I’ve spent nearly 15 years working with porous materials – helping companies develop improved porous material products, designing the production systems that deliver membranes and nonwovens, and overseeing these supply chains. I am not a facemask expert – but I’ve worked all around this space and led several facemask product development efforts. I am not an infectious disease expert. I am not an expert in the design of hospital ICUs.

I’ve served on the board of INDA, the US nonwovens trade association. Nonwovens are the primary materials used in facemask production. They are also the dominant material used in filters for indoor air quality (“IAQ”) worldwide. Through that, I’ve joined multiple ASHRAE committee meetings and been a featured speaker at filtration, fiber, aerosol particulates, and membrane trade shows.

The nonwovens and engineered materials industry plays a major role in producing materials essential to reduce the spread of COVID-19.  From disinfecting wipes to face mask material to Personal Protective Apparel and more, INDA member companies are providing products to help people be safer in difficult environments.

From the INDA website on Corona Virus

There are many standards relevant to how IAQ is measured, how filters work, and how to measure the capture of particulates – especially when those particles (or aerosols) may involve bacteria or viruses. Most of my time now is spent with the standards around liquid filtration – B. diminuta and S. marescens.

These are my personal opinions – not those of my employer. I currently work at H&V, where I am responsible for the liquid filtration portfolio at one of the world’s largest makers of porous materials, I was CEO of Elmarco, the leading global technology provider for nanofibers and electrospinning – in total I spent nearly 9 years pioneering the most advanced fibrous products globally.

My undergraduate degree is in biology. Prior to my time in porous materials, I’d worked in finance with private equity groups that invested in the healthcare, life science, drug development, biopharma and other supply chains.