Experienced, dedicated PSTC Tape Training classes faculty members are active within the tape industry and daily experience the specific skills needed to excel. They share their love and knowledge of the PSA industry with students in a casual atmosphere that promotes information exchange between faculty and students.

For information about 2011 Week of Learning, click here.

For more information about all of PSTCs Tape Training classes, click here.

Chair:

Graeme A. Roan, Ph.D.
Graeme Roan is a Technical Advisor with Henkel Adhesive Technologies, working primarily with pressure sensitive tapes. He has a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Strathclyde and a Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham. Dr. Roan joined the ICI group in 1996 in the U.K., before moving to the U.S. with the same company, and moving to National Adhesives (now Henkel) in 2000. He works with a range of technology platforms (solvent acrylic, hot melt, UV cure) and manages both global and customer-specific development platforms. He also leads customer interactions with a range of key customers in various application areas. Dr. Roan has also given technical papers and lead educational sessions at various industry events, including the Adhesion Society and the Adhesives and Sealants Council, as well as PSTC. Since 2009, Dr. Roan has been the Business Development Director for solution acrylic PSAs in Henkels Asia Pacific business, based in Shanghai.

Faculty:

Gary A. Avalon
Chief operating officer for Chemsultants International. Avalon has been with the company for more than six years. He spent the prior 20 years of his career working for Avery Dennisons Specialty Tape Division and six years with Diamond Shamrocks Plastic Division in various technical and business management positions. Chemsultants specializes in developing and testing pressure sensitive adhesives, specialty coatings and related materials and offers pilot coating, laminating, converting and slitting capabilities as part of its product development capabilities.

John Engel, Ph.D.
As Vice President ? Liner Sector, leads a cross-functional team that is responsible for the Wausau Paper’s design, manufacture, sales, and marketing of base papers and silicone coated papers used in the pressure sensitive tape industry. Engel earned his B.S in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin ? LaCrosse. A brief stay at Dow Corning bit John with the organosilicon bug. The cure was a PhD in physical organic chemistry at Iowa State University ? studying organosilicon and organogermanium chemistry. The past 17 years John has enjoyed developing release liner solutions for customers at Wausau Paper’s Rhinelander, WI location. 
 

Victor X. Lu, Ph.D.
Research associate in PSA Group of Cytec Industries Inc. and has co-authored more than 50 papers in polymer science, including the 2006 PSTC Carl Dahlquist Award winner, New Developmental UV Curable Pressure Sensitive Adhesives. He holds more than 10 U.S. patents on adhesive products and polymer surface modification technologies. Lu received a Ph.D. in polymer science from Sino Academy of Science in 1990 and has worked at the University of Connecticut, International Paper, National Starch and UCB Chemicals.

Dave McCann
Director of Research & Development, Chemsultants International. McCann obtained a B.S. in Chemical Engineering at University of Dayton, 1980. First position was in product development/commercialization for extrusion and injection molding ABS and PVC compounds in static dissipation, along with some work in electrolytic separation membranes.  After that, McCann spent the last 24 years in pressure sensitive adhesives base materials ? label and tape base stock and emulsion PSA’s and coatings ? for labels, tapes and outdoor/digitally printed graphics. Early part of his career was spent mostly in process engineering (coating PSA’s and silicones) and quality assurance.  Most of the last 20 years was spent in support of customers through technical service and new application development, helping them solve problems and helping them choose the right product for their application.  For his current position at Chemsultants, he manages the laboratory responsible for contract research and development, problem solving, physical and analytical testing.

Larry K. Post
North America technical service and strategic account technology manager at Ashland Inc. Post has more than 25 years experience in the pressure sensitive adhesive industry specializing in the development, technical service, manufacture and application of solution, emulsion and radiation cure pressure sensitive adhesives. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in chemistry from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. His graduate research was in the synthesis and polymer characterization of new polymerizable herbicide monomers applicable for slow release polymers.

 

Roopram Ramharac