Dr. Casmir Ilenda
Holland, PA 18966
Phone:
(215) 586-1893
E-mail: casmir.ilenda@gmail.com
Specialties:
- Polymers
- Research and Development
- Materials
SUMMARY
Ph.D. Chemist with over 30 years experience in the research and development of plastics, plastics additives, and coatings for the automotive, electronic, medical, pharmaceutical, packaging, consumer durables, construction, industrial, lighting and recycling industries. Experienced in all aspects of polymer research and development including materials, synthesis, chemical analysis, materials testing, applications, formulation, processing, scale-up, production, intellectual property, and environmental and regulatory compliance. Has developed products through expertise in polymerization, graft polymerization, byproduct identification by chemical analysis, cross-linking, uv cure, degradation, weatherability, rheology, morphology, adhesion, mechanical properties, barrier properties, transparency, and raw material purity. 17 US granted patents and 16 publications.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Consultant 2005- Present
Independent consultant in polymer research and development whose expertise has helped clients develop new and improved products, analyze and eliminate manufacturing problems, identify critical experiments and select instruments for chemical and material testing, analyze results and recommend solutions, obtain grants from government agencies, and analyze technical scope for potential business opportunities.
Rohm and Haas Company, Philadelphia, PA 1975-2005
($7 Billion global specialty chemical manufacturer)
Manager / Scientific Leader, Powder Coatings 2001-2005
- Investigated the basic science and provided a knowledge base that is guiding development of next generation low temperature cure products. Developed processes that are being used to manage new product development.
- Developed tools and taught others how to use them to formulate new products that cure at low temperature using thermal or photochemical (UV) energy.
- Developed processes that are now used to manage the R&D portfolio and the individual projects. Trained personnel from R&D, engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing, and finance in their use.
- Granted two US patents.
- Received the American Chemical Society Middle Atlantic Region Industrial Innovation Award for the development of Lamineer®, the first low-temperature cure powder coating technology for medium density fiberboard, 2005 (team award).
RadTech International North America
Collaborated
with scientists from other industrial and academic
organizations to promote uv cure for coatings and inks and
to standardized test methods.
Vision2020 - Nanomaterials and the Chemical Industry
Roadmap Workshop
Collaborated with scientists from other
industrial organizations and government agencies to define
R&D nanotechnology priorities and timelines for the chemical
and material processing industry that are guiding government
funding decisions.
Vice President, Director of Fiber Technology, Unison / Fiberstars 1997-2001
With other officers, started up Unison FiberOptic Lighting
Systems LLC, a joint venture of Rohm and Haas and Advanced
Lighting Technologies.
- Designed organization and hired staff. Managed the OptiFlex Flexible Light Pipe R&D and Manufacturing portions of the business. Transferred the technology to Fiberstars.
- Demonstrated commercial viability of the manufacturing process for OptiFlex Flexible Light Pipe.
- Designed project to develop new fiberoptic light guide. Wrote technical proposal that secured a $2 million government (NIST) grant.
Senior Scientist, OptiFlex Flexible Light Pipe 1994- 1997
- Increased the knowledge base for the chemistry of acrylic light guides and identified the mechanism of degradation.
- Developed improved products and promoted them in more demanding applications, including automotive headlamps.
- Supported scale up and market introduction and trained sales and customers.
- Developed an acrylic light guide with a 10-fold increase in lifetime. The light guide eliminated the field failures in commercial applications.
- Granted 3 US patents.
- Received Rohm and Haas Vice Presidents Award for development of OptiFlex Flexible Light Pipe, 1997 (team award).
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
Collaborated with scientists from other industrial organizations and government agencies to develop standards and secure regulatory approval for automotive fiberoptic lighting, a low energy alternative.
Senior Scientist, New Technology Research 1983- 1994
- Developed a knowledge base for graft polymerization.
- Developed analytical techniques used to characterize and measure the amount of grafted polymer. Identified polymerization conditions that increased the amount of grafted polymer.
- Scaled up the product and supported filing for a new chemical substance (TSCA) and for food packaging applications (FDA).
- Demonstrated several applications using graft copolymers as process modifiers, property modifiers, compatibilizers, and tie-layers.
- Developed higher value products with a 300+% increase in amount of grafted polymer.
- Developed a rheology modifier for polypropylene thermoforming.
- Developed a tie layer for high barrier fuel tanks.
- Granted 10 US patents.
- Received TSCA listing and FDA approval. Otto Haas Award for Scientific Achievement for Development of Polyolefin Modifiers, 1991.
Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI)
Collaborated with scientists from other industrial organizations and government agencies to develop tests and standards for fuel tanks meeting new mandated low pollution requirements (1990-1994).
Senior Scientist, Plastics Research 1975-1983
- Identified and developed new high value plastics formulations that meet performance and cost targets.
- Developed formulations with engineering plastics properties.
- Identified potential applications and supported market probes to develop commercial uses.
- Developed a new thermosetting chemistry for Reaction Injection Molding.
- Granted two US patents.
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
American Chemical Society
Society of Plastics Engineers,
Sigma Xi (The Scientific Research Society)
EDUCATION
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 1974-1975
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 1974 Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 1969-1974
University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN 1969 B.A. in Chemistry, Summa cum laude
National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research Participant, 1967-1969
Marshall H. and Nellie Alworth Memorial Scholarship, 1965- 1969
Merck Outstanding Chemistry Student Award, University of Minnesota, Duluth, 1966
Elected to University of Minnesota, Duluth, Academy of Sciences, 2002
