Our 2025 speakers

Chief Technology Officer and Senior VP of Research & Development (R&D) at Dow, leads an exceptional R&D organization focused on accelerating new product commercialization. Under Sreeram’s leadership, Dow transformed its innovation approach by growing high-throughput experimentation and analysis capabilities while establishing a strong connection to market signals and customers. Sreeram joined Dow in 2006 as VP of Core R&D and then served as VP of R&D for Advanced Materials. Prior to Dow, he held R&D leadership roles at DuPont, Cookson Electronics, and Sarnoff Corporation. Sreeram is a Henry F. Whalen Jr. Award recipient, holds 20 U.S. patents, and served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. He earned his PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Amy Schumacher is the Chief Executive Officer of The Heritage Group, overseeing the company’s portfolio of more than 30 businesses and 5,000 employees. She is also a member of its board of trustees. Amy has been part of The Heritage Group family of businesses since 2008, when she founded Monument Chemical — THG’s specialty chemicals business — and served as Monument’s President and CEO for eight years. In that role, she was responsible for growing Monument from a small, Indianapolis-based business into a global company with operations in Europe and the US. In 2016, Amy transitioned to President of The Heritage Group and was appointed CEO in 2020, marking the fourth generation of Fehsenfeld family leadership.

Scott N. Mitchell is President & CEO of Sumitomo Chemical America and Head of the Americas Region. With over 31 years in the agricultural and chemical industries, he has led major innovation, sustainability, and transformation efforts around the globe. Scott drives strategic initiatives that improve performance, compliance, and stakeholder engagement. He serves on Sumitomo’s global Sustainability Promotion Committee and is active in international sustainability networks. A frequent speaker and mentor, he maintains strong ties with Purdue University and volunteers as a local astronomy ambassador. He holds degrees in Agricultural Economics from Purdue and advanced credentials in HR and corporate governance.

Mike is the Senior Vice President of 3M’s Corporate Research Laboratory (CRL), a position he has held since 2021. CRL is responsible for the development and deployment of new technology across the 3M enterprise. Mike’s 3M career started in the Post-it® Note laboratory in 1993 where he spent several years developing new waterbased adhesives. He then spent 16 years in 3M’s Commercial Solutions Division in a variety of roles in support of 3M’s graphic film business. In 2016, he assumed leadership of the Personal Safety Division’s global laboratory which he led through the pandemic until his appointment to his current CRL role.

Patricia Hubbard is SVP and Chief Technology Officer for Cabot Corporation, where she leads product, process and application technology development, focused on high-growth applications and industrial decarbonization. Patricia has a proven track record of leading innovation in multinational companies, connecting business strategy to technology strategy and resource deployment. Before Cabot, she held roles with Avery Dennison, Avient, General Electric and ICI.
Patricia holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Case Western Reserve University and a Ph.D. in Polymer Science from the University of Akron. She serves on the Board of Directors of Hexcel Corporation and the National Academies’ Chemical Sciences Roundtable.

Marty DeGroot is VP of Technology at DuPont leading the development and acceleration of innovative solutions in high performance industries such as healthcare, aerospace, electronics, automotive and many others. He has led R&D organizations for DuPont Industrial Solutions, Image Solutions and various Electronics businesses. He started his career with Dow, working as a leader and innovator in catalysis, solar and semiconductor fields. He is a co-winner of the ACS Heroes of Chemistry Award for leadership in product development in Chemical Mechanical Planarization. Marty holds a PhD in chemistry from Western and has more than 30 U.S. patents and 25 scientific publications. Marty is on the board of Junior Achievement of Delaware.

Arthur Martin is a seasoned and strategic Global Research and Development Executive Leader with a balance of technical and business acumen with over 25+ years of experience in sustaining existing product revenue and profitability as well as driving growth opportunities with new product development for existing and emerging markets.
Arthur is currently the Vice President of R&D North America at Arkema where he is responsible for leading Arkema sustainable growth markets in Advance Materials, Specialty Adhesives and Coatings.
In the span of his illustrious career, he possesses vast experience in specialty materials in market areas specific to Electronic Materials, E-mobility, Aerospace, High-Performance Glass, High Frequency Wire & Cable, Life Sciences, Medical and Industrial polymers.
He has held several R&D leadership positions at Corning Inc., Daikin America and Dupont. He has been granted 22 US patents and has led the commercialization of many products in large multimillion and multibillion markets.
He holds a BSC. in Chemical Engineering from City College of New York (CUNY), MS. In Polymers Science & Engineering from New York University (NYU) Tandon School of Engineering and a PhD. In Material Chemistry from New York University (NYU) Tandon School of Engineering.

Dr. Jennifer Holmgren is Chair & CEO of LanzaTech. Under Jennifer’s guidance, LanzaTech is developing a variety of platform chemicals and fuels, including the world’s first alternative jet fuel derived from industrial waste gases. She is also Chair of the LanzaJet Board of Directors. Prior to LanzaTech, Jennifer was the founding VP and General Manager of the Renewable Energy and Chemicals business unit at UOP, a Honeywell Company.

Jennifer is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). She sits on the Board of Directors of Nature’s Fynd and the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), the Advisory Council for the Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment at Princeton University, the National Academies’ Board on Energy and Environmental Systems (BEES), the Halliburton Labs Advisory Board, and the Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS International Advisory Council.

Jennifer holds a B.Sc. degree from Harvey Mudd College, a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a MBA from the University of Chicago.

Zeru Tekie joined Hexion in 2023 as the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. He leads Hexion’s science and technology innovation portfolio, technical services capabilities and continuous improvement initiatives with an emphasis on operational excellence and sustainability. Before joining Hexion, he served as Vice President of Technology, Advanced Performance Materials for Chemours and Corporate R&D Director for 3M. With more than 25 years of experience in the chemical industry, Tekie has a strong track record of delivering business value through technology innovation, asset optimization, cost productivity, capital effectiveness and continuous improvement programs.
Tekie holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

As Global Vice President at Schneider Electric, Dr. Thomas Alan Kwan leads strategic innovation in next-generation energy systems and advanced manufacturing. He blends technical expertise with market insight to deliver actionable strategies through Schneider’s Sustainability Research Institute. In this role, Dr. Kwan also advises governments on supporting industrial growth and decarbonization through technology and policy development. He serves as Topic Editor for Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research and authors the monthly “Energy Savers” column in Chemical Processing magazine, where he shares practical strategies and solutions to help industry professionals navigate the evolving energy landscape.

Sibel Selcuk is the Executive Vice President of Research & Development for The Heritage Group. She previously served as VP, Global R&D and Strategy for Monument Chemical, and is also President of Heritage Turkish Holdings. Sibel served in leadership roles at the American Chemical Society, is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Interaktif Cevre, is a member of the US-Turkiye Business Council and Dean’s Advisory Board for the School of Science at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis. She earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Middle East Technical University and a Ph.D. in Macromolecular Science and Chemistry from Louisiana State University.

Frederik leads Elsevier's Professional Services Group for Corporate R&D, which is a global team of consultants, project managers and technical specialists. The Professional Services team work on data integration and analytics projects throughout the life science, chemistry and engineering domains using commercial, proprietary, and public data sources. Before joining Elsevier in late 2014, Frederik van den Broek spent 10 years in R&D IT consultancy at Tessella, working for R&D organisations of multinational companies in a variety of industries: life sciences, consumer products, energy, chemical and petrochemical and hydraulic engineering. He has a broad international experience and a deep understanding of science and technology. Frederik holds a doctorate in Chemical Physics from the University of Amsterdam / FOM Institute AMOLF and a master’s degree in Chemistry from Utrecht University.

Jean Vincent is the Head of Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) for Evonik in the Americas region.  She is located at Evonik’s core R&D site in Allentown, PA, supporting the business line R&D, open innovation, and partnerships.  Prior to this role, Jean held positions in innovation management, commercial leadership and new product development, for both Evonik (since 2017) and Air Products (1990-2016).  Areas of professional interest for Jean include carbon capture, circular plastics, inorganic chemistry, catalysis, and innovations for improving product sustainability.  Jean holds a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Missouri, completed a fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratories, and is the author on more than 50 patents or publications.

Prior to joining ACS Albert Horvath served as the Chief Operating Officer and Under Secretary for Finance and Administration at the Smithsonian Institution. In that role, he was responsible for financial, business, and administrative activities of the largest museum, research and educational complex in the world. Prior to joining the Smithsonian, Mr. Horvath spent more than two decades working in administration for some of the leading research universities in the country including Penn State, Columbia University, California Institute of Technology, New York University, and Carnegie Mellon University. He began his career at Mellon Bank in his hometown of Pittsburgh before moving into higher education. A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Horvath earned his master's degree in accounting at Penn State.

Will Tashman is the co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Uncountable, a pioneering software platform that revolutionizes R&D lifecycle management through advanced technologies like AI, machine learning, and Design of Experiments (DOE). With a degree in Materials Engineering from MIT and previous engineering roles at Apple, Will brings over a decade of expertise in materials informatics and enterprise technology. At Uncountable, he spearheads strategic business development and customer success, driving solutions that support hundreds of clients and thousands of users across industries such as advanced materials, specialty chemicals, and coatings technologies. Will’s leadership has been instrumental in scaling Uncountable’s global presence, empowering R&D organizations to harness the full potential of their material informatics vision through scalable, cutting-edge technology. Passionate about innovation, Will is shaping the future of laboratory technology and material science through his work at Uncountable, where he continues to drive industry-wide transformation.

Dr Dixit Parmar is Global Head of Sustainable Solutions at Lubrizol within the Corporate Sustainability Group reporting directly to the Chief Sustainability Officer. He holds a Masters and PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Manchester. Dixit is the key point of contact for all stakeholders to help implement their sustainability strategies. His role involves guiding strategic and practical sustainability efforts to enhance value across various business divisions. He is responsible for leading the journey on Sustainable Solutions and is also in charge with ensuring that Lubrizol’s capabilities around Life Cycle Assessments continues to evolve to meet the needs of the present and future. He has accumulated over 9 years experience working in the speciality chemical industry and prior to Lubrizol, he spent 2 years as a researcher at the RWTH Aachen in Germany.

Paul is an outstanding global leader with a proven track record in enhancing business performance through sales growth and improved business execution. His expertise is a mix of specialty materials technical knowledge, operational experience, strategic leadership – and he is broadly recognized as a strong developer of the people in his organizations. Before joining Monument, Paul served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Board Member at Sonneborn, a New Jersey-based world leader in the manufacture and supply of high-purity white oils and specialty hydrocarbons. Prior to that, he was a Senior Vice President at Ashland, Inc. and President of Ashland Water Technologies, a leading global supplier to industrial and municipal customers of water treatment and functional chemistries. He assumed these roles following Ashland’s 2008 acquisition of Hercules, where had been serving as President of the Hercules Paper Technologies and Ventures business. Paul was an integral part of the team that led the massive project of integrating Hercules into Ashland. Paul has also held a range of leadership roles at Honeywell and General Electric, and throughout his career, has collected diverse geographic experience, including holding roles in Asia and Europe. Paul earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rice University and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. A native of Midland, Texas, Paul currently resides in Houston with his wife, Lisa, and they have four grown children. Outside of work, Paul rides mountain bikes and enjoys amateur motor racing in his two race cars.

Anand Tanikella is the Vice President of R&D and Innovation at Trinseo since September 2024. He previously served as the worldwide Vice President of R&D for Saint-Gobain Surface Solutions, based in Massachusetts, USA. Anand dedicated 28 years at Saint-Gobain since 1996 in varied capacities including being the founding Director of Saint-Gobain Research India and was instrumental in putting systems with inputs to dramatically improve time to market from basic science to business for many businesses.
Anand is a skilled technology and business leader with a proven track record of building, leading, and transforming organizations across several nations. His expertise spans R&D, materials and technology, and management, with a focus on driving profitability from basic science. He has extensive experience in industrial sectors such as abrasives, composite materials, plastics, building materials, and high-performance materials.
Anand holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from North Carolina State University (now also on the hall of fame in their college of engineering) and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Andhra University, India. He has authored numerous international journal publications and holds over 20 patent families, with several patents in process. Throughout his career, Anand has been active in technology education and has served as a part-time faculty member at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Peter Lux serves as President of Envita Solutions, a leading total waste management partner. Over the past two decades, Envita Solutions has helped over 275 facilities reach zero-waste-to-landfill certification across North America. They design innovative waste and recycling programs that deliver cost savings and convenience through a centralized program, supported by data analytics to guide future decisions.
Peter serves as a board director for ClimeCo, a global sustainability company advancing the low-carbon future with market-based solutions. He is also a member of the World 50 Group.

Karen Totland has spent her entire career in the chemical industry, most recently as Chief Sustainability Officer of FMC Corporation, a Fortune 500 company. Karen also has strong operational expertise and strategic business leadership, having built and led Global Procurement functions with multi-billion dollar annual spends. With a passion for global supply chain procurement and sustainability, she focused on strengthening sources of supply from quality vendors to deliver improved sustainability and economics. Karen holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Ottawa and conducted post-doctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jeff Carbeck is Vice President, Corporate Innovation and Care Solutions Technology for Eastman Chemical Company.
In this role, Dr. Carbeck leads an Eastman team that advances the company’s sustainable products and materials portfolio by focusing on front-end innovation, top innovation growth platforms, and emerging markets and technologies. He also specifically focuses on technology development and support for Eastmans Care Chemicals, Agricultural Chemicals, Functional Amines and Specialty Fluids Businesses, including Eastman’s Heat Transfer Fluids and Aviations Fluids businesses.
Carbeck is a native of Michigan and holds a Bachelor of Science and Engineering from The University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from MIT, both degrees in Materials Science. He spent two years as a post-doc in the Chemistry Department at Harvard.

As the Director of Process and Chemical Engineering R&D at BASF Corporation, Amit Gokhale leads the group responsible for process improvement, energy efficiency, and sustainability initiatives for BASF’s North American assets. Amit started his industrial career in 2005, initially at BP in roles that spanned Research and Operations with focus on Petrochemicals, Biofuels, and Renewable materials. In 2016, Amit joined BASF Corporation leading the technology efforts for their Catalyst Business and subsequently assumed his current role in BASF’s Corporate R&D in 2019. Amit holds more than 20 US patents, and over the years has led the commercialization of several technologies many of them through the development of partnerships.

Amit holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an MBA from the University of California – Berkeley.

Peter joined PPG in 2005, following a two-year tenure as a materials researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Throughout his tenure at PPG, he has held various technical and technical management roles, providing support to six different businesses. Peter is deeply committed to harnessing innovation as a driving force for organic growth. Over the course of his career, he has examined innovation challenges and spearheaded teams that delivered superior solutions across multiple markets served by PPG.

From 2018 to 2022, Peter led the research and product development activities supporting PPG’s Mobility initiatives in addition to the automotive and industrial segments.  Since mid-2022, he has led the global technical activities for PPG's Architectural and Traffic Solutions business units.  Peter earned his B.S. from Michigan State University, an M.S. from the University of Maryland, and holds both a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering and a Kellogg School of Management Executive Scholar Certificate from Northwestern University. Beyond his professional achievements, Peter serves as the board chair for the Sarah Heinz House and contributes as an industrial advisory member to Arizona State University’s Sustainable Macromolecular Materials and Manufacturing Center and Michigan State University’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

I am an experienced professional with over 30 years in the chemical industry, including more than 15 years in executive leadership roles. As the Chief Technology & Innovation Officer (CTIO) and Chief North America Officer at Syensqo, I lead a team of 2,000 professionals - our Syensqo explorers and change makers including those in the Group's key strategic platforms: Battery materials, Green Hydrogen, Thermoplastic Composites, and Renewable Materials & Biotechnology. My CTIO responsibilities encompass allocating resources according to the group strategy to drive innovation while guiding commercial activities, operations, capital planning, partnerships, and alliances for the four business incubators. On top of these roles, I proudly serve as a board member for the American Chemistry Council, the FOSSI Advisory Board, and SynOrb (Syensqo and Orbia joint venture for Battery material PVDF in NA). In my previous roles, I held the position of President at Solvay Growth Initiatives and, before that, served as President of Solvay’s Specialty Polymers global business. Based in Alpharetta, Georgia, United States, a crucial hub for Syensqo in North America, I contribute to the region's significance as a key commercial, research, and manufacturing center for the Group.

William H. Green is a world leader in chemical kinetics, reaction engineering, prediction of chemical reactions and properties, and in development of related software. He has led many combined experimental/modeling research projects related to fuels, combustion, pyrolysis, and oxidative stability. He developed computer methods to predict the behavior of complicated reacting mixtures, many of which are included in the open source Reaction Mechanism Generator software package, an AI expert system for reactive chemistry, and the associated popular website rmg.mit.edu. His group has also developed machine-learning methods and software for chemistry including Chemprop, currently the most popular open-source chemistry software on GitHub. He has published more than 360 journal papers, and his work has been cited more than 26,000 times. Green also invents and analyzes technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Two of his greenhouse-gas emission-reduction inventions are now being commercialized, one by Thiozen, a company he co-founded. Green earned his B.A. at Swarthmore College, and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. After postdocs at Cambridge University and University of Pennsylvania, he worked in industry for six years before joining the Chemical Engineering faculty at MIT in 1997. He is a Fellow of the AAAS and of the Combustion Institute, and has received the American Chemical Society’s Glenn Award in Energy & Fuel Chemistry and the AIChE’s Wilhelm Award in Reaction Engineering. He is now Director of the MIT Energy Initiative. He previously served as the Editor of the International Journal of Chemical Kinetics, and as Executive Officer of the MIT Department of Chemical Engineering.

Craig Kasberg is the Co-Founder and CEO of Tidal Vision, the global leader in advanced biomolecular solutions based on chitosan for critical industries such as water agriculture, and industrial biomaterials. Under Craig’s leadership, Tidal Vision has scaled rapidly by delivering higher performing and more economical solutions at scale. Tidal Vision now has over 300 employees, multiple commercial scale production facilities in operation, and over 800 customers across their 3 verticals. The company’s core technologies are vertically integrated from raw material processing, biomolecular engineering and modification, and turn-key formulation for specific applications.