The ‘aha’ moment: Sheryl Rubin-Pitel and Ken Kar

This is especially true as ExxonMobil researchers work together on researching and developing the next generation of lower-emission transportation fuels. Reducing emissions from ships and planes and on the roads is essential to meeting climate goals, as the transportation sector accounts for nearly one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

In this series, we spoke with some of ExxonMobil’s top scientists to find out what they’ve learned, what surprised them, and how they define success in the long game of scientific inquiry.

Sheryl Rubin-Pitel and Ken Kar are ExxonMobil engineers who have worked together for years on many new marine fuel blends that reduce emissions. The pair is part of a team dedicated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the marine vessels that carry 90% of the world’s goods.

Hear from Sheryl and Ken about how they approach their work in the lab, how they define success, and, most importantly, what they learn from results they didn’t expect.