Dr. Vitale is a graduate of NYU Tandon School of Engineering (formerly NY Polytechnic University) with a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Civil Engineering.  He has been licensed as a P.E. in 6 states and presently keeps active his P.E. licenses in New York, Pennsylvania and New York.  Dr. Vitale has worked in the natural gas and LNG industry for over 50 years.  In 2004 he retired as Vice President and Chief Engineer over Gas Engineering and 28 Production facilities for KeySpan Energy, across New York City, Long Island, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  During his employment with KeySpan he often taught Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Fluid Dynamics and other energy courses at NY Polytechnic University.  From 2004 to present, Dr. Vitale has focused on consulting for the Gas Industry with a specialty in training the industry’s human resources on the how to make safety and reliability their major focus through understanding the technologies.  More than half of Dr. Vitale’s consulting has been focused on training Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Operating personnel on generic and site-specific operations of their plants.  Dr. Vitale has generated and delivered training materials for import terminals, export terminals, peak shavers and portable LNG facilities.  His courses have been both open enrollment and plant specific.  He has provided training for clients in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Mid-East and China.  Dr. Vitale has also provided expert testimony for justifying asset (pipeline and service) replacement programs and new facilities (LNG or pipeline or compressors) for system reinforcements to meet the peak day demands of the industry’s customers.  Dr. Vitale’s passion is to train Gas Operators on the safe, reliable, efficient, operation of their gas systems and to develop a culture of continuous learning.