Licensed Professional Engineer holding Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering with over 25 years of extensive experience in Research and Development in the sugar, sweetener and synthetic vitamin industries. Demonstrated strong leadership and team-working skills in managing a part of DOE-sponsored program on separation technologies for production of fuels and chemicals from renewable resources. Special expertise includes unit operations involved in all aspects of new process development and implementation, such as: membrane filtration, industrial chromatography, ion exchange, filtration, crystallization, bulk solids handling, solvent extraction and distillation, . Developed several new technologies applied commercially in the sugar and pharmaceutical (vitamin) industries. Co-authored a proposal on new separation technologies for biorefinery applications that was awarded a $1.9 million grant by DOE in 2000.

Ten years of instructorship in the Short Courses organized by Food Protein Research Center at Texas A&M University (1996-2006). Several years of teaching experience in undergraduate classes and laboratory at the Mendeleev Chemical Engineering University in Moscow, Russia.

• Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, 1987
• M.S. Degree Chemical Engineering, 1982
• Mendeleev Chemical Engineering University, Moscow, Russia

• All aspects of sugar processing, providing technical support to operating processing facilities.
• Development of new process technologies and integration into existing process facilities.
• Unit operations involved in sugar processing - solids-liquid separations, filtration, crystallization, ion exchange, industrial chromatography
• Separation and purification technologies in  biomass fractionation that will lead to improvement and diversification of the sugar industry as a part of agricultural industry.

• 10/2006 to present: Professor - Audubon Sugar Institute, LSU AgCenter, Saint Gabriel, Louisiana.
  
• 6/91 to 10/2006: Process Research Group Leader - Amalgamated Research Inc. (Amalgamated Sugar Company), Twin Falls, Idaho.
  
• 11/1985 to 3/1991: Senior Research Engineer (Assistant Lab Manager) - Vitamin Research Institute, Moscow, Russia.
  
• 11/1982 to 11/1985: Chemical Engineer - Mendeleev Chemical Engineering University, Moscow, Russia.

• Member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering, ASSBT, ISSCT, North American Membrane Society and National Society of Professional Engineers.
  
• Served as a Chairman of Research Advisory Committee to Sugar Processing Research Institute (SPRI), an organization sponsored by over 20 international companies.
  
• A referee of the International Sugar Journal.

• Professional Chemical Engineer registered in the state of Idaho.

Recent Publications

• V. Kochergin, M.Kearney, W. Jacob, L.Velasquez, J.Alvarez, C.Baez-Smith Chromatographic desugarization of syrups in cane mills     International Sugar Journal, vol.102,No.1223 (November 2000),pp.568-578
  
• V. Kochergin, M.Kearney Fractal distributors for uniform fluid distribution in the sugar industry, Zuckerindustrie 126(2001), Nr.1, pp. 51-54
  
• V. Kochergin, M. Johnson Sugar storage in silos: A slow conditioning approach International Sugar Journal, vol.103, No.1229 (May 2001), pp.194-200
• V. Kochergin, S. Olmstead, W. Jacob Evaluation of emerging technologies: Importance of correct analytical procedures, Proceedings of the 31^st ASSBT meeting, Vancouver, Canada, March 1-4, 2001, pp.137-142
• V. Kochergin, S. Olmstead, W. Jacob Evaluation of emerging technologies: Importance of correct analytical procedures, Zuckerindustrie 126(2001), Nr.5, pp.376-379 
• V. Kochergin Cooperative research in the sugar industry, Zuckerindustrie 126(2001), No. 7 , pp. 549-551
• G. Vaccari, E.Tamburini, G.Sgualdino, M.Kearney, V.Kochergin, D.Costesso, Cooling crystallization applied to the “extract” of a chromatographic separation process (SMB) of raw juice, Zuckerindustrie 126(2001), No. 8, pp. 619-624
• V. Kochergin, M.Kearney, J.Alvarez, Direct production of white sugar in cane mills: technical and economic aspects , Proceedings of the 24th Congress of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, Brisbane, Australia, September 17-21, 2001, vol. 1, pp. 108-111
• M.Kearney, V. Kochergin, Chromatographic applications in the cane sugar industry , Proceedings of the 24th Congress of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, Brisbane, Australia, September 17-21, 2001, vol. 1, pp. 11-15
• V. Kochergin Practical applications of membrane filtration in the sugar industry, International Sugar Journal, vol.103, No. 1236 (December 2001),pp.529-532
• V. Kochergin, Processing opportunities for the future, International Sugar Journal, vol.104, No.1243 (July 2002), pp.290-300
• V. Kochergin, C. Rhoten, B. Purchase- Research and development in the sugar industry: Status and future trends, International Sugar Journal, vol.105, No.1251 (March 2003), pp. 137-143
• V. Kochergin, M.Kearney, W. Jacob, T. Pryor, Raw Juice purification process: a lime-free technology, Zuckerindustrie, 128(2003), No.9, pp.667-672
• V. Kochergin, W. Jacob, L.Velasquez, J. Alvarez -Possibilities of ion exchange softening of cane clarified juice, Proc. of SPRI Conference _ New developments, April 4-7, 2004 Atlanta, GA 2004, ppp.306-314
• N. R. Mann, R. S Herbst, T. L. Trowbridge, V. Kochergin, “Development of The Embedded Membrane Concept,” -Proceedings of the 9th World Filtration Congress, New Orleans, LA, April, 2004
• N.R. Mann, R. S. Herbst, J. R Hess, V. Kochergin - Enhanced flux erosion resistant membranes for biomass separations- Membrane Technology, An International Newsletter, November 2004, pp.5-9
• V. Kochergin- Chromatographic applications in sugar industry- 2^nd International Conference on New Technologies in Sugar Beet Industry, Moscow, Russia, June 14-18, 2004
• V. Kochergin, M. Kearney, R.S. Herbst, N.R. Mann, T.G. Garn, and J.R. Hess- Challenges For Membrane Filtration of Biomass Derived Solutions, AIChE Annual Meeting, Houston, TX, November 10, 2004.
• V. Kochergin, O. Tzschaetzsch  -Ion Exchange Thin Juice Softening using Fractal Technology, International Sugar Journal, Vol. 107, No 1278, (June 2005) pp.342-353
• V. Kochergin, M.Kearney -Existing Biorefinery Operations that benefit from fractal based process intensification- Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, vol.129-132, 2006, pp.349-360