Waterloo Filtration Institute

Dr. Swarna Agarwal is Senior Material Scientist at PTI Technologies. At PTI she is responsible for all the liquid, air and fuel cell filter product development for aviation industry. Prior to this, she was Engineering Manager for filtration media R&D at Parker Hannifin, Engine and Mobile Original Equipment Division, USA. At Parker she was responsible for R&D for diesel fuel, hydraulic nand H2 fuel-cell filters. While working at Parker she has developed more than 50 new products and improved the R&D technology and capabilities to an advanced level.  Prior to Parker, she worked as a filtration scientist at UCLA, Water Planet Inc. Los Angeles and ITV Denkendorf Germany. She has over 18 years of academic and industrial experience in new product development for various filtration applications, nonwovens manufacturing, nanotechnology and surface functionalization. She is an expert for coalescence through porous media, emulsion formation, characterization and separation, interfacial and wetting science, bio-inspired textiles, medical textiles, and project management She received the AFS Senior Scientist Award in 2018, Parker Inventor appreciation Award 2021, WFI product of the Year Award 2021. She has over 30 publications, one book and 3 patents. Dr. Agarwal received her PhD from University of Stuttgart, Germany.

Dr. Al-Attar is a mechanical engineer and an independent air filtration consultant. He is also a Visiting Academic Fellow in the School of Aerospace, Transport, and Manufacturing at Cranfield University, consulting for air quality and filter performance relevant to land-based gas turbines. Dr. Al-Attar is the strategic director, instructor, and advisory board member of the Waterloo Filtration Institute. In 2020, Eurovent Middle East appointed Dr. Al-Attar as the first associated consultant for air filtration. Recently, he became the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) patron for EUROVENT. Dr. Al-Attar received his engineering degrees (BSc, MSc, Ph.D.) from the University of Toronto (Canada), Kuwait University, and Loughborough University (UK), respectively. Dr. Al-Attar is reading for an MSc in sustainable urban development for air quality inclusion at the University of Oxford.

Dr. Al-Attar’s area of expertise focuses on the design and performance of high-efficiency filters for HVAC and land-based gas turbine applications, emphasizing the chemical and physical characterization of airborne pollutants. Dr. Al-Attar is a columnist in the Filtration News, Filtration + Separation, EUROVENT Middle East newsletter, Climate Control Middle East Magazine, ES Engineering, USA, and Caloryfrio Magazine, Spain. He has authored many articles on air quality, filter design, performance, particle characterization, and climate change, which were translated into Arabic, Portuguese, and Spanish. Dr. Al-Attar is an editorial member/referee in the Filtration Society (UK) and the Journal of Cleaner Production.

Mr. Al-Wahaibi is the Co-founder of Oman Think Urban, the Managing Director of Ruwi Group, and a founding Board member of Future City Council based in Canada, an Urban Planner at heart coming from an urban tribe in the historic City of Muscat, Oman. Mahmood’s expertise in the field amplified with his exposure to more than 27 nations around the world and research publications focuses on Oman urban history, traditional planning practices, planning policies and governance, and post-oil economy. Academically, He is the recipient of Karl B. Lohmann Award for Departmental Excellence at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2018 and a visiting Professor at the GUtech in Oman making him one of the youngest professors in Urban & Regional Planning. Professionally, Mahmood holds professional certifications such as LEED GA, IBDL International Certified Coach, APA Certification, and Illinois leadership Certificate accompanied by work experience with international and local organizations at different managerial levels that puts him among the few accredited Omani planning experts at a young age. Mahmood was a core team member at the Oman National Spatial Strategy (ONSS) and Five-year Development Plan Leading the infrastructure & Energy team and reviewing national and regional strategies.

Dr. Jenny Berens earned her M. Sc. in Chemical Engineering at Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan, Stockholm Sweden, and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at University of Kentucky, KY, USA. After postdoc work at the Valvoline Research Center in Lexington KY, she has continued to dedicate her career to R&D, specializing in material technology, particulate science, and filtration. Since 2017, Dr. Berens has been employed by Freudenberg Filtration Technologies. Dr. Berens was hired on as a Product Segment Engineer for the Gas Phase Filtration segment thanks to her expertise regarding adsorption in the nanotechnology field, but she was quickly promoted to Filter Engineering Manager, Industrial Division, North America. This position entails responsibility for regional technical product design and design management as well as connecting and aligning the NA Technical and Sales teams with their global peer teams. Dr. Berens is actively contributing to industry guidelines at ASHRAE and ISO and is currently serving as a board member on the TC2.4 (Particulate Air Contaminants and Particulate Contaminant Removal Equipment) and the ASHRAE 52.2 (Method of Testing General Ventilation Air-Cleaning Devices for Removal Efficiency by Particle Size) committees as well as a member of the ISO/TC US TAG 142 - Cleaning equipment for air and other gases.

Mr. Bessee is President of Bessee Expert Services, LLC and has more than 39 years’ experience in the applied Research and Development (R&D) in fuel and lubricant, alternative fuels, fluid cleanliness, contamination control, wear studies, and filtration testing and method development for ground and aviation applications. He has received such distinguished awards as the SAE Arch T. Caldwell Cooperative Engineering Award, ASTM Award of Excellence D02.J, and IASH Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Bessee is the author of numerous papers, technical reports and chapters in filtration books. He has a B.S. in  Engineering Technology from St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TX. He remains active in several technical societies such as the of Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), ASTM International, ISO/TC22//SC34 and ISO TC70/SC7 International Filtration Committees, and Aviation Fuel Filtration Committee (AFFC).

Dr. Bhat is a professor and the Department Head of Textiles, Merchandising & Interiors at the University of Georgia. In August 1990, after earning his Ph.D. from Georgia Tech in textile and polymer engineering, he joined the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) where his research covered nonwovens - melt blown, spunbonded and biodegradable, plastics recycling, nanotechnology, sustainable materials, and high-performance fibers. As the director of UT Nonwovens Research Laboratory, he focused on production of nanofibers from thermoplastic polymers by meltblowing. In July 2016, he joined the University of Georgia as the Head of the TMI department. Dr. Bhat has published more than 200 research papers and has three US Patents. He has served as the president of the Fiber Society and is an active member of the International Nonwovens and Disposables Association (INDA), American Paper & Pulp Association (TAPPI) and the Textile Institute. He received the Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni Award from Georgia Tech (1996), Distinguished Achievement Award from the Fiber Society (1999), Fellow of the Textile Institute (2005), TechniTex India Research Achievement Award (2008) and TAPPI NET division Technical Achievement Award (2014).

Mr. Burkhead is the owner and president of Blue Heaven Technologies, an IAQ and filtration product testing laboratory located in Louisville, Kentucky. He has 42 years of experience in filtration product design and performance testing. He is heavily involved in ASHRAE technical, standards and society level committees.  He is a past chairman of the filter testing protocol committee, ASHRAE SSPC 52.2. He also participates in global indoor air quality (IAQ) standards writing via ISO and has been a member of the U. S. technical advisory group for ISO TC 142 for 24 years. He is a well-recognized leading expert in the global air filtration industry for test standard development and professional testing and educational services about various air filtration and IAQ products. He received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering technology from Western Kentucky University in 1977.

Dr. Thomas Caesar is a renowned air filtration expert with almost 25 years of experience in the global filtration industry. He received a diploma in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Karlsruhe and his doctorate degree in thermodynamics and fluid dynamics from the University of Aachen (RWTH). Since 1999, Dr. Caesar has been employed by Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, a globally leading manufacturer of filtration solutions, where he has held various positions in sales and engineering. As Vice President Global Filter Engineering Industrial, he is currently responsible for the global technical product management and filter engineering in industrial filtration. Dr. Caesar is actively contributing to industry guidelines at VDI, VDMA, and Eurovent. He co-authors various European standards at CEN and international standards at ISO. In ISO, he serves as Convenor of WG12 “Sustainability” and was as project leader of part 1, intensely involved in the development of ISO 16890. Dr. Caesar is Chairman of the Product Committee “Air Filters” at Eurovent Certita Certification and Vice Chairman of the Product Group “Air Filter” at Eurovent Association.

Dr. George Chase teaches Chemical Engineering at The University of Akron since 1989.  He earned his Ph.D. in 1989 at Akron under the direction of Professor Max Willis.  His researches fluid-particle separations with application of multiphase transport theory.  He has studied a number of research topics in this area, a few of which include electrospinning to produce submicron fibers for filter media and coalescence of liquid droplets in filter media. He had a number of experiences during his professional career including service in the American Filtration and Separations Society and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.  He has been a member of AFS since 1990, has served on the AFS Board of Directors (three times) and was Chair of AFS (1995 and 2002).  He earned several awards from AFS including Senior Scientist, Frank Tiller, Fellow, and Lifetime Achievement awards.

Dr. Chen is an R&D Fellow at Dow, USA. He has 30 years of industrial experience in solid/liquid separation and air/gas filtration, for both technologies and filtration markets. He also has expertise in particle formation, particle characterization, interfacial science, coagulation and flocculation, slurry Handling, bioprocessing, process development, project management, and plant construction, start up and operation. Dr. Chen has been teaching filtration and separation courses at American Filtration & Separation Society (AFS), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and many other organizations globally for 30 years. He is the current chair of AFS Education Committee and the coordinator of AFS short courses. He had served AFS in a role of AFS chair, board of directors, conference chairs, local chapter officer and member of various committees in the past. He received the AFS Fellow Award in 2010. He has over 100 publications including chapters in two recent editions of Perry's Chemical Engineering Handbook. He has also been invited as plenary and keynote speakers for numerous international conferences.

Mr. Edery is the General Manager of French Institute of Filtration and Separative Technics (IFTS), a Research Center and Testing Center leading the Filtration standardization by bringing pre-normative work in over 15 working groups of various Technical Committees at both ISO and CEN level. IFTS is promoting educational programs and scientific researches in filtration and technic of separation for almost 40 years. Vincent has over 30 years of experience in aviation, space and filtration industry, from design office engineer until company executive management. He acts as chairman of the CEN TC436 which develops the first international standard in cabin Air Quality for commercial Aircraft. He convenes the WG8 of the ISO TC20/SC10 in aircraft hydraulic fluid contamination control. He is a graduate from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers and Ecole Supérieure des Techniques Aérospatiale. He serves on the American Filtration Society (AFS) Board of Directors.

Mr. Forcucci is currently Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Cerex Advanced Fabrics since 2016.  He has over 35 years of business experience with multiple filtration media and filter manufacturing companies in various management and executive roles with Commercial, Operations and R&D responsibilities.  Jay received his BS in Chemical Engineering and MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1980 and 1983 respectively.  He started his filtration career with Pall Corp marketing disposable process filters and Metal Backwash filter systems. He was Product and Market Manager at Lydall for air and liquid filtration glass media.  He was an executive manager for AQF Technologies (molecular contamination media), Filtration Group ( high loft PET/meltblown media as well as bio safety cabinet filters), Nanostatics (nanofiber media technology) and PGI (now Berry Global).  He has presented numerous papers at Clean Rooms Conferences, DOE Nuclear Conferences,  INDA Filtration Exhibitions and AFS Conferences.  Jay was co-chair of the INDA Filtration Committee from 2009-2012, Co-chair of the 2015 Fall AFS Conference and is currently co-chair for the media track for WFC 13.  Jay was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by INDA in 2010.

Mr. Fu is an entrepreneur and one of the pioneers of making traditional powered respirator smaller and more user friendly. In 2009, he cofounded PAFec Australia and invented CleanSpace respirators, a unique series of low-profile powered respirators that had since found widespread adoption in industrial personal respiratory protection across Australia, Europe and now in the USA. In 2017, he founded Aimwell Australia, continuing his passion in respiratory technology and products in a boarder application fields, including in healthcare, sports and general health and wellbeing. Graduated from Tsinghua University - Beijing with a master of engineering degree, Eric has over 30 years industrial experience, including 10 years at medical device company ResMed as a senior design engineer, involved in the design of ResMed multi-generation world-class breathing apparatus for sleep disordered breathing.

Mr. Ham is the Co-Founder and President of RePure, a leading supplier of best-in-class wellness technology solutions available through professional installers. With a degree majoring in Kinesiology and a minor in Nutrition, Michael has dedicated the past two decades to the field of health and wellness. As an Accredited Professional and Faculty member of the International WELL Building Institute, he strives to raise awareness about how the spaces we inhabit impact our health. He is deeply committed to promoting continuous improvement through people and planet-centric design and technology. Michael expertise lies in the fields of regenerative organic agriculture, indoor air quality, air filtration, water quality, and other vital aspects of wellness technology. One of his areas of focus for air filtration is to better address human exposure to ultra-fine particulate matter which make up over 90% of the total particle count in the air and most harmful to our health. His expertise has earned him invitations to speak at prestigious events such as IAQA, TecHome Builder Summits, Housing Innovation Alliance, GreenHome Institute, etc. Through these engagements, he shares his passion for wellness and technology, enlightening audiences on the intersection of these fields.

Dr. Haynes, Senior Technical Director of Global Nonwovens at Kimberly-Clark Corporation, is a well-recognized expert and leader with over 35 years of experience in the global nonwovens and filtration industry. He currently has 43 U.S. Patents, 163 Foreign Patents, 15 Trade Secrets, and over 240 Invention Disclosures, He has established a strong track record of transforming ideas into commercial reality and is highly creative with a passion for making connections to solve problems to drive innovation for customers. Dr. Haynes is a recipient of the INDA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award, Society of Women Engineers Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award, and the Kimberly-Clark Technical Excellence Award. He is a member of several boards, including INDA Board of Directors (current Chair), Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology; Chemical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Georgia; and the Nonwovens Institute at N.C. State University. He also serves on the Board of Directors as Secretary for Georgia FIRST (a non-profit organization that supports STEM programs in Georgia). Dr. Haynes received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, and B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA.

Dr. Hu is the head of the Advanced Filtration Center (AFC), an accredited filter test lab with comprehensive testing capacities at the Taiwan Textile Research Institute (TTRI) located in in Taipei, Taiwan. He has been leading the filtration testing team for more than 20 years and is experienced in testing various filters from face masks and respirators for personal protection, to HVAC, cleanroom, transportation and industrial applications to fuel/oil/luge filters, etc. He is also experienced in building quality control capabilities to monitor filter production processes. Dr. Hu serves as the Executive Director of the Taiwan Filtration and Separation Society (TFS). He has made significant contributions advancing the local filtration industry to reach out to the global community.

Dr Uyioghosa Igie is a Senior Lecturer in Gas Turbine Engineering and Operations. He is the Course Director of the Thermal Power and Propulsion Engineering part-time MSc course tailored to industry professionals. He gained his PhD in Gas Turbine Engineering, 11 years ago from Cranfield University. Since then, he has supervised more than 80 post-graduates (10 PhD and ~70 MSc) as the first supervisor. Dr Igie is an expert in gas turbine performance with interests in compressor fouling degradation, air filter and compressor washing, operational flexibility and hydrogen combustion. He has published widely in several top journals and collaborated with gas turbine engine manufacturers and operators (energy and civil aviation) such as Mitsubishi Power, Rolls Royce, BP, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, R-MC Power Recovery Ltd and Camfil Air Filters and PIC Group. His research project at Cranfield University has attracted more than £1M in research funding as Principal Investigator.

Mr. Jameson is currently President of PureAir Filtration- a company that specializes in gas phase filtration. He has over 20 years of experience in the gas phase air purification market, 15 of those years being with PureAir Filtration. He holds four patents in the gas phase filtration industry. Mr. Jameson started his career with Torrington bearings, later moved into the automotive industry with Siemens, spent five years with Purafil as Vice President of Operations, and then founded PureAir Filtration in 2004. Kevin is an active member of the WEF Odor and Air Pollutants committee, a committee member of the International Society for Automation committee on protecting electronics from pollution, and an ASHRAE member. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master's degrees in Engineering from Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Mr. Lambart is a qualified chemist educated in the UK with over 35 years of industrial experience spanning the automotive and aerospace industries. He has experience in material science, R&D, and Program Management in the automotive industry, gaining experience working with Ford, Jaguar, Rolls Royce, Bentley, and Land Rover. Paul is a Consultant and Company Director in the field of Gas Turbines with over 20 years of experience in developing new cleaning solutions and injection systems for on/off compressor washing to improve efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuels until self-sufficiency is attained with renewables.  He is currently engaged as Managing Director of Europe and Asia, using his experience in Gas Turbines for a USA company (Engine Cleaning Technology-ECT) to deliver their compressor washing and power augmentation systems into the industrial sector and aviation products globally.   Paul has been a visiting Fellow in the School of Aerospace, Transport, and Manufacturing at Cranfield University (UK) since 2006, where he has supported sixteen, to date, Ph.D. candidates and many MSc students in Gas Turbine studies.  He has been a member of the Industrial Advisory Board for Thermal Power for over fifteen years and is their current Chairman, holding the post for the past five years.

Ms. Levasseur has over 30 years’ experience in the field of molecular filtration.  Having worked for both Purafil and Cameron Great Lakes, she has experience in numerous technologies and in system design.  She has helped specify filtration systems for both industrial and commercial applications, including semiconductor facilities, paint spray booths, hospital and many more.  She also has experience in the impregnation processes of both impregnated activated carbon and potassium permanganate impregnated media.

Ms. Levasseur is currently the owner of LMF Services providing consulting services from a 3rd party perspective ensuring that clients receive the best possible solution to their problems.  These services include system design, isotherm calculations, media specifications and life testing. Ms. Levasseur is a member and former President of the National Air Filtration Association, from which she received the Distinguished Service Award.  She is also a member of ASHRAE, having served as Chair of TC 2.3 (Gaseous Air Contaminants and Gas Contaminant Removal Equipment) from 2017-2019.  She is a Graduate of Salem State University with BS in Biology and Minor in Chemistry.

Dr. Liang is currently a professor at the School of Light Industry and Engineering, South China University of Technology. Her research is focused on filter media, especially wet laid filter media, application of nanofibers, and preparation of multilayer filter media. In addition to academic work at University, Dr. Liang has invested much time and energy in the industrial R&D of high-performance filter media. She has served as a consultant to establish three new filter media production lines and two pilot plants. Dr. Liang is the deputy secretary of the China Filtration and Separation Association and is active in several technical societies in the area of filtration. She received the First Prize (2019) and the Second Prize (2008) of Science & Technology Development & Achievement of the Ministry of Education in China. Dr. Liang earned her Ph.D. in 2002, majoring in pulp and papermaking.

Mr. Lydon is a leading expert in the global filtration & separation industry. He has led and held a number leadership positions at public and private filtration & industrial businesses in a career spanning 33 years. Having both a business and technology background, he has helped companies grow and develop on global platform basis through M&A, VC and PE. He is currently the CEO at Molymem Ltd. Richard has held a number of institutional roles including Visiting Professor, previously at Loughborough University and currently at Leeds University in the UK. He is also Secretariat of The Filtration Society and previously lead this knowledge sharing network. He is also Chair of the External Advisory Board (Materials) at University of Manchester, helping & guiding the next generation of STEM graduates and nurturing potential spin-out businesses in the ESG space across the North West of the UK, where he resides. Mr. Lydon is a prominent figure in the global filtration industry, having made significant contributions. Mr. Lydon is a prominent figure in the global filtration industry, having made significant contributions in promoting professional education and sustainable development. He has held the role of co-chair for the WFI Annual Conference from 2021 to 2023.

Mr. Marold has 30+ years of professional experience in specialty chemicals and materials businesses with the majority in filtration-related industries. He is a well-known strategic and innovative global leader who delivers sustainable value to shareholders, customers, and employees. He is a C-Level executive with year-after-year success achieving revenue and profit targets in Fortune 100, private-, and mid-tier specialty chemicals and engineered materials industries with demonstrated success in developing and executing winning strategies for business growth. With over 20 years of multi-site, global specialty business leadership with companies like Lydall, Jacob Holm, Clarcor, Buckman, and Ahlstrom, he has become one of the most influential leaders in the global filtration and nonwoven industry. He is a long-standing Board member of INDA (Chairman 2010-2012, 2020). Paul’s specialties include global business strategy, financial and operational leadership, innovation platform development and execution, strategic partnerships, turn-around initiatives, strategic deployment and team alignment, and driving profitable and sustainable growth. Paul is currently Chief Executive Officer, Aeristus, Inc., focusing on developing technology for the filtration, disinfection, and oil & gas industries. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering from Penn State University and post-graduate work at INSEAD.

Mr. McCreary, Director of Waterloo Filtration Institute, is well known throughout the filtration industry having spent over 30 years in various assignments from Business and Product Development to VP of Sales Organizations. He has worked with and for many of the top 100 Filtration companies in the world as well as several  leading nonwoven manufacturers. His career spans from medical device and laboratory industry to the fluid power and natural gas industry with both air and liquid filtration processes. He most recently spent time in activities with several industry trade associations, and is currently doing free-lance consulting within the liquid and air filtration industry. His broad knowledge of the market and it’s processes provides a unique perspective on market space.

Mr. McCreary  has served on several of INDA’s Filtration committee’s and helped organize several key events within the industry. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Missouri and MBA from Webster University in St. Louis.

Mr. Mcilvaine is President of the Mcilvaine Company, specializing in market forecasting, publishing, and technical Analysis. He founded the company in 1974. Filtration has been their major focus from the beginning. Bob is a globally well-recognized market expert in the filtration industry. Over the decades, he has led the company to provide market research and technical evaluations on liquid and air filtration technologies. He has been actively involved in various filtration applications and keeps updated with new developments in the dynamic filtration and separation market. During the pandemic, Bob and his team put great efforts into the facemasks and HVAC filtration for public education and safety. Bob is a graduate of Woodrow Wilson School of Domestic and International Affairs, Princeton University.

Mr. Muller, ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer, Director IEQ Technical Services of AAF Flanders, is recognized globally as an expert in indoor/ environmental air quality, filtration and enhanced air cleaning systems, and gas-phase air filtration technology with demonstrated competencies in product development and applications. With more than 30 years in the filtration industry, he has written and spoken extensively on these and related topics with more than 250 articles and peer-reviewed papers, more than 150 seminars, and 8 handbooks to his credit. He has been a driving force on multiple industry association and technical committees, improving awareness and standards in the industry, especially in the field of gas-phase air filtration and indoor environmental air quality. He co-authored ASHRAE’s Position Document on Filtration and Air Cleaning, ASHRAE Guideline 42P: Indoor Air Quality in Commercial and Institutional Buildings, and ASHRAE Standard 62.1 User’s Manual.

Mr. Nicholas has over 35 years of field experience with four years in building operations, including plant & facility maintenance,  engineering and manufacturing. He is a certified Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician/Commercial Building HVAC Systems and Air Filter Specialist and Filter Technician. He received professional training at the Harvard School of Public Health for Certifying HEPA Filters In-Place and for nuclear/non-nuclear applications. He is a member in good standing of Aftermarket Filtration Experts (AFE) and National Air Filtration Association (NAFA) and is a Lifetime Member of ASHRAE. Mr. Nicholas is Past President of NAFA and Past President of the Boston ASHRAE Chapter. He is the Vice President of AFE Region-8 and President of Chapter-74. Mr. Nicholas has served on several ASHRAE Standard, Guideline, and Technical Committees. He has been recognized by ASHRAE and NAFA with Distinguished Service Awards. Mr. Nicholas is an official AFE Professional Development Instructor for Live Review Classes and a NAFA Certified Filter Technician Instructor.

Ms. Owen, ASHRAE Fellow, is an expert in air filter/cleaner filtration efficiency and test method development. She is currently the principle investigator (PI) on the ASHRAE projects conducting Interlaboratory Studies (aka Round Robins) on the ASHRAE 52.2 and 145.2 methods for testing particle and gas-phase air cleaner efficiencies.  Previously, she worked on the ASHRAE and US EPA projects that developed ASHRAE air cleaner efficiency test methods 52.2 (for particles), 145.2 (gases), and 185.1 (UV-bioaerosol). She also developed chamber test methods for gases and bioaerosols based, in large part, on the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) CADR test method.  She was the first chair of ASHRAE committee SSPC 145 and is the current chair of ASHRAE 52.2.  She is also the research subcommittee chair for TC2.3 Gaseous Contaminants and is a member of SSPC 185, TC2.4, TC2.9, and TC2.3, and of the US TAG to ISO 142. During her 33 years  at RTI International, she ran ASHRAE 1360-RP and worked on many ASHRAE and EPA projects on air cleaning and air quality including the recent EPA EIP on air cleanup in VI situations.  She ran the RTI commercial air cleaner test lab for 20 years. Her BS in chemical engineering is from North Carolina State University, and her MS in Air Pollution Control Engineering is from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr.-Ing. Thomas Peters is an internationally renowned independent consultant for membrane technology and environmental engineering. He has over 40 years of experience in the field of pressure driven membrane processes for the treatment of water, process fluids and wastewater. Related pioneering work was focused between other on the use of reverse osmosis for desalination of sea water, for the purification of landfill leachate and for water reuse in different areas. He studied chemical engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) at the Technical University Clausthal in Germany and earned his Ph.D. in 1980 at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg on the subject „Production of drinking water from seawater with reverse osmosis“. After leading management functions in in a middle sized and a multinational company he is high level independent technology consultant since 1986, authored more than 100 publications, co-authored different books, contributed to different membrane technology related guidelines published by professional associations in Germany and is co-editor of a landfill compendium. He received the Stanley Gray Award - Marine Technology 2000/2001 of the IMarEST, London, and the ATCP Award 2007, Concepción, Chile.

Dr. Ramaswamy got over 39 years of combined extensive experience in various IAQ and filtration-related areas of Engineering in India and Oman. He received his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India, in Mechanical Engineering, currently working as the technical director of Level Engineering LLC, an MEP consultancy and skill development training organization based in Oman. Dr. Ramaswamy has published over 100 research papers in international journals and conferences and authored six engineering-related books. Dr. Ramaswamy has designed a few of the largest utility plants in South East Asia. He is on the visiting faculty and the Technical advisory board of various technical universities in India and Oman, where he has guided many Ph.D. students. He is a member of multiple international professional organizations holding charter engineer status from U. K. and India. He is the reviewer and editorial board member of many international technical journals and has delivered over 100 keynote lectures at various international conferences and meetings. Dr. Ramaswamy's name is listed in the WHOSWHO directory. He is active in many regional and global communities to help them embrace sustainable and healthy living.

Mr. Rocklitz is a leading expert in filtration and computational modeling and he is the founder of Sage Decision Systems LLC. He is an expert in providing sustainable systematic filtration solutions. He had over 38 years professional experience with Donaldson Company prior to founding SDS, working directly on advanced liquid and air filtration technology and products. He was Director of Global Computational Systems, modeling complex filtration systems from fiber to paper to configured filtration system including inertial separators at Donaldson from 2007 to 2012 and Director of Applied Technology at Donaldson from 1995 to 2005 managing CAD and CAE analysis. Prior to that, he worked as a researcher into filtration mechanisms and designed products.  His designs and execution have resulted in many successful individual products and product lines including G2 Powercore fluted air filter product line, AFSI oil filter product line, Free Vortex inertial separators, and many others. He has 18 US Patents, numerous foreign patents and many additional patents pending. Mr. Rocklitz received his Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering, Fluid Mechanics & Aeronautics and Master of Science in Non-Linear Mechanics & Fluid Dynamics in 1974 from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. 

Mr. Smith is vice president, Healthy Buildings at Johnson Controls. He has spent nearly 18 years with Johnson Controls in roles focused on leveraging building management systems and HVAC equipment to drive important outcomes such as improvements in energy efficiency and indoor air quality. From 2018 to 2020, Tyler led Johnson Controls’ Critical Environments business unit, which designs and manufactures systems for critical spaces such as hospitals and laboratories. Since late 2020,Tyler has led Johnson Controls’ Healthy Buildings initiative with a focus on helping customers realize productivity and financial outcomes associated with operating healthier buildings. With a background deeply rooted in buildings, HVAC and controls, Tyler brings a unique voice to WFI. We expect to leverage his experience and network at Johnson Controls to ensure our educational and advocacy campaigns are comprehensive and aligned with current buildings-market trends.

Tyler has an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from Emory University. He resides in Nashville, Tennessee, USA with his wife and two children.

Dr. Sun, President of Waterloo Filtration Institute, is a renowned technical and market expert in the global filtration industry. With over 30 years of experience in academia and the industry, she has an in-depth knowledge of filtration and extensive hands-on expertise in product development with over 100 technical publications and patents. She is also actively involved in many air and liquid filter test standard development. Dr. Sun worked for Freudenberg Filtration Technologies from 2004 to 2011 as an R&D manager and then as Technology Director for Donaldson from 2011 to 2013. She was the AFS Chair from 2016 to 2017 and received the AFS Fellow Award in 2019, Sr. Scientist Award in 2012, and the best paper awards from INDA in 2008. She is also an editorial board member for Textile Research Journal and Journal of Industrial Textiles. Dr. Sun received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, and her Executive Certificate from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management.

Dr. Chao Tan is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo. His contribution to scholarship has been recognized by international peers, as evidenced by the popularity of his technical books in his fields of research. His single-authored textbook, Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases, was downloaded 1.7+ million times globally, and another coauthored textbook was recognized as “the pop-used publications on SpringerLink that concern one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals”. His impact on his peer groups and the wider society is also evidenced by numerous domestic and international awards, including Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering, Early Research Excellence Award, Outstanding Performance Award, Highly Cited Paper (top 1%) from Clarivate Analytics, and Distinguished Visiting Professorship at Tsinghua University. He has mentored 100+ HQPs; many of them have taken leadership roles in their chosen fields, winning various awards including chair professorship, Best Journal Articles, Best Conference Papers, and Featured Articles. Dr. Tan received his BSc and MSc degrees from Tsinghua University, Beijing in the 1990s, and PhD degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA in 2004. He was the founding Executive Director of Tsinghua-Waterloo Joint Research Centre for Energy and Environmental Technologies, and the Associate Dean (International) of Waterloo Engineering.

Dr. Tang is an internationally recognized cleantech expert and entrepreneur. After receiving his PH.D. in 1987, Dr. Tang served as a senior manager and executive in major Canadian engineering and environmental companies, with technical and management responsibilities in air quality, IAQ and occupational health & safety, environmental science and engineering, as well as sustainability practice for businesses. He is now the Chairman of Canada China Technology Exchange Hub and Canada CleanTech Capital Inc. and a founding director for the International Anti-pandemic Industrial Alliance (IAIA). Dr. Tang is also Adjunct Professor or Academic Advisor for 4 universities. He was a UNDP senior advisor, served as a peer reviewer for US Centre for Indoor Air Research (CIAR) in 1990’s, and is a Review Expert for the Ontario Green Fund, an Overseas Advisor to Zhongguancun Science Park (the first and largest science and technology park in China), and Specially Appointed Overseas Academician & Expert by Beijing. In Canada he is Past President of Air & Waste Management Association-Ontario Section, Co-Chair of Canada China Sci-Tech Alliance, and the Founding Chairman for Canada-China Environmental Cooperation Council. 

Dr. Stephanie Taylor, CEO, and Founder of Building4Health, Inc., holds an MD from Harvard Medical School. Her journey began in pediatric oncology, where she explored cellular growth control mechanisms. During her clinical work, she realized the significant role the built environment played in patient healing and healthcare-associated infections. Eager to comprehend this connection, she pursued a Master's Degree in Architecture. Armed with a unique blend of medical and architectural insights, Dr. Taylor delved into research on indoor environments and their impact on clinical outcomes. Her findings unveiled the profound influence of indoor air quality on acute infections, chronic inflammation, cognitive impairment, and various diseases. Importantly, these conditions affected occupants in all building types.

Dr. Taylor shares her expertise by writing for publications like Engineered Systems Magazine and healthcare journals. She serves as an ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer, a member of the Environmental Health Committee, and a technical advisor on Indoor Air Quality for the US Green Building Council. Dr. Taylor's pioneering work unites healthcare, microbiology, and architecture, fundamentally shaping our understanding of indoor environments and human health.

Dr. Tung is a Distinguished Professor at National Taiwan University (NTU) and Deputy Director WInnER Center, NTU Taipei, Taiwan. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in 1991, 1994, and 1998, respectively, from the NTU, all in chemical engineering. Before joining NTU in August 2012, he was the Director of the R&D Centre for Membrane Technology at Chung Yuan University from 2009 to 2012, with a specialty in research and development on membrane filtration applications for water and wastewater treatment for 20 years. He is now serving as the editor of the Separation and Purification Technology journal and the Vice-Chair of the Membrane Technology Specialist Group in the International Water Association (IWA). He has been a fellow of IWA since 2019. Dr. Tung is also a registered student in our CFSS Class. He has shown an excellent example to his students and all of us for continuing learning as life never stops teaching. Dr. Tung said, "Filtration is a very segmented and dynamic market, directly impacting the air we breathe and the water we drink.  It is important for us to continue to learn, grow and update our knowledge. We appreciate the unique, top-notch education program WFI offers to our students and the industry."

Dr. Vijayakumar is a globally recognized expert and mentor in contamination control and filtration. He is the founder and head of AERFIL, a consulting company devoted to providing technical and business solutions and services for the filtration and contamination control industry around the world.  In addition to being a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Chinese Academy of Building Research, he has been on the faculty of the short course on air and gas filtration at the University of Minnesota since its inception and one of the founding faculty for ASHRAE’s Cleanroom Certification Program. He is a Fellow and was a Distinguished Lecturer of ASHRAE. He has taught courses in cleanroom design for ASHRAE, and has lectured around the world for them on various aspects of filtration, aerosol mechanics and cleanroom designs. He has recently published an iBook on Aerosol Mechanics for the general user and is also a coauthor for the ASHRAE Cleanroom Design Guide. He is a Fellow and past President of the IEST, the premiere contamination control organization in the US. Currently, he chairs standards development committees at the ISO and in the US writing standards for high efficiency filtration and filter media used in cleanrooms, hospitals, and indoor environments.

Mr. Scott Yaeger is currently President/CEO of Filtration and Separation Technology International, Inc. (FAST International, Inc.) . He has over 40 years with a broad range of experience in Membrane Filtration with several market leading manufacturers and marketers including Sartorius, Cuno/3M, Gelman/Pall, and PTI Advanced Filtration/Parker Hannifin. He has held worldwide senior level positions in Sales, Marketing, Engineering, R&D, Manufacturing, and General Management. Since 2004 as President of FAST Consulting, LLC, he has assisted in the development of new membranes into new and existing markets, new membrane device technologies, and new membrane applications for multiple market leading filtration companies.  Mr. Yaeger was the Founding Chairman of the American Filtration and Separation Society (AFS), a past Member of the Board of Directors, and Program Chair. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Electrocoat Association (EA). Mr. Yaeger has been awarded the Wells Shoemaker Award from AFS and the Brewer Award from EA. He is the inventor on 4 US Patents and their International counter parts, has presented over 400 technical papers into more than 10 technical societies. He is on the Editorial Board for Filtration News.

Mr. Zarour has over 40 years of experience in design and construction management of pharmaceutical and industrial high-tech projects. As Engineering/Project Manager for CRB’s Western Region operations, Jack works with CRB project teams and other senior CRB executives on key projects including, regulatory compliance implementation, providing comprehensive end-user perspective and extensive knowledge of energy efficiencies and emerging environmentally friendly Refrigeration technologies. He is a lecturer in the field of HVAC at San Jose State University. He received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, a Construction Management Certification from San Jose State University and an Associated Arts Degree in Mechanical Technology from San Francisco City College.

Dr. Zhang is the editor-in-chief of Textile Research Journal (TRJ) and the Journal of Industrial Textiles (JIT). He is a globally well-recognized expert in textiles, nonwovens, material science and technologies. Dr. Zhang is the founder of Textile Research Associates (USA), an excellent resource to connect hundreds of experts in textiles and nonwovens from academia and the industry worldwide. He served as a research professor at the University of Tennessee’s Textiles and Nonwovens Development Center (TANDEC) from 1996 to 2004, with over 35 years of professional experience in textile engineering, carbon fibers, meltblown, spunbond, and other nonwoven processes. Dr. Zhang has over 100 publications, several US patents, and several books. He received his Ph.D. in Material Engineering and Science from the University of Tennessee (Knoxville), a Master of Engineering in textiles from Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin, China, in 1985, and a Master of Science in material science from the University of Tennessee (Knoxville) in 1991.

Mr. Zimmer is an experienced air filter specialist with over 20 years of experience in the international ventilation industry. Since 2009 Mr. Zimmer has been employed by Camfil, an industry-leading air filter manufacturer based in Sweden. He has held various positions within the Camfil Group. His current position is Vice President Global Product Management and International Standards, located in Germany. Mr. Zimmer serves actively in numerous working groups of several international standard committees, including ISO TC142 (Cleaning equipment for air and other gases), CEN TC195 (Air filters for general air cleaning), CEN TC156 (Ventilation for buildings). In addition, he is also active in various international ventilation & engineering industry associations and committees, including Eurovent, EVIA, REHVA, Eurovent Middle East, Eurovent International, VDMA, FGK, and EHEDG. In this context, Mr. Zimmer co-authored several guidebooks and technical guidelines related to air filtration and ventilation. Mr. Zimmer received a BA in European Business Administration and an MBA in International Management from the Euro-FH, University of Applied Science in Hamburg, Germany.