Dr. Feeney earned a doctorate in Physical Chemistry, with minors in Analytical Chemistry and Applied Physics, from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. His research in graduate school was Physico-Chemical Patterning: Chemical Banding and Non-Linear Electrochemical and Electromagnetic Field Effects in Chemical Systems.
Dr. Feeney has worked with both large well-established multinational companies, and several start-ups, one of which he is a founder (SeeLeaf, Inc). He is inventor or co-inventor on approximately 50 patents worldwide. He has led or participated in a great number of very diverse projects in several industries, including foods, nutraceuticals, commodity chemicals, medical devices and electronic and thermochemical displays. His work includes patents and innovations in zero-calorie fats (Olestra), rheological enhancements to polyunsaturated oils and novel GRAS polymeric food stabilizers, ultrathin edible barriers to oil uptake during deep frying, rheologically active ophthalmic and contact lens care solutions, high contrast low energy consumption electronic displays (Kindle screens), high contrast high quality thermal printing, novel ink-jet ink formulations, force and pressure-mapping smart fabrics for use in medical applications, and many more.
Dr. Feeney has held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility, from bench level and staff scientist through Director of R&D for DePuy Casting (Johnson & Johnson). He has been tutoring students in High School, College Prep and AP Chemistry, as well as the occasional student in algebra and physics. His hobbies are far flung. In his basement lab/workshop, he engages in product development and improvement in fields such as chocolate manufacturing, small-scale pasteurization, electrochemical cells and energy transfer, tinkering to produce useful and potentially marketable developments. He started his own company - SeeLeaf, Inc. – marketing a consumer product using a technology he developed to instantly reveal the presence of urushiol, the “irritant” oil present in poison ivy, oak, sumac, raw cashew nuts, mango peel, etc.
