Daniel R. Prophater has made an impact in his job, on the environment, in his community, and on behalf of his alma mater since earning two degrees from Ohio State.

Prophater is the director of research and development for the David J. Joseph Co. (DJJ) in Cincinnati. The company is one of the largest traders and processors of scrap metal in the world. DJJ owns more than 60 facilities across the United States, including 14 car shredders that prepare more than 3.5 million tons of recycled steel for melting into new steel each year. Prophater developed techniques to better assess copper removal from shredded materials, identified new markets for certain types of recycled that were previously sent to landfills, and is working on ways to eliminate the company's largest waste stream and disposal expense.

Prophater is developing facilities that will use automotive shredder residue to generate power. The residue is plastic, rubber, foam, glass, and other materials generated when an automobile is shredded and is typically sent to landfills. Prophater's efforts are expected to turn approximately 1 million tons of material per year into a new power source.

Before joining DJJ, Prophater developed expansion plans for Cinergy Solutions, led the development of a renewable energy strategy for Duke Energy, and coordinated the purchase of raw material for Honeywell Aerospace that led to more than $30 million per year in sales.

"Dan demonstrated tremendous initiative and creativity, and no challenge ever seemed too great for him," said Neeta Patel, director of technology development and application at Duke Energy. "With numerous other admirable qualities-such as leadership, teamwork, trustworthiness, and most important, humor-he was a real asset to the team."

Prophater was an active volunteer while at Ohio State, serving as president of the school's chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and one of 12 elected national student board members. During graduate school, he helped others get jobs by critiquing resumes and performing mock interviews. He remains active with the Mechanical Engineering Alumni Society.

In Cincinnati, Prophater has been active in the Greater Cincinnati United Way Annual Campaign Committee, United Way Volunteer Leadership Development Program, and the Cincinnati Lung Association. In 2005, he was named to the board of directors of the Cincinnati-based Easter Seals Work Resource Center, a nonprofit organization that serves southwest Ohio residents with disabilities and disadvantages that make it difficult to find employment. Prophater works with the organization's Building Value program, which teaches inner-city students how to interact with customers in a retail setting, allowing them to become more prepared to start a career. Prophater also chairs the Tailgate Bash, the organization's largest fund-raiser, which raised more than $110,000 in 2008.