HR1274 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1274 LRB095 21032 KXB 50216 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Dr. Ronald H. Carty will retire June 30, 2008, as head of the Illinois Clean Coal Institute, located in Carterville, after serving 11 years at ICCI and distinguishing himself as one of the leading scientific and technical authorities in the United States in terms of clean coal technology; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Carty joined the Illinois Clean Coal Institute (ICCI) in 1997 and became its Director in 1999; the Institute, the technical arm of the Illinois Office of Coal Development, is responsible for direction of the Coal Research and Development Program under the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; under Dr. Carty's leadership ICCI and DCEO have conducted perhaps the most significant State-sponsored coal research program in the nation; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Carty has spent move than 30 years in research and development; he is a native of coal country in eastern Kentucky and received his Bachelor's of science degree from the University of Cincinnati and his Master's and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Kentucky; after doing post-doctoral work, Dr. Carty began his professional career in coal research at the University of Kentucky Center Of Applied Energy Research (formerly known as the Institute for Mining and Minerals Research); among his projects at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Carty helped to develop projects in multi-fuel and fluidized-bed combustion systems as well as production of hydrogen through the Institute for Mining and Minerals Research thermochemical water splitting; and

WHEREAS, Prior to his tenure at ICCI, Dr. Carty worked for 16 years at the Institute of Gas Technology in Des Plaines, leaving with the position of Assistant Director of Process Research; at IGT, he directed research for thermal gasification of biomass, coal liquefaction, coal tar upgrading, and sulfur removal from coal char; he also was involved with projects related to sulfur sorbents, as well as the development of an advanced mild gasification process for coal that produces solid and liquid co-products; and

WHEREAS, He also managed research on mineral matter behavior in coal gasification, high-temperature gas cleaning, and direct flux solar reactor applications; Illinois' success in achieving a position of national prominence in the fields related to coal development and clean coal research are a direct result of the initiative, innovation, and leadership Dr. Carty has provided; and

WHEREAS, At the close of his career, he and his staff at ICCI contributed in numerous and significant ways to the effort that resulted in Illinois being selected in December 2007 to host the $1.8 billion FutureGen project, designed to be the first near-zero emissions electric power facility anywhere in the world; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Carty will be recognized for his work at a reception to be held on June 9, 2008 at the Rend Lake Resort at Wayne Fitzgerald State Park; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Dr. Carty and wish him the best as he retires; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Ronald Carty as a symbol of our respect and esteem.