TA Instruments is bringing our in-house experts to you! Join us for our new online seminar series for a unique opportunity to learn and discuss the latest analytical insights with our applications and product management team. A question and answer session with the speaker will follow each seminar.
Tianhong (Terri) Chen, Ph.D.
Thermosetting
materials, such
as epoxy, have
been widely
applied in many
areas including
automotive,
aerospace and
electronics
industries in
the form of
surface coating,
structural
adhesives,
advanced
composites and
packaging
materials.
Jason Saienga, Ph.D.
Differential Scanning Calorimetry is a simple, yet powerful technique to gain a broad understanding of the characteristics of pharmaceutical materials, from the crystalline structure that exists to the compatibility of a specific formulation.
Justin Wynn
In this presentation we will demonstrate accurate and high-throughput methods to measure the critical heat transfer properties of thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity.
Yash Adhia
Crude oil is typically extracted as a single organic liquid phase from the reservoir. However during transportation, a drop in the temperature can cause the higher molecular weight paraffins or waxes to separate into the solid phase.
Malin Suurkuusk, Ph.D.
In order to meet growing market demands for power storage, Lithium ion and new battery chemistries demand higher energy density, longer cycle life, calendar life, and better safety to a lower cost. Isothermal microcalorimetry is a highly sensitive, non-destructive and non-specific tool to characterize these critical performance criteria.
Thomas Paschke, Ph.D.
In this webinar, we will examine the use of the new TGA technologies with an extended working range. Examples of the analysis of technically relevant materials such as polymers, metals, coal and biomass, catalysts and zeolites show the added value of application-relevant material characterization for the development of materials and processes.
Baiba Cabovska, Ph.D.
During the formulation and manufacturing of polymeric materials for medical devices, the materials go through multiple stages and undergo many transformations. At each of these stages new additives might be added or the material is exposed to physical factors like heat which impacts the chemical nature of the ingredients.
Muhammad Haris
This presentation will introduce a range of biomaterials test applications where mechanical test instruments are assisting researchers and engineers in gaining a better understanding of native and artificial tissues.
Sadegh Behdad, Ph.D.
Durability testing of Medical Devices is crucial for validation of performance and safety and often becomes an important element of regulatory submissions. A variety of common standards-based test methods will be presented including example or published test data for each.
Greg Kamykowski, Ph.D.
We will discuss the 2 main approaches to rheological testing – unidirectional testing, such as flow testing on fluids and transient tests on solid-like materials, as well as dynamic oscillatory testing. We will also describe some accessories that pertain to testing of biomaterials.
Sarah Cotts
The polymer used in a compound recipe is critical to compound processing behavior and final product performance, yet polymer characterization is an under-utilized technique in the rubber industry. Variations in the composition, average molecular weight, molecular weight distribution or branching of the polymer lead to significant differences in processing behavior and often result in processing defects and scrap. This webinar will introduce methods to characterize raw polymers that lead to reduced compound variability and improved product performance.
Alina Latshaw, Ph.D.
Have you experienced manufacturing performance differences between batches of materials, despite seeing no difference in specifications or cure data? Do you want to reduce scrap, improve processing efficiencies, and minimize variability in your manufacturing process?
Join us as we adventure beyond the cure curve and look at additional testing methods to correlate material characteristics of rubber compounds with processing behavior and production success.
Sadegh Behdad, Ph.D.
New product design is expedited by gathering product performance metrics early in the compound development process. These key metrics link to final product performance and answer common questions: How will my product perform in its final application? Is performance guaranteed over the lifetime of the product? Predicting mechanical rigidity, suitability to end-use environmental conditions, and long-term stability empower a compound developer to filter for leading candidates before progressing to expensive pilot and larger scale trials.
In this talk, we will introduce several techniques to characterize cured rubber products and link these measurements to final product performance, ensuring customer acceptance and success.
Jeff Lundstrom
In this webinar, you will learn how Guardian for TRIOS leverages existing Windows networking and file systems to give you compliance without any additional overhead associated with database management or redundant data security systems. Join us to learn about this advancement in our compliance system and all it can do for you.
Bharath Rajaram, Ph.D.
Discover how the new TRIOS AutoPilot software system enables you to standardize rheology workflow processes and decision-making. Combining thorough user-guidance, automated data processing, and decisional logic, AutoPilot reduces measurement variation, expedites tedious operations, and drives actionable decisions.
Yash Adhia
Tribo-rheometry adds one such dimension to a rheometer whereby it can equip the user to perform co-efficient of friction and related measurements to complement traditional rheometry measurements. The present webinar will discuss the applications of tribo-rheometry in materials characterization.
Calliste Reiling, Ph.D.
Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC), Nano Differential Scanning Calorimetry (nanoDSC), and Isothermal Calorimetry (IC) are label-free and immobilization free analytic methods used for critical thermodynamic measurements. The focus of this webinar will be on utilizing these techniques to study molecular binding, biomolecular thermostability, long-term stability and their use in quality control; each an essential step in the development of a successful drug/vaccine candidate.
Yue Schuman, Ph.D.
Specific heat capacity can be conveniently and accurately measured on a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). There are different ways to determine specific heat capacity of a material on a DSC, which will be covered in this webinar. During this webinar, we will look at how to program an appropriate method to measure specific heat capacity on a DSC with some interesting application examples.
Dr. Chris Yakacki, Ph.D., Devesh Mistry, Ph.D., Nicholas Traugutt
In this webinar, we will briefly introduce LCEs and our 3D printing methods. Next, we will demonstrate our methods and instrumentation that have enabled our fundamental characterization of these exceptional materials. Overall, this webinar covers a range of quasi-static and dynamic mechanical testing methods which we perform using the ElectroForce 3200 instrument to characterize these highly complex and fascinating materials.
Tianhong (Terri) Chen, Ph.D. is
a Senior Applications Support Scientist with
TA Instruments currently supporting the
Rheology and DMA product lines. She received
her PhD degree in Polymer Science from Sun
Yat-sen University (SYSU) in China,
specializing in polymer synthesis and
characterization. She did her post-doc
research and later became a research
assistant professor at the University of
Maryland. During that time, her research was
focused on biopolymer modifications and
analysis. Dr. Chen joined TA Instruments in
2004. Her key responsibilities at TA
Instruments are customer support,
consultation, and teaching DMA and rheology
training courses. Dr. Chen has more than 50
publications in peer-reviewed journals and
two US patents.
Malin
Suurkuusk is the Isothermal
Calorimetry Product Manager / Application
Specialist at TA Instruments. She holds a
Masters of Science Degree in Biochemistry
from Stockholm University, and a PhD from
the University of Lund where she studied in
the lab of Prof. Ingemar Wadsö. She has
worked extensively with Differential
Scanning Calorimetry and Isothermal
Titration Calorimetry, as well as other
biophysical methods. Her early work in
microcalorimetry instrument development
included responsibilities in product
management, applications lab management and
marketing at Thermometric in Sweden. She is
considered the world’s leading expert on the
TAM isothermal instruments with numerous
microcalorimetry publications. In October of
2014 she was recognized for her
contributions to the field of
microcalorimetry, and featured as a
Biophysicist in Profile by the Biophysical
Society.
Jason
Saienga is currently the
Product Manager for the Thermal Analysis and
Thermal Conductivity product lines at TA
Instruments. Jason joined TA in 2006 after
completing his doctorate program in
Materials Science and Engineering at Iowa
State University. Jason started out his
career at TA in the applications lab
teaching the theory and applications
lectures, instrument hands-on courses, and
providing customer and sales support for the
thermal analysis techniques. As Product
Manager, Jason and his team work to define
and coordinate of the future of thermal
analysis and thermal conductivity product
lines at TA.
Justin Wynn
is an Application Engineer for
Thermophysical Properties at TA Instruments.
As an Application Engineer, he provides
primary support on the thermophysical
product line, which includes thermal
conductivity meters, flash diffusivity
analyzers and dilatometers. He performs
demonstrations and conducts feasibility
tests to characterize a bevy of samples with
appropriate data analysis, and provides
application specific test protocol
development support. Prior to joining TA
Instruments in 2016, he earned his
Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering
from the University of Delaware. While
there, he assisted in an independent study
that involved comparative study of motion in
human subjects. His senior capstone project
revolved around the development of safety
tools to be used in hospital operating
rooms.
Yash Adhia
is a Senior Applications Support Engineer at
TA Instruments supporting the thermal and
rheology line of products. Prior to joining
TA Instruments, he earned his Master’s in
Macromolecular Science and Engineering from
the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
During his graduate studies, he worked on
studying and characterizing gels formed
through the self-assembly of small molecules
and its interaction with polymeric additives
using thermal, rheological and optical
techniques. He earned his Bachelor’s in
Surface Coating Technology from the
Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai,
India where his undergraduate research
focused on studying curing kinetics of epoxy
resins using DSCs. During the course of his
undergraduate and graduate studies, he has
had the opportunity to intern at Asian
Paints India Ltd, Mumbai, working on
formulating and characterizing photo-curable
coatings, and at INOS Technologies, Ann
Arbor working on negative pressure wound
therapy foams.
Dr.
Cabovska holds a research
degree in analytical chemistry and has over
10 years of experience in extractables and
migration application. Dr. Cabovska is
currently a senior business development
manager at Waters Corporation, located in
Milford, MA – USA where she actively
collaborates with customers on providing
comprehensive materials characterization
solutions across extractables and migration
testing applications. Before joining Waters,
Dr. Cabovska focused her work on
Bioanalytical method development and
validations for therapeutic drug monitoring
and extractable and leachable studies in
packaging.
Muhammad
Haris is Application Engineer
for TA Instruments ElectroForce based near
Frankfurt, Germany. He specialized in
ElectroForce mechanical test instruments and
engages with customers on their testing
needs related to the application of
ElectroForce products and puts forward
broad-ranging solutions. He holds a master’s
degree in Advanced Materials &
Processes. Prior to joining TA Instruments,
Haris has worked with Procter & Gamble
for about 2 years on analytical development
and characterization of electric shavers’
blades.
Sadegh
Behdad is an Applications
Engineer at TA Instruments, supporting
ElectroForce product line. Sadegh has a PhD
in Materials Science and Engineering from
Florida International University. He earned
his BSc and Masters in Polymer Engineering
from Amirkabir University of Technology.
Prior to joining TA Instruments, Sadegh
worked as a Sr. Materials Scientist at Magic
Leap. At Magic Leap, he supported material
design and development teams on selection of
material candidates and testing various
materials and components for wearable
virtual retinal display applications.
Greg
Kamykowski Ph.D. is a Senior
Applications Scientist for rheology for TA
Instruments US West region. He has a BS in
chemistry from Loyola University of Chicago
and a PhD in physical chemistry from
University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he
studied under well-known rheologist,
Professor John Ferry. He has published
several articles, presented at various
conferences and meetings, and is involved
with the Society of Plastics Engineers, the
Society of Rheology, and ASTM.
Alina Latshaw is the Product Specialist for the Rubber Testing product line at TA Instruments. Alina earned her doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University. She joined TA in 2013 as an applications engineer specializing in rheology and dynamic mechanical analysis techniques. As part of the product management team, Alina actively collaborates with customers on providing testing solutions for rubber and elastomer applications ranging from elastomer characterization, compound processing challenges, vulcanization testing, and cured rubber product performance.
Sarah Cotts is an Applications Engineer at TA Instruments in the US Eastern region. She supports the Rheology, DMA and Rubber testing instruments, working directly with customers across a wide range of industries. She earned a B.Sc. in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary. Prior to joining TA, Sarah worked as an Applications Chemist at Sartomer, developing materials for inks, coatings, adhesives and other industrial applications. She joined TA Instruments in 2013 as part of the Applications Lab.
Jeff
Lundstrom is the Product
Manager for Software at TA Instruments. Jeff
is a graduate of Colorado State University
with a degree in Computer Science. He joined
TA in 2005 as a Senior Software Engineer,
specializing in Microsoft Windows
technologies. He came to TA Instruments
directly from Microsoft, where he was a Lead
Software Developer for many years. As part
of the product management team, Jeff
actively collaborates with customers around
the world, by providing software solutions
for all TA Instruments’ applications. His
areas of specialty include 21CFR11, where he
was the primary software developer for this
technology for TA Instruments, before moving
to Product Management.
Bharath
Rajaram, Ph.D. is a Product
Specialist within the rheology group at TA
Instruments with responsibility for
rotational rheometers and DMAs. Dr. Rajaram
earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical
Engineering from the University of
California, Irvine. Within the product
management team, Dr. Rajaram combines his
extensive experience in material
characterization with feedback from
customers to define and guide new product
development.
Calliste
Reiling, Ph.D. is an
Application Engineer at TA Instruments,
currently supporting the microcalorimetry
product line. She received her Ph.D. in
Pharmaceutical Sciences from University of
Nebraska Medical Center, where she
investigated the thermodynamic properties of
a variety of DNA and RNA secondary
structures, their targeting reactions with
partially complementary strands and the
importance of water and ions. She also
received her master’s from University of
Nebraska Medical Center in Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology with research centered
around the structural biology of regulatory
proteins involved in the endocytic pathway
and their binding interactions. Calliste
joined TA Instruments in 2018. Her key
responsibilities at TA Instruments are
customer support, consultation, and teaching
microcalorimetry training courses.
Yue
Schuman, Ph.D. is an
Applications Scientist at TA Instruments
supporting the thermal analysis product
line. Prior to joining TA Instruments, Yue
earned a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical
Engineering from Villanova University and
acquired her Master’s degree in Chemical and
Biomolecular Engineering from the University
of Pennsylvania. Yue’s research projects
focused on thermal, mechanical, and
structure-property characterizations of
materials ranging from nanoscale to
macroscale regimes including nanoparticle
silica thin films, graphene, 3D graphene
aerogel, paraffin-based phase change
materials, and their composite materials.
Yue’s core responsibilities at TA
Instruments are customer support, method
development for sample characterization, and
providing training on our instruments.
Dr.
Chris Yakacki received his
Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the
University of Colorado Boulder in 2007.
During his graduate studies, he helped
co-found Medshape, Inc. – a
university-based startup focused on
developing novel shape-memory devices. Dr.
Yakacki worked as the principal scientist at
Medshape from 2007-2011, during which time
he helped clear the first shape-memory
polymer devices through the USFDA. This
includes the morphix suture anchor and
exoshape anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)
fixation device. He returned to academia in
2012 and joined the faculty at the
University of Colorado Denver. He received
the prestigious NSF Career Award to
investigate liquid-crystal elastomers for
biomedical applications. He has published
over 50 peer-reviewed publications and
raised over $2M in federally funded
research. He is dedicated to once again
translating his research from the university
into the marketplace with Impressio –
another university-based startup now focused
on commercializing liquid-crystal
elastomers.
Dr.
Devesh Mistry, my interests lie
in the fundamental physics behind the
mechanical properties of anisotropic and
functionalised polymers. I completed my PhD
in 2018 in the School of Physics and
Astronomy at the University of Leeds, UK.
Supervised by Professor Helen Gleeson, my
PhD focused on unresolved inconsistencies in
our knowledge of LCE mechanical behaviours.
In this process I discovered the inherent
negative Poisson’s ratio (auxetic) behaviour
of LCEs.
Following my PhD, I joined Prof. Chris Yakacki’s group at the University of Colorado Denver as a postdoctoral fellow – supported by a Lindemann Trust Fellowship. Here my research has focused on using 3D printing to understand the role of order and disorder in the exceptional dissipative properties of LCEs.
To date I have published nine peer-reviewed papers and I hold one patent. From March 2021 I will be commencing a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship at the University of Leeds, UK.
Nicholas
Traugutt, I am a Ph.D.
candidate in Mechanical Engineering at the
University of Colorado Denver under the
tutelage of Prof. Chris Yakacki. My research
focuses on how to tailor bulk liquid crystal
elastomer (LCE) structures across different
length scales (e.g. meso, micro, and macro)
to better dissipate mechanical energy. In
the course of my research, I have discovered
several different molding and manufacturing
techniques through the use of additive
manufacturing as well as helping to improve
synthetic methods for the thiol-acrylate LCE
chemistry. One of my greatest achievements
to date includes creating a scalable and
tailorable method to use digital light
processing to 3D print LCE structures that
would otherwise be difficult to impossible
to fabricate.
In my downtime on campus from researching LCEs, I am often tinkering with 3D printers. My knowledge and abilities with 3D printing led to an opportunity to work as a consultant for 3D printing PEEK, and I have success with 3D printing other engineering polymers such as PPSU.
I currently have six peer-reviewed papers, including a recent publication in Advanced Materials for DLP printing LCEs.
Thomas
Paschke is the Application
Specialist for the Rubotherm Series Thermal
Analysis product line at TA Instruments.
Thomas joined Rubotherm in 2013 and
continued working in this position with TA
after Rubotherm as acquired by TA in 2016.
After obtaining his PhD in analytical
chemistry, Thomas started his career as
post-doc at the EERC (Energy &
Environmental Research Center) at UND in
Grand Forks, ND. Later he worked in
different positions for the German company
Axel Semrau with GC, GC/MS and high-pressure
equipment. As Application Specialist, Thomas
supports TA customers in finding the right
instruments and methodologies for their
challenging TGA applications under extreme
conditions.
Gray
Slough is currently a product
specialist in the Thermal Product group at
TA Instruments. Dr. Slough received his BS
in physics from the University of Texas at
Austin in 1983 and his Ph.D. in condensed
matter physics from the University of
Virginia in 1990. He joined TA Instruments
in 1998 as an applications scientist. Within
the Thermal Product group he works to help
define and develop the thermal analysis
product line at TA, and provide technical
support to both internal and external
customers.