Prof. Helen M. Chan
New Jersey Zinc Professor, Materials Science & Engineering, Lehigh University
Dr. Chan is the New Jersey Zinc Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Lehigh University, and served as Department Chair 2006 - 2016. She received her B.Sc. (First Class Hons.) and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Materials Science and Technology at Imperial College (University of London), and joined the Lehigh faculty in 1986. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the American Ceramic Society. Her varied research interests include processing, structure and properties of advanced ceramics and high entropy alloys, and is the author of over 190 journal publications. Dr. Chan is a former Chair of the University Materials Council (2011-2012) and chaired the executive committee of the Basic Science Division of the American Ceramic Society (2010-2011). She has served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Ceramic Society since 1999, and held the position of Editor of the Journal of Materials Science 2004-2015. She is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, Fulbright Visiting Professor, TU Graz, Austria (2016), and Chair of 2008 Gordon Research Conference on Solid State Ceramics. In 2017, Dr. Chan received Lehigh University’s Hillman Award for “teaching, research work and advancing the interests of the university.” She was also one of the researchers highlighted in the book “Successful Women Ceramic and Glass Scientists and Engineers: 100 Inspirational Profiles,” by L. Madsen, Wiley, 2015.
Dr. Christopher L. Coccio
Chairman and CEO, Sono-Tek Corporation, Stevens Alumnus
Dr. Coccio has been CEO of Sono-Tek since 2001. From 1964 to 1996, he held various engineering, sales, marketing, and management positions at General Electric Company, with P&L responsibilities for up to $100 million in sales and 500 people throughout the United States. His business experience includes both domestic and international markets and customers. In 1996, American Society of Mechanical Engineers appointed him as a US Congressional Fellow attached to the Senate Energy Committee, and later to the New York State Assembly's Legislative Commission on Science and Technology from 1996 to 1998. From 1998 to 2001, he worked with Accumetrics Associates, Inc., a manufacturer of digital wireless telemetry systems, as Vice President of Business Development and member of the Board of Advisors. Dr. Coccio received a B.S.M.E. from Stevens Institute of Technology, a M.S.M.E. from the University of Colorado, and a Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Chemical Engineering. He currently serves on two Boards of Advisors at Stevens Institute of Technology.
Dr. Suzanne M. D’Addio
Director - Discovery Pharmaceutical Sciences, Merck & Co., Stevens Alumna
Suzanne M. D'Addio is a Director at Merck & Co., Inc. in West Point, PA where she leads a team that supports Discovery programs through pharmaceutical developability assessments, contributing to the optimization of physicochemical properties of small molecule, oligonucleotide and large molecule drug candidates, and supporting pre-clinical in vivo studies through a variety of drug delivery techniques. In prior roles, she has had responsibility for leading the development of novel sterile drug products, including the formulation definition and process development for manufacturing and technology transfer in early development. She has contributed to novel research on the formulation and pharmaceutical developability of peptide drug products, a topic on which she has been invited to speak at international conferences and has published several peer-reviewed publications. She currently serves as an Associate Editor for the journal AAPS Open and is an active volunteer for the Stevens Alumni Association. Prior to joining Merck, she was awarded an Endeavour Awards Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Australian Government DEEWR to study at the University of Queensland. Suzanne obtained a Ph.D. in Chemical and Materials Engineering from Princeton University, during which time she was awarded research fellowships from Merck & Co., Inc., the US National Science Foundation, and the Australian Academy of Science to support her work exploring drug delivery strategies to improve treatment regimens for tuberculosis. She holds a B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering.
Dr. Richard Durand
Director, Material and Characterization Science, Sun Chemical Corporation
Rich Durand currently serves as Director /Analytical and Material Science for Sun Chemical Corporation at their North American R&D facility in Carlstadt, New Jersey. During his time at Sun Chemical, he has held a variety of positions including Senior Scientist, Director/Newspaper Ink R&D, Director/Knowledge Management, Director/Analytical Science. His current emphasis is on to develop material property relationships which guide product formulation for various stresses encountered during printing process application of inks and coatings. Rich received a B.S. in Chemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1979 and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from California Institute of Technology in 1984. His thesis work involved modified carbon electrodes for electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction for fuel cells. Prior to joining Sun Chemical Corporation, he started his career as Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Rhode Island pursuing electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide. He also has served as an adjunct chemistry professor at Ramapo College of New Jersey. He has received several Sun Chemical Innovation Awards for his patent contributions. He has published extensively on topics related to print science. In addition, he created an award-winning science outreach program for local grade schools in New Jersey as well as has been an active high school ACS Science Coach for Bergen County Technical High School and mentor for the Senior Experience Program at Bergen County Academies. He also created and manages a student intern program at Sun Chemical which has provided internship opportunities for chemistry and chemical engineering college students. He currently also serves on the External Advisory Board for Department of Chemical Engineering for Rochester Institute of Technology. Rich is past president of ALMA (Association of Laboratory Managers) and is currently a board member.
Prof. Stephanie Farrell
Professor and Department Head, Experiential Engineering Education, Rowan University, Stevens Alumna
Stephanie Farrell holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. from New Jersey Institute of Technology, all in Chemical Engineering. Stephanie is Professor and Founding Head of the Department of Experiential Engineering Education at Rowan University. She joined Rowan University in 1998 as a founding faculty member in Chemical Engineering and served in that department until launching ExEEd in 2016. She served as Interim Dean of the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering from 2019-2021. Stephanie is past president of the American Society for Engineering Education. Stephanie’s research focuses on inclusive pedagogy and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in engineering education. Her contributions to engineering education have been recognized with numerous national and international awards. She has been honored by the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) with several teaching awards such as the National Outstanding Teaching Medal and the Quinn Award for experiential learning. She received the highest award from the International Society for Engineering Pedagogy (IGIP), the Nikola Tesla Award for outstanding achievements in engineering pedagogy. Stephanie was the 2014-2015 Fulbright Scholar in Engineering Education at Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland). Stephanie is a Fellow of both the American Society of Engineering Education and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Mr. Donald Kientzler
Director of Engineering, J-STAR Research, Inc., Stevens Alumnus
Don Kientzler is the Director of Engineering at J-Star Research, Inc. in Cranbury, New Jersey. He is currently leading multiple Drug Product (DP) and Drug Substance (DS) development & GMP facility expansions. In addition, his responsibilities and interest include Pharmaceutical Materials Science, crystallization and particulate systems engineering, novel chemical & pharmaceutical processing techniques, DS-DP co-processing, and Process Systems Engineering. Prior to joining J-Star Research, Don held multiple positions in Drug Substance and Drug Product development at Bristol-Myers Squibb for over 34 years. In these positions he was responsible for global process development, technology transfer of pharmaceutical APIs and DP formulations, and plant design & construction. His technical experience in DS development includes adsorption/absorption, chromatography, distillation, extraction, filtration, membranes, milling, mixing, process control systems, scrubbing systems, crystallization, particle engineering, solids drying, multiple chemical reactions including hydrogenations, facility, and equipment design, cGMPs, handling of highly hazardous chemicals and APIs, containment systems, and hazard evaluations. In the area of DS development his experience includes solids handling, granulations, drying, milling, blending, tableting, coating, fluid bed, spray drying, process control systems, and continuous processing. Don is currently the Vice-chair of ASTM Committee E55 on Manufacture of Pharmaceutical Products. He holds a B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.
Ryan Kerrigan
Basic Chemicals Business Planning Manager, ExxonMobil Chemical Company
Ryan Kerrigan holds a Bachelors of Engineering in Chemical Engineering ('07) from Stevens Institute of Technology. He has 14 years of industry and business experience working in a variety of roles for ExxonMobil. He's worked in Applications Development, Risk Management, Strategic Planning, Product Management for Polyethylene, and a number of Senior Manufacturing Leadership roles. He provides perspective on the energy transition and technological research in that realm, as well as how Stevens can adapt its curriculum to better its graduates for industry. He brings his experience from hiring over 300 college graduates from the top 40 engineering universities across the United States and has seen the strengths and weaknesses of different academic programs and has been a part of recruiting at Stevens since he graduated.
Prof. Hong Liang
Oscar S. Wyatt Jr. Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A & M, Stevens Alumna
Dr. Hong Liang is the Oscar S. Wyatt Jr. Professor at the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University. She received her Ph.D. and M.S. in materials from the Stevens Institute of Technology and did postdoc at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. After spending a few years in microelectronic industry, she joined the faculty in mechanical engineering. Her research has been focused on tribology, manufacturing (such as chemical-mechanical polishing), nano- and bio-materials, surfaces and interfaces, energy harvesting and storage devices. Professor Liang is an editor-in-chief for Tribology International and an associate editor of a few other journals. She is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a Fellow of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE). She is the current secretory of STLE. In 2018-2019, she was the ASME Swanson Fellow and served as the assistant director for research partnerships for the National Office of Advanced Manufacturing at National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Mr. Steven Nicolich
Director and Senior Scientist Technical Manager, Energetics and Warheads, US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center, Stevens Alumnus
Mr. Steven Nicolich holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology, a MS in Environmental Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, and a Master’s in Business Administration. Mr. Nicolich is also a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and has Leadership Certifications from the University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves as the Director of the Energetics and Warheads Directorate at the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center in New Jersey where he leads a large diverse workforce with subordinate supervisory levels with significant in-house operations and facilities. His primary responsibility includes overall management and leadership of all warheads, explosives, gun propulsion, and pyrotechnics science and technology, research, development, prototyping, testing, and production support for the US Army and related critical programs with significant impact on national defense capability. Mr. Nicolich is also responsible for the development of strategic plans, budgets, workforce development, and talent management. Mr. Nicolich holds 10 patents and has over 90 government, open literature, and other publications. He has also given numerous presentations at national and international meetings and conferences.
Prof. Richard D. Noble
Research Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado
Prof. Richard D. Noble is currently a Research Professor of Chemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Rich is also a Registered Professional Engineer in Colorado. He was the Alfred T. and Betty E. Look Professor of Chemical Engineering until 2017 when he retired from his tenured position. He also co-founded the NSF I/U CRC Membrane Applied Science and Technology Center and served as a co-Director until 2017. During his academic career, Rich has become an internationally recognized leader in the development and use of novel membrane and thin film materials, including zeolites and ionic liquids, for chemical separations. He currently has more than 80 patents and applications, more than 340 research publications, and 14 textbooks and monographs. In terms of the scientific impact of his academic work, his research publications have been cited over 19,400 times (Web of Science), and his current h-index is 80. In addition to earning numerous awards and recognition for his research, he has also received 17 teaching awards and 4 service awards, including the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Institute Service to Society Award (2005) and 24 research awards including CU Inventor of the Year Award (2008), the AIChE Institute Excellence in Industrial Gas Technology Award (2010), the ASEE Chemical Engineering Chemstations Lectureship Award (2011), the AIChE Separations Division Clarence G. Gerhold Award (2011), and the Chair d”Excellence Pierre de Fermat, Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France for the 2010-11 academic year. He is on the editorial board of three separations-related technical journals. He has been chair of the AIChE Separations Division, American Chemical Society Separations Science and Technology subdivision, as well as the Gordon Research Conferences on Separation and Purification, and Membranes: Materials & Processes.
Prof. Dacheng Ren
Stevenson Endowed Professor, Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University
Dr. Dacheng Ren received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from University of Connecticut in 2003. After finishing postdoctoral training at Cornell University, he joined Syracuse University in 2006. Currently, he is Stevenson Endowed Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, and the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Dr. Ren received an Early Career Translational Research Award in Biomedical Engineering from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation in 2009 and a NSF CAREER award in 2011. He was named the College Technology Educator of the Year by the Technology Alliance of Central New York in 2010. Dr. Ren is also a recipient of the Faculty Excellence Award from the School of Engineering and Computer Science in 2014, and Syracuse University Chancellor’s Citation for Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction in 2018. Dr. Ren currently has 69 journal publications with nearly 5,500 citations and an h-index of 34, 11 issued/pending patents, and more than 50 invited talks. Dr. Ren has broad research interests in biomaterials, medical devices, and microbial control. His research has been supported by NSF, NIH, EPA, Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and industrial sponsors.
Dr. Sunitha Tadepalli
Research Fellow, Internationa Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.
Sunitha Tadepalli received her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India. She earned Master of Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology under the guidance of Professor Adeniyi Lawal. Her graduate education focused on the evaluation of microchannel reactor system for catalytic hydrogenation of fine chemical and pharmaceutical applications to replace existing batch processes with low cost, environmental friendly and energy efficient processes. Dr.Tadepalli subsequently started her industrial career with International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) in the R&D process development group where her primary role was evaluation and implementation of new cutting edge engineering technologies for IFF products. Over the past 14 years, she wore multiple hats at IFF R&D serving as a technical lead on various reaction technology areas and led numerous external collaboration projects with industrial and academic partners for the development of green and sustainable processes. Her work led to several inventions in the field of circular economy and sustainable manufacturing processes. Dr.Tadepalli is an active member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and Catalysis Society of Metropolitan New York.
