space Center. He is considered a subject matter expert in the areas of
hypergolic propellants and environmental remediation, and has several patents and
publications related to these areas. Robert received his Ph.D. in Chemistry
(Environmental/Materials) from the University of Central Florida where his research was
focused on the remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls using catalytically active zero-valent metal chemistry.
Candice Combs is the laboratory manager at Helicon Chemical Company. She oversees the daily operations of the laboratory, ensuring efficiency, safety, and compliance with company policies as well as relevant regulator and contract requirements. In addition to this, she maintains materials, equipment, operational and SOP processes. Candice has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and an M.S. degree in Nuclear Engineering from North Carolina State University. Candice previously worked as a contractor for the Navy at the Naval Reactors Facility in Idaho Falls as a Radiological Controls Engineer. On a more personal note, Candice has been a leader within her sons’ and daughter’s Scouting America unit over the last 10 years.
With over 40 years of expertise in chemical process design, David Mauterer has significantly impacted the defense, energy, & chemical sectors. He consulted for the U.S. Army’s RDX munitions plant, collaborated with the Department of Defense on hydrogen electrolysis & natural gas reforming, & worked with the Department of Energy on CO2 sequestration. His portfolio includes fuel cell powerplants and cryogenic air separation systems for the U.S. Navy. In the commercial sector, he designed organic synthesis facilities, improved TiO2 production, led coal gasification plant commissioning, developed flavor recovery for juice production, engineered waste gas purification, & optimized petroleum pipeline distillation. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina, with master’s-level coursework there and control systems courses at Western Massachusetts College. Mauterer owns six U.S. PTO patents.
Dr. Pavlo Kravchenko is a Chemical Engineer focusing on labratory to pilot scale up at Helicon Chemical Company. Pavlo interfaces with the chemistry and engineering teams to develop and refine efficient production processes. Prior to Helicon, Pavlo developed a first of its kind MOF coating and production process and established partnerships to scale production while at WaHa Inc. Pavlo also developed high-pressure gas-to-liquids processes for syngas to fuel conversion. He has several patents and publications in both areas. Pavlo holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Florida where his research focused on heterogeneous catalysis and reaction engineering.
