CINCINNATI – The ChemQuest Group has expanded its offerings to include intellectual property services, led industry veteran Sapna Blackburn, Ph.D.

Blackburn, ChemQuest’s Director of Intellectual Property, has R&D and subject matter expertise in materials development and intellectual property generation and protection for a wide range of industries.

Blackburn’s career was launched as a Materials Scientist at General Electric (GE) Corporate Research & Development in Schenectady, New York (1996–1998). Over the next eight years, Blackburn excelled in key positions with GE Plastics. From 1998 to 2001, as GE’s Crystalline Product Technology Product Developer, her work culminated in $1 million in direct savings for stabilizer optimization in the crystalline product portfolio; a novel crystalline product/platform development for higher flow and faster crystallization; and the development and commercialization of automotive lighting and underhood products.

From 2001–2003, as Crystalline Product Technology Six Sigma Black Belt and project leader of GE Plastics’ 17-member cross-functional global team, Blackburn delivered $5 million in net savings through supplier specification globalization, consolidation and qualification of key raw materials.

Blackburn’s early scientific accomplishments served as a successful springboard from 2003–2006, when, as Specialty Film Technology Team Leader in GE Plastics’ Specialty Film and Sheet business, she led a global 10-member technologist team that developed technology platforms and commercial products for ophthalmic, medical diagnostics, flexible printed circuit films and aerospace FST composites.

Over the next four years, as Specialty Film Technology Manager, Blackburn’s focus on scratch-resistant graphics films for multiple end-markets. In April 2010, Blackburn joined coatings manufacturer, SDC Technologies Inc., a 100% subsidiary of Mitsui Chemicals, as Vice President, R&D, a role that quickly expanded to Vice President, Technology. Blackburn developed and implemented a structured, cross-functional approach to product development that successfully delivered product pipelines for year-over-year growth over the next 10 years. During her 10-year tenure at SDC, Blackburn identified and leveraged R&D synergies with Mitsui Chemicals and affiliates, and executed strategic partnerships to accelerate expertise and platform development to build a diversified product portfolio for new markets; established and staffed a state-of-the-art photocurable 3D inks development lab; and devised and implemented a quantitative risk/benefit process for objectively assessing inventions for patentability and freedom-to-practice to ensure IP generation that benefitted the company.

In April 2020, Blackburn launched her own company, IMATZ Consulting LLC, to provide IP and materials guidance to specialty chemicals and plastics manufacturers, and R&D organizations.