Abstract: The focus of Manufacturing Research and Engineering is sometimes described as the science and technology of “better, faster, cheaper”. Things like quality and cost can take on a comparable role to that of physical quantities in scientific research. Ultimately, there are scientific principles that determine product performance and play a significant role in performance/cost trade-offs. Because of the variety of disciplines involved designing developing, and producing a consumer product, scientists and engineers with generalist mindsets can play important roles. Jeremy will discuss his career path and share some examples from his work in Industrial R&D on plasma surface modification of polymers and adhesion metrology.
Bio: Upon completing his doctoral studies in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics at UIUC, Jeremy began his career in Thin-Film Science and Technology. As a post-doctoral scientist, he worked in the area of metal-polymer interfaces at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center and on sputter-deposited high-Tc thin films at the Argonne National Laboratory. Following his post-doctoral research appointments, he joined the Vacuum Coating Laboratory at the Eastman Kodak Company. At Kodak, Jeremy's focus was plasma modification of polymer surfaces, including research and development of roll-to-roll plasma treatment processes and development of practical adhesion metrology to quantify the efficacy of plasma treatments. Jeremy also led work to combine characterization of species densities in a nitrogen plasma treatment source with analysis of nitrogen uptake characteristics to provide a simple model for the treatment process. Jeremy also became involved in Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display technology, developing a simple vapor flow model to provide design rules for vapor sources used in large-area deposition of the organic electroluminescent materials. Jeremy left Kodak to join IDEX Health & Science, where he works on design and production of high-performance thin-film optical filters.
Jeremy's collaborative work with surface scientists in the Kodak Research Laboratories and his interactions with colleagues at technical conferences inspired him to develop a short course on Plasma Web Treatment for the Society of Vacuum Coaters (SVC). More recently, he developed a short course for the SVC on Design of Experiments for Research and Development, based on his years of experience applying concepts of experimental design to his work.
