Retired Chief Technology Officer, Plug Power, Inc., Professor of Nanoengineering and Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Ecosystem Technologies College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, University at Albany, State University of New York

John F. Elter recently retired from Plug Power Inc. As chief technology officer, Elter was responsible for a wide range of activities, including directing the development of advanced fuel cell systems, creating and managing the company’s Centers of Excellence, and guiding the development of fuel cell technologies that drive overall product development.

He was responsible for the identification of emerging transformational technologies, and helped guide the development of Plug Power’s continuous run reformer-based systems. He developed the technology roadmap in support of the company’s multi-generational product strategy. He formed and is currently chairman of the Plug Power Scientific Advisory Board. He has recently joined the faculty of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the University at Albany, SUNY where he is professor of Nanoengineering and executive director of the Center for Sustainable Ecosystem Technologies.

Prior to joining Plug Power, Elter worked at Eastman Kodak as vice president and chief technology officer of their former Professional Division. He worked more than 30 years at Xerox Corporation, where he held various executive positions. He has a proven track record in pioneering high technology innovation and clean sheet product commercialization, including two major product platforms that have generated over $40B in revenue. As head of the “Lakes” program at Xerox, he led the “Zero to Landfill” effort to deliver Xerox’s first fully recyclable, remanufacturable and reusable digital networked product.

Elter is a director of the National Hydrogen Association, a fellow of ASME and a member of ASME Foundation and Industry Advisory Boards, a member of the Boards of the Wright Fuel Cell Group and the Sustainability Institute of Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Scientific Advisory Board of Superprotonics. He is also a member of the Electrochemical, Industrial Ecology and Systems Dynamics Societies. He is a member of the American Mathematical Society, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and the Society for Organizational Learning.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University, an MSME from New York University, and a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace sciences from the University of Rochester, where he also has been recognized as a distinguished alumnus. He is currently developing a consulting services company focused on the development of sustainable systems.