The INDA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award will recognize an individual whose technical achievements, over a career of 20 years or more, have meaningfully contributed to the growth of the nonwovens industry. This technical professional will have a long history of innovation, INDA involvement, and/or commercial success as noted below:
Lifetime Technical Achievement Award Criteria
- Nonwovens-related technical advancements that meaningfully contributed to the growth of the nonwovens industry. Measures of meaningful contribution can include:
- Commercialized technologies
- Commercialized products
- Patent portfolio
- Presentations
- Scholarly publications
- Academic training of nonwovens professionals
- Establishment of nonwoven test standards (ASTM, ISO, INDA/EDANA, etc.)
- Recognition within internal/external organizations for their technical contributions, etc.
- Membership in INDA for period of ten or more years
- Twenty years or more in a nonwovens-related position
Awards Process
- Nominations for both award categories will be submitted via the INDA website.Deadline for submission will generally be three weeks prior to the April TAB meeting.
- Nominations that are not selected will remain active for three years from submission date and reviewed each year, with any new or additional information since the prior year.
- Nominations for both awards will be reviewed annually at the April TAB meeting.
- Each nomination will be reviewed independently for acceptance and successful nominations will achieve positive votes from 75% or more of voting TAB members
- The combined maximum awards in a given year will be four, with no more than three awards from a single category – Lifetime Technical Achievement or Lifetime Service.
- If the number of successful awards exceeds the maximum (four total, three from one category) noted in point 5, the recipients of the current year awards will be determined as follows:
- Highest percentage of positive votes
- Retired, selecting retirees over those still active in the industry
- TAB Chair & INDA Technical Director will decide a tiebreaker
- If the TAB Chair & INDA Technical Director are unable to decide a tiebreaker, then the INDA President will select the award recipient
- Once the award recipients are finalized, they will be notified and asked at which INDA event they would like to be recognized (WOW, RISE®, HYGIENIX™, FILTXPO™, or IDEA®).
- Those nominations not chosen for recognition within the current year will be automatically rolled over to the following year for consideration.
Timeline
- Complete the Online Nomination Submission
- 2/28/2025Deadline for nominations
Online Nomination Submission | 2025 Award
Lifetime Technical Achievement Awards Winners
2023 | Seshadri Ramkumar, Ph.D. | Texas Tech University |
2023 | James "Jim" Robinson | Absorbent Hygiene Insights LLC |
2023 | Ed Thomas | |
2022 | Richard Knowlson | |
2021 | John F. Poccia III | Johnson & Johnson (retired) and Poccia Consulting LLC |
2019 | Stephen Chester | |
2018 | Ralph Moody, PE | Berry Global, Inc |
2017 | Bryan Haynes, Ph.D. | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | 2016 | Edward (Ed) A. Vaughn, Ph.D. | Clemson University |
2015 | Thomas W. Federle | The Procter & Gamble Co. |
2014 | Joseph D. Wahlquist | Rockline Industries |
2012 | David L. Lunceford | HDK Industries, Inc. |
2011 | Mike Putnam | Retired, PGI |
2010 | Terry Young | Procter & Gamble |
2009 | Benham Pourdeyhimi | North Carolina University |
2008 | Larry Wadsworth (Academic) | The University of Tennessee, Knoxville |
2008 | David Newkirk (Industry) | Fiberweb |
2007 | Kays Chinai | Johnson & Johnson, Rayonier |
2006 | Ann L. McCormack | Kimberly-Clark Corporation |
2006 | P.C. Wu | Clopay Plastic Products Company |
2005 | C.Y. Cheng | Consultant |
2004 | Mike Morman | Morman Consulting |
2003 | D.K. Smith | Smith, Johnson & Associates |
2002 | Subhash Batra | NCRC, NCSU |
2002 | Jay Sommers | Kimberly-Clark |
2001 | Robert Brock | Kimberly-Clark |
2001 | Nick Newman | Consultant |