Innovation Day

Past Innovation Day Conferences

2021  •  2020  •  2019  •  2018  •  2017  •  2016  •  2015  •  2014  •  2013
2012  •  2011  •  2010  •  2009  •  2008  •  2007  •  2006  •  2005  •  2004

2021

Opening Plenary

Carla Pereira (ExxonMobil)

Breakout Sessions

Sustainability
Robert Harding (W. R. Grace & Co.), Felicia Parks (Hallstar), Gayle J. Bentley (U.S. Department of Energy), Isabelle Hansenne-Cervantes (Global Product Innovation and Development R&D Executive)

The Role of Diversity in Innovation and the Entrepreneurial Process
Sanjeev Dey (Milliken & Company), Daniel White (Lyondell Chemical Company), Ndiba Dioh (LyondellBasell), Cory Valente (The Dow Chemical Company)

Digitization
Nicolas Coute (ExxonMobil Chemical), David Dean (Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics), George Rodriguez (ExxonMobil Chemical), Scott H. Wasserman (The Dow Chemical Company)

The New Normal
Gregory Briner (Hexion, Inc.), Duncan Coffey (DuPont), Alex Kline and Inga Aichinger (DuPont Mobility & Materials), Stacey York (University of Oregon)

 

 

2020

Opening Plenary

Wei Wang (Research Associate I, PPG Industries)

Breakout Sessions

Energy Production
Nicolas Coute (ExxonMobil Chemical), Ramanan Krishnamoorti (University of Houston), Tim Barckholtz (ExxonMobil Chemical)

Digitization
Robert Harding (W. R. Grace & Co.), Andrea Le (DuPont), Kristie Ford (Hallstar)

Sustainability/Green Chemistry
Sanjeev Dey (Milliken & Co.), David Constable (American Chemical Society), David Brenner (PureCycle Technologies)

2019

Opening Plenary

Andrea Brown (Director, Impact–Circular Economy, Quadia)

Breakout Sessions

Waste: Recycling of Plastics
Robert Harding (W. R. Grace & Co.), Govind Menon (Troy University), Robert D. Allen Sr. (IBM Almaden Research Center)

Renewal: Market Drivers
Chris Killian (Eastman Chemical Company), Eunice Heath (Dow Chemical Company), Holli Alexander (Eastman Chemical Company)

Next-Gen Production: Chemical Engineering Developments
Adeana Bishop (ExxonMobil), Phillip Westmoreland (North Carolina State University), William J. Grieco (RAPID Manufacturing Institute)

Waste: Waste Minimization in Food and Electronics Supply Chains
Albert Tam (DuPont), Sara Behdad (University of Buffalo), Casper Vroemen (DuPont)

Renewal: Technology Options
David Dean (Dow Chemical Company), Mukund Parthasarathy (Dow Chemical Company), Chris Killian (Eastman Chemical Company)

Next-Gen Production: New Market Developments
Daniel White, Manager (LyondellBasell), Richard Elander (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), Ali Khodayari (Genomatica)

2018

Opening Plenary

Lynn Loo (Director, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University)

Breakout Sessions

Materials for Extreme Environments: Extremophiles
Dave Sikora (LANXESS), Jim Coker (University of Maryland, University College), Zarath Summers (ExxonMobil)

Innovation in a Shifting Landscape: Technology in a Global Landscape
Daniel White (LyondellBasell), Clifford Kubiak (University of California, San Diego), Chunshan Song (Pennsylvania State University)

Tools and Techniques for Sustainability: Macroscopic Issues and Tools
Adeana Bishop (ExxonMobil), Joel Tickner (University of Massachusetts, Lowell), John Warner (Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry)

Materials for Extreme Environments: Materials for Extreme Temperatures
Robert Harding (W. R. Grace & Company), Richard J. Barone (TPR2 Corporation), Mike Misiaszek (TPR2 Corporation), Justin Kasper (University of Michigan)

Innovation in a Shifting Landscape: Sustainable Development in the Global Landscape
Daniel White (LyondellBasell), Eunice Heath (Dow Chemical Company), Shawn Hesse (International Living Futures Institute)

Tools and Techniques for Sustainability: Market-Specific Solutions
Steve Crawford (Eastman Chemical Company), Natnael Behabtu (DuPont Industrial Biosciences), Ralph Nuzzo (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)

 

2017

Opening Plenary

Julio Ottino (Northwestern University)

Breakout Sessions

Consumer-Inspired Innovation
Nilesh Shah (Dow Chemical Company), Bill Scheper (Procter & Gamble), Dan Woodman (Dow Chemical Company)

Predictive Modeling of Materials
Rob Crane (ExxonMobil Chemical Company), Jeff Brinen (ExxonMobil Chemical Company), Tim Mueller (Johns Hopkins University)

Imagining the Chemical Sciences in a Post-Petroleum Future, Session I
Dave Sikora (LANXESS), Patrick Foley (P2 Science), Sean O’Connor (Nucelis)

Accelerating Innovation through Value System Collaboration
Robert Gatte (W. R. Grace & Co.), Domiano Beccaria (Eastman Chemical Company), Manu Rego (W. R. Grace & Co.)

Predictive Modeling of Reaction Mechanisms and Catalytic Materials
Daniel White (LyondellBasell), William Goddard (California Institute of Technology), Philippe Sautet (University of California, Los Angeles)

Imagining the Chemical Sciences in a Post-Petroleum Future, Session II
Speakers: Albert Tam (DuPont Clean Technologies), Paul Dauenhauer (University of Minnesota), Sarah Privette (DuPont Industrial Biosciences)

 

 

2016

Opening Plenary 

Julio Ottino (Northwestern University)

Breakout Sessions

Industry/University/Government Partnerships
Robert Gatte (W. R. Grace and Company), Anthony Boccanfuso (University Industry Demonstration Partnership), James Capistran (University of Massachusetts Innovation Institute)

Computational Design of Smart Materials
Rob Crane (ExxonMobil Chemical Company), Donald Brenner (North Carolina State University), Markus Buehler (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Impacts and Relevence of Nondestructive Analytical Techniques
Daniel White (Lyondell Chemical Company), Rohit Bhargava (Beckman Institute Bioimaging Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Karen Esmonde-White (Kaiser Optical Systems Inc.)

Global Trends, Local Practices
Nilesh Shah (Dow Chemical Company), Dante Rustrom (Eastman Chemical Company), George Barclay (Dow Chemical Company)

Designing for Safety
Albert Tam (DuPont Clean Technologies), Richard Brutchey (University of Southern California), Karl Sanford (Genencor)

Breakthroughs in Instrumentation and Distributed Data Collections
Speakers: Steve Crawford (Eastman Chemical Company), Karl Booksh (University of Delaware)

 

2015

Evening Plenary

Neil Stevenson (IDEO Chicago), From Play to Innovation 

Opening Plenary 

Vijay Kumar (University of Pennsylvania)

Breakout Sessions

Information Science Meets Materials Science
Speakers: Dave Myers (W. R. Grace and Company), Nathan Tregger (W. R. Grace and Company), Dale Bentz (NIST)

Looking to Nature
Dave Sikora (Chemtura, Inc.), Steven Little (University of Pittsburgh), Shu Yang (University of Pennsylvania)

Making Wearables from New Materials
Dan White (Lyondell Chemical Company), Chi Hwan Lee, Assistant Professor (Purdue University), Juan Hinestroza (Cornell University)

Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing
Nilesh Shah (Dow Chemical Company), Jan Baum (3D Maryland, Jan Baum and Associates LLC, and Towson University)

Using Nature
Rob Crane (ExxonMobil Chemical), E. Terry Papoutsakis (University of Delaware)

Sensible Clothing
Albert Tam (DuPont Sustainable Solutions), Jess Jur (North Carolina State University), Steven Willoughby (DuPont)

 

 

2014

 

Program (PDF)

Opening Plenary

David Guston (Arizona State University), “The Case for Responsible Innovation”

Breakout Sessions

Developing Strategic Plans for Innovation
Ron Reynolds (Chemical Heritage Foundation), George Day (Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania), Robert Henske (Roland Berger Strategy Consultants)

Open Innovation
Paul Westgate (W.R. Grace and Company), Felek Jachimowicz (W.R. Grace and Company)

Recent Advances in Polymer Technology
Daniel White (Lyondell Chemical Company), Hanze Ying (University of Illinois), Gavin Jones (IBM)

Rare Earths: Inorganic Petroleum?
David Sikora (Chemtura), Vitalij Pecharsky (University of Iowa), Drew Polli (Solvay Corporation)

Responsible Innovation
Hugh Helferty (ExxonMobil), Matthew Wisnioski (Virginia Tech)

Biomimicry
Nilesh Shah (Dow Chemical Company), Bojana Ginovska (Pacific Northwest National Laboratories), Christine D. Keating (Penn State University)

Emergence of Industrial Biotechnology
William Provine (DuPont), Timothy Lu (MIT), Carlos Olguin (Autodesk Research)

 

2013

 

Program (PDF)

Evening Plenary

Wilfred Chen (University of Delaware), “Improving the Biology of Enzyme Fuel Cells”

Opening Plenary

John Warner (Warner Babcock), “Entropy at the Intersection of Innovation and Sustainability”

Breakout Sessions

New Chemical Engineering Innovations at the University Level
Ron Reynolds (Chemical Heritage Foundation), Shu Yang (University of Pennsylvania), Yushan Yan (University of Delaware), Rodney D. Priestley (Princeton University)

Open Innovation
Hugh Helferty (ExxonMobil), Michael Holman (Lux Research)

High-Performance Polymer Systems
Dave Sikora (Chemtura), Todd Emrick (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), Oliver Peoples (Metabolix Incorporated)

Advances in Catalysis: Natural-Gas Processing
Ian Shankland (Honeywell), Israel Wachs (Lehigh University), T. Brent Gunnoe (University of Virginia), Jeffery Bricker (UOP)

Innovating for Developing Economies: Lessons from the Front
Nilesh Shah (Dow Chemical Company), Peter Gallagher (Unilever), David G. Speece, Jr. (Dow Chemical Company), Saikat Chaudhuri (University of Pennsylvania)

Chemical and Material Solutions to Energy Storage
Carl Bilgrien (Arizona Chemical Company), Biswajit Choudhry (DuPont), Paul Burke (MIT)

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Solutions to Climate Change
William Provine (DuPont), James Bradbury (World Resource Institute), Joe Casola (Center for Climate and Energy Solutions), Sarah King (DuPont)

 

2012

 

Program (PDF)

Evening Plenary

Thomas Peterson (National Science Foundation), “Stimulating Innovation in our Universities”

Opening Plenary

Joseph DeSimone (North Carolina State University), “The Role of Diversity on Innovation and the Entrepreneurial Process”

Breakout Sessions

New Chemical Engineering Innovations at the University Level
Ron Reynolds (Chemical Heritage Foundation), Israel Wachs (Lehigh University), Yossef Elabd (Drexel University), Daeyeon Lee (University of Pennsylvania)

Improved Utilization of Electricity
Michael C. Kerby (Exxon Mobil), Kenneth Van Meter (Booz Allen Hamilton)

Bio-Based Chemical Feedstocks
Paul Williams (Arizona Chemical Company), Don McLemore (Georgia Southern University), Vivek Badarinarayana (Segetis),  Amit Sehgal (Rhodia), Francine Palmer (Rhodia)

Feeding the World’s Expanding Population
William Provine (DuPont), Xandra Smith (DuPont), Edward Dudley (Penn State University)

The Future Role of Bioenergy
Michael C. Kerby (Exxon Mobil), Robert Avant, Jr. (Texas A&M University), George Huber (University of Wisconsin, Madison)

Life-Cycle Analysis to Improve Sustainability
(Wayne Ranbom, Arkema), Todd Krieger (DuPont), Amy Landis (Arizona State University)

Global Cultures of Innovation
Ian Shankland (Honeywell), Scott Zhang (Honeywell), Brent K. Jesiek (Purdue University)

 

2011

 

White Paper (PDF)

Evening Plenary

James M. Tour (Rice University)

Opening Plenary

Daniel G. Nocera (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), “Fast Food and Energy”

Breakout Sessions

Establishing a Culture of Innovation
 Ron Reynolds (Chemical Heritage Foundation), Pam Henderson (NewEdge Company)

Challenges for Water Resources
James Alder (Celanese Corporation), M. Michael Hightower (Sandia National Laboratories) Paul Freedman (LimnoTech)

Chemistry of Energy Sources
Michael C. Kerby (Exxon Mobil),  Mike Parker (ExxonMobil Production Company) T. Alan Hatton (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Bio-Based Chemical Feedstocks
Carl Bilgrien (Arizona Chemical), Abhay Deshpande (Arizona Chemical), Mike Sanford (DuPont)

Increased Food Production and the Chemical Industry
Bob Kenworthy (Chemical Heritage Foundation),  L. Val Giddings (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation), Jon Fobes (Dow Agrofresh)

Sustainable Chemistry and Technology
Wayne Ranbom (Arkema), Brian Mullen (Segetis)

 

2010

 

Program (PDF) ♦ White Paper (PDF)

Evening Plenary

Thomas M. Connelly, Jr. (DuPont)

Opening Plenary

 Jingguang G. Chen (University of Delaware)

Closing Plenary

Stephen D. Pryor (Exxon Mobil), Fred E. Festa (W.R. Grace & Company), James P. Rogers (Eastman Chemical Company), Ronald Reynolds (Chemical Heritage Foundation)

Breakout Sessions

Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
Wayne Ranbom (Arkema, Inc.), Michael Gonzalez (Environmental Protection Agency), Wunmi Sadik (SUNY Binghamton)

Chemistry of Energy Sources
Michael C. Kerby (ExxonMobil Chemical), Hugh Helferty (ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company), Keith Moser (Exelon Nuclear)

Challenges of Water Resources
James Alder (Celanese Corporation), Paul Bowen (The Coca-Cola Company), Steven Rosenberg (Dow Water & Process Solutions)

Organizational Strategies for Innovation
Hyungsub Choi (Chemical Heritage Foundation), Jonathan Goldhill (Kline & Company), Parry Norling (Chemical Heritage Foundation)

Emerging Global Economies
Carl Bilgrien (W.R. Grace & Company), Raj Rajagopalan (W.R. Grace & Company), Dan Futter (Dow Corning), Dipak Chowdhury (Dow Corning)

 

2009

 

Program (PDF) ♦ White Paper (PDF)

Evening Plenary 

John LaMattina (Pfizer), “Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A View Toward the Future”

Opening Plenary

Michael C. Kerby (Exxon Mobil), “The Outlook for Energy and Technology Implications”

Closing Plenary

Alex Pang (Institute for the Future), “Looking Back at Looking Forward: Mapping the Future of Chemistry”

Breakout Sessions

Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
Jody Roberts (Chemical Heritage Foundation), Jule Zimmerman (Yale University)

Chemistry of Energy Sources
Tom Upton (Exxon Mobil), Michael H. Levy (ACC), Clifford C. Walters (Exxon Mobil), M. Stanley Whittingham (SUNY Binghamton), Ellen B. Stechel (Sandia Labs)

Emerging Global Economies
Jim Alder (Celanese), Cong Cao (Levin Institute), Steven Freilich (DuPont), Marc Kalton (Edica-Garnett Partners)

Electronic Materials
David Brock (Chemical Heritage Foundation), Jane Frommer (IBM Almaden), Mike Nelson (Nanoink)

 

2008

 

Program (PDF) ♦ White Paper (PDF)

Evening Plenary

Joseph M. DeSimone (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), “Using Fabrication Technologies from the Microelectronics Industry to Address Unmet Needs in Drug Delivery”

Opening Plenary

Rakesh Agrawal (Purdue University), “Energy Solutions for a Fossil Fuel–Deprived Future”

Closing Plenary

Arthur Daemmrich (Harvard Business School), Rand Waddoups (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.), Anne Wallin (Dow Chemical Company)

Breakout Sessions

Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
Gregg Zank (Dow Corning), Tyler McQuade (Florida State University)

Electronic Materials
Susan Fitzwater (Rohm and Haas Company), Nick Pugliano (Rohm and Haas Company), Rao Varanasi (IBM)

Chemistry of Energy Sources
Thomas Upton (ExxonMobil), Jeffrey S. Beck (ExxonMobil), Rakesh Agrawal (Purdue University)

Health Materials
William Fraser (Dow), Leonard Buckley (Naval Research Laboratory), Alan S. Rudolph (Adlyfe, Inc.)

Emerging Global Economies
James Alder (Celanese Corporation), Yuguo Ma (Peking University), Zhengang Xu (Beijing Research Institute of Coal Chemistry)

 

2007

 

Program (PDF) ♦ White Paper (PDF)

Evening Plenary

John C. Warner (University of Massachusetts, Lowell), “Beyond the Benign: The Societal Benefits of Chemical Innovation

Opening Plenary 

Owen Boyd (SolmeteX), Removing Heavy Metal Contaminants from Water for Health and Profit

Closing Plenary

Arthur Daemmrich (Harvard Business School), Andrew Liveris (Dow Chemical Company), Raj Gupta (Rohm and Haas Company), James Barber (Metabolix)

Breakout Sessions

Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
Miles Drake (Weyerhaeuser Company), Henry C. Foley (Penn State University), Paul Bryan (Chevron Biofuels)

Electronic Materials
Gary Calabrese (Rohm and Haas Company), Sharon Nunes (IBM), Rajarao Jammy (Sematech)

Chemistry of Energy Sources
Michael Altes (Dow Corning), Charles Gay (Applied Materials, Inc.), Masat Izu (ECD Ovonics)

Health Materials
William Fraser (Dow Chemical Company), Leonard J. Buckley (Naval Research Laboratory), Angelo Scopelianos (Johnson & Johnson)

Emerging Global Economies
Jim Alder (Celanese), Theresa Kotanchek (Dow Chemical Company), David Greenley (Rohm and Haas)

Eco-Friendly Products
Ryan Dirkx (Arkema), Terrence Collins (Carnegie Mellon University), Carina Alles (DuPont)

 

2006

 

Program (PDF) ♦ White Paper (PDF)

Evening Plenary

Keith Grime (Proctor and Gamble), “Changing the R&D and Business Model for Discontinuous Innovation”

Opening Plenary

Rebecca Henderson (MIT Sloan School), “Disruptive Technology and Product Development in Large Firms”

Closing Plenary

Klaus Heinzelbecker (BASF), Madeleine Jacobs (American Chemical Society), Frankie Wood-Black (ConocoPhillips)

Breakout Sessions

Renewable Chemical Feedstocks
John Vohs (University of Pennsylvania), Alan D. Baylis (Nuvistix Innovation), Rich Chapas (Battelle)

Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
Paul Clark (NOVA Chemicals), Mike Bertolucci (Interface Research Corp./Envirosense Consortium), David Anton (DuPont)

Chemistry of Energy Sources
Miles Drake (Air Products and Chemicals), Rakesh Agrawal (Purdue), Khalil Amine (Argonne National Lab)

Electronic Materials
Cathie Markham (Rohm and Haas CMP Technologies), Bob Wisnieff (IBM TJ Watson Research Center), Iwona Turlik (Motorola)

Health Materials
Uma Chowdhry (DuPont) George Kodokian (DuPont), Sumita B. Mitra (3M ESPE Dental Products Laboratory)

Meeting Global Water Needs
Jim Alder (Celanese), Karl Fennessey (The Dow Chemical Company), Harry Ott (Coca Cola)

 

2005

 

Program (PDF) ♦ White Paper (PDF)

Evening Plenary

Jay Paap (Paap Associates), “Innovation and the Technology Paradox”

Opening Plenary

Anthony Cheetham (University of California, Santa Barbara), “Chemical Research in the 21st Century”

Closing Plenary

Arthur Daemmrich (Chemical Heritage Foundation), Jay Ihlenfeld (3M), Michael Schrage (MIT Media Lab), Alfred Hackenberger (BASF)

Breakout Sessions

Feedstocks of the Future
Rich Myers (Dow Chemical Company), Theo Fleisch (BP America), Robert Pfeiffer (Luca Technologies)

Nanomaterials
Steven Freilich (DuPont), Jack Solomon (Praxair), Alan Rae (NanoDynamics)

Electronic Chemicals
Gary Calabrese (Rohm and Haas), Elsa Reichmanis (Bell Laboratories), Marie Angelopoulos (IBM)

Chemistry of Energy Sources
Paul Clark (Nova Chemicals), Judith Stein (GE Global Research), Horst-Tore Land, (PEMEAS)

Environmental Chemistry
Miles Drake (Air Products and Chemicals), Paul Anastas (ACS Green Chemistry Institute), Cecil Chappelow (Air Products and Chemicals)

Innovating for a Geographically Shifting Value Chain
Jim Alder (Celanese), Mike Silverman (KBR), Jennifer Holmgren (UOP)

 

2004

 

Program (PDF) ♦ White Paper (PDF)

Evening Plenary

Warren G. Schlinger

Opening Plenary

Bob Gower (Carbon Nanotechnologies)

Closing Plenary

Parry Norling (Chemical Heritage Foundation), Jim Alder (Celanese Chemicals), Paul Clark (NOVA Chemicals), Miles Drake (Air Products and Chemicals), Ray W. Miller (DuPont), Mani Subramanian (Dow Chemical Company), Gary Calabrese (Rohm and Haas Company)

Breakout Sessions

Future Energy Sources
Paul Clark (NOVA Chemicals), Judith Stein (GE Global Research), Charles Stone (Ballard Power Systems)

Health Materials
Mani Subramanian (Dow Chemical Company), Barry Marrs (Fraunhofer CMB), Thomas Meade (Northwestern University)

Bioindustrial Technologies
Ray W. Miller (DuPont), John Klier (Dow Chemical Company), Richard Wool (Cara Plastics)

Green Chemistry
Jim Alder (Celanese Chemicals), Joseph DeSimone (University of North Carolina), John Warner (University of Massachusetts, Lowell)

Nanomaterials
Miles Drake (Air Products and Chemicals), Arthur B. Ellis (National Science Foundation), Robert Kirschbaum (DSM Venturing)

Photonics and Optoelectronics
Gary Galabrese (Rohm and Haas Company), Stan Lumish (JDS Uniphase), Lionel “Kim” Kimerling (MIT)