Group Bios

Professor Kenneth K.S. Lau, Ph.D.
Faculty Adviser
Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering
Drexel University
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
klau@drexel.edu

Louis Sacks is a Chemical Engineering student in his freshman year at Drexel University.  He became interested in biofuels after reading a National Geographic magazine article about Dario Franchitti, the first person to win the American auto race on pure ethanol.  Since then Louis has been conducting independent research on various types of biofuels, focusing on low-cost and efficiency aspects.  When he is not doing coursework, Louis enjoys spending free time reading, playing video games, and relaxing with family and friends.

louis.a.sacks@drexel.edu

Blake Piccolo is an aspiring mechanical engineer. He does accept wide areas of study, which is why he is broadening his studies into biodiesel. In his opinion, society needs to be more conservative with its natural resources, so the idea of turning natural oil waste products into a usable fuel source has convinced him to study this topic.

bmp62@drexel.edu

Jiaqi Zhou is in his freshman year, majoring in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics, at Drexel University.  He is also interested in Chemistry.  Jiaqi plans to use the knowledge and skills acquired at Drexel in his future career.  In his spare time, Jiaqi likes to play ping-pong.  He was the leader of an established ping-pong club in Shanghai, China.

jz442@drexel.edu

Esmail Hamidi is a freshman at Drexel, majoring in Electrical Engineering. He grew up in Sparks, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. His main areas of interest center on audio and music, but biodiesel is cool too. He is an avid musician and outdoor enthusiast.

egh35@drexel.edu

Dong Zhao is a Chemical Engineering student in his freshman year at Drexel University. He grew up in TsingTao, China, the city that is famous for producing TsingTao Beer. Dong first became interested in chemistry when he was a young boy. This biodiesel project gives him incite into future careers in the chemical engineering world.

dz92@drexel.edu