The Akron Section of the American Chemical Society will be hosting a student networking event at the University of Akron on March 17, 2022 from 7-9 PM. Dr. Doug McBain, Laird Technologies, Inc., and Dr. Jay Xu, Valtris Specialty Chemicals, will discuss their career projects and answer questions from the audience.
UA Career Services representatives will be available to provide advice on resumes, interviewing, job searching, and internships.
The meeting will be held at the University of Akron’s Jean Hower Taber Student Union, rooms 310 & 312. Food will be served. Food and networking begin at 7:00 PM followed by the presentations at 7:30 PM. A raffle will be held for those in attendance.
The event is free and open to all students in the section. Register using the QR code below or by visiting the events page.
Speaker Biographies:
Dr. Doug McBain is currently a Technology Leader with Laird, A DuPont Business, which manufactures materials for management of electromagnetic and thermal energy in electronics applications, and his current work is on new materials for use as high frequency (77 GHz) absorbers. Doug has held research positions with Daikin America, Omnova/GenCorp, and PPG Chemicals Division, covering fluoropolymers and materials for coatings, composites, and resins for ophthalmic applications. Doug is an inventor on 24 US patents, has made presentations at national ACS and MRS meetings, and published in trade and scientific journals. Doug is currently Chair of the Akron Section ACS. Doug was a Post-Doctoral fellow at Penn State, and holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from The University of Kansas.
Dr. Jay Xu is currently Vice President of Technology of Valtris Specialty Chemicals, whose products are polymer additives used in a variety of products including PVC pipes, vinyl flooring, automotive sealants, pharmaceutical tablets, etc. Jay is responsible for new product innovation at Valtris, and his team also provides technical support to customers globally. Previously Jay held R&D scientist and technical leadership positions at Milliken Chemical, PolyOne, and Laird. His work focused on nucleating agents for polypropylene, and formulation development for various polymers and applications. Jay has published several journal articles at Macromolecules, and Polymers during his graduate studies as well as post-Doctoral studies at Virginia Tech. He has a Ph.D. in Chemistry and has named inventors of 16 patents.