Engineering Consulting
Wolf Koch has a background in traditional chemical as well as biomedical engineering. He has been a Professor of Chemical Engineering and lectures extensively on energy and biofuels related topics. His 50+ publications cover a wide range of topics in biomedical processes and small particle collector design, environmental processes, as well as six recent publications covering biofuels technology, and he has been granted 30 patents covering environmental and sensor technology, as well as chemical processes. He spent nearly 20 years developing and managing technology support functions for a major oil company, introducing automated payment systems, automated inventory reconciliation systems, developing and implementing improved credit card technology, developing and implementing technology for meeting environmental mandates, and supporting the construction of 50 compressed natural gas dispensing facilities. Concurrently, he developed teams with expertise in computational fluid dynamics, expert systems technology, environmental instrumentation, taught undergraduate and graduate engineering courses and became an administrator at a private engineering college. Dr. Koch founded Technology Resources International, Inc. in 1995. He has developed, tested and commercialized new products for clients, has provided technology evaluation services to investors in energy related areas domestically as well as abroad, and has worked with regulatory agencies at the Federal, State and local levels and with industry trade associations. He has supported many attorneys in litigating patents, other intellectual properties as well as environmental accidents/incidents. Currently he is assisting major oil and chemical companies in their regulatory approval efforts for new biofuels and participates in Standards Technical Panels for Underwriters Laboratories, covering ~30 current UL standards. TRI’s past clients include government agencies, major oil companies, industry associations, insurance companies and manufacturers of petroleum products distribution equipment.
TRI offers seminars on current energy-related topics and project management as outlined below:
Energy Today - Facts & Fiction
Project Evaluation & Management
Several years ago TRI was asked to develop guidance on the impact of changing fuels standards, resulting in two recent papers on fuels quality covering gasoline and diesel fuels. Copies of the papers are available below:
Gasoline Quality
Diesel Fuel Quality
Please visit our technology-specific sites at:
www.fueltechnology.us
www.t-r-i.com
COVID-19 Related Work
During the first half of 2020, the world has been inundated by the news and social media with countless stories, examinations and projections regarding the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic, very often providing biased or mis-information. In early July 2020, a group of over 200 international scientists published an open letter requesting that international public health organizations place additional emphasis on airborne transmission of diseases via respiratory aerosols. Drawing on four decades of experience in aerosol science, TRI has reviewed current and recent work on bio-aerosols, i.e. small particulates emitted during breathing, speaking, coughing and sneezing. The report below endeavors to review and explain the behavior of small droplets in air from a layman’s perspective and apply our knowledge of that behavior to particulates emitted during regular activities, with an emphasis on providing factual, rather than politically biased information:
Aerosol Science & Covid-19
Photography
Wolf started photographing with an old Agfa in his early teens. He acquired one of the iconic range finder cameras, a Canon 7s, in the late 1960s, moved on to SLRs and twin-lens reflex cameras, established a dark room and processed his own color slides. Along with his wife, Linnea, an artist who has worked in the visual arts for over 40 years, he has participated in many week-long photo shoots throughout the United States. Together, they teach a 4-hour photo seminar, See with an Artist's Eye, as well as a longer, multi-part photography program entitled There Is No Excuse for Bad Photos, and a shorter workshop focusing on Taking Great Travel Photos. While Wolf teaches how to achieve one’s vision by considering the variables that affect the photographic process and how to control them, Linnea offers ideas on how to select unusual images and avoid common stereotypes. During 2018, 2019 and 2020, Wolf & Linnea spent a January week each year at Bosque del Apache in New Mexico photographing sandhill cranes, snow geese and other migrating birds. In 2019 they spent two weeks photographing birds and wildlife in Costa Rica and made trips to northeast Florida in 2019 and 2021 to shoot wading birds during their roosting period. While traveling, they realized that photographing wildlife requires a different skill set than landscapes or wildflowers and organized a second photo seminar entitled Capturing Birds & Other Wildlife with Your Camera. They have also prepared presentations on their trips to Bosque del Apache entitled Winter Is for the Birds, their Costa Rica adventure entitled Winter Is for the Birds, Costa Rica Edition, and for their visits to Florida entitled Winter Is for the Birds, St. Augustine Edition.
Some of Linnea’s work is featured in the section Gardens & Barns, covering historical domestic and European gardens, unusual plants for shade gardening and a decade of covering northwestern Illinois barn tours with multimedia presentations.
A small selection of Wolf and Linnea's photos may be viewed on SmugMug at
https://themuddyrivercameraclub.smugmug.com/Wolf-Linnea-Koch
Photography Seminars
Historical Presentations
Wolf has always had an interest in history, having grown up in Germany's Rhine River Valley where the Romans paved the main streets in most towns along the left river banks. Along with his wife, Linnea, he has researched historical topics and produced presentations ranging from the story of the Hopewell Civilization 2000 years ago, the reasons behind the success of Martin Luther's Reformation 500 years ago, the end of WWI and a bizarre mapping mistake which resulted in the declaration of a free republic, the “Freistaat Flaschenhals” and the end of WWII and the capturing of the Remagen Bridge by Allied troops which hastened the end of the war by months. Together, they have developed a historical account of the Kaskaskia - Cahokia Trail, Illinois’ First Road, of America’s First Road - El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, a historical photographic essay of Germany’s Rhine River Valley, as well as a presentation on the The Historic Mormon Pioneer Trail. In the past, Linnea was retained by the Long Distance Trail Office of the National Park Service and produced the roadside signage for the Mormon Trail through Iowa and Nebraska. Honoring the 100th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage, Wolf and Linnea have prepared a multimedia presentation on the original “Powerwoman,” Hildegard von Bingen, the abbess who became the confidante of four popes, emperors and other prominent contemporary thinkers of the 12th Century. During the holiday season, they present a program on European Christmas Markets. Recently, Wolf and Linnea have added a program featuring the historic Hallenhaus and Haubarg Barns of Northern Germany, Denmark and Iowa and their comparison to barns later constructed by immigrants in Wisconsin.
Historical Presentations
Meet the Germans–Avoiding Culture Shock
About 50 years ago I was back in Germany as a young Air Force captain in charge of about 150 US airmen, most younger than I, some with family living on the local economy. With responsibilities split between two air bases with about 10,000 military and dependents, I was the only native German speaking officer and soon started meeting with local dignitaries as well as some of our NATO partners on behalf of the bases. I also assisted my troops with landlord and other related problems. It was during this period that I first noted the obvious cultural disconnect between “our ways” and those of the local population, many of whom worked in the base service and maintenance functions.
Some years ago, my wife and I hosted four German college students who participated in one-year exchange programs sponsored by our respective governments and many others during their first week in this country. After arriving in New York and before traveling to their final hosts for the year, all students participated in a short seminar designed to acquaint them with our customs — they were provided with two lists of 50 items each: one noting points regarding what we think of Germans, the other what they think of us. As someone who has and still straddles both societies, I have realized that it is important to understand these differences in values and experiences between the two national groups in order to ensure that our interactions are mostly positive.
This Meet the Germans workshop may be tailored to the audience’s needs and may be between an hour to half a day long. We will review what others think of us and discuss German personality and behavioral traits to assist in creating win-win situations in our interpersonal relations. We will review what to expect when dining, shopping, driving, etc., provide information on how to ensure that our electronics will work overseas and discuss a list of resources for additional information.
Meet the Germans