Robert Aniszfeld, a chemist, inventor, and entrepreneur is working to solve one of the greatest challenges facing the world today—the dangerously high levels in the atmosphere of carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases responsible for an increasingly warming world and global climate change. Dr. Aniszfeld, together with Nobel Laureate George Olah and a team of scientists at USC, have developed chemistries that can capture and convert carbon dioxide into transportation fuels. Capturing and converting atmospheric CO2, in their view, represents both a scientific challenge and an economic opportunity. Their work has attracted worldwide attention and praise.
Dr. Aniszfeld was trained as a physical organic chemist under the tutelage of George Olah and received his PhD in 1990. In 1998, he earned an MBA from the Marshall School of Business. He is a co-founder of two currently operating startups (CO2onTAP, LLC and Battery Energy Storage Technologies, LLC) and serves as CEO of both companies. He is Managing Director of the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute at the University of Southern California (USC), where for over thirty years he has held various leadership positions. At USC he has participated in the development of the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology and in the commercialization of USC’s portfolio of DMFC patents. His most recent interest is developing and commercializing energy storage solutions in the form of Iron-Air batteries, Organic Redox Flow batteries, and capturing carbon dioxide directly from air.
Robert also serves as Trustee and Executive Director of the Hydrocarbon Research Foundation that supports hydrocarbon research in the United States and internationally with grants to individuals and institutions.