West Virginia Executive Spring/Summer 2020 | Page 83

building expansion and new equipment
installation, Toyota doubled the production
capacity in early 2019 to 240,000 yearly
and nearly doubled the project investment
to $226 million.
“We are proud to add such a significant
investment to Toyota West Virginia,” says
Matam. “Expanding West Virginia’s production
capabilities to hybrid technology
solidifies our facility’s role in producing
next-generation engines and transmissions
that will drive the future of Toyota’s advanced
mobility technology.”
Dennis Named American Society
of Mechanical Engineers Fellow
Richard Dennis, technology manager
for the National Energy Technology Laboratory
(NETL)’s Advanced Turbines
and Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power
Cycle programs, has been named a fellow
in the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers (ASME), a prestigious honor the
society awards to members for significant
engineering achievements.
A graduate of West Virginia University,
where he earned bachelor’s and master’s
degrees in mechanical engineering, Dennis’
professional accomplishments at NETL
span 35 years. He manages a research
portfolio that focuses on developing revolutionary,
near-zero-emission advanced
turbines to produce electricity using fossil
fuels. He also leads efforts to advance
high-efficiency, low-cost power generation
based on supercritical carbon dioxide
power cycles and serves in a leadership role
in the NETL-supported development of a
supercritical carbon dioxide pilot plant test
facility located on the Southwest Research
Institute campus in San Antonio, Texas.
From 1983-1992, Dennis worked in
NETL’s on-site research group, where he
conducted research related to pressurized
fluidized bed combustion, gasification
and gas stream particulate cleanup for
advanced coal-based power generation.
From 1993-2000, he managed contracted
research for the U.S. Department of Energy’s
Office of Fossil Energy in advanced
fossil fuel power generation, including
coal combustion, gasification, fuel cells
and gas turbines. He was named a technology
manager in 2002.
Additionally, Dennis served as the 2018-
2019 leader of the ASME Gas Turbine
Segment. Engineers who are named ASME
fellows receive a membership grade of
distinction in the society.
Myers Named President of West
Virginia Operations for FirstEnergy
James Myers.
James Myers has been named president
of West Virginia operations for
FirstEnergy Corp. He takes over for Holly
Kauffman, who is retiring after 36 years
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