CPI Congratulates 2013 Best Paper and Poster Winners

WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 2, 2013 – The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) of the American Chemistry Council today congratulated the winners of the best paper and best poster awards from the 2013 Polyurethanes Technical Conference, held last week in Phoenix.

"The 2013 conference featured 68 technical papers and 27 posters, and this year's winners stood out among a crowd of extremely high-quality work," said CPI Senior Director Lee Salamone. "CPI offers our congratulations to this year's winners and our thanks to everyone who participated in this year's conference. With nearly 950 attendees, the 2013 conference was a great success. Thank you for your contribution!"

Paper and poster awards were presented during the closing session of the Polyurethanes Technical Conference on Wednesday, Sept. 25 by Conference Chair Tony Lanchak of Momentive Performance Materials and Vice-Chair Paul Duffy of Icynene. Paper and poster winners are named for each technical session and poster category based on votes from session and conference attendees.

The 2013 Best Paper award winners are:

For the Appliances/Energy Critical Foams session: Robert Tauchen, Evonik Goldschmidt Corporation, for the paper "Optimizing Surfactant Technology for Blends of Blowing Agents in Next Generation Appliance Formulations."

> For the Automotive session: Daniel Heberer, Huntsman International LLC, for the paper "Polyurethane Systems for Structural Composites."

For the Chemistry and Fundamentals session: Elodie Hablot, Michigan State University, for the paper "Rigid Polyurethane Foams Derived from Soymeal Polyols."

For the Coatings and Footwear session: Avery Watkins, Dow, for the paper "Hydrophobic Polyols for Improved Moisture Resistance in CASE Applications."

For the Construction 1: Advancing the Science of PUR/PIR Construction Foam session: George Combs, Bayer MaterialScience, LLC, for the paper "Production of PIR Laminate Boardstock Insulation with Ecomate® Blowing Agent."

For the Construction 2: Advancing the Science of Spray Polyurethane Foam for the Construction Industry session: Ray Geiling, Evonik Goldschmidt Corporation, for the paper "The Optimization of Spray Polyurethane Foam with Isocyanate Compatible Silicone Surfactants."

For the Construction 3: Advancing the Science of PUR/PIR Construction Foam session: Jean Vincent, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., for the paper "Catalysts for Improved Spray Foam System Stability and Reactivity with Low GWP Blowing Agents."

For the Elastomers session: Robert Miller, DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products, for the paper "Expanding the Structure-Property Relationship of Susterra® 1,3-Propanediol in Elastomers."

For the Environment, Health and Safety – General session: Scott Ecoff, Bayer MaterialScience, LLC, for presentation of the paper "Evaluation of Airborne Concentrations of TDI, MDI, and Organic Solvent Vapors during Installation of a Polyurethane Sports Track Surface."

For the Environment, Health and Safety – SPF session: Charles Jones ,BASF Corporation, for the paper "Quantitative Evaluation of Unreacted Isocyanates on Surfaces of Spray Polyurethane Foams."

For the Flame Retardants and Combustibility session: Thomas Osimitz, Science Strategies, LLC, for the paper "Safety Assessment for TCPP."

For the Flexible Foams session: Jason Anderson, Novomer, Inc., for the paper "CO2-based Polycarbonate Polyols as Strength Enhancers in Flexible Foams."

For the Processing Innovations session: Stephen Neuman, Graco Inc., for the paper "New Advancements in the Implementation of Low Methylene Diphenyl iisocyanate (LMDI) Foams for Automotive NVH Application."

For the Renewable Content Polyols session: Tara Mullen, BioAmber, Inc., for the paper "Properties of Bio Succinic Acid Polyester Polyols: Performance for an Expanded Range of Polyurethane Applications."

For the Sustainability: Keeping Polyurethanes Positioned for the Future session: Paul Ashford, Caleb Management Services Ltd., for the paper "Avoiding Regulatory and Marketing Pitfalls When Moving to Naturally Sourced Raw Materials."

The 2013 Best Poster award winners are:

For the Catalysis poster session: Jane Kniss, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., for the poster "New Developments in Metal Catalysis for Flexible Slabstock Foam."

For the Environmental, Health & Safety poster session, there was a tie: Carol Hetfield, U.S. EPA, for the poster "Developing Methods for Characterizing Emissions & Sources of Exposure from PU Products," and Elizabeth Whiteley, U.S. EPA, for the poster "Labeling HCFC Products Starting in 2015: What you Need to Know."
For the Equipment & Processing poster session: Erland Hofmann, Format Messtechnik GmbH, for the poster "Expansion Measurement of One Component Foam."

For the Flexible Foam & CASE poster session: Lyle Caillouette, BASF Corporation, for the poster "Bio-based Light Stable Aliphatic Topcoat."

For the Raw Materials & Blowing Agents poster session, there was a tie: Carl Powell, Great Lakes Solutions, a Chemtura business, for the poster "New Developments in Class A Spray Polyurethane Foam Applications with Great Lakes PHT4-Diol™ LV Flame Retardant," and Mary Bogdan, Honeywell, for the poster "Solstice™ Liquid Blowing Agent (LBA) in Action In SPF Roofing."

About The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry of the American Chemistry Council: CPI promotes the sustainable development of polyurethanes. Our members are U.S. producers or distributors of chemicals and equipment used to make polyurethane or manufacturers of polyurethane products.