Precious Metals (Platinum, Palladium, Nickel and Gold) Chemical Consultant

Expertise

• Platinum group and precious metals analysis, sampling, extraction, and hydrometallurgy.
• Electrochemistry, electrolytic dissolution and purification of precious metals and rhenium.
• Construction maintenance and management of analytical chemical laboratories.
• Process and product development, project management (MS Project) for complex electroplating, inorganic synthesis and hydrometallurgy.
• Electroplating of precious metals and base metals for electronic and decorative applications.
• Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS). Specification writing, debugging, deployment.

Expert Witness

• White paper on novel compounds for inclusion on TSCA list.
• White paper on nickel tetraamine sulfate environmental vectors for federal EPA.

Experience

Undisclosed Company, Director of Metal Recover and Quality Manager, 2013 - Present

• Develop and manage precious metal and other high value materials recovery from end of life aerospace materials.
• Manage activities of production and laboratory staff.
• Develop novel schemes for the recovery of precious metals.
• Maintain quality system and MSDS database.
• Provide chief technical support to ongoing powder metals manufacturing.

Colonial Metals Incorporated, Elton, MD, Laboratory Manager, 2006 - 2013

• Manage daily activities of laboratory staff.
• Perform instrumental lab work on precious metals products.
• Provide analytical support for research and development process control projects.
• Develop and implement novel electro-dissolution processes for purification of platinum group metals and rhenium-containing alloys.

Technic Incorporated, Cranston, RI, Research Chemist, 2006

• Inorganic antioxidants for tin electroplating.
• Organic additives for electronic copper applications.

Cookson Electronics, Enthone Division, West Haven, CT, 2002 - 2005

Quality Control Laboratory Manager (a high performance specialty chemistry company).

• Analytical research and development, product development and quality control functions including:
• Design, develop and implement customized laboratory information.
• Management system (LIMS) deployed in five regional laboratories.
• Provided technical support for LIMS deployment globally.
• Developed proprietary electroplating products.
• Managed daily activities of approximately thirty analytical staff.
• Managed four laboratories within North America.
• Provided customer support to the metal finishing industry.
• Analytical methods development for proprietary chemicals.

Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ, Manager-Analytical Services, 1987 - 2002

• Analytical support, product development and quality control for electroplating chemicals and services group
• Managed daily activities of three professional analytical staff members.
• Established analytical facility consisting of 5 distinct laboratories.
• Provided customer support for electroplating failure mode analysis.
• Generated PMN's (Pre-manufacture Notice) and MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) for proprietary chemicals.
• Maintained ELAP (Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program) certification to support wastewater treatment plant.
• Established quality team focused on cost reduction and technology transfer.
• Developed and produced proprietary plating processes and products.

Olin Hunt Specialty Products, Palisades Park, NJ, 1985 - 1987

Project Leader, Analytical Services Department

• Performed competitive product analysis of industrial chemical products.
• Developed chemical analytical methods for plating bath components.
• Lead failure mode analysis projects.

Pall Corporation, Glen Cove, NY, Senior Research Chemist, 1982 - 1985

• Planned daily activities of two professional staff members.
• Developed filter media for cosmetic, toiletry and beverage products.
• Performed gel permeation chromatography of nylon-type polymers.
• Developed analytical methods for inorganic and organic chemicals.

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc., Union Beach, NJ, Research Chemist, 1979 - 1982

• Managed a fragrance chemical stability program.
• Planned daily activities of two technicians.
• Developed GC and HPLC analytical procedures.
• Developed Fortran and Cobol based computational chemistry programs to model the structure-function relationships of fragrance chemicals.

Block Drug Company, Jersey City, NJ, Research Chemist, 1978 - 1979

• Planned daily activities of two technicians.
• Established a sensory testing program for flavor and odor evaluation.
• Supervised clinical trials of new dental products.

Noville Essential Oil Company, North Bergen, NJ, 1976 - 1978

Quality Control Manager and Production Chemist

• Developed analytical methods for industrial chemicals.
• Supervised a raw material and finished product QC laboratory.
• Produced flavor and fragrance organic compounds

Accomplishments

• Electrochemistry: Platinum group metals product development in platinum group metals, including product development, customer service, analytical methods development, training, laboratory design and construction, environmental compliance and manufacturing technology implementation.
• Manage quality control laboratories supporting the manufacturing of metal finishing, performance coating, electronics and semiconductor chemicals.
• Analytical research and development in flavor and fragrance, pharmaceutical and specialty chemicals.
• ISO 9000 program implementation and internal and external auditing.
• Maintenance of chemical analytical equipment, including inductively-coupled plasma, atomic absorption and UV/Vis spectroscopy, liquid, gas and ion chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared, Raman and mass spectroscopy.
• Isolation and identification of organic and inorganic compounds, including de-formulation of proprietary electroplating solutions.
• Packaging and presentation of technical information.
• Developed a computerized retrieval system for electroplating product formulation control and the systematic hierarchy of complex plating line.
• Apply product quality management information tools reducing manufacturing cycle times, costs and defect rate, streamlining of chemical manufacturing processes and technology transfer of new products.
• Developed systematic, standardized approaches to analytical method development, analytical documentation, and failure mode analysis.
• Developed novel methods for the electrochemical synthesis of chloride-free palladium replenishing solution for extending bath life, lower maintenance and higher profit margins.