Panelists
Panelist for 2025 Dow-MSU Symposium:
|
Wayne Blaylock |
BSc: Chemical Engineering - Tennessee Technological University (TTU) PhD: Chemical Engineering - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) |
Wayne Blaylock joined BXWT as a process engineer after his undergraduate studies in 2003. He later began his phd studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), working on computational heterogeneous catalysis processes under the supervision of Dr. William H. Green. Having earned his PhD, he joined Dow in 2011 and ever since has worked in a variety of roles, including chief analyst and associate director. Lately, he has been serving as a commercial director in the energy & climate field for a year at Dow.
|
Krishnaja Duvvuri |
BSc: Pharmacy - Sri Padmavati Women's University MSc: Chemistry - Texas Tech University PhD: Organic Chemistry - The Ohio State University |
Krishnaja Duvvuri began her journey by studying Pharmacy in her undergrad, and later worked on projects such as spectrophotometric analysis of Levamisole and studying Rotavirus. She earned her master’s in chemistry, focusing on the pseudopericyclic nature of [1,7]-sigmatropic rearrangements. She earned her PhD in chemistry in 2018, having worked on catalytic reactions. She joined Intel for about 2 years to work on plasma etch technology, improving process capability, tool reliability, and cost reduction. Since 2020, she has been working for Dow. She works on synthesis and material characterization at Dow Performance Silicones R&D and scaling up next-generation polyolefin catalysts at the Engineering and Process Science of Dow R&D.
A chemist by training, she is currently working in the materials science field. Prior to recruitment in Dow, she worked at Intel for nearly 2 years. She is the current Chair of the Midland Local Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
|
Caroline Szczepanszki |
BSc: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering - Lafayette College PhD: Chemical Engineering - University of Colorado Boulder |
Caroline Szczepanszki joined the Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science at Michigan State University in August of 2019. She did a postdoctoral at Université de Nice in France and has research experience at Northwestern University.
Dr. Szczepanszki completed her undergraduate studies at Lafayette College in 2009. She headed to Boulder, Colorado, for her graduate studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Before working for Michigan State’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, she gained research experience at Northwestern University and Université de Nice. Her research involves developing techniques using polymers and polymer networks to produce materials with the order, functionality, and performance of examples surrounding us in nature. Beyond identifying materials that mimic natural functionalities, her research addresses the need for efficient and versatile methods that make this class of mimicry feasible for broad-reaching materials needs.
|
Denise Kay |
BSc: Environmental studies - University of Michigan PhD: Environmental Toxicology - Michigan State University |
Denise Kay is the founder and CEO of the start-up, Enspired Solutions, which is an East Lansing based start-up. The startup has developed a technology that surmounts the challenges that remain for other destructive techniques to systematically disassemble PFAS molecules in solution to water, fluoride, and simple carbon compounds. She has done an internship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Dr. Kay got her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies in 1992 from the University of Michigan. She did an internship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory before joining Michigan State for her graduate studies in environmental toxicology. She served as a visiting research scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science during her PhD studies. Upon graduation, she worked as a senior consultant and leader for Cardno ENTRIX, Inc. for about 13 years. Later, she cofounded a company with Dr. Meng Wang called Enspired Solutions, which aims to permanently alleviate environmental hazards, especially PFAS risks.