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3 Questions with a ‘Founding Father’ of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: Byron McCormick

October 10th, 2016 • Posted by PPC • Permalink

In honor of National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day on October 8, we sit down with Byron McCormick, one of the “founding fathers” of hydrogen and fuel cells, to talk about his experiences during his more than 50-year career. Byron began his career in 1974 at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he first explored the possibility of using fuel cells in vehicles.

WHAT SPARKED YOUR INTEREST IN CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES?
I came to Los Alamos National Laboratory from the University of Arizona in 1974, having experienced the worst of the energy crisis. Tucson, Arizona was one of the worst hit places with long gas lines, and “no gas” signs everywhere. It wasn’t unusual to sit in a line for gas for two hours just to get to the front and discover there was no gas left. For those of us who experienced it, finding alternatives or reducing our oil dependencies was not an intellectual endeavor. It was painfully real.

HOW DID THE IDEA FOR FUEL CELL VEHICLES COME ABOUT?
I joined the Electronics Division at Los Alamos where it was natural to think about electric vehicles, advanced motors, power electronics, and other electronic technologies…

To read the entire article, please go here:
3-Questions for Fuel Cell Founding Father.