Rohm and Haas Co., a manufacturer of specialty chemical materials headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, recently honored the recipients of its inaugural Innovation Awards. The new Rohm and Haas Science and Engineering Innovation Awards and Technician Innovation Awards honor employees from technology, manufacturing and environment, health and safety. They celebrate those technicians, scientists and engineers who have best demonstrated outstanding work that helps Rohm and Haas achieve its core mission of innovation.

The Science and Engineering Innovation Awards acknowledge individuals whose technical results have or will have accelerated the movement of projects from the laboratory, to manufacturing, or to the customer. The recipients are:

• Jeffrey Hendron, Applications Engineer, Chemical Mechanical Planarization Technologies. Hendron has contributed significantly to new product development, process development and on-site support of customer manufacturing and technological innovations. He was granted his third patent last year, and has a fourth pending.
• Harry Heulings, Tech Service Sales Specialist, Paint and Coatings Materials. Heulings was instrumental in the development of the energy-conservation Factory Applied Roof Coating area of PCM’s Elastomeric Roof Coatings (ERC) segment.
• David Laganella, Scientist, Process Chemicals and Biocides. Laganella is regarded as an extremely productive scientist who routinely comes up with ideas for solving problems quickly. His innovation was key to the development of a wood preservative treatment.

The Technician Innovation Awards recognize outstanding technicians whose work has had measurable impact on productivity or quality of experimental results, safety in the laboratory, or measurable improvement of a project’s environmental impact. The recipients are:

• Scott Ibbitson, Senior Technical Associate, Emerging Technologies. Highly productive, versatile and well-networked, Ibbitson has made significant contributions to polymer design. The consummate "go-to" guy, he often creates cost-saving solutions for equipment in new labs.
• John Palmeri, Technician, RHEM/Display Technologies. Palmeri made numerous technical contributions to the Optical Films Research Team, including the creation of a precision optical drilling process that has been critical in several patent applications.
• Ronald Wargo, Senior Technical Assistant, Specialty Materials Process Technology. Over his 40-year career, Wargo has become recognized by customers and peers for his high level of overall productivity and exceptional experimental quality. His in-depth knowledge of the Minimum Scale Reactor and its operation has had a significant impact on his division.

Rohm and Haas’ website is at www.rohmhaas.com.