Welcome to Solar Vortex Systems
We Harness Vortexes in Greenhouses and Windows to Power Farms and Businesses
Welcome to Solar Vortex Systems
We Harness Vortexes in Greenhouses and Windows to Power Farms and Businesses
Revolutionizing Sustainable Energy Solutions
At Solar Vortex Systems, we strive to revolutionize sustainable energy solutions. We are a recently established company that was created to provide solar energy solutions without the extremely expensive and complex systems that are used today to produce energy from the sun.
Meet Our Dedicated Team
William W. Graham, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Solar Vortex Systems
Dr. Graham’s experience includes over 25 years working with a range of small businesses to large corporations, helping owners, directors, and the rest of the employees preserve and grow their incomes. During the past 15 years, he has served on business advisory boards, consulted for non-profit associations and unions, and helped individuals and organizations with their professional and business development. He brings a wealth of experience since he has owned and run three businesses in transportation, food production, and management consulting. From this experience he knows well how to conduct all the critical functions in business, helping each business grow its financial bottom line while reducing its tax liabilities. He has also been a faculty member at several community colleges and National Louis University, providing education in human relations, business analysis, and ethics. He has also written two books—one in management development and the other a children’s reading primer.
His most recent work has been as a co-inventor with Earl Senchuk of the patent-pending Solar Vortex Clamshell Greenhouse. His work has involved organizing the team that is shown on this website, helping develop the final diagrams for the patent, and assisting in the building of the prototype greenhouse.
Education: He achieved a B.A. in Psychology from Wooster College and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Psychology and Organizational Development from Case Western Reserve University.
Nancy W. Bentley, Ph.D., Manager, Solar Vortex Systems
Dr. Bentley has over 40 years’ experience in higher education, including 30 years as a student services administrator and 10 years as an adjunct faculty member, primarily instructing doctoral students through online delivery. Having worked at both 2-year and 4-year institutions in Illinois and Ohio, she retired as vice president of student development at Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC) in Palos Hills, IL. She has served as chief student affairs officer at 3 higher education institutions, overseeing all facets of student and academic support services (i.e., enrollment management; counseling, advising, career, and job services; testing and assessment; financial aid; athletics; multicultural and international student affairs; library services; instructional media support services; remedial education; and residence life). She has strong leadership experience involving technological innovation since the 1980s and has been a recognized leader within her work environment, professional associations, and the community. She currently serves on several community boards, including the Leaders Council of Mercy Home for Boys and Girls and the Town and Country Art League. She is an educational consultant, workshop leader, writer, and freelance artist.
Education: She has a B.A. in Sociology and an M. Ed. in Student Personnel in Higher Education and Counseling from Kent State University and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Loyola University.
Our Key Consultants
Hamid Arastoopour, Ph.D.
Hamid Arastoopour is the Henry R. Linden Professor of Engineering and Director of Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER) at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois. Since 1985, he has also been a member of the chemical engineering faculty at Illinois Tech, where he served as chairman of the department from 1989 to 2003 and dean of the Armour College of Engineering from 2003 to 2008.
He began his research activities at the Institute of Gas Technology (IGT) in the experimental measurement, mathematical modeling, and simulation of pneumatic conveying and fluidized bed systems associated with coal conversion and gasification processes. His main research expertise is in the area of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of multiphase flow and particle technology—an area motivated by energy and environmentally related applications and documented in more than 100 publications and 13 U.S. patents. Dr. Arastoopour is among the leading researchers in multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in the world. His models are being used by available codes (e.g., Fluent and MFIX) for the design of flow systems in many locations. He has received many academic awards in chemical engineering and energy and sustainability areas during his career. His work is extremely well-suited for simulating aerodynamic flows in a structure that generates a vortex like the Solar Vortex Greenhouse.
He currently serves on the editorial board of the Sustainability journal. A fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and National Academy of Inventors (NAI), he has received a number of national awards, including the Particle Technology Forum Lifetime Achievement Award, the Sustainable Engineering Forum (SEF) Research Award, the Donald Q. Kern Award in Heat Transfer and Energy Conversion, the Fluor Daniel Lectureship in Fluidization and Fluid/Particle Systems, the Fluidization Processes Recognition Award, and the Ernest W. Thiele Award, all from AIChE. He also received Illinois Tech’s excellence in teaching award.
Education
Ph.D. from Illinois Institute of Technology (Gas Engineering, 1978)
M.S. from Illinois Institute of Technology (Gas Engineering, 1975)
B.S. from Abadan Institute of Technology, Iran (Gas Engineering, 1973)
Contact Information
Hamid Arastoopour
Henry R. Linden Professor of Engineering
Interim Dean of Armour College of Engineering
Director, Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER)
Illinois Institute of Technology
10 West 35th Street, IIT Tower – 16th Floor
Pioneering Climate Solutions Through Art
Earl Senchuk
For fifty years, self-taught multimedia artist and serial inventor Earl Senchuk has judged, juried, and exhibited in art shows in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. His highest artistic achievement was winning the 2011 Project of the Year Award in a global art competition sponsored by the World of Concrete Trade Show in Las Vegas for a yellow rose fountain. His art mediums include clay, welded metals, watercolor, wire, fiber, concrete, and living foliage.
In his realm of inventing over the past twenty years, Earl has focused mainly on products that address the consequences of climate change. Some of these include the Boomer Bloomer mini greenhouse that extends the growing season to 9 months from the typical 3 months, the SnowSnake™, a patented snow removal device that operates at the roofline underneath ice layers, and the Solar Vortex Generator to create alternative energy using man-made wind. His current product, the DIY Window Insert Kit™, cuts energy costs for heating or cooling a home by 30 to 50%.