2020 Officer Bios of the Northern Oklahoma ACS

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Raj Kailasam, Chair

Raj Kailasam has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Montana with a focus on contaminant removal from water systems. Prior to joining Phillips 66, Raj worked as a Sr. Scientist for Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. (formerly Sylvania); where he worked in the field of powder metallurgy, hydrometallurgy, refractory metal separations, and rare earth metals recovery. He currently works as a Research Scientist for Phillips 66 Research Center in the Water Research Group. He has experience serving in various ACS sections in the past and he hopes to serve well in the NOK-ACS section as well.

Zhou Chen, Chair-Elect

Zhou Chen earned a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC, CAS), China in 2012 and then worked with Prof. Maurice Brookhart as a Postdoctoral Fellow over five years at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of Houston. He currently works for Chevron Phillips as a Research Chemist. His research interests span organometallic chemistry and catalysis. In his spare time, he is enjoying traveling with his family.

Ken Lassen, Secretary

Ken joined Chevron Phillips Chemical in 2015 and is a research chemist in the Specialty Chemicals group. Prior to joining Chevron Phillips, he worked four years as a process development chemist for Chemtura in the Petroleum additives group.   Ken received his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011.

Miranda Rine, Treasurer

Miranda joined Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP in 2017 after earning a BS in Chemistry from Oklahoma Wesleyan University. She is a Lab Technician using multiple instruments including, LCMS/TOF and Microscopic FTIR to identify and quantify polymer resin fillers and additives. She joined ACS four years ago and has since volunteered for National Chemistry Week and judged multiple science fairs. When not at work, she enjoys working on her farm and spoiling her fur babies.

Randy Heald, Councilor

Randy has a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Nebraska and is a thirty-five-year member of ACS. Randy recently retired from Phillips 66 after a twenty-nine-year career. Apart from a two-year stint at the Borger Refinery, Randy spent his career at the Phillips 66 Research Center where, beginning in 2001, he held a series of management positions. Randy has been a member of the organizing committee for the Bartlesville District Science Fair since 2006 and was the director for the last four years. From 2002 to 2006 Randy led the organizing committee for NOKACS National Chemistry Week activities.

John Hays, Alternate Councilor

John earned a PhD in Physics from Oklahoma State University in 1994,researching the linear and nonlinear spectroscopy of II-VI and III-V semiconductors. He has taught Physics and Physical Sciences at Oklahoma State University and Bartlesville Wesleyan College (now Oklahoma Wesleyan University). Join joined Phillips Petroleum R&D in 1996, working in physical properties of materials, and was sent to work in the laboratory at Phillips Sweeny Refinery shortly afterwards. He returned to R&D in 2006 and worked in the area of heavy metals for several years before becoming part of Water Research. He is currently in Analytical Sciences, working in he Process Chemistry group, which assists Phillips 66 facilities with operational problems.