Chethan Acharya

Chethan (Chet) Acharya has a diverse work experience spanning over two decades. Chethan (Chet) is currently working as a Principal Engineer at Southern Company Gas since 2023. Prior to this, they worked at Southern Company as a Principal Engineer from 2011 to 2023 and as a Research Engineer from 2011 to 2016. Chet also has experience as a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of California, San Diego from 2008 to 2011, where they focused on developing and managing thermochemical biomass gasification gas cleaning technologies. Before that, they worked as a Research Assistant at The University of Alabama from 2001 to 2008, leading projects on proton exchange membrane fuel cell electrode catalysts and hydrogen production optimization. Chet also had a role as a Graduate Research Assistant at Argonne National Laboratory in 2003, working on heterogeneous catalyst development for ethanol reforming. Chethan (Chet) started their career as a Process Engineer at Tamilnadu Petroproducts Ltd. from 1999 to 2000, where they managed production processes and implemented productivity improvements.

Chethan (Chet) Acharya holds a B.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Madras. Chethan (Chet) later obtained their MS degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from The University of Alabama in 2003. Subsequently, they completed a PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from The University of Alabama in 2008. Currently, Chet is pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a focus on Finance, Strategy, and Business Analytics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which is expected to be completed in 2024.