Jacques Belanger, VP Engineering

On top of his first-rate technical expertise, Jacques brings solid experience in people and project management to Cool Earth Solar. Before joining Cool Earth, Jacques was a managing engineer in the Thermal Sciences practice of the consulting firm Exponent. Prior to Exponent, he was an assistant professor in the Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics Department at the University of Minnesota. He obtained his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), after which he became a Caltech research scientist, focusing on advanced propulsion systems for the aerospace industry. Earlier in his career, Jacques helped develop numerical codes at TAO Simulation and performed large-scale aerodynamic tests at ONERA-CERT.

An expert in fluid mechanics and heat transfer, Jacques is a registered professional mechanical engineer in the state of California and has been certified as a fire investigator by the California Office of the State Fire Marshal. He is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Jacques, a long-time member of the Sierra Club, has replaced all the incandescent light bulbs at home with compact fluorescents and does his part for the environment by bicycling to work.

Publications:

• "Computer Modeling of Fires for Use in Litigation Settings," Defense Research Institute, Products Liability Conference, Las Vegas, NV, February 9, 2006 (with A. Kemal).
• "Ammonium Perchlorate Based Rocket Propellants Detonation Characteristics," Exponent FaAA Report, July 2005.
• "Performance of Different Chimney Flue Designs During Large Power Plant Fires," Exponent FaAA Report, January 2005 (with R. Martin and W. Qin).
• "Investigation on the Susceptibility of Citronella Bucket Candles to Flashover," Exponent FaAA Report, February 2003.
• "Effect of Exhaust Stack Geometry on the Amount of Liquid Condensate During Plant Start-up," 95th Annual Conference of Air and Waste Management Association, Baltimore, MD, June 23–27, 2002 (with R. Mongia, W. Qin, A. Reza, and P. Zannetti).
• "Pump Column Failure Analysis for the Southern Nevada Water Authority Alfred Merritt Smith Water Treatment Facility Low Lift Pump Station," Exponent FaAA Report, February 2002 (with D. Duffner and J. Pye).
• "Fires and Explosions—Analysis and Investigation Techniques," Invited Lecture, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University, April 24, 2000 and May 7, 2001.

Publications, continued:

• "Engineering Investigation of the May 20, 1990 Fire at Socofi Abattoir, St. Louis de France, Quebec (Supplementary)," Exponent FaAA Report, June 2000 (with R. Mongia and A. Reza).
• "Investigation of Incidents Involving Jenson Baines Fireplace Matches," Exponent FaAA Report, March 2000.
• "Breakup of a Liquid Drop Suddenly Exposed to a High-Speed Airstream," International Journal of Multiphase Flow, Vol. 25, pp. 1263–1303, 1999 (with D.D. Joseph and G.S. Beavers).
• "Investigation of the October 1997 Polysilicon CVD Exhaust Line Explosion at Integrated Device Technology, San Jose, California," Exponent FaAA Report, August 1998 (with C. Beuhler and A. Reza).
• "Mixing and Combustion Experiments with Hot Hydrogen Injection in Hypervelocity Flows," AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 12(1), pp. 186–192, 1996 (with H. Hornung).
• "Detonation Initiation by Hypervelocity Projectiles," 20th International Symposium on Shock Waves, Pasadena, CA, July 23–28, 1995 (with M. Kaneshige and J.E. Shepherd).