Rich Schoonover, President and CEO
Full Biography and Picture

Rich Schoonover joined CEESI as the President of CEESI in November 2017 and was appointed to President of Corporate Operations in January 2018, then to President and CEO in 2021. Before joining CEESI he spent more than eight years at Solix Algredients, a venture-backed Colorado State University spinout that supplies algae-based, natural ingredients to health-conscious consumers. During his tenure as chief operating officer, he successfully pivoted the company from a producer of algal biomass for renewable biofuels to an FDA-regulated supplier of algalbased nutraceutical ingredients. Before joining Solix, he held leadership roles at Enginuity (now a Dresser-Rand company) and Tenneco Energy. He earned a B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering at Colorado State University, and was one of three graduate students responsible for the construction of the Large Bore Engine Testbed at CSU’s Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory. [Read more...]


Joel Clancy, CEESIowa President & Flow Measurement Instructor
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Joel earned his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Wyoming in 1994. He served honorably as a Captain in the Wyoming Air National Guard serving as an Operations Officer for the 187th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. He started his career with CEESI in 1996 as a flow measurement technician performing both secondary and primary calibrations; during that time he worked in the Primary A, Primary B, and Missile Bay test areas. He has received training on multiple ultrasonic meters and is considered an expert on most. He assisted in the design and construction of the Iowa facility in 1999, as well as the low flow expansion in 2011. He oversees the daily operations at the Iowa facility and has trained much of the staff. He has been a central figure in planning and hosting the annual CEESI ultrasonic conferences, which began in 2000; he not only helps coordinate these conferences, but regularly presents papers and teaches training courses prior to each conference. Joel's expertise in ultrasonic flowmeters has lead him to consulting projects and site audits around the world, including several regions around the U.S., as well as in Asia, South America, and Africa. In 2016, Joel was promoted from Vice President to President CEESIowa. [Read more...]


Dirk Flournoy, Director of Operations for CEESI Colorado & HSE Director
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Dirk joined CEESI in 2011 as a measurement technician. He has received training including: wet gas flow measurement, wet gas sampling, ABB gas chromatography, operation of Daniel and SICK meters, Helicopter Underwater Egress Training (HUET), Confined Space Training (through OSHA), Hazmat Shipping Training, Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (OSHA) as well as in-house flow measurement training. Dirk has a B.S. from California State University Chico. He was promoted to Wet Gas Test Facility (WGTF) Supervisor in 2014. He has worked on a variety of major projects at CEESI including: assisting with the wet gas 8 inch loop upgrade, helping build the single pass test area (an extension of the wet gas loop), sampling liquids in CEESI’s new oil and water facility, and helping build CEESI’s new salinity test area. Dirk was promoted Health, Safety, and Environment Director in January 2015. He is in direct supervision of all aspects of Health Safety and Environmental issues for CEESI Colorado, as well as general oversight for all WEST companies. He has most recently been responsible for the construction of the Liquid Hydrocarbon Viscosity Lab at the Nunn facility and manages daily operations of that facility. Dirk is now the Director of Operations for CEESI, Colorado.


John Reiner, Director of Quality Assurance & Metrology
Full Biography and Picture

Mr. Reiner joined the CEESI staff in 1990 after earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic Engineering. John has operated and supported all of CEESI’s primary and secondary flow test areas. John has managed the Metrology Department since 1995 developing and maintaining the calibration process of primary standards, transfer standards, and instrumentation which assures CEESI’s traceability to the SI through the National Institute of Technology. He develops and maintains Statistical Process Control (SPC) charts on the instrumentation used in the daily flow calibrations. John also manages the Quality Assurance Department developing and maintaining quality documents and procedures for the Colorado, Berthoud, and Iowa facilities. [Read more...]


Eric Harman, Principal Engineer, Wet Gas Test Facility & Flow Measurement Instructor
Full Biography and Picture

Eric joined the CEESI staff in 2008 as a staff engineer. He earned his BS in Bio-Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado in 1983 and has worked in the flow measurement field for over thirty years. Recently he designed an extension to the wet gas/multiphase facility to inject custom liquids (hydrocarbon condensates, MEG, and salt water mixtures) into a natural gas stream. His other recent projects include: velocity profile mapping, special Pitot tube calibrations, Critical Flow Venturi (CFV) calibrations of gas meter standards and flare gas meters, and testing Coriolis meter diagnostics. Eric has taught CEESI flow measurement training courses, written papers for the North Sea Flow Measurement Workshop, and presented data at the CEESI Ultrasonic Meter User’s Workshop. He has also made contributions to API 22.3 Testing Protocol for Flare Gas Metering. Before joining CEESI, Eric worked at Dieterich Standard, Flow Systems Inc., and was an engineering manager at Veris Inc. He holds several patents related to flow measurement, lead numerous training programs, and has considerable experience in field installation of DP meters. [Read more...]


Bryan Trostel, P.E., Senior Engineer

Bryan joined CEESI in 2007 after graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Colorado State University. He oversees daily laboratory operations at the Colorado calibration facility to ensure that all calibrations are performed in a manner appropriate for the intended end use. Bryan monitors quality control of internal and customer calibrations for both the Colorado and Iowa calibration facilities. He instructs technicians on how to set up and perform meter and instrument calibrations, helps direct how calibration data reports are created for customers, and answers questions about flow meter calibrations. He promotes efforts to improve customer meter calibrations by: adapting lab procedures and equipment to keep pace with current metering technologies, using Statistical Process Control (SPC) data to insure that laboratory equipment is correctly functioning, and training technicians to correctly understand new flowmeter electronics and software. Bryan also works with CEESI's software development staff to ensure that report generation software adheres to customer requirements, quality assurance procedures, and industry standards. He has written a paper about ultrasonic flowmeter calibration intervals for Flomeko and an article in the Pipeline & Gas Journal.


Dan Macey, Senior Engineer & Software Developer

Dan joined the CEESI staff in 1996 after graduating with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wyoming. He has written a variety of internal software systems including data acquisition and data processing applications. Dan has also customized CEESI's data acquisition and reporting systems to meet customer needs. He also provides advanced technical support and troubleshooting for establishing meter communications with CEESI's data acquisition systems; he has experience working with MODBUS, Fieldbus, and OPC.


Eric Hirsch, Operations Manager, Main Lab Facilities

Eric joined CEESI in 1992 after completing his Bachelor's degree in Industrial Technology at Colorado State University His responsibilities include the supervision of all calibrations, planning and testing at the Colorado lab, communicating with customers the scheduling of calibration services, quoting and directing day to day operations.


Joshua Kinney, Manager, Wet Gas Facility
Full Biography and Picture

Josh came to CEESI in 1992 after completing course work in Mechanical Engineering. He started with CEESI in 1992 as a flow measurement technician, and has since gained experience in the operation of many test areas. In 1997, he became involved with final construction of the Wet Gas Test Facility (WGTF). Subsequently, he started the single-phase flow meter Joint Industry Project in the WGTF. He aided in the design and construction of the three-phase flow capability upgrade in the CEESI Wet Gas Test Facility in 2007. Since 2008, Josh has executed the multiphase flow meter Joint Test Program (JTP), as well as, aided in the design and construction of the 8 inch Test Facility and the CEESI Single Pass Test Facility. Josh also helped planned and implement the gas loop upgrade which allowed the facility to handle custom liquid mixtures. He has written and presented many papers at both ISHM and ASGMT, and has served as Deputy Chair of the program committee at Appalachian Gas Measurement Short Course. He has received training in the operation of SICK, Daniel, and Micro Motion meters. [Read more...]


Damon Myers, P.M.P., Principal Project Manager
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Damon joined CEESI in 2006 after graduating from Colorado State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management. He has worked in nearly all test areas and attended in-house CEESI training courses on flow measurement. In addition, Damon has also received meter specific training for SICK, Daniel, Micro Motion, and FMC meters. He has also been trained to use: LACT (Lease Automatic Custody Transfer) Units, Autocad, pressure and temperature transmitters, and data acquisition system communications. In 2007, Damon was promoted to Business Development & Special Project Coordinator. Since then his duties have included: quoting calibration jobs, customer relations and support, coordinating special projects, lab technician support and training. Recently Damon has worked on several large projects including: coriolis meter testing for PRCI (Pipeline Research Council International) and the fabrication and develop of the new oil in water test area at the Colorado facility. In 2017, Damon was promoted to Manager – Liquid Hydrocarbon Operations/Special Projects Coordinator. Also in 2017, he received his P.M.P. certification.


James Beeson, Manager, Business Intelligence & Information Technology
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James joined CEESI in 2003 as a Systems Engineer and was responsible for maintaining the corporate website and developing web-based tools for CEESI staff. His Information Technology management roles include: planning and testing corporate intranet software updates, managing software development projects, website development, performing user interface testing on most systems, database administration, I.T. purchasing, training I.T. staff on user interface design issues, and providing desktop technical support. He plans and helps maintain connectivity between CEESI’s systems including: the corporate intranet, accounting software, CEESI website, shipping software, Measurement Library, meter data acquisition systems, expense software, barcode systems, and air compressors. James works with employees and managers to identify opportunities to streamline and automate business processes, then plans changes to CEESI systems as needed. He currently coordinates the maintenance of the CEESI website; he was previously involved in development of the CMS, CEESmaRT, and Flow Systems websites. [Read more...]


Al Luppen, Operations Manager (Iowa Lab)

Al joined CEESI Iowa in 1999. During his time with CEESI, he has taken factory training on various ultrasonic meters including Instromet, Daniel, FMC, SICK, and Krohne. From 1999 to 2001, Luppen served as a Senior Flow Measurement Technician. In recognition of his talents and leadership capabilities, he later took on the role of Operations Manager of CEESI Iowa. His responsibilities include assisting with the management of the calibration schedule, customer relations, and controls operator and data collection. In 2013, he assisted in the Iowa facility upgrade which added additional low flow capabilities.


Tim Hunteman, Manager, Water Lab

Tim joined CEESI and began working in the water lab in 2007. Before joining CEESI, he had twelve years of experience working for a large rural drinking water utility in northern Colorado; his work experience with meters, pumps, and valves began in the mid 1980's. His responsibilities at CEESI include building test setups, establishing communications with meter electronics, and conducting calibrations in the water lab at the Colorado facility. In the last several years, has worked on several special testing projects including: assisting with multiphase testing, high pressure valve mapping, and testing check valves. Recently, Tim has performed a large number of calibrations for Pratt and Whitney, Woodward Governor, Solartron. He has taking in-house training courses on flow measurement and has received training regarding Micro Motion meters. In 2017, Tim was promoted to Manager of the Water Lab.