This year’s iteration of the esteemed R&D 100 Awards features a judging panel comprised of more than 40 professionals from across the globe, who boast an impressive collection of accomplishments and honors. Following are short bios of our 2019 judges, who have been working tirelessly to review and rate the substantial amount of entries received:
Dr. Simon S. Ang, Professor, University of Arkansas
Dr. Simon Ang graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He subsequently completed an M.S. in Electrical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Southern Methodist University. Ang worked at Texas Instruments holding a variety of positions including section manager in the Advanced Power Integrated Circuit Development Center prior to joining the faculty of the University of Arkansas, where he is currently a full Professor. He is the Director of the High Density Electronics Center and an Associate Director of the National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission. Ang received the Arkansas Alumni Association Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching in 1994 and received the Insignia Award in Technology by the City and Guilds of London Institute, England in 1988 for his work on power semiconductor device development. He is the author and co-author of more than 325 journal and proceeding articles and six book chapters. Ang is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (United Kingdom), the Electrochemical Society, the City and Guilds of London Institute (United Kingdom), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He was a group member who participated in a 2009 R&D 100 award winner and has participated in R&D 100 judging since 2013.
Vineet Anshuman, Tata Communications
Vineet Anshuman is a seasoned thought leader, sales evangelist, and product manager with deep expertise in Next gen cloud technologies (private & public cloud), IaaS, PaaS, NFV, SDN, software as a service and security as a service. He has created an award-winning software defined networking (SDN) based platform that would help large enterprises to connect to clouds of all types via managed service provider networks and/or via data center co-lo. Anshuman is also an industry expert and keynote speaker in various technology events and has presented his innovation in large technology forums across the globe. He has three patents and was awarded fellowship by Institute of Telecom Professionals (ITP), London for his contribution and leadership in Telecom industry. Anshuman has been featured in leading Telecom publications including Light Reading, SDX central, and Total Telecom for his groundbreaking innovations.
Paul Barton
Dr. Paul Barton has been a nuclear engineer in the Applied Nuclear Physics group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2010. He received his Ph.D in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Michigan where he designed and fabricated low-noise semiconductor detectors. Barton brings a strong background in analog and digital electronics and is currently responsible for the design and fabrication of low-mass front-end (LMFE) readout boards for the MAJORANA collaboration. Additional efforts in low-noise ASIC-based readout of semiconductor detectors attempt to uncover the potential for advanced portable detection technologies. Barton is currently working on the 5th edition of Glenn Knoll’s Radiation Detection and Measurement.
Miles Budimir, Senior Editor, Design World
Miles Budimir is a senior editor covering motion control, automation, and test and measurement for Design World and an adjunct philosophy professor at Cleveland State University. Budimir has taught engineering technology courses as well as engineering ethics continuing education courses for professional engineers in the state of Ohio seeking to stay current with their PE licenses. He holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and an M.A. in Philosophy.
Carlos Castillo, Consultant
Carlos Castillo is focused, passionate, and inspires to promote a better future for all of us. He has more than 25 years of world-wide experience in medical devices, bio-systems, and clinical research. His experience includes research, development, production, support, training, sales, marketing, projects and program management for such companies as BIT Group, Beckman, Danaher, CareFusion, Siemens, EmhartGlass, Viasys HealthCare, SalterLabs, Cardinal Health, Dr. Max Harry Weil Institute of Critical Care, and others. Castillo holds three international degrees in engineering with emphasis in Bio-Engineering (MSEE), three MBAs (Finance, Marketing, and Global Management), has completed executive training at the USC Marshall School of Business and Harvard Business School. He is also Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certified, hold eight U.S. patents, 29 peer review publications in major medical research journals, and most recently, he is pursuing is Ph.D. in Leadership at Phoenix University.
Victor Comello
Victor Comello was trained as a theoretical physicist at the University of Notre Dame. He began working as a product development chemist, which led to his becoming the research director at the Minwax Company. Comello left that position to ultimately begin a career as a technical journalist, working at first for Semiconductor International magazine. That led to positions as senior editor and managing editor at R&D magazine. For the last 20+ years, he has worked as a senior writer/editor at Argonne National Laboratory. Comello has been a judge of the R&D 100 competition for more than 30 years.
Dr. Sudip K. Das, Butler University
Dr. Sudip Das is a professor of pharmaceutical sciences in pharmaceutical sciences at Butler University, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences. He also served as the chair of the department of pharmaceutical sciences and director of graduate program in pharmaceutical sciences. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Medicine, Indiana University. Das has more than 25 years of teaching experience in the professional pharmacy and graduate programs in the U.S. and Canada. Das has supervised more than 30 postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate research students, and was the key faculty responsible for the revitalization of the graduate program and research infrastructure in pharmaceutical sciences at Butler University. His current research involves targeted delivery of siRNA and nano-composites for the treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Das has more than 150 research publications, review articles, patents, proceedings, conference presentations, and book chapters, is a recipient of multiple awards/honors, and has secured extramural research funding from NIH, PDA, and several pharmaceutical industries.
Lisa Eitel, Executive Editor, Design World
Lisa (Elisabeth) Eitel is an Executive Editor at Design World magazine. She has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Fenn College (now Washkewicz College) at Cleveland State University and 20 years of experience as a technical writer. Her areas of focus include motors, drives, motion control, power transmission, linear motion, and sensing and feedback technologies. She is a judge for the FIRST Robotics Buckeye Regional competitions, an inductee of Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society, and a member of the Society of Women Engineers.
Mirza Faizan, Scientist
Mirza Faizan is a world-renowned aerospace scientist and inventor of Ground Reality Information Processing System (GRIPS), which is an innovative system to prevent runway incursion, runway excursion and detect foreign object and debris on runways in real time. His research and algorithm on predicting collision between random particles in semi-controlled environment is highly commended by scientists from NASA, Pentagon-AMRDEC (Army Missile Research, Development & Engineering Center) and US Air Force. Apart from his research and innovations, Faizan is known for developing a course module to mentor young children to identify a real-world problem and innovate patentable solutions to these problems. Over the last three years, he has mentored 140+ patent applicants aged 10-18 years. More than 40 of these students are featured in national and international print and electronic media for their innovations. For his contributions to global aerospace and defense industry and his innovations, Faizan was granted permanent residency in the United States under ‘Alien of Extraordinary Ability’ category, also known as Einstein visa — a category normally reserved for Noble Laureates or top scientists.
Dr. Richard Fox, PhD
Dr. Richard Fox, Ph.D., is a certified program management professional and an Engineering Fellow with Honeywell, where he is responsible for oversight of European Research & Technology programs. He has 41 years of diverse experience in several areas, including aircraft cabin environment, fuel tank inerting systems, high temperature laminates and coatings, metal injection molding and 3D printing of metals, fuel cell technology, high temperature wire and actuation, sensors, and other technologies. Fox has held leadership positions on International Standardization committees with SAE International and ASHRAE — and has also served on program oversight committees with the Transportation Research Board of the US National Academies of Sciences.
Dr. Kaveri Gandhi, Indiana University School of Dentistry
Dr. Kaveri Kranti Gandhi is a seasoned dentist with a specialization in Periodontics. She has almost a decade of extensive clinical experience in diagnosis, treatment planning and surgeries. Throughout her career, Gandhi has spent time in India and the United States performing a multitude of periodontal surgeries and periodontal laser procedures. She has done active research as well in the field of non-surgical treatment modalities for the treatment of chronic periodontitis, such as the efficacy of photodynamic therapy, the efficiency of low-level laser therapy, and the effects of ozonated oil.
Nirbhay Gandhi, Lean-Agile Mindset, Inc.
Nirbhay Gandhi is an Enterprise Coach and an Entrepreneur with more than 17 years of unique, extensive and field-based experience in the area of implementing Lean and Agile at scale. Throughout his career, he has helped several product and IT organizations transform through adoption of lean-agile methods and mindsets at various levels. He has worked in multicultural and highly distributed environments including North America, South America, Europe, and Asia — and has helped organizations increase their competitiveness by achieving results like, faster time to market, higher quality, higher productivity and predictability, leading to a higher state of customer engagement and customer satisfaction. Nirbhay is also part of the U.S. Military, where he has been serving in the U.S. Army since March 2016.
Mary Gannon, Editor, Fluid Power World
Mary Gannon is Editor of Fluid Power World. She has been a technical writer and editor for nearly 15 years, having covered fluid power, motion control and interconnect technologies. Gannon graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in Journalism. In addition to serving as a technical editor, she has worked as both a daily business reporter and on the public relations side of the communications business.
Christopher Gintz, TUBZ/Zeta Energy
Chris Gintz’s 40-year technology commercialization and product design career has spanned broad technology fields including instrument design, computer software and nanotechnology. His particular research interest is the practical application and effects of particles and waves on product design in batteries and corrosion prevention. He is the co-inventor of the first battery powered notebook computer. He has served for more than twenty years on the Industrial Advisory Board at his alma mater, the University of South Carolina College of Engineering and Computer Science. For more than ten years, he was active as a judge at the Intel Science and Engineering Fair. He has been an R&D 100 judge for the past five years.
Bradford L. Goldense, CEO, Goldense Group, Inc.
Bradford L. Goldense is CEO of Goldense Group, Inc., a consulting, research, and education corporation focused on business and technology management practices for product strategy, management, development, and commercialization. Goldense has consulted to more than 200 of the Fortune 1000 and has worked in more than 500 manufacturing locations on five continents. Goldense taught at The Gordon Institute, an elite graduate engineering school of Tufts University. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Brown University and an MBA from Cornell University. Goldense is a certified New Product Development Professional, a Certified Manufacturing Engineer, a Certified Computer Professional, and is certified in Production and Inventory Management. He has authored more than three-hundred articles and technical papers and has appeared as a subject matter expert on CNBC and PBS.
Dr. Amit Goyal, Ph.D, SUNY Empire
Dr. Amit Goyal is Director of The RENEW Institute1, the University at Buffalo’s interdisciplinary institute dedicated to research and education on globally pressing problems in energy, environment and water. Goyal concurrently holds the title of SUNY Empire Innovation Professor. He is President & CEO of TapeSolar Inc., a private-equity funded company and also President & CEO of TexMat LLC, an IP holding and consulting company. Previously, he was a Corporate Fellow and Distinguished Scientist at UT-Battelle/Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Goyal has more than 25 years project management and administrative experience as principal investigator in managing technical projects of a diverse nature and involving multiple organizations. He has developed clean energy technologies for more than two decades and has authored more than 350 technical publications and has 87 issued patents. Goyal received a B.Tech. (Honors) in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (India), an M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Rochester.
Dr. Edward Greer, Dow / Scouting & Exploration Network
Edward Greer is a member of the Scouting & Exploration Network in Dow’s Ventures and Business Development group. In this role, he is responsible for finding and evaluating technologies and opportunities that complement Dow’s robust Research & Development pipeline and have the potential to contribute to the company’s long-term success. Greer joined Rohm & Haas in 1982 as a senior scientist in analytical research prior to moving into computer applications research and eventually corporate development. He has extensive experience in research management, market development, and business development for the electronic materials and advanced materials markets. He has contributed to advancements in ceramics, displays, organic electronics, optical disks, photovoltaics, and microwave devices. Greer earned a B.S. in Chemistry with Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Greer serves on the advisory boards of the Cornell Center for Materials Research and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Proof of Concept Centers.
Paul J. Heney, Vice President, Editorial Director, Design World
Paul J. Heney, Vice President, Editorial Director for Design World and R&D World magazines, has a B.S. in Engineering Science & Mechanics and minors in Technical Communications and Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Tech. He has written about fluid power, aerospace, robotics, medical, green engineering, and general manufacturing topics for nearly 25 years. He has managed a variety of award programs, both corporate and industry focused, including the R&D 100 Awards and the LEAP Awards. Heney is well known in the b2b publishing world, with leadership roles on the national board of the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) and Trade, Association and Business Publications International (TABPI), an international b2b group. He has won numerous regional and national Azbee awards for his writing.
Dr. Stephen L. Howard, Chemical Engineer, Army Research Laboratory
Dr. Stephen L. Howard is a member of the Experimental Propulsion Physics Team, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – Army Research Laboratory. His research efforts involve high pressure, high temperature examination of materials at millisecond time frames.
He graduated cum laude in Chemical Engineering, University of Utah and cum laude in Chemistry, University of Utah. While working at Thatcher Chemical Company as section engineer and quality control, first in pharmaceuticals, and later in DoD solvent manufacture and chlor-alkalis, he continued to pursue a post-graduate degree. He received his Ph.D. in Physical-Analytical Chemistry from the University of Utah. He first came to the U.S. Army Ballistic Laboratory in 1989 as an NAS/NRC research associate and was hired as a staff member in 1991. His current research includes experimental studies of physical processes inherent in interior ballistics and ignition systems ranging from small-caliber to large-caliber munitions. Howard is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Phi Kappa Phi, Tau Beta Pi, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the American Chemical Society. He has been an invited judge (1994-present) for the R&D 100 Awards.
Ilia N. Ivanov, Research and Development Scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Ilia N. Ivanov is a research and development scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
He has won three Battelle Distinguished Inventor technology commercialization awards and holds 11 patents. His research interests include: nano-materials, polymers and composite for energy related applications, in-situ diagnostics, imaging of structure functional changes in thin films, developing of understanding and control of thin film self-assembly — from molecular aggregation in solutions to film assembly on the surface, and multi parameter phase diagrams of materials — controlling metastable states. Ivanov has a Ph.D. in Photo Chemistry and Physical Chemistry from Bowling Green State University, and Moscow International School for Business in Industry and Sciences. He has a B.S. in Engineer Radiation and Physical Chemistry from Russian University of Chemical Technology. Professional Experience includes Research Staff, Functionality Group, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, ORNL; Research Associate, Dept. of Material Sciences and Technologies, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; Postdoctoral Research Associate, Chemical Sciences Division, ORNL; Assistant Director, Industrial Technologies and Materials, Moscow; and Research Assistant, Department of Physical Chemistry (Radiation and Photochemistry), Russian University of Chemical Technology, Moscow.
Don Jackson
Don Jackson was an Adjunct Professor of Physics for Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, in Prescott, Ariz. and served as Chairman and CEO of Prodeo Technologies, Inc. He founded Global Semiconductor Technologies, Inc. and was the President and Chairman of that company. He has a B.A. in Physics from William Jewell College, an M.S. in Physics from Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University.
Dr. Mark Jones, Executive External Strategy and Communications Fellow, The Dow Chemical Company
Mark E. Jones, Ph.D., is Executive External Strategy and Communications Fellow for Dow Chemical, and is a frequent speaker at industry events on a variety of topics. He spent most of his career developing catalytic processes after joining Dow in 1990. Jones received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Colorado-Boulder doing research unlikely to lead to an industrial career and totally unrelated to his current responsibilities. In his current role, he is on the staff of Dow CTO Dr. A.N. Sreeram, where he develops strategy and facilitates communication. He played a large role in Dow’s next generation sustainability goals and retains responsibility for the innovation goal. He provided technical support for Dow’s Renewable Chemistries Expertise Center and, until recently, was on the Board of Directors of the BIO Industrial and Environmental Section. Jones co-chairs the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, a standing roundtable of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS), hosts ACS webinars on successful industrial applications of chemistry and material science, blogs for the ACS’s Industry Insights, represented Dow Chemical on Corporation Associates, is a member of the ACS Committee on Public Relations and Communications and is on the ACS Chemical Heritage Landmark committee. He is also chair elect of the Midland ACS Section.
Aimee Kalnoskas, Senior Editor, EE World
Aimee Kalnoskas serves as Senior Editor for EE World and WTWH online communities, EDABoard.com and Electro-Tech-Online.com and most recently, EngineersGarage.com. Kalnoskas began her career in electronics and technical publishing in 1984 and has served as a speaker and panelist at numerous industry events and as moderator for many webcasts serving the electronics industry. Kalnoskas’ interest in electronics began early in life thanks to her father, an electronics engineer who felt that oscilloscopes also made highly effective nightlights for his seven children.
Leslie Langnau, Senior Contributing Editor, Design World
Leslie Langnau has been involved with publishing in the automation and manufacturing markets for more than 30 years. She has been involved in the additive manufacturing / 3D printing industry for a decade. Langnau is a graduate of Michigan State University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
Dr. Tess Light, Chief Scientist, Space-based Nuclear Detonation Detection program, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Dr. Tess Light holds a Ph.D. in astrophysics and has worked in space-based remote sensing for twenty years. She joined Los Alamos National Laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow in the FORTE small satellite program in 1999, studying radio frequency and optical signals from lightning. Today, she is the chief scientist for the Space-based Nuclear Detonation Detection program at LANL, and the project scientist for the EMP sensor development program there.
Dr. Narasimha (Raju) Nagaiah, Technology Transfer Professional, University of Central Florida
Dr. Raju Nagaiah, Ph.D., is a Technology Transfer Professional in UCF’s Office of Technology Transfer (OTT). He has more than eight years of experience in commercializing and licensing university technologies. Nagaiah is responsible for coordinating with faculty and researchers in evaluating, protecting, and licensing physical sciences technologies. Before joining the Office of Technology Transfer, he worked as a market research analyst in UCF Venture Lab, conducting due diligence, technical competitiveness, commercialization and market research for a range of technologies and products that are produced by UCF and early stage technology companies in Central Florida region. Nagaiah holds double masters degrees — one in Mechanical Engineering and the other Industrial Engineering, and he received his doctoral degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Central Florida.
Don Neuhaus, Parker Hannifin Aerospace
Donald Neuhaus is the Director of Research at Parker Aerospace’s Fluid Systems Division. Joining Parker in 1983, he brings more than 40 years of aerospace experience to his role. Neuhaus has held a variety of Engineering and Leadership positions within both the Fuel Measurement and the Avionics departments. In his position as the Director of Research, he is responsible for establishing the strategic direction of the research as well as leadership of the research team. The research team is focused on Intelligent Power Systems, Advanced Fuel Gauging and Fuel Tank Inerting Technologies, Hydro-Mechanical and Engine Pneumatic Equipment research, and Advanced Systems Architectures. Prior to this position, Don has served as Chief Engineer, Company FAA Designated Engineering Representative (Power Plant, Electrical Systems and Equipment), Technology Team Leader in the Avionics Group, and as Principal Engineer in the Fuel Measurement group. Neuhaus has earned a B.S. and an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of New York, a certified Program Management Professional, and was appointed as a Parker Engineering Fellow.
Samuel R. Phillips, PE, Consultant
Samuel R. Phillips is a consultant in design engineering, development, and manufacturing, and expert witness in patent litigation. He has a B.S. and M.S. in Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from Caltech. Phillips is a registered Professional Engineer and Certified Management Consultant, with more than 40 years of industrial experience in industrial and consumer products, electronics and optical products, medical and scientific instruments, machinery, and chemical-process equipment. He has more than 200 clients, including large organizations, such as Applied Materials, Baxter Healthcare, Baker Hughes, Boeing, DuPont, Honeywell, KLA-Tencor, Livermore National Laboratory, Litton, and Xerox, as well as smaller companies and startups. Phillips holds four patents.
James T. Reilly, Principal, Reilly Associates
James T. Reilly, Principal of Reilly Associates, is an independent consultant in the electric power industry in the U.S. and internationally. He has completed numerous projects and workshops on research and development for advanced technology projects for clients in North America, Japan, and Europe. His clients include the U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, NIST and NEDO. Reilly’s consulting assignments range from support for demonstration projects for integrated distribution managements systems to communication and sensing technologies for electric/gas interdependency analysis for ISOs. He is a senior member of the IEEE Power and Energy Society, the IEEE Standards Association, and CIGRE. He is the author of numerous articles and research studies. Reilly regularly interfaces with stakeholders in the regulatory, industry, and the research communities, and is a speaker at workshops and conferences across the globe. He holds degrees from Georgetown University and Columbia University.
Dr. Catherine L. Riddle, Research Scientist, Idaho National Laboratory
Dr. Catherine L. Riddle is a research scientist at Idaho National Laboratory and has 20 years’ experience in the area of radiochemistry and radiochemical separations. Her radiochemistry research involves multiple areas and disciplines including; actinide separations and speciation in the investigation of actinides and lanthanides for the expansion of new technologies for used nuclear fuel recycling and nuclear national security. Riddle continues to expand her involvement in both national and international research such as isotope ultra-purification for the particle physics work using 100Mo for the Neutrino Ettore Majorana Observatory (NEMO) and SuperNEMO projects, an international collaboration, which investigates neutrinoless double beta decay. She has lent expertise to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chemical weapons and high explosives identification work and continues to design new technologies in areas such as oil and heavy metal remediation, advanced neutron/antineutrino detection scintillators, rapid actinide chemical detection for first responders and other technologies geared at making the world a safer, better place. Riddle is a champion of mentoring young upcoming scientists who intern during the year at INL as well as future scientists through volunteering her time, energy, and expertise to STEM programs for K-12 students. Riddle has reached multiple thousands of students over the past 14 years with her workshops and presentations on Nuclear Forensics & Radiochemistry.
Dr. Rebecca L. Rosas, Vice President for Strategic Planning, Texmark Chemicals, Inc.
Dr. Rebecca Rosas is Vice President for Strategic Planning for Texmark Chemicals in Galena Park, Tex. She has previously been Vice President of R&D/Technology Center Manager prior to her promotion in late 2018. A graduate of McKendree College, she obtained an M.S. in Physical Chemistry at Eastern Illinois University. Rosas obtained a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Texas A&M. During her studies, she was a Fullbright scholar, doing research at the University of Antwerp. Rebecca has been with Texmark Chemicals for almost two decades years and has been a judge for the R&D 100 since 2014. She also is a member of the board for the Association of Laboratory Managers and is chairman of the Houston area chapter.
Dr. Kamal Sarkar, Professor, The University of Texas
Kamal Sarkar, Ph.D. (Materials Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville) is a faculty member in the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg Campus. He is the Co-Inventor of award-winning (2011 R&D 100, among many others) of Forcespinning technology that is being commercialized by Parker Hannifin, a multi-billion dollars global leader in filtration, among others. Research areas that Sarkar is pursuing presently include commercial applications of glass micro- and nano-particles manufactured from waste glass and application of AI and Peer-to-Peer technologies to empower Blinds and Persons with Visual impairment (BPVI) for both physical mobility and financial independence. Kamal received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 from Marquis Who’s Who for his “career longevity and demonstrated unwavering excellence.”
Mark Shapiro, Journalist and Consultant
Mark Shapiro is a Tech Public Relations Expert, an expert in earned media and developing technical content, promoting technology for the connected world. After a 10-year career as a tech journalist, over the last 20 years, Mark has provided PR and media relations for technology companies of all sizes — from large international corporations like Honeywell, Emerson, Qorvo, Sensata and Lucent — to medium size manufacturers as well as small start-ups. He has been very successful in helping international tech companies penetrate the U.S. and Europe tech publications. Two decades ago, he helped launch Wi-Fi in the U.S. and wrote the first Wi-Fi Org web site. Since then, he has worked with dozens of companies in the industrial and medical sensing, IoT, communications and Smart Industry/Home technology spaces. This includes wireless connectivity, industrial/automotive sensors and switches, cloud intelligence, IoT security, storage, internet video and streaming, eCommerce, etc.
Ryan Smith, Founder, Pordis LLC
Ryan Smith is the founder of Pordis LLC, which offers design and consulting services primarily to the photovoltaics portion of the renewable energy sector — and has introduced its own specialized product designs to assist scientists and engineers with research and development. Smith holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan and is an American Society for Quality Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Certified Manager of Quality / Organizational Excellence, and Certified Quality Engineer. He has experience in both the semiconductor and renewable energy industries, has led ISO 17025 test laboratory program development, and has worked for major semiconductor manufacturers and at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Dr. T.S. Sudarshan, Materials Modification Inc.
Dr. T.S. Sudarshan is President and CEO of Materials Modification, Inc. He has a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech and has been responsible for driving the company’s technological leadership in the development of next generation materials, processes and techniques for the past 33 years. Sudarshan has been a passionate entrepreneur and provided employment to more than 400 individuals, given the first jobs for more than 180 students, and served on more than 10 thesis committees for M.S. and Ph.Ds. He has served on the National Materials Advisory Board, Ohio Third Frontier Committees, ASM International Board, Committees for the Army, NSF, NIH and DoE and Selection Committee for the R&D 100 awards. He has authored more than 180 papers, is editor of two journals — Materials and Manufacturing Processes and Surface Engineering — is coeditor of 34 books, holder of 30 patents, winner of two R&D 100 awards, Fellow of ASM International, Fellow of IFHTSE, Fellow of IMMM, UK, and Distinguished Alumni of IITM. He has been responsible for heading the development of 18 products and has worked in nanotechnology and surface engineering. Sudarshan has also been on the Advisory Board of ATI, South Carolina and several other companies as a consultant.
Dr. Shanti Swarup, Associate Fellow, PPG
Dr. Shanti Swarup, Associate Fellow, joined PPG in 1988 as a chemist at the Coating Innovation Center, and has held positions of increasing responsibility during his tenure in Research and Development. Throughout his 31-year career at PPG, Swarup has made numerous contributions that have helped create more than four dozen commercial products with higher performance, less environment impact, worker safety, productivity improvement, energy conservation, and lower cost than prior generation of products. The breath of his polymer contributions spread in the OEM, refinish, industrial, packaging, photochromic, adhesive and sealants, and mobility sectors and brought more than $9 billion in cumulative sales to PPG. He is named inventor on 535 global patents and publications including 83 granted U.S. Patents. Swarup has received numerous PPG internal and external awards, including PPG President Award, Meritorious Award, Entrepreneur Award, and Innova Awards. His research has been presented to a number of conferences and earned PPG several R&D 100, PACE, Surcar, and ACS Hero of the Chemistry Awards. In 2016, he was inducted into life-long prestigious PPG Collegium. He was the recipient of 2019 the ACS Nation Award in Applied Polymer Science and was the finalist for Inventor of the Year 2019 Award.
Dr. Aram Tanielian, CEO, Revtek Inc.
Dr. Aram Tanielian is the Founder, CEO, and Director of Science and Technology of Revtek Inc. Revtek is involved in R&D in defense areas of Thin Film active and passive devices, physical, optical, and biosensors, MEM, microwave power transistors, and nano-technology, especially involving Graphene.
Leland (Lee) Teschler, Executive Editor, Design World
Leland (Lee) Teschler is the Executive Editor of the Design World network of websites, online resources and print publications. Teschler worked at Penton Media for 37 years, starting in 1977 as a Staff Editor for Machine Design, and worked his way up to Chief Editor of the publication. Prior to that, he had been a communications engineer for the federal government. Teschler holds a B.S. in Engineering and a B. S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Cleveland State University. Coverage areas include power electronics, solar power electronics, test & measurement, Internet of Things, motion control and controllers, solid-state lighting, energy efficiency, and industrial electronics.
Dr. Jeff Wu, CEO, Neoventech
Jeff Wu, Ph.D. is a global product development leader who transforms innovative ideas into successful cosmetics/topical pharmaceutical products. He is currently the CEO at Neoventech, a CRO to provide testing and complex formulation service for cosmetic and topical drug development. He has worked as a research fellow at Johnson and Johnson Consumer and Arkema for more than 20 years, to develop and commercialize innovative platform technologies and new cosmetic care and topical drugs globally for iconic skin care and OTC brands e.g. Neutrogena, Aveeno, Clean & Clear, RoC, and Rogaine. His main research areas are the development of local and transdermal drug delivery technologies and solutions. Wu holds 36 patents in various drug delivery systems and their applications, including liposomes, niosome, microneedles, ultrasound and galvanic micro coupled particles. He is a frequent invited speaker at national and international dermatology and scientific meetings and has a dozen peer-reviewed publications in skin care technologies and applications. He volunteers for the Controlled Release Society, American Association of Pharmaceutical Society, and the Chinese American Cosmetics Professional Association.
Other judges this year include:
• Ken Day,
• Mirza Rizwan, and
• Scott A. Watson, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Finalists for the R&D 100 will be announced this week, and the R&D 100 winners will be announced next week. The R&D 100 Awards Banquet will be held December 5th at the San Mateo Marriott, conveniently located just south of San Francisco International Airport. Register for the banquet and the R&D 100 Conference at www.rd100conference.com.
Mark Onuchi says
Appreciate the lineup of a stellar cast of judges! Just wondering, did not find an African on the lineup little wonder, they are conspicuously absent in the array of innovators longlisted and if they are ever represented, an insignificant few – would advice next time, do give room for a sufficient representation from Africa, I can help.