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Principal Research Scientist, BASF Corporation

In 1986 I received my undergraduate degree in chemistry from Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

In 1991 I then received my PhD in chemistry with a concentration in polymer science from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Next I spent 5 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory working on targets for the Inertial Confinement Fusion program and energetic polymers.

In 1996 I began my career in superabsorbents at Chemdal Corporation where I helped to develop ion exchanging superabsorbents, HIPE foams, and product development.

In 2000 I joined BASF as part of the Chemdal acquisition and moved to Charlotte in 2001 where I continue to work on superabsorbents and understanding superabsorbents' properties in hygiene articles.

I am coauthor on about 50 patents and publications, the majority of which are related to superabsorbents and hygienics.

New Test to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a Diaper’s Core System

BASF has developed a simple laboratory test that effectively simulates the performance of a diaper’s core system as it is worn naturally on a standing baby. Most current laboratory tests are designed to show differences in diaper cores, but do not necessarily indicate how well the diaper core is performing its main functions in real world use. BASF’s newly developed Hanging U-Shaped (HUS) diaper test has now proven to be both predictive and descriptive of the performance of many different diaper core constructions. This presentation will describe the HUS test and contrast the information gained with the more classical acquisition under load testing.