This year’s iteration of the esteemed R&D 100 Awards features a judging panel comprised of nearly 50 professionals from across the globe, who boast an impressive collection of accomplishments and honors. Finalists in this year’s 60th R&D 100 Awards will be announced on August 15th at rdworldonline.com. Winners of this year’s R&D 100 Awards, along with the medalists in the Special Recognition categories, will be announced on August 22nd, also at rdworldonline.com.

Following are short bios of our 2022 judges, who have worked tirelessly to review and rate all the entries received this year. Thank you to all of the judges!

Gretchen Baier, Executive External Strategy and Communications Leader, Dow
Gretchen Baier is responsible for monitoring for disruptive technologies and being the R&D liaison to Dow’s sustainability goals. Previously, she was Associate R&D Director of External Technology, leading a group responsible for creating strategic external research collaborations.  Earlier she was a technical leader in Ventures and New Business Development and a chemical engineer in the Process Optimization group and the Process Separations Skill Center. She is on the NSF Engineering Advisory Committee, the Visiting Committee for Chemical Engineering at MIT, the American Chemical Society Committee on Chemistry and Public Affairs, the Advisory Board for the MIT Practice School, the Standing Committee for the NSF Engineering Research Visioning Alliance, and Advisory Board for the Michigan Materials Research Institute at the University of Michigan. She has held Board positions for ASTRA and theCouncil of Chemical Research, as well as a member of the Industrial Research Institute’s External Technology Network. Prior to joining Dow, Gretchen was a Process Engineer at Dow Corning Corp. and later at Shell Oil Company. She has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from M.I.T. and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Paul Barton, Nuclear Engineer, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
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, Senior Manager R&D Medical Devices, Envista Holdings Corp.
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 Envista Holdings, BIT Group, Beckman Coulter, 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 USC Marshall School of Business and Harvard Business School. He is also Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certified, hold eight US patents, 29 peer review publications in major medical research journals, IEEE Speaker and most recently, he is pursuing is PhD in Leadership at Phoenix University.

Jeffrey M. Cogen, Senior Research Fellow, Dow Inc.
Jeff Cogen received a B.A. in Chemistry from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. After completing a postdoctoral research fellowship at Berkeley, he joined Union Carbide’s Plastic Additives Systems business in 1990. In 1992, he joined Union Carbide’s Wire & Cable R&D group, where he worked until 2000. Between 2000 and 2001 Jeff was involved in the start-up and successful launch of IP.com Inc. Shortly after the merger of Dow and Union Carbide, Cogen joined Dow’s Wire & Cable R&D group. His current focus is Dow’s Packaging & Specialty Plastics business, with an emphasis on Functional Polymers R&D for a variety of applications. His expertise includes formulation of polyolefins, polymer additive mechanisms and applications, flame retardants, antioxidants, polymer stabilization, crosslinking, physical organic chemistry, and silane and silicone chemistry. Cogen is an inventor on 74 issued U.S. patents and more than 120 US patent applications. He has authored/co-authored more than 60 papers and four invited book chapters. His patents include those covering Dow ENDURANCE HFDC-4202 power cable insulation, which was recognized in 2015 with a R&D 100 Award. His awards include the 2022 Cooperative Research Award in Polymer Science & Engineering by the American Chemical Society PMSE division. Cogen is a member of The American Chemical Society, The Society of Plastics Engineers, and The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

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.

 

 

Alexander Cordes, R&D Manager, Alva Industries AS
Alex Cordes is an engineer of all trades. Originally educated in aerospace engineering, he has developed a specialty in cutting-edge research and development. Professionally, he has worked on Ferrari F1 turbochargers, automated battery lab designs, hyperloop concepts, and currently works with Alva Industries, developing one of the world’s most efficient electric motors. His work continues at home, where he is committed to creating ingenious designs to solve big sustainability issues with sustainable materials. From solar cookers made with food wrappers and cardboard; to electric bikes made with recycled laptop batteries; to modular 3D printers that use plastic waste to print useful items. In addition, he is a volunteer lecturer, introducing young people to the usefulness of engineering and its impact on the world. Cordes has also been running a makerspace, both in real life and online where students learn about engineering with hands on projects. Whether at work or at home, he lives and breathes the engineering innovation that will shape the world to come.

Dr. Sudip K. Das, Butler University
Sudip Das is a professor of pharmaceutical sciences in pharmaceutical sciences at Butler University, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences.  He is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Medicine, Indiana University. Das has more than 30 years of teaching experience in the professional pharmacy and graduate programs in the U.S. and Canada. He has supervised close to 40 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. Dr. Das has over 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.

Plamen Doynov, CTO, EMP Shield
Dr. Plamen Doynov is the CTO of EMP Shield, where he develops technologies for protection of electrical and electronic infrastructure from the effects of high-altitude nuclear blast and intentional EMI (directed energy). Doynov completed Diploma Engineering degree in Radio-electronics (Technical University of Sofia), followed by doctoral research in Biophysics (the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences). While a Visiting Research Scholar (the Physics Department of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.), Doynov completed Master’s of Electrical Engineering degree, followed by interdisciplinary doctoral studies and a PhD in Computer Sciences and Electrical Engineering at the University of Missouri in Kansas City (UMKC). For more than 20 years, he was a Principal Engineer at MRI Global in Kansas City, working on multitude of scientific and engineering projects. He is a Project Management Professional and has multiple other professional specializations/certifications (machine vision, biometrics, data sciences, AI/ML, etc.) As a Research Professor at UMKC, Doynov worked on counter-UAV technologies and was a part of multiple SBIRs/STTRs (U.S. Navy, USAF, NASA, DARPA). Currently, as an Adjunct Professor at UMKC, he continues research in compact high-power microwave sources, high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, geo-magnetic disturbance, and mitigation of EMI. He was selected for Foundry 2022 of the National Security Intelligence Network. Doynov has multiple publications and patents.

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 more than 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 the Ground Reality Information Processing System (GRIPS), an innovative system to prevent runway incursion, runway excursion and detect foreign objects and debris on runways in real-time. He has vast experience working on design and development of aerospace, defense, and mission-critical systems. His research and algorithm on predicting collisions between random particles in a semi-controlled environment are highly admired by the scientists from NASA, Pentagon-AMRDEC (Army Missile Research, Development & Engineering Center), and the U.S. Air Force. Global R&D communities often seek his expertise on research, innovation, aerospace systems design & development, and aviation safety. Faizan is also keenly interested in Psychology and possesses a Bachelor’s in Psychology with a special interest in child learning and development. For his innovation GRIPS, he was awarded various national and international awards.

Dr. Barry Fanning, Senior Scientist, The Andersons Inc.
Dr. Barry Fanning manages analytical laboratories and a team of research scientists specializing in product and process development.  He has 6 patents and many proprietary products and processes in active production. His experience spans areas from catalysis and fine chemicals to nanomaterials and display technology. Current research activities focus on sustainable agriculture products and policies. In line with a drive to support technical and professional development in laboratory personnel, he is on the Board of Directors of the Association of Laboratory Managers (ALMA) whose mission is to enable all managers of laboratory organizations to become better leaders.

 

 

Dr. Kaveri Gandhi, Indiana University School of Dentistry
Dr. Kaveri K Gandhi is a periodontal practitioner in Indianapolis and teaches pre-doctoral students at Indiana University School of Dentistry. She received her MSD in periodontics from the Indiana University School of Dentistry and has more than 10 years of extensive clinical experience in dentistry. Over the course of her career, she has spent time in India and the United States performing multiple periodontal surgeries and periodontal laser procedures. Along the way, her experiences include participating in research and publishing papers and textbook chapters. In addition, she serves as a reviewer for periodontal and dental journals. She has expanded her educational role in the public as well by utilizing social media to promote awareness about periodontal diseases on Instagram. She is also a co-founder of Gold Molar, a non-profit educational website for international dentists. By relying on a variety of outlets and personal interactions to talk about periodontal health, Dr. Gandhi hopes to reach a broader audience and promote the value of this subspeciality in the general public as well as within the professional sphere. She lives by the motto of practicing behaviors that she would like others to follow. The traits she has tried to be true to include optimism, positivity, self-confidence, passion, enthusiasm, and responsibility.

Mary Gannon, Editor-in-Chief, Fluid Power World
Mary Gannon is Editor of Fluid Power World. She has been a technical writer and editor for 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, Block Textiles, Inc.
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 six years.

 

 

Rajeev Goel, Vice President Technology, Asian Paints
Rajeev Goel is currently working as Vice President Technology at Asian Paints Limited, Mumbai India. Goel completed his B. Tech in Paint Technology in 1989 from Harcourt Butler Technological Institute. He completed his MBA Degree from James Cook University, Townsville Australia. Goel started his career with Asian Paints in formulation development of Protective & Marine Coatings and has worked in different geographies — Fiji, Australia, Singapore, and other Southeast Asian countries around formulation development of all types of decorative and industrial coatings. He also has extensive knowledge around formulations for auto refinishing, wood coatings, and color science. During a stint of overseas operation, Goel handled plant and has deep knowledge around processing technology. He played a key role in development of health and hygiene products and a waterproofing range of products at Asian Paints. Goel has authored and presented many papers in the area of waterproofing and coatings and has 11 patents to his credit.

Prof. Amit Goyal, Ph.D, MBA, Director
Dr. Amit Goyal concurrently holds the title of SUNY Distinguished Professor and SUNY Empire Innovation Professor at SUNY-Buffalo. He is Director, Laboratory for Heteroepitaxial Growth of Functional Materials and Devices. He is the Founding Director of the New York State Center for Plastics Recycling & Innovation, an externally funded multidisciplinary center. Goyal served as the Founding Director of the internally funded multidisciplinary, university-wide RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water) institute from 2015 to 2021. He is the President & CEO of TapeSolar Inc., a private equity funded company and also the President & CEO of TexMat LLC, an IP holding and consulting company. He is an Emeritus Corporate Fellow at UT-Battelle/Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Goyal has more than 360 publications and 88 issued patents, most of which are licensed. He was the most cited author worldwide in the field of high-temperature superconductivity from 1999-2009. In 2010, he received the R&D Magazine’s coveted “Inventor-of-the-Year” award for sustained cumulative innovations over the years. In addition, he has received 10 R&D 100 awards over the years. He has received numerous accolades including the presidential level DOE’s E. O. Lawrence Award in the inaugural category of Energy Science & Innovation. The U.S. Department of Energy Secretary on behalf of the President of the United States bestows the award. He is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Inventors. Goyal is member of the US National Materials & Manufacturing Board. He is Fellow of nine professional societies: AAAS, MRS, APS, IEEE, WIF, ASM, IOP, ACERS, and WTN.

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.

Stephen F. Hahn, Retired Executive Dow Chemical Co.
Steve Hahn is an experienced chemist, materials scientist, and evaluator of new technology-based business opportunity. He was employed by the Dow Chemical Company for 35 years in a variety of research and new business development roles. Beginning in 2010, Hahn established Dow’s Technology Scouting presence in the North American West Coast Region to identify and evaluate strategically aligned business opportunities. Hahn has a B.S. in Chemistry from Michigan Tech and an M.S. in Chemistry from Central Michigan University. He holds 43 U.S. patents, 40 publications in scientific journals, and six chapters in technical reference books. He was Visiting Professor of Chemistry and IPrime Scholar at the University of Minnesota in 2002. Hahn received the American Chemical Society Cooperative Research Award in 2008 and the Council for Chemical Research Collaboration Award in 2010 and represented Dow on Advisory Boards at the University of Connecticut and Michigan Tech. He is a member of the Academy of the College of Sciences and Arts at Michigan Tech and served on the Advisory Board for the Global Social Venturing Competition at the Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley. He is currently an Expert in the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships at the National Science Foundation, supporting the I-Corps and SBIR/STTR programs.

Heather M. Hall, Associate Editor, R&D World
Heather M. Hall, Associate Editor for R&D World, attended Kent State University. She has worked in publishing for 25 years, first as a newspaper reporter then as an editor in B2B publishing, covering industries from engineering and manufacturing to research and development. She has worked on R&D World since 2019 on editing, feature stories, trends in R&D, the R&D 100 Awards, and the annual Global Funding Forecast.

 

Paul J. Heney, Vice President, Editorial Director, R&D 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. Nazmul Islam, Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Dr. Nazmul Islam is an associate dean in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Before joining UTRGV, he also worked as an assistant professor at Northern Arizona University. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Islam worked as a post-doctoral research associate in the biomedical engineering department at the University of Tennessee. Islam finished his M.Sc in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2002. He also worked at the Oak Ridge National Lab as a research associate. He is leading the research efforts of the MEMS/BioMicrofluidics Research Group at UTRGV. His current research concentrates on the areas of Micro/Nano-fluidics, Bio-sensors, and MEMS/NEMS devices. He organizes numerous symposiums, sessions at ASME Summer conferences and IMECE. Currently, he is a Senior IEEE member and associated with ASME. Currently, Islam is the Chair of the MEMS division and also serves as an Executive Council member at the MEMS Division, ASME. Islam also has brought $1.5 Million of funding to his current institute.

Ilia N. Ivanov, Research and Development Scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Ilia Ivanov 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, and 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. 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), and Russian University of Chemical Technology, Moscow.

Dr. Mark Jones, Creative Director, MJPhD, LLC
Mark E. Jones, Ph.D., retired effective April 2021 after a decade as Executive External Strategy and Communications Fellow for Dow Chemical.  Jones 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. He retired from the staff of Dow CTO Dr. A.N. Sreeram, where he developed strategy and facilitated communication around innovation. He played a large role in Dow’s next generation sustainability goals and retained responsibility for the innovation goal up to retirement. 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 is a past co-chair of the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, a standing roundtable of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where he continues to serve. 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 Matters, 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 past chair of the Midland ACS Section. Jones is now transitioning to Creative Director of MJPhD, LLC, a nascent consulting company.

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.

Adrian Kerr, Decarbonised Energy Solutions Ltd.
Adrian Kerr is a product developer who led the R&D team at Temperzone in the development of the next generation of HVAC and water heating solutions for the Australasian market. With a background in biochemistry and food science from Otago University, Kerr researched the application of commercially produced enzymes for the dairy food ingredient industry. An awareness of the environmental impact of increasing GHG emissions led him to change focus to the application of renewable and energy efficiency technologies. With a particular interest in integrated energy systems, and commercial heat-pump water heating technology, Kerr works as an Energy Consultant to apply novel low GWP HVAC platforms to assist in the decarbonization of our urban energy systems. Kerr is an active member of solar and heat-pump water heating Standards development for Australasia.

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, Senior Scientist, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Tess Light holds a Ph.D. in astrophysics and has worked in space-based remote sensing for over twenty years.  Immediately after graduate school, she received a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Research Council of Canada, working at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria British Columbia. She then moved to Los Alamos National Laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow in the FORTE small satellite program, studying radio frequency and optical signals from lightning. Light then began work in national security applications, specifically in treaty monitoring within the Space-Based Nuclear Detonation Detection Program. Today, she is the chief scientist for the ElectroMagnetic Pulse Sensor Development program at LANL. She received the LANL Fellow’s Prize for Leadership in 2017, and the LANL Global Security Medal in 2021.

Dustin Mcintyre, Structural Analysis Team Lead, NETL
Dustin L. McIntyre attended West Virginia University and pursued a dual degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering, graduating in December 1998. He completed his Master’s in Mechanical Engineering in August 2000. McIntyre completed his doctoral studies in May 2007 with his dissertation titled, “A Laser Spark Plug Ignition System for a Stationary Lean-Burn Natural Gas Reciprocating Engine.” He is currently a team lead and researcher with the geological and environmental systems directorate within the USDOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, studying use of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy for use in down hole in-situ sensing applications. McIntyre is author/coauthor of more than 50 journal papers, 6 patents, 4 book chapters, and 2 books.

Tatiana Minav, D.Sc., Assistant Professor, Tampere University, Finland
Tatiana Minav is assistant professor in IHA – Innovative Hydraulics and Automation, Tampere University, Finland. She is a member of ASME and IEEE and has more 14 years’ experience working on improving the efficiency of non-road mobile working machines. She has authored in total 110 scientific publications. Her current interests include zonal hydraulics, sensorless position control with direct electric drive in hydraulic systems, failure and monitoring systems, thermal hydraulics simulation, energy balance, and energy recovery systems in off-highway mobile machines.

 

 

Sanjay Shivkumar Mishra, Electronics Engineer, Ford Motor Co.
Sanjay Mishra is a technologist with business acumen and is highly passionate about innovation. He is an Electronics Engineer with a Master’s in Digital Signal Processing and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence. Mishra has more than 27 years of experience in R&D and engineering product development and management. He successfully launched many smart products based on scalable and customizable embedded platforms in automotive electronics, semiconductor, and the consumer electronics market segments. Data monitorization and bringing intelligence from data to enhance business value is a key part of his success. In the past, Mishra was responsible for managing large client relationships and developing technical solutions and achieving delivery excellence. He works closely with young engineers across the globe to help them understand the importance of engineering concepts and bring them into day-to-day practice. Continuous learning and out of box thinking helps differentiate Mishra’s talents.

Raju Nagaiah, University of Central Florida
Raju Nagaiah, Ph.D., is a Technology Transfer Professional in The University of Central Florida Office of Technology Transfer. He has more than eight years of experience in commercializing and licensing university technologies. He is responsible for coordinating with faculty and researchers in evaluating, protecting, and licensing physical sciences technologies. Before joining the Office of Technology Transfer, Nagaiah 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 Master’s 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.

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, with a focus on the integration of distributed energy resources with the grid for reliability and resilience and standards. 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, Office of Electricity, various National Laboratories, and the New Energy Industrial Development Organization (Japan). He has had project assignments across a broad range of topics: TSO-DSO cooperation, integration of distributed energy resources, microgrid planning and design, energy management systems, and standards. He has authored studies published by national laboratories and CIGRE; numerous articles published in IEEE Power and Energy, CIGRE, and CIRED. Reilly holds degrees from Georgetown University and Columbia University.

Dr. Catherine L. Riddle, Senior Research Scientist, Idaho National Laboratory
Dr. Catherine Riddle is a senior research scientist at Idaho National Laboratory and has 23 years’ experience in 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 is an esteemed scientist in both national and international research areas including 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. Her expertise in the field of chemical detection of actinides has received acclaim through a 2020 R&D 100 award for her technology CoDeAc (Colorimetric Detection of Actinides) which has been licensed for commercialization under the CoDeAc Solutions company. Riddle has numerous patents and patents pending for her technologies. Riddle is a champion of mentoring young upcoming scientists through undergraduate and graduate programs and future scientists through volunteering her time, energy, and expertise to STEM programs for K-12 students.

Mirza Rizwan, Chief Innovation Officer, MNC Si2microsystems
Mirza Rizwan is Chief Innovation Officer with Bangalore-based MNC Si2microsystems. He carries a rich experience in the start-up and corporate worlds with a deep interest in business academia and consulting in the domain of sustainability, innovation, entrepreneurship, and Competitiveness. Rizwan has been invited as judge for the Hult Prize, popularly known as Nobel Prize of the students, which runs under the guidance of former president Bill Clinton and has also been judging for Spirit of Innovation Challenge of the Conrad Foundation. During his first technology startup, Avembsys Technologies, in 2009, he was co-inventor of the Ground Reality Information Processing System (GRIPS), which is an innovative system to prevent runway incursion or excursion and detect foreign object and debris on runways in real time. He has developed various modules on “Creativity and Innovation” to deliver online to students all over the world. Rizwan has also been on the panel of advisory board and as board members of several start-ups in Bangalore, Dallas and Singapore. Besides other consulting assignments, he has been growth strategy consultant for several MNCs, start-ups, private equity firms and higher education institutions. Rizwan holds an MBA in Marketing & Finance from Bangalore University, Advanced Management program from IIM-Bangalore and under the process of submitting his thesis for Executive-Ph.D. program from Aligarh Muslim University, where his research focus is on “Innovation and sustainability practices on firm’s competitiveness.

Dr. Rebecca L. Rosas, VP for Strategic Planning, Texmark Chemicals Inc.
Dr. Rebecca Rosas is VP for Strategic Planning for Texmark Chemicals in Galena Park, Texas. She was VP of R&D/Technology Center Manager prior to promotion in late 2018. Rosas has a B. S Chem (McKendree College) and an M.S. in Physical Chemistry (Eastern Illinois University). Rosas obtained a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry (Texas A&M). She was a Fullbright scholar, doing research at the University of Antwerp. Rosas has been with Texmark Chemicals for 22 years. As a Six Sigma Green Belt, she has worked on committees for ASQ Six Sigma Green Belt exams. She is on the board for ALMA and is chairman of the Houston area chapter. Rosas is married to a wonderful man, James Rosas and they have one daughter, Jacqueline, who is KTNU Administrator at Katoen Natie, and a chihuahua adopted during the Pandemic called (very originally) Puppy.

Dr. Kamal Sarkar, Professor, The University of Texas
Kamal Sarkar, Ph.D. (1980, Materials Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville) is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Mechanical Engineering department of the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg. 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 Sarkar is pursuing presently include commercial applications of glass micro- and nano- particles manufactured from waste glass and application of Artificial Intelligence and Peer-to-Peer technologies to enable physical, educational, and economic mobility for the Blind and Persons with Visual Impairment. Sarkar received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 from Marquis Who’s Who for his “career longevity and demonstrated unwavering excellence.” He is also a Lifetime Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Ryan Smith, Founder, Pordis LLC
Ryan Smith is the founder of Pordis, a privately held LLC established in 2012, offering hardware design and consulting services primarily to the photovoltaics portion of the renewable energy sector, enabling renewable energy breakthroughs through better data. Smith holds Bachelor’s and Master’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. 

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.

Scott Watson, R&D scientist V, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Watson has an MSEE with an emphasis on signal processing and has worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory for more than 30 years. During that time, he has built and operated major accelerator facilities like PHERMEX, CYGNUS, and DARHT. He is the world’s foremost expert in gas-cavity radiography, having pioneered the field and the modern, multiple-pulse version, which has enabled the United States to be a de facto signator to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Watson served two tours in Iraq as a subject matter expert for the Iraqi Search Group’s Nuclear Team. He is qualified in multiple, field-deployed positions in NEST/JTOT and presently serves on the Plutonium Verification Team. His expertise includes such diverse fields as: fractal geometry, accelerator design, flash radiography, and pulsed power. Watson holds 10 patents and has published more than 150 papers. He has been awarded 10 Defense Program Awards, six Distinguished Performance Awards, and two R&D 100 awards.

Mark Wehde, Mayo Clinic
Mark Wehde is chair of the Mayo Clinic Division of Engineering, assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, and fellow in the Mayo Clinic Academy of Educational Excellence. He is the executive leader of a team of engineers, software developers, and project managers with a focus on both product discovery and product delivery of solutions to problems faced by our healthcare providers. Wehde is also the Medical Device Innovation Fellow at the University of Minnesota Technology Leadership Institute and lecturer for the University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium. He is on the board of governors for the IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society and the IEEE Systems Council, is an affiliate of the University of Minnesota Medical Industry Leadership Institute and leads the Medical Device Innovation Consortium 5G-enabled Medical Device Landscape Analysis Workgroup. Mark is a Senior Fellow in the IEEE and a distinguished lecturer for the IEEE Systems Council. Wehde received a Master’s of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Iowa State University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from South Dakota State University, and a Master’s of Business Administration through the University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium.

Nathan Wilmot, R&D Director, Dow Chemical Co.
Nathan Wilmot is currently R&D Director in Dow’s Core R&D organization. In this role, he leads the Information Research group and digitalization efforts with a focus on enabling faster innovation through the deployment of advanced digital tools. Previously, Wilmot served as the Global Innovation Leader for Performance Lubricants and 3D Printing in Dow Industrial Solutions. He is passionate about advancing the performance of materials in these segments to help create a sustainable future of manufacturing and consumption. Since 2006, Wilmot has spent his career primarily in research and technology with initial emphasis in polyurethanes developing novel polymers and additives for varied markers including the Construction, Oil & Gas, and Industrial segments. Prior to transitioning to his role in Industrial Solutions, he spent one year in a strategic marketing role also in the Polyurethanes business.

 

Jeffrey Wu, CEO, Neoventech
Jeffrey Wu, Ph. D currently leads Neoventech, a CRO that provides testing and complex formulation service in cosmetic and topical drug development for pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. His passion is to transform innovative ideas into successful products consumer enjoys. He has worked for Johnson and Johnson Consumer and Arkema for more than 20 years, developed multiple innovative platform technologies and commercialized their applications in cosmetic care and topical drugs for iconic brands e.g. Neutrogena, Aveeno, Clean & Clear, RoC, and Rogaine. Wu’s main research areas are the local and transdermal drug delivery technologies and solutions. He has had 45 U.S. patents in technologies and applications of liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, microneedles, ultrasound, and electricity. He is a frequent invited speaker at national and international dermatology and scientific meetings with a dozen peer-reviewed publications in skin and hair care. Wu volunteered as a chairperson for C&DP division of the Controlled Release Society and as president for the Chinese American Cosmetics Professional Association in 2017-2021.