The Gas Technology Institute said Aug. 24 that James Seaba has joined the company as the senior director of technology development, where he will support the evaluation and maturation of technology.

From the development of novel hydrogen production technology for fuel cells to the reduction of greenhouse gases in oil sands production, he has expertise across a broad technology spectrum.

Seaba, who earned a doctorate and who has 13 pending patents in heavy oil production and CO2 capture/migration, came to GTI after serving as a consultant for major oil companies, major automotive companies and suppliers and VC firms, exploring and developing technologies for unconventional oil and clean energy.

Prior to that, he spent 13 years leading large research groups at ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) as a manager and technical expert. As senior technology adviser at ConocoPhillips, Seaba helped identify value-added projects for steam assisted gravity drainage for heavy oil processing.

Before that, he was director for heavy oil energy production and initially was the advanced technology director for emerging technology at ConocoPhillips.

Seaba also worked at Honda R&D Americas. Early in his career, he was a professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s mechanical and aerospace engineering department.

Seaba earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Iowa.