His diverse experience in industry, government, and academia has provided Dr. Krock the solid background required to make OCEES International, Inc. a successful enterprise. His experience encompasses a wide range of activities including practical engineering, innovative research, graduate instruction, environmental regulation, business development, and administration.

     Dr. Krock’s educational background includes:

• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering – Arizona State University – 1965 Magna Cum Laude
• Master of Science in Sanitary Engineering – University of California, Berkeley – 1967
• Doctor of Philosophy – Environmental Engineering – University of California, Berkeley – 1972
• Minor subjects covered in his Ph.D. studies were Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.

     Dr. Krock has conducted engineering and research projects in Arizona, California, Hawaii, American Samoa, Saipan, Guam, Majuro, Kwajalein, Palau, Ponepe, Puerto Rico, The Bahamas, South Korea, Roi-Namur and Germany. For the past twenty two (22) years, Dr. Krock has devoted a majority of his research and professional efforts towards the optimization and development of OTEC related technologies. Among his research and professional accomplishments pertaining to OTEC Systems applications include, but are not limited to:

• Establishment of water quality standards for the state of Hawaii and for American Samoa (1979)
• Determination of gas exchange rates in seawater (1981-1993). This work has resulted in one patent and one patent pending. This invention increases the efficiency and lowers costs in OTEC plants.
• Optimization of the design of OTEC Systems (1980-Present)

     During his career, Dr. Krock has had positions in industry (Bagdad Copper Corporation), with governmental agencies (Arizona State Department of Health, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, Alameda County Flood Control Districts), with an electric and water utility (Salt River Project), with an engineering firm (Sunn, Low, Tom and Hara, Inc.) and with academia (University of California at Berkeley, University of Hawaii at Manoa). In addition, Dr. Krock has established International Hydrogen Systems, Inc. and OCEES International, Inc.

    Dr. Krock is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Hawaii (Civil Branch) and a tenured full Professor in the Department of Ocean Engineering of the University of Hawaii. He has served as chairman of the Department of Ocean Engineering and as Director of the J.K.K. Look Laboratory of Oceanographic Engineering. He is a member of a dozen professional and scientific associations and is a registered Scientific Diver. 

     Among his research and professional accomplishments, Dr. Krock lists the following:

• Optimization of the design of OTEC systems (1980 to present).
• Determination of the differences between the beach processes on tropical islands and those on continental coasts as based on the engineering characteristics of coral sand (1984 to present).
• Determination of the relationship between nutrient concentrations (either total nitrogen or total phosphorus) and net phytoplankton growth rates in real world tropical estuaries, embayments and open coastal waters (1973-1997).
• Determination of gas exchange rates in seawater (1981-1993). This work resulted in one patent and one patent pending. This invention increases the efficiency and lowers costs in OTEC plants.
• Establishment of water quality standards for the State of Hawaii and for American Samoa (1979).
• Determination of the response of tropical benthic communities (primarily coral based) to the discharge of domestic wastewater receiving a range of treatment (1976).
• Development of a sensitive and rapid bioassay procedure which uses the metabolic response of native microbiological communities to measure both toxic and stimulatory responses (1971).
• Optimization of the demineralization of brackish water using ion exchange (1968).
• Development of a method to use epoxy to repair extensive cracking of a high arch concrete dam (Stewart Mountain Dam, 1963).

BOOKS EDITED

U.S. Navy-Industry Symposium on OTEC 1996, Ocean Engineering, University of Hawaii Publication, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1997.

International Pacifica Scientific Diving Symposium 1991, American Academy of Underwater Sciences Proceedings, 204 pages, AAUS Publishing, 947 Newhall Street, Costa Mesa, California.

Ocean Energy Recovery, ICOER ’89, 366 pages, American Society of Civil Engineers, Library of Congress No.: 90-422265.

OTEC RELATED PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS

Optimize OTEC Systems for the Niche Market, presented at the International OTEC/DOWA Conference, Imari, Japan, November 1999.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Feasibility Study for the Navy, Report to US Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Contract No. N47408-94-D-1038, D.O. 0014, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1996.

OTEC Power Cycles and Fresh Water Production, Proceedings of U.S. Navy – Industry Symposium on OTEC, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, December 1996.

OTEC and the Environment, Proceedings of U.S. Navy – Industry Symposium on OTEC, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, December 1996.

The Role of Technology in Ocean Resources Development, invited paper, presented at the 28^th Annual Conference of the Law of the Sea Institute, Honolulu, Hawaii, July 1994.

Coastal and Oceanographic Considerations for Hurricane Iniki, ASCE Conference on Hurricanes of 1992, Miami, Florida, December 1993.

Coastal Overwash on Kauai: Landfall of Hurricane Iniki, ASCE Conference on Hurricanes of 1992, Miami, Florida, December 1993.

The Hawaiian International Hydrogen Energy Pilot Project, presented at the Oceans ’91 Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, October, 1991.

Hydrogen Production Using Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, presented at the International Hydrogen Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, September 1990.

Non-Condensable Gas Composition and Out-Gassing Rates in the Open-Cycle OTEC System with Direct-Contact Condensation, presented at the International Conference on Ocean Energy Recovery, Honolulu, Hawaii, November 1989.

De-Aeration and Re-Injection of Non-Condensable Gases in Open-Cycle OTEC, presented at the International Conference on Ocean Energy Recovery, Honolulu, Hawaii, November 1989.

Gas Evolution in Open-Cycle OTEC, presented at 1986 OMAE Conference in Tokyo, April 1986.

Open-Cycle OTEC Non-Condensable Gas Exchange Characteristics, presented at Intersol ’85, Montreal, Canada, June 1985.

Gas Analyses of Water Samples for OTEC Program, for Westinghouse Electric Corporation and SERI, December 1981.

     Dr. Oney spent much of his academic career researching and developing Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technologies at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii (NELH) working in conjunction with the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research (PICHTR) and the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) investigators. Likewise, he has committed his professional career towards the development and commercialization of the OTEC technology through OCEES International, Inc.

     Dr. Oney’s educational background includes

• Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering – Bucknell University – 1985
• Master of Science in Ocean Engineering – University of Hawaii – 1988
• Doctor of Philosophy in Ocean Engineering – University of Hawaii – 1993

     A brief listing of OTEC related publications and reports prepared by Dr. Oney follow:

• Thermodynamic Analysis of an OC-OTEC System in Direct Contact Condenser Configuration Incorporating Predeaeration and Reinjection, Doctoral Thesis, University of Hawaii, 1993. 
• Assessment of the Technical and Economic Potential for Hydrogen Production with OTEC Electricity and Desalinated Water, report prepared by PICHTR for the State of Hawaii Department of Business and Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT), 1991.
• Non-Condensable Gas Composition and Out-Gassing Rates in the Open-Cycle OTEC System with Direct-Contact Condensation, presented at the International Conference on Ocean Energy Recovery, Honolulu, November 1989.
• Co-edited: Ocean Energy Recovery, ICOER ’89, 366 pages, American Society of Civil Engineers, Library of Congress No.: 90-422265.
• Molecular Diffusion Coefficients for Nitrogen, Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide in Seawater, Master’s Thesis, University of Hawaii, 1988.

     H. Rüdiger (Rudy) Ahrens has extensive experience in international business encompassing a broad range of industries. He has a wide record of success in investment banking, real estate, international trading and manufacturing, and aircraft leasing, sales and service.

     Mr. Ahrens, who speaks several languages, is the CEO and president of Ahrens and Associates. He has developed real estate including major hotels in such exotic locales as East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda), Spain and the Canary Islands. Most recently, he was instrumental in a spectacular hotel acquisition in Hawaii. His companies have also been involved in international trading and manufacturing in Germany, Denmark, Italy, Taiwan, and most recently, The People’s Republic of China.

     Mr. Ahrens also brings financial expertise to the company. He has served as a board member and international advisor to the International Trade BankCorp, and has managed diversified investments in a number of companies including the Kaimana Group, PacMerchant Real Estate Corporation, and others.

     In addition to his substantial business experience, Mr. Ahrens participated in a five year management education and training program that included study at Glunz International, Hamburg, Germany; American Express Bank, Zurich, Switzerland; Zeiss Scientific Instruments, London, England; S.I. Airlines, Stuttgart, New York and Puerto de la Cruz, Spain; and Universal East African Holdings, Nairobi, Kenya. He is a graduate of Lauenburgische Gelehrten Schule, Ratzeburg, Germany.