Expert in conducting and semiconducting polymers and nanocomposites and their electronic, electro-optical and electrochemical applications.

Expertise

• Research on electrically and optically active polymers and nanocomposites and applications such as energy storage, sensors, electromagnetic interference shielding and photovoltaics. 
• Project and team management
• Establishing productive partnerships and collaborations.
• Maintained an extensive international scientific network with many contacts in industry and academia which sustained the business development aspects of R&D efforts. 
• Obtained first-hand academic and industrial experience in the development of advanced materials based on inherently conductive polymers and nanocomposite hybrid materials and manipulating material properties to suit different applications, such as: redox applications (bio-environmental sensors, capacitors and batteries); electronic and electro-optical applications (IR and fluorescent biosensors, including real-time sensors); photovoltaics and light emitting diodes; electromagnetic interference shielding and radar absorption applications. 

• Worked in other polymer related fields such as biomaterials, piezoelectric materials and ferromagnetic materials. The results of all research are summarized in 120 peer-reviewed publications and 25 patents with expertise in the following areas: Materials Science, Polymer Chemistry, Advanced Materials, Functional materials, Device Development, Project Management
• Consulted for several companies and various Government agencies on several application areas especially on conducting polymers and piezoelectric polymers which involve shielding materials, drag reduction in submarines, conducting textiles, sonar applications, adhesives, antistatic, and other applications.
• Reviewed SBIR and University proposals submitted to the various Government agencies on different research areas.  Also, reviewed publications submitted to professional journals and review of research proposals.

Experience

1997-2015: President and Senior Staff Scientist, Fractal Systems Inc., Belleair Beach, FL, USA;  
2005-2015: Vice President and Senior Staff Scientist, Smart Polymers Research Corporation.

Founded Fractal Systems, Inc. in 1997 to conduct research and development on conductive polymers, nanomaterials and nanocomposites for electronic and electrochemical applications, and helped incorporate a spin-off, “Smart Polymers Research Corporation” in 2005 to focus on biosensor development. Led the scientific staff through successful completion of more than 30 Phase I and 12 Phase II SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) contracts, being a principal investigator (PI) on most and among key personel on other projects. Managed all aspects of the organization including business development, program management, financial management and human resources. A brief list of the research topics includes: Electrochemical Capacitors, Li-Ion Batteries, Organic Photovoltaics, EMI/RFI Shielding Materials, High Conductivity Polymers, Ferromagnetic Materials, Water Remediation, Biosensors, Gas Sensors, Humidity/Temperature Sensors, Infrared Sensors

10/2008-06/2009 and 09/2010-06/2011, Director of Research and Research Engineer respectively, XLIM Laboratory (Limoges), CNRS, France: Worked in the area of organic electronics. Focused on inkjet printing of the devices including metallic connections on flexible substrates towards efficiencies approaching those of laboratory-scale, glass-based devices. As a result, wrote several publications. Made many presentations at international conferences.

1995-1997: Senior Staff Scientist; Cape Cod Research, E. Falmouth, MA, USA

• Wrote successful proposals leading to SBIR contracts, which resulted in approximately $1.5 million/year.
• Served as a Principal Investigator on two Phase II projects on photovoltaics and double layer capacitors using conducting polymers; a Phase II project on thermoelectrics and a Phase I project on lithium-ion batteries.

1993-1994: Business Development Manager/Senior Staff Scientist-Materials Technology; Foster-Miller, Inc., Waltham, MA, USA

• Provided technical leadership in various polymer programs and helped identify Government and commercial business opportunities. 
• Generated successful proposals leading to several SBIR contracts.
• Won a major contract as the principal investigator in the area of ferromagnetic polymers.

1990-1993: Research Fellow, then Vice President for Advanced Technology, Champlain Cable Corp., Colchester, VT (Huber+Suhner AG, Pfaffikon Switzerland)

• Established and developed the company’s research department for introducing new products to the market. Established a working relationship with the parent company and its corporate research branch. Worked toward creating a corporate research entity for the parent company in the USA. Directed several efforts revolving around shielding applications, particularly for the aerospace industry.
• Introduced new radar/microwave filtering cables into the aerospace market and resulted in high margin products; cables with an electromagnetic interference shielding layer; conducting polymers in the audio cables for aerospace with very high sales margins.
• Developed cables with good shielding characteristics throughout the entire frequency spectrum by combining conductive polymers and ferromagnetic materials; metalized high temperature fibers for both EMI shielding and energy transmission applications; conductive gaskets, conductive/ferromagnetic adhesives and shrink tubing.
• Combined electron beam crosslinking of fluoropolymers with a conductive material and a ferromagnetic material in one shielding layer.
• Organized a NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Applications of Intrinsically Conducting Polymers".

1983-1990: Postdoctoral Fellow, then Staff Member at the Materials Technology Division and Affiliate member of the Center for Nonlinear Studies and the Center for Materials Science, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA

• Wrote successful research proposals for internal and external funding, supervised several staff members, and participated in annual DOE review and in the technology transfer program
• Initiated a program on intrinsically conducting polymers and nonlinear optical materials, and established a multidisciplinary program on these topics
• Invented several new materials and processes including copolymers, colloidal dispersions, highly oriented polymers to enhance transport and optical properties.
• Worked on piezoelectric/ferroelectric polymers for energy storage applications.

• Organized several workshops and the International Conference on Synthetic Metals. Managed conference budgets and edited their proceedings.
• Published a book.

Honors & Publications

LANGUAGES

Fluent in English and French (conversation, reading and writing)+ Introductory courses in German

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Member of American Chemical and Materials Research Societies.

AWARDS

• R&D 100 Award winner, "Producing Highly Oriented, Anisotropic Conducting Polymers".
• R&D 100 Award winner, "Conductive Latices".

PUBLICATIONS AND PATENTS

Author of over 120 publications and more than 34 Government Reports.

Inventor named on 24 US Patents and 1 European Patent.

Inventor named on 9 Patent Applications.

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow with the Nobel Laureate Prof. Alan MacDiarmid, Chemistry Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

Ph.D. (Doctorat d’Etat) with Honors in Materials Science, University of Montpellier, (Faculté des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc), France.

M.S. (Doctorat de 3ème Cycle) with Honors in Polymer Chemistry, University of Montpellier. 

B.Sc. Chemistry, University of Montpellier