Dr. Anson Wong is a Senior Lead Scientist at DuPont, renowned for developing cutting-edge thermal insulation for the building industry. With 19 years of R&D expertise in thermoplastics and foam technologies, he led the creation of the latest generation of DuPont™ STYROFOAM™ insulation, achieving a groundbreaking 94% reduction in carbon footprint. Dr. Wong holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, previously worked at Dow Chemical Company, and has earned major honors including the 2023 American Chemistry Council Sustainability Leadership Award, 2023 R&D100 Award, and the 2024 American Chemical Society Heroes of Chemistry Award. He also serves as Board Director and Membership Chair of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Thermoplastic Materials and Foams Division since 2025, and as the Technical Program Chair for SPE FOAMS 2023.

Prof. Ernesto Di Maio received his PhD in Materials Engineering from University of Naples Federico II in 2003. He is Professor in the Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering at University of Naples Federico II and Director of the foaming laboratory, foamlab, where new processing and characterization tools are developed to gain new understanding and develop novel foamed materials and products. Prof. Di Maio has authored more than 170 journal papers and more than 10 patents on foaming processes and products. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Cellular Plastics, Member of the Editorial Board of Cellular Polymers, and of the Journal of Supercritical Fluids. He is member of the Board of Directors of the Thermoplastic Materials and Foam Division of the Society of Plastic Engineers, SPE. Prof. Di Maio has actively contributed to the organization of several International Conferences, including PPS, AIChE, SPE Foams, CellMat, Biofoams. He is recipient of the 2021 Lambla Award of the Polymer Processing Society.

Dr. Kim McLoughlin is a Principal Engineer in Braskem’s Global Advanced Materials team who drives the development of sustainable material technologies from concept to commercialization. She currently leads an academic–industry collaboration focused on recycling EVA foam waste, for which she was awarded two US Dept of Energy grants totaling over $2.5 million.

Her career spans leadership in product development, intellectual property strategy, and customer engagement. She has pioneered high-performance polypropylene solutions for automotive and packaging applications and earned recognition such as the Best Paper Award at SPE Polyolefins 2025.

A passionate advocate for STEM education, Kim volunteers with youth science programs and serves in leadership roles within the Society of Plastics Engineers, including Board Director, Education Chair, Councilor, and Chair Elect of the SPE Thermoplastic Materials and Foams Division, and as Technical Program Vice Chair for ANTEC 2026. Dr. McLoughlin holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Psychology from the University of Notre Dame.

Parimal (Perry) Vadhar is an Engineering Research Fellow at Sealed Air Corporation’s Global R&D Center for Protective Packaging, based in Charlotte, NC. He currently leads the development of sustainable solutions for packaging films and foams. His recent work includes the development of packaging films with high recycled content and home-compostable options, as well as the development of halogen-free foams for building and construction markets.

Prior to joining Protective Packaging R&D, Perry spent more than 27 years in Sealed Air’s Food Packaging R&D organization, where he contributed to the development of flexible, rigid, and foam packaging technologies designed to enhance food shelf life across multiple formats. Earlier in his career, he served as a Development Engineer at the ITW Technology Center in Glenview, IL, focusing on innovations in industrial and food packaging.

Perry has been an active Board Member of the Thermoplastic Materials and Foams Division (TPM&F) of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) since 1998. Over the years, he has held several leadership roles, including Best Paper Award Chair, Education Chair, Councilor (two terms), and Division Chair. He is currently serving as Co-Chair for the Foams 2026 Conference. He has been recognized by SPE as an Honored Service Member.

He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the City College of New York and an M.S. in Polymer Engineering from the University of Akron. Perry remains committed to advancing sustainable materials, driving innovation in packaging, and supporting the plastics industry through research, development, and professional service.

Dr. Ashutosh Sharma (Ashu) started his career with Akzo Nobel in England in 1979, and has held position of Technical Development Manager in their Polymer Chemicals business unit. After transfer to the USA in 1986, Ashu developed various applications for polymer additives. During his career, he led his teams to developed application of thermoplastic engineering resins for various end use industries such as medical plastics, mass transportation, additive manufacturing, automotive and other high temperature applications. As a Global Project Leader at CIBA Specialty Chemicals (now part of BASF), Dr. Sharma develop polymer surface modification applications. Prior to joining as a Senior Manager at SABIC, he served as Director of Technology & Innovation at each of the following multinational companies: Flint Hills Resources (KOCH Industries), Klockner Pentaplast, Nike, and Axel Plastics. Most recently at SABIC, Dr. Sharma managed the Formulation and Compounding teams focused on Materials Development. Ashu obtained his PhD from the University of London in Organic Chemistry. Currently, at the Society of Plastics Engineers, he is serving as Chair for the Thermoplastics Materials & Foams Division( TPM&F). In the past at SPE, he has severed as Councilor for two 3-year terms and Chair for TPM&F two 2 year terms and has been director of its board since 1997. Going forward, Ashu is promoting the activities of TPM&F for organization of conferences (FOAMS and POLYOLEFINS) and expanding the division’s technical program contributions further by associating with other division/section of the society. Additionally, he is also an active board member of the American Chemical Society, Mid-Hudson Section and the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK and holds designations as a Chartered Chemist and a Chartered Scientist.