Diem X. Vuong – Inventor and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Vuong has over 42 years experience as a leader and innovator in the municipal water industry.

Prior to founding DXV, he served as the Assistant General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department, where he invented the dual-stage nanofiltration desalination process known as the “Long Beach Method.” Mr. Vuong’s invention was deployed in a pilot plant and validated in testing by engineers from the Long Beach Water Department and United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation. In 2008, Mr. Vuong received the Technology Award from the Asian American Architects and Engineers Association, as well as numerous commendations from state and local officials.

Mr. Vuong began his career in the water department in Saigon, Vietnam. He came to the United States in 1975, and spent over 30 years in the Southern California municipal water sector. He earned his bachelors and masters degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering from the University of Saigon.

Michael S. Motherway – President
Mr. Motherway has extensive experience in the development of energy resources particularly natural gas power plants. In additional to developing and financing traditional power plants, he assisted in the development of alternative energy sources such as wind farms and industrial cogeneration facilities. These efforts were on behalf of some large independent power producers and investor owned utilities.

While at the National Energy Group he helped develop an innovative dispersed generating portfolio that included the commissioning six plants (350 megawatts) in just three years from start of development. At NEV Technologies, he was involved in the commercialization of a new microturbine generator. As a consultant, he has evaluated new energy technologies and renewable projects on behalf of investors.

Mr. Motherway started his career in the finance department at AlliedSignal Aerospace and has economics degrees from Princeton University (BA) and the University of California at Santa Barbara (MA).

Curt Roth – Vice President of Engineering
An environmental engineer, Mr. Roth has worked on large water infrastructure and planning projects for CH2M Hill in Los Angeles and AECOM in Chicago. Mr. Roth was the Engineer-of-Record for two groundbreaking storm water treatment systems for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works: the Sun Valley Park Drain and Infiltration System and the Dominguez Gap Wetlands. Other significant projects include the Genesee County, Michigan Water and Sewer Master Plan and Capital Improvement Program, Integrated Resources Plan for the City of Los Angeles, the 2005 and 2006 Golden State Water Company’s Capital Improvement Program, and the Ft. Irwin water and sewer upgrade program. He also worked with the City of Long Beach in developing a prototype of Mr. Vuong’s former invention.

Mr. Roth holds an MS in Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and a BS in Civil Engineering from Loyola Marymount University.

Donald Budai – Director of Marine Operations
Don Budai, retired Navy and Navy Reserve Captain, is past owner/operator of a nationwide Marine Services Company specializing in marine engineering, salvage, tugs, barges, diving operations, and ocean installations and repairs. Mr. Budai is a commercial and Navy diver, and a designated and qualified Naval Engineer and vessel operator. He has extensive marine experience including moving the historic “Spruce Goose” from its berth in Long Beach to its current location at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in Oregon.

Mr. Budai has a BS in mathematics from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and an MS in System Engineering from University of Southern California.

Yan Zhang – Engineer
Dr. Zhang has performed highly recognized, leading edge research in drinking water treatment and infrastructure sustainability. Her expertise includes water quality, water treatment, corrosion and stabilization in post treatment. Dr. Zhang has published many peer-reviewed journal articles and has presented at national and international water conferences.

Dr. Zhang earned a BS degree in Environmental Engineering from Wuhan University, Wuhan, China, an MS in Environmental Engineering from Virginia Tech and a PhD in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Kevin Santella – Consultant
Mr. Santella comes from the energy sector. He started designing control systems at Honeywell for pharmaceutical campuses imparting energy management strategies to large, energy intensive facilities. Power generation systems, in particular combined heat and power facilities, were his primary focus of his tenure at Honeywell.

Mr. Santella helped launch NEV Technologies, a distributed generation company, and created marketing campaigns for the western states as well as various foreign markets. He also developed plans to deploy and operate these generation assets. Mr. Santella has worked on many power development projects and has just completed the first gas turbine combined heat and power facility constructed in Manhattan. He continues to develop utility sized projects in the renewable energy sector focusing primarily on solar technologies.

Mr. Santella holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton and is a partner in the US EPA Combined Heat and Power Partnership, EPA Energy Star Partnership and a member of the Cogeneration and Competitive Power Institute.