Andre Zeitoun
Chief Executive Officer, President, Director

John Levy
Non-Executive Chairman and Director

David A. Taft
Director

Evan D. Stone
Director

Chris DeArmitt PhD
Chief Technology Officer

Dr. DeArmitt is a recognized expert in plastics, functional fillers and additives.  His experience spans all facets of the value chain, having served in senior level positions in areas including R&D, Product Development and Marketing during his tenures at Electrolux (OEM), BASF (plastics & additives manufacturer) and Hybrid Plastics (specialty additives producer). Dr. DeArmitt’s primary areas of research expertise include polymers, composites, fillers, and surface chemistry.  He received his D.Phil from Sussex University (U.K.) and completed his post-doctoral studies at KTH in Sweden; he worked as the manager of the Polymeric Materials Group at the Institute of Surface Chemistry, focusing on composites, fillers and additives.  He later went to work as senior project manager at Electrolux where he focused on various topics including filled polyolefins, scratch resistance and the development of new antioxidants.  Dr. DeArmitt was later appointed the Global Product Development Manager for Specialty Polymers at BASF.  During his tenure at BASF, he was involved in the development of many new-patented products and processes related to polymer applications. Dr. DeArmitt was also responsible for the screening and scouting of new technologies behalf of BASF Venture Capital investing division.  After leaving BASF, Dr. DeArmitt assumed the responsibilities of Chief Scientist at Hybrid Plastics, a small advanced materials company based in the US where he focused on the enhancement of thermoplastics, thermosets and coatings. Dr. DeArmitt is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Chartered Chemist.  He has over 40 papers, patents, book chapters and encyclopedia chapters to his name. Additionally, he is a top innovator having won multiple open innovation awards. Other awards include a Frost & Sullivan Customer Service Award and an R&D 100 Award.

Ian Wilson BSc, MSc, PhD
Geologist and Technical Team Leader

Dr. Wilson has a wide experience of over 35 years working with industrial minerals on a global scale and is a recognized expert in halloysite.   Dr Wilson is a geologist by training having obtained a degree in Geology from Kingston (University of London External)  and MSc (Geochemistry)  and PhD from University of Leeds.    He worked 28 years for English China Clays/Imerys mainly as a geologist and managed overseas kaolin operations in Brazil and Spain with Project Management roles in start-up Ground Calcium Carbonate (GCC) operations in Sweden and China.  He has therefore been involved in the entire process of exploration, planning and establishment of operations through to production and sales. His experience is mainly with kaolin, halloysite, calcium carbonate, magnesite, talc and barytes  though he is also familiar with other industrial minerals such as special clays. From 2001 to present, Dr. Wilson has served as an industry consultant, making professional visits to over 70 countries in his career and publishing an extensive library of papers, including articles for Industrial Minerals Magazine. Dr. Wilson has also been involved in acquisition work on behalf of public and private investors. Dr Wilson was the recipient of the SME Hal Williams Hardinge Award in 2009 in recognition of his services to industrial minerals. Dr. Wilson is considered a “competent person” under the JORC.

Amit Dharia, PhD- Transmit Technology Group, LLC
Polymer Engineer

Dr. Amit Dharia is a plastics industry expert with over 23 years of direct experience in new product R & D and commercialization. He is a principal owner and founder of Transmit Technology Group (TTG); Irving, TX based IP Company providing contract R & D, technical marketing, and testing services to domestic and international plastics industries.  Dr. Dharia worked in new product R & D area for fifteen years with major multi-national resin producers (Basell, Solvay), smart material producer (Raychem/ Tyco), and specialty compounders (Teknor Apex).  His work has resulted in 13 issued and 4 pending patents, 23 disclosures of inventions, and 21 conference publications.   Since inception of TTG, he has been issued six US patents of which three are assigned.  His experience covers wide range of polymer industries, processing and mixing technologies, testing methods, materials and formulating, reactive extrusion, rheology, advanced composites, blends and alloys, nano composites, functionalization of polymers, bio-materials, TPO, TPV, TPEs, and recycling of plastics.

Yash Khanna, PhD- InnoPlast Solutions
Technical Sales - Polymers

Dr. Yash P. Khanna, a winner of two international awards in the areas of Plastics and Analytical Sciences, has 34 years of highly diversified industrial experience. During 2005-2009, he was a Senior Technology Fellow/ Director of Technology at Imerys; a $5B minerals company (Atlanta, GA). Prior to that, during 2001-2004, he was a Manager of Reinforced Engineering Thermoplastics at Rayonier (Jesup, GA). Most of Dr. Khanna’s professional career was at AlliedSignal’s (now Honeywell) corporate research & technology center in Morristown, NJ, where he worked 27 years during 1975-2001. He joined AlliedSignal in 1975 with MS degrees in Analytical Sciences/ Chemical Analysis & Process Control and then obtained, on a part-time basis, another MS and a Ph.D. in Polymer Science & Engineering from the Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, New York. During the 1985-2001 period, Dr. Khanna was a Research Group Leader/ Senior Principal Scientist responsible for Thermal Analysis & Polymer Melt Rheology. His 34 years career is credited with over 120 research publications, 21 US patents, Society of Plastics Engineer’s International “Engineering/Technology” Award (2001) and North American Thermal Analysis Society’s Fellowship (1988) and its highest honor, the Mettler Award (1997).

Yuri Lvov, PhD -Louisiana Tech University
Scientist

Dr. Yuri M. Lvov is a Professor of Chemistry, and Tolbert Pipes Eminent Endowed Chair on Micro and Nanosystems at the Institute for Micromanufacturing, Louisiana Tech University. He earned his Ph.D. degree in 1979. He worked in prominent research centers in Germany (Max Planck Institute), Japan (Tsukuba Supramolecule Project), and USA (Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC). In 1999, Dr. Lvov came to the Institute for Micromanufacturing at LaTech from the Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Naval Research Lab. His area of specialization is nanotechnology including nanoassembly of ultrathin organized films, bio/nanocomposites, nano/construction of ordered shells on tiny templates (drug nanocapsules, shells on microbes and viruses), clay nanotubes for controlled release of bioactive agents. Y. Lvov has 9 US and Japanese patents on nanoassembly. Y. Lvov was named the Louisiana State’s Top Researcher in New Technologies (2006 annual LA award for the best researcher), and in 2007 he was awarded the Best of Small Tech National Innovator Award in recognition of achievements in micro and nanotechnology.