INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, has announced that registration is now open for the 10th edition of Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics (RISE^®) Conference on the RISE^® website. RISE^® will be held at Talley Student Union, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, Sept. 29-30, and co-organized with The Nonwovens Institute (NWI) and North Carolina State University.   Developed for technology scouts and product developers, this insightful two-day conference will focus on visionary technologies, future-needs and market opportunities in material science, forward-looking research in sustainability, and critical shifts in nonwovens growth.

Highlights include: sustainability developments in polymers, fibers, additives, and fabrics from sourcing and disposal to reuse amid trends that are driving nonwoven advances.

A sampling of speaker presentations include:

Development & Use of a Biopolymer for Disposable Hygiene Products
Bryan Haynes, Ph.D., Senior Technical Director, Global Nonwovens,
Kimberly-Clark Corporation

How Innovation & Teamwork Supported a Large-scale Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
John Roberts, Strategic Marketing Executive – Polypropylene-Vistamaxx –Adhesion (PVA),
ExxonMobil Chemical Company

New Developments in PHA Fibers
Isao Noda, PhD, DSc, Chief Science Officer, Senior VP of Innovation,
Danimer Scientific

Sustainable Polymers and Fibers for Nonwovens: Current Status and Future Potential
Gajanan Bhat, Ph.D., Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors,
The University of Georgia

Biobased Fibers for Nonwovens: Trends and Future Outlook
Alexander Koukoulas, Ph.D., Managing Director,
A2Z Consulting, LLC

Sustainable Materials and Their Processing for the Future Nonwovens Industry
Orlando Rojas, Ph.D., Professor,
University of British Columbia

Using Biobased Superabsorbent Materials to Dramatically Increase Biobased Content of Hygiene Products
Ryan Chan, Ph.D., VP of R&D,
Tethis, Inc.

The Future of Performance Fabrics
Seth Casden, President,
Hologenix LLC

A New Performance Enhancing Additive for Nonwoven Applications
Christian Lenges, Business Development Manager, DuPont Industrial BioSciences, and Kyle Kim, Application Engineer,
DuPont

Ultra-Pure Recycling of Polypropylene and Going Beyond
John Layman, Ph.D., Section Head – Corporate R&D and Chief Technologist/Founding Inventor, PureCycle,
The Procter & Gamble Co.

Calcium Carbonate for Increased Sustainability in Nonwovens
Lee Clapp, Ph.D., Director of Market Development and Innovation – Technical Polymer Applications,
Omya Inc.

New Horizons with Eco-friendly and Flat Specialty Viscose Fiber
Helmut Lauterbach, Business Manager Textile and Nonwoven,
Kelheim Fibres GmbH

Nonwoven Materials Update
Behnam Pourdeyhimi, Ph.D., William A. Klopman Distinguished Professor, and Executive Director,
North Carolina State University, The Nonwovens Institute

Moving from “Cradle to Grave” to a Closed Biobased Economy
Steve Sikra, Vice-President and Chief of Staff,
The Alliance To End Plastic Waste

Plastics and a Socially Responsible Future
Paul Harmon, VP of Product Development & Product Marketing – HHS,
Berry Global

Sustainability: Narrowing a Wide Scope
Jessica Dahle, Product Development Scientist,
Fitesa

Driving Production Efficiency and Performance in N95 Face Masks
Robert Green, Director of Fibers & Nonwovens,
NatureWorks LLC

Sustainability from the Perspective of a Nonwoven Supplier to Disposable Personal Care Products
Thomas Broch-Nielsen, Senior Scientist, and Mette Due, R&D Manager,
Fibertex Nonwovens A/S, and Khrum Hussain, Supply Chain Director,
Unifi, Inc.

Simplifying Nonwoven Manufacturing Using the Reicofil Data Reporting System
Tristian Kretschmann, Manager for R&D Projects,
Reifenhauser REICOFIL GmbH & Co. KG

Picking Up the Pieces: The World After COVID
Jon Devine, Senior Economist,
Cotton Incorporated

The State of the North American Nonwoven’s Market and Its Response to COVID-19
Brad Kalil, Director of Market Intelligence and Economic Insights,
INDA

RISE^® Innovation Award
Nominations are now being accepted online for the RISE^® Innovation Award that recognizes innovation in areas within and on the periphery of the nonwovens industry that use advanced science and engineering principles to develop unique or intricate solutions to problems and advance the use of nonwovens. The finalists will be announced in September and conference attendees will have a vote in selecting the winner that will be announced at RISE^® 2020.  

In 2019, the RISE^® Innovation Award was presented to Surfaceskins, from Nonwovens Innovation & Research Institute for its innovative antibacterial door push pads and pull handles, engineered to kill germs and bacteria in between one user and the next, thus helping prevent the spread of healthcare associated infections.

For complete program information and the latest speaker additions, visit the RISE^® 2020 website. Hotel accommodations for registered attendees are offered at the nearby State View Hotel Autograph Collection by Marriott.  Follow #rise20 and @RISE360.