Scholarship Chair
Barry A. Morris is retired from Dow as an R&D Fellow with over 35 years of experience in material science, extrusion and packaging innovation and technology. He held a variety of technology roles supporting the ethylene copolymer business at Dow (formerly DuPont). Barry is a holder of 12 U.S. granted patents and has written for over 125 publications, including his recently published 2nd edition to his comprehensive book, The science and technology of flexible packaging (Elsevier, 2022). He excels at applying scientific principles to complex technical issues and explaining it in a way that the practitioner can understand and use. In 2022 he formed BA Morris Consulting LLC to continue to offer his expertise to the packaging and plastics industries. In 2022 he also assumed the role of Chief Technology Advisor at VOID Technologies, a company developing solutions for more sustainable packaging.
Barry is a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). He has been an active member of the Flexible Packaging Division since its inception. As a director and past chair, he helped establish the division’s scholarship and organize many conferences. He is currently serving as Chair and Scholarship Chair. He is also a long-time director of the SPE Extrusion Division, a past-chair, and councilor.
Secretary
Past Chair
Director
Technical Program Chair ANTEC
Donna S. Davis recently retired from her position as Sustainability and Advocacy Manager, Polyethylene, at ExxonMobil Chemical Company. Over her career at ExxonMobil, she has led New Product Development efforts such as the introduction of Exact™ plastomers and other specialty polymers. She entered the polymers world via process design, going back to ExxonMobil’s first gas-phase polyethylene plants in Texas, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. She has been heavily engaged in packaging markets and applications, particularly developing opportunities for ethylene- and propylene-copolymers. Ms. Davis has championed industry-wide technical interaction by organizing programming for Thermoplastic Materials and Foams, Flexible Packaging, Polyolefins, and Sustainability. She has also chaired SPE’s Technical Program Committees and General Operating Committees for SPE’s Annual Technical Conference. She was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 2018 and served as the 2003-2004 president of the Society of Plastics Engineers. Sponsored by SPE Flexible Packaging division.
Past Chair (2018-2020)
Finance Committee Chair
Councilor
Ken Forziati is a Professional Engineer with 25+ years of experience in the plastics industry focused primarily on machinery for production, converting, and processing of flexible and rigid polymer-based webs. He currently serves as Product Manager – Thermoforming at Harpak-ULMA Packaging, LLC in Taunton, Massachusetts. Ken holds a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from the College of William and Mary.
Treasurer
John Wagner graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a BS and MS in Chemical Engineering. He was co-captain of the Fencing team and assistant coach while in graduate school. He worked in the plastic processing industry for 34 years. First at BF Goodrich Chemical Company in Louisville, KY making PVC resin, compounds and monomers and then at Mobil Chemical Co. Films Division in Macedon, NY doing research and development on biaxial oriented polypropylene (BOPP) retiring in 1998. He has 24 patents, edited and co-edited seven books, authored several book chapters, journal articles and presented papers at national and international seminars. He is a SPE fellow (1998) and honored service member (2015). He is the Treasurer for both the Flexible Packaging Division (2007-present) and the Extrusion Division (2001-present) and has served as Extrusion Division Chair (1996). He became assistant editor for the Journal of Plastic Film & Sheeting in 2001, co-editor in 2007 and now is the editor in chief since 2010. He is also president of Crescent Associates, Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in plastic processing, expert witness testimony and intellectual property. John is married and has two daughters. He enjoys woodworking, traveling and teaching T’ai Chi.
Director
Communications Chair
For about 20 years, Narasimharao (Rao) Dontula has worked in the field of materials and associated processes to create masterbatches, films, sheets, for active packaging, imaging, display, membranes, antimicrobials and automotive applications. This work has catalyzed atleast 7 new product and process innovations some of which are protected by the 49 US patents he is associated with. He has published in SPE journals and presented at ANTEC, Polymer Processing Society conferences and FlexPackCon. He holds B.S. M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering and has been an SPE member since 1990. Earlier, he was on the board of Applied Rheology Division. He also serves on board of other 501c(3) non-profit organizations.
Rao is currently interested in developments made in the areas of active flexible packaging and sustainable flexible packaging. He works at Multisorb (part of Filtration group) in the Healthcare segment.
Membership Committee Chair
Dan Falla is the Senior Technical Service Specialist in Films at Shell Polymers and has spent more than 30 years in the polymer industry with Dow and NOVA Chemicals in product development and food packaging. He holds 19 US patents, written numerous articles and presented many conferences and webinars. He also functions as a focal point for Shell’s sustainability goal of chemically recycling 1 million tons of waste plastic by 2025. Dan was recognized by the Canadian Plastics Industry Association and received the distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award and is also a Fellow with the Society of Plastics Engineers,
Councilor with the Recycling Section and Membership Chair with the Flexible Packaging Division.
Director
Past Chair (2022-2024)
Dr. Chitai Carey Yang is a polymer materials, extrusion and packaging professional with more than 27 years of cross-industry experience engaging in a wide range of R&D, process engineering, product development & commercialization capacities. Before joining MeadWestvaco (now WestRock Company) in early 2014, Dr. Yang had worked with Sealed Air Corporation for 14 years where he was involved in monolayer, multilayer and microlayer coextrusion film in consumer, industrial and food packaging products. He’s also experienced in other packaging materials and substrates including kraft paper, foam, foil, adhesive & cohesive coating and film lamination. Prior to that, he spent 4 years with A. Schulman (now LyondellBasell Industries) and Formosa Plastics in product development and process engineering in additives & fillers compounding and plastic resin manufacturing. Currently at WestRock Company, Dr. Yang is responsible for materials innovation and extrusion technology platforms to identify, evaluate & commercialize a range of polymers & biopolymers, functional fillers & additives, cellulose fibers and blends in monolayer extrusion and multilayer co-extrusion coated and film laminated paperboard products for high barrier and high-performance food and non-food packaging applications. Dr. Yang is the author of two book chapters in foam extrusion and has more than 35 publications and patents.
Director
Chair FlexPackCon®
Pierre Sarazin is the Vice President of R&D and Sustainability at Polyexpert a company in the manufacturing of blown films. Pierre has been working for over twenty years in the development of plastics for sustainable applications. He holds a Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from Polytechnique Montreal. Over the years, he has gained a vast experience in the field of bioplastics and plastics along with an in-depth understanding of formulations tailored for various processing technologies. This experience combines both academic and industrial research. Pierre is the co-author of 20 journal publications cited more than 850 times and 2 patents.
Amongst his activities on the Flexible Packaging Division Board, Pierre organized and chaired FlexPackCon® 2023 which superseded expectations for attendance and feedback. He engaged the SPE Montreal Section along with strong student participation. He similarly championed FPD through the AIMCAL partnership during the pandemic era.
Director
Pablo Garcia is a Chemical and Materials Engineer with a PhD and MBA, focusing on developing the sustainable packaging market across the Americas. Pablo has Lean Six Sigma Black Belt experience and specializes in EVOH, PVOH, and biopolymer high gas barrier plastic and paper applications. He currently works in Kuraray’s EVAL EVOH division, working with their high-performing technical and business development teams. Pablo is a bilingual communicator in English and Spanish, and has a unique multicultural background, having lived in Chile, New Zealand, Canada, and the USA.
Director
Jong-Young Lee is a Senior Research Scientist in High Pressure Copolymer R&D of Packaging & Specialty Plastics of Dow, Inc. He has been working on materials science fundamentals, application and product development of polyolefins in the market segments of flexible packaging, polymer modification and compatibilization. He developed multiple new technologies from conception through commercialization.
Before joining Dow, Inc., he worked in Procter & Gamble company in Cincinnati, OH. His role in R&D of Beauty Care was to build empirical models of correlating physical properties of products to end-use performance and to develop consumer-relevant test methods. The role in R&D of Materials Science & Technology was to identify the root cause of issues in blow molding and bottle labeling process.
Jong-Young Lee received his PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering from University of Massachusetts in Amherst, M.S. in Chemical Engineering from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, and B.S. in Chemical Engineering from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. He has published five peer-reviewed papers and filed twenty patent applications.
Based on his expertise and experience in polyolefin materials and flexible packaging, he can provide the insight and help organize technical programs for the events or conferences of SPE Flexible Packaging Division.
Director
Awards Committee Chair
Dr. Ying (Lora) Liang is a Research Principal at the global packaging core technology group in Mondelēz International, working on Research & Development and commercialization of enabling innovative technologies spanning multiple food package formats/categories. Dr. Liang earned her Ph.D. from Michigan State & MBA from DePaul University. With more than 20 years industry experience, she actively advocates industrial collaboration across the supply chain to deliver breakthrough innovations. Prior to Mondelēz, Dr. Liang worked 11 years at Nanocor, where she spearheaded nanocomposite technology development & commercialization. Dr. Liang’s patents range from polymer composite to barrier/sealant technologies. She is a frequent speaker at numerous conferences. Dr. Liang currently serves as treasurer for SPE Bioplastics & Renewable Technologies Division, and Board of Directors of the Flexible Packaging Division. She is also the editor for Plastic Film and Sheeting. Sponsored by SPE Engineering & Property Structure division.
Director
Polyolefins Program Committee
Mr. Robert L. McGee (Bob) is a Research Scientist for Transcendia in new business development group. In this role, he serves as a technical leader for the development and introduction of new polymer film based products for use in Medical, Industrial, and Food and Beverage markets. He has expertise in cast and blown co-extrusion as well as film formulation development. Bob previously worked in various R&D positions at The Dow Chemical Company for 33 years and closely collaborated with the value chain on new product development and implementation during those years. In these various capacities at both companies, he authored or coauthored more than 185 internal scientific reports, has 16 external publications and holds 21 patents. He certified as a Six Sigma Green Belt in 2002. Bob received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with a minor in Psychology from Muskingum College and then earned a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from Ohio University, Athens, where he investigated polymer-processing innovations. He has been a member of the Society of Plastic Engineers since 1994.
Director
Nino Ruocco is currently a product developer in the Global Polyethylene Product Development Department with ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company in Baytown, TX. Nino has been with ExxonMobil for over 6 years and has worked in various engineering and research assignments in product development and intellectual property (IP) areas.
While at ExxonMobil, Nino served in the Global Polyethylene IP committee where he supported colleagues in drafting patent applications as well as reviewing patents and peer-reviewed articles. During his time in ExxonMobil, Nino won two Global Technology & Engineering awards and one Product Solutions Excellence Global award; these awards were given to team representing multiple business units which provided a significant financial impact.
Nino was a postdoctoral researcher in the chemical engineering department of the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) where his research focused on analyzing the non-linear viscoelastic responses of complex polymeric materials in both shear and elongational flows as well as developing fluidic devices to access the microstructure of polymers and vesicular systems.
Nino has 9 peer-reviewed publications in the field of polymer physics and chemistry, and has 19 granted and pending patents in the field of film packaging, additives and polyolefins. He holds a M. Sc. in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Naples Federico II (UNINA) in Italy and a Ph. D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Münster (WWU) in Germany where he was selected for a EU FP7 Marie Curie Fellowship.
Nino and his wife Maria Isabel reside in the Clear Lake/Bay area of Houston with their two children and two dogs. Outside of work Nino enjoys running and supports his community by volunteering with United Way and donating to the Goodwill Houston charity, the Houston Grand Opera and the Humane Society of Houston. Nino’s favorite pastime is cooking, playing and watching soccer with his family and friends.