Nicholas F. Urbanski, Senior Engineering Specialist, Heat Transfer and Fractionation, started with the ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company in December 2009. His current responsibilities include thermal and hydraulic review of heat transfer equipment of various configurations including shell-and-tube, air-cooler, plate-frame, plate-fin, and printed circuit for onshore and office applications throughout the upstream business. He also remains closely linked to the downstream organization. He contributed commentary for the upcoming third edition of the ALPEMA Standard. Currently, he serves as a reviewer of Section 8 (Fired Equipment), Section 9 (Heat Exchangers) and Section 10 (Air-Cooled Exchangers) for the 13th Edition of the GPSA Engineering Data Book.
For just over 2.5 years as Project Engineer, Engineering Services, Nicholas brought a member-company perspective to HTRI after working for eleven years at UOP LLC, Tonawanda, New York, U.S.A. As a Senior Engineer there, he was principally involved with the development and design of separation technologies and equipment, as well as the design of heat transfer equipment. While at HTRI, he conducted numerous engineering
analyses and provided technical support. In addition, he developed training materials,conducted several workshops worldwide, and coordinated the technical support function of Engineering Services. Nicholas authored a well-received HTRI Technical Report on thermosiphon performance during his tenure. To this day, the study of thermosiphon design and performance remain a passion for him.
Nicholas received a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Case Western Reserve
University in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., and an M.B.A. from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. He has held several leadership positions in AIChE and currently serves as the Director for Awards of the Separations Division. He has been awarded ten U.S. patents (an eleventh pending) and authored a number of technical papers. Nicholas is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in the State of Texas.