Polymer Consultant and Expert Witness: Natural Fibers, Composite Products, Barrier Film and Plastic Forming Technology

Expertise

• Chemicals, polymers and related plastic forming techniques.
• Natural fibers plastic composites.
• Thermal, mechanical, and rheological barrier properties of materials.
• Plastic film properties including dimensional stability, optical properties, adhesive and cohesive failure, occurrence of gel defects, and bubble instability during blown film process.
• Nylons polyamides: Pioneering work on nylon families of PA6, PA66, PA46, PA12 and amorphous nylons.
• Expertise in structure-property-processing relationships of nylon materials: Crystallinity, crystallite size, orientation, melt-rheology, dimensional stability and associated manufacturing problems.
• Compounding and additives for nylon polymers: Commercialized a cost-effective, high performance lubricant for nylon plastics; developed nucleating agents and clarifiers; defined unexpected benefits of additives; and, developing new applications for compounded polyamides.

Specific Product Focus

• Natural fibers plastic composites.
• Nylons and polyamides.
• Polymers and plastics.
• Plastic packaging films.
• Additives and compounding.

Expert Witness Experience

• Expert witness in a winning litigation between two Fortune 100 companies.
• Participated in a winning patent infringement case between two Fortune 100 companies held in Canada.
• Prepared documents for patent disputes handled by arbitragers.
• Expert witness for plastic cases; "Injury due to Defective Product" and for "Royalty Claims on Licensed Technology". (Settled Out of Court).

Experience

Independent Polymer Consultant, 2004 - Present

• Resolving polymer failure and defects for various clients.
• Consulting activities and In-House training courses at companies such as PepsiCo, Eastman Chemical, Weyerhaeuser, Kimberly-Clark , Shaw Industries, Ballard Power, Beckman Coulter, Applied Minerals, and Owens-Corning for plastics related problems.
• Consulting role at a medical device company; addressed issues such as performance of modified gelatin-based hydrogel as affected by variables such as manufacturing, storage, shelf-life, and application conditions.
• Commercialized a cost-effective and high-performance lubricant for nylon plastics.
• Activation of nucleating agents and clarifiers.
• Detecting unexpected benefits of additives and developing new applications.

Imerys,Roswell, GA, Senior Technology Fellow and Director, 2005 - 2009

• Developed a novel "near-nano kaolin clay/polymer" application for gas barrier plastic film.
• Developed the most definitive understanding to date of CaCO3 - stearic acid interactions and patented technology at manufacturing stage.

Rayonier,Jesup, GA, Project Manager, 2001 - 2004

• Fibers evaluation; wood fiber, wood flour, highly purified cellulose, kenaf, and rayon in comparison to glass fibers.
• Evaluation of plastics evaluated included polypropylene (PP) and nylons (PA6 or N6).
• Maximized the mechanical properties of composites such as flexural stiffness, flexural strength, notched izod strength, heat distortion temperature.
• Developed a novel compounding process to achieve high reinforcement dispersion at commercially acceptable throughputs.

Allied Signal - Honeywell,Morristown, NJ, 1975 - 2001

Research Leader and Senior Principal Scientist

• Demonstrated expertise in thermal, mechanical, and rheological barrier properties of materials.
• Demonstrated expertise in thermal, mechanical, and rheological barrier properties of materials.
• Developed a "paper-like film" from a research and development concept to respond to a need for an environmentally friendly packaging film.
• Research and Technology Business Unit Liaison to Specialty Films Business and key technologist for Packaging Resins Business.
• Led "Emerging Technologies" to improve moisture and oxygen gas barrier of plastic films by modified metallization and other coatings such as SiOx / AlOx via plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and E-beam vaporization.
• Continuously solved problems related to plastic films such as dimensional stability, optical properties, adhesive / cohesive failure, root-cause investigations of defects during retort operations, occurrence of gel defects, and bubble instability during blown film process.
• Pioneering work on nylons (PA6, PA66, PA46, PA12, and amorphous nylons).
• Demonstrated expertise in structure-property-processing relationships: crystallinity, crystallite size, orientation, melt-rheology, dimensional stability, manufacturing problems.
• Studied, published, and lectured on numerous polymers such as polyethylene (PE), PP, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinylidene chloride (PVdC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC), fluoropolymers such as Teflon, PFA, PVdF, and PCTFE.
• Invented and commercialized new applications of additives and lubricants.
• Successfully solved manufacturing problems occurring during injection molding, blow molding, thermoforming, cast and blown film operations.

Honors & Publications

Credentials

• Director of courses on Polymeric Films, Polymer Melt Rheology, Thermal Properties, and Analytical Sciences offered in the U.S. and in Europe.
• Middle-Management and Leadership.
• Total Quality Leadership - TQL/TQS.
• Six-Sigma Training and Implementation to Projects.

Awards

• Contributions to technology leveraged sales growth of over 50 million and recognized by Corporate R&T through 5 Special Recognition Awards and 3 business awards, namely, Growth, Save, and Sale of the year awards.
• Recipient of the International Mettler award of the North American Thermal Analysis Society for outstanding contributions to thermoanalytical sciences. Society elected Fellow.
• Recipient of the International Engineering / Technology award of the Society of Plastics Engineers for fundamental contributions to the field of plastics.

Publications and Patents

• Author of: Over 120 research publications, (81 in reviewed journals, books, and encyclopedias).
• Over 21 U.S. Patents.

Education

• Ph.D. Polymer Science-Engineering, New York University Polytech-School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY
• M.S. Polymer Science-Engineering, New York University Polytech-School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY
• M.S. Chemical Analysis - Process Control, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India
• M.S. Analytical Chemistry, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India
• B.S. Chemistry, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India