Demonstrating experience in a myriad of disciplines – including mechanical engineering, academia, research, administration, manufacturing, medicine, consulting and real estate – Dr. L. Zane Shuck has excelled as the founder and president of Technology Development, Inc., since 1980. Drawing upon over 60 years of expertise in his many fields, he has received much acclaim as a research scientist and engineer over the course of his career. Noted as a registered professional engineer and licensed surveyor in the states of West Virginia and Ohio, he is also certified by the National Council of Engineering Examiners and holds a U.S. security “Q” clearance. He has spent significant time in such other roles as professor at West Virginia University (WVU) in Morgantown, as well as a Science Faculty Fellow of the National Science Foundation, supervisory mechanical engineer for the U.S. Department of Energy, and chairman of the mechanical engineering department at the West Virginia Institute of Technology, among other positions.
During his extensive career, Dr. Shuck developed and completed more than 65 oil and gas wells throughout the states of West Virginia and Ohio in the 1980s, as well as served as a science advisor to former Governor Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. He was a technology coordinator for the West Virginia Legislature, WVU and the West Virginia Tech Engineering Advisory Committees for 16 fruitful years. During his tenure in academia, he also excelled as a mentor to hundreds of students. Likewise, Dr. Shuck has authored over 62 publications and holds 23 U.S. patents, which included the first ever patent awarded through WVU and 15 patents in oil and gas extraction technology. Notably, he earned a U.S. Department of Energy Award for obtaining the most patents in one year of any federal employee in U.S. history.
Moreover, Dr. Shuck produced three technical films for the Department of Energy, as well as had five of his patents serve as an instrumental tool for the innovative Human Healthcare GI Tract Research and Patient Treatment System. Lending his expertise to health care, he researched the critical roles that the human gastrointestinal tract microbiome plays in symptoms, diseases and brain-gut communications.
Dr. Shuck holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the West Virginia Institute of Technology, and a Master of Mechanical Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy in theoretical and applied mechanics and biomechanics from WVU. Further, he completed graduate programs at Iowa State University and Wayne State University. For his success, WVU named the L. Zane Shuck Nanobiotechnology Laboratory in his honor in 2016, and he was the recipient of the 1980 Ralph James National Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Other accolades to his credit have included the 1970 Materials Testing Award from ASTM International and four fellowships through the Ford Foundation. He also earned a fellowship as a WVU Research Engineer from the National Science Foundation. Dr. Shuck has been honored by Marquis Who’s Who as a Top Engineer, Top Scientist and Worldwide Humanitarian; was selected for inclusion in Who’s Who in the World and Insight Magazine; and was interviewed by Star Jones. In 2017, he was inducted into the WVU Emeritus Club.