Dr. Vasilis Papavassiliou was born in Athens and holds a Diploma in Chemical Engineering from Patras University and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University, Boston, MA.  Since 2017 he is working for LyondellBasell as a Principal Research Engineer, for Intermediates and Derivatives R&D in the Houston Technology Center, leading pilot plant and commercialization activities.  Prior to that (1997-2017) he worked for Praxair (now Linde) in various roles in Applications, Hydrogen and Energy R&D.  In 2012 he was elected Adjunct Professor at SUNY Buffalo Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Department.  He is passionate about innovation, especially in the catalysis and reaction engineering areas.