William E.

Taifan
P: +62 81 216 011 180 | williamtaifan@garda-energi.com
EDUCATION
Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Chemical Engineering May 2018
University of California at Berkeley Berkeley, CA
Master of Science in Chemical Engineering May 2014
Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya, Indonesia
Bachelor of Engineering (with Honor); GPA 3.92/4.0 May 2013
PROFESSIONAL AND ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
GEN-Indonesia Surabaya, Indonesia
Co-founder June 2018 - Present
Taifan Research Center Indonesia Surabaya, Indonesia
Co-founder/Research Engineer June 2018 - Present
Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA
Research Assistant January 2015 – June 2018
• Fundamental catalysis study on ethanol to 1,3-butadiene over MgO/SiO2 catalysts
• Utilizes combination of theoretical (DFT) study and experimental (operando spectroscopy) methods to
determine reaction mechanisms and active sites, in addition to its reactivity.
• Presented work as posters and talks at local and national scientific meetings.
Chemisense, Inc. Berkeley, CA
Researcher February – June 2014
• Developed chemical sensors based on carbon black conductivity and affinity with polymers.
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
Lab: Nanoparticle synthesis and characterization, catalysis testing (GC, GC-MS), kinetic modeling, Operando
spectroscopy (IR, UV-Vis, TPSR), XRD
Software: Matlab, CasaXPS, VASP and Gaussian09
Languages: English (full professional proficiency), Indonesian (native), Chinese (elementary)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
“Operando Structure Determination of Cu and Zn on Supported MgO/SiO2 Catalysts during Ethanol Conversion
to 1,3-Butadiene”
ACS Catalysis, November 2018, 9(1), 269-285
Authors: William E Taifan, Yuanyuan Li, John P Baltrus, Lihua Zhang, Anatoly I Frenkel, Jonas Baltrusaitis
“In Situ Spectroscopic Insights on the Molecular Structure of the MgO/SiO2 Catalytic Active Sites during Ethanol
Conversion to 1,3-Butadiene”
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 122 (36), 20894-20906
Authors: William E Taifan, Jonas Baltrusaitis
“Surface chemistry of MgO/SiO2 catalysts during the ethanol catalytic conversion to 1,3-butadiene: in situ
DRIFTS and DFT study”
Catalysis Science & Technology 7 (20), 4648-4668
Authors: William Taifan, George X. Yan, Jonas Baltrusaitis
“Catalytic conversion of ethanol to 1,3-butadiene on MgO: a comprehensive mechanism elucidation using DFT
calculations”
Journal of catalysis 346, 78-91
Authors: William Taifan, Tomas Bucko, Jonas Baltrusaitis
“CH4 and H2S reforming to CH3SH and H2 catalyzed by metal promoted Mo6S8 cluster: a first-principles micro-
kinetic study”
Catalysis Science & Technology, 2017, 7, 3546-3554
Authors: William Taifan, Adam A. Arvidsson, Eric Nelson, Anders Hellman and Jonas Baltrusaitis
“First-principles microkinetic study of methane and hydrogen sulfide catalytic conversion to
methanethiol/dimethyl sulfide on Mo 6 S 8 clusters: activity/selectivity of different promoters”
Catalysis Science & Technology, 2019, 9, 4573-4580
Authors: Adam A Arvidsson, William Taifan, Anders Hellman, Jonas Baltrusaitis
AWARD
2016 Chevron Scholar Awards Lehigh Chemical Engineering
2017 Kokes Scholar Award – North American Catalysis Society
2017 John C. Chen Fellow – Lehigh University