Knowledge of ant and bee behavior is helping many companies solve complex human problems such as routing trucks, scheduling airlines, or guiding military robots. Charles Harper, Director of National Supply and Pipeline Operations, Air Liquide Large Industries U.S. LP, and Senior Expert of Air Liquide Group, will speak about how simple creatures following simple rules, each one acting on local information has helped save money and build profit for Air Liquide . He is speaking on November 9th from 10:00 am - 11:30 am in the University Union, Golden Eagle Suite.
Mr. Harper's presentation is the third in a series of Distinguished Lecturers sponsored by the College of Business Adminstration. Students, alumni, faculty and staff are invited to learn about the ant and bee based strategy and how it is being used to solve complex business problems.
Charles Neely Harper heads Air Liquide’s U.S. Operations Control Center (OCC) in Houston, Texas, a specialized team and state-of-the art facility that he has spent his entire career building and refining. He also holds the title of Air Liquide Group Senior Expert, one of fifty-seven individuals around the world, for his work in Technical Operations – Plants and Pipelines.
Charles began his career with Air Liquide in 1977 in the operations of utility and air separation technologies at the Bayport, Texas plant. In 1979, he began to develop what was to become the OCC by implementing the first industrial gas program to optimize the pipeline networks along the Texas Gulf Coast and Mississippi River. By 1984, the OCC team could monitor real-time operations on both networks. In 1989, the center began relying on satellite communications to enable distributed computing to the industrial gas networks.
Under Charles’ leadership, the OCC team of engineers and specialists continue to expand the decision support systems that serve all Air Liquide’s primary production facilities in the U.S. Tools and models are applied to pipeline and bulk distribution supply chain networks. This ensures system integrity, effective communications, operating efficiency and cost containment.
Charles holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston. He is a member of the American Gas Association, Special Industrial Radio Service, Energy Reliability Council of Texas, Southeast Reliability Council, and American Notary Association.
For more information contact: Julie Willems-Espinoza, External Relations Officer, 940-369-8442, willemsj@unt.edu
