Three Manufacturing USA® institutes — IACMI, RAPID and REMADE — are proud to join forces and host a free, special series of webinars on Careers in Clean Energy Innovation. In recognition of Women’s History Month, our series will kick off on Wednesday, March 24, with a panel presentation featuring three dynamic women who are breaking new ground every day in the clean energy industry.
IACMI Workforce Director Joannie Harmon will serve as moderator for this webinar.
Our speakers include:
Merlin Theodore, Ph.D.
Advanced Fibers Manufacturing Group Leader, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN
Raised in St. Croix, USVI, Merlin was the first in her family to earn a graduate degree. She earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering, M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at Tuskegee University in Alabama. Prior to her current role at ORNL, Merlin worked in the State of Washington at startup SGL Automotive Carbon Fiber, one of the largest carbon fiber production facilities in the U.S. Previously, she worked at Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Georgia Tech, and Universal Technology Corporation (UTC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as a research scientist and laboratory manager.
Jena Holtberg-Benge
General Manager, John Deere Reman Power Solutions Group, Deere & Company, Springfield, Mo.
In her role with John Deere Reman, Jena is responsible for the company’s remanufacturing strategy and production, with facilities in Springfield, Mo., and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and distribution globally. The company remanufactures engines, drive train, hydraulic, fuel and electronic components. Jena joined Deere in 2001 and subsequently held roles in marketing, customer support, quality, operations, strategic planning and business development in the US, India and China. She holds a B.A. in International Studies from Vassar College and an MBA (International Business) from Thunderbird, the School of Global Management.
Kerri Hickenbottom, Ph.D.
Assisitant Professor, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.
Kerri completed her B.S. degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Science and Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. She has worked on novel membrane processes for over 10 years, with specialty in forward osmosis, pressure retarded osmosis, and membrane distillation. Her research focuses on investigating the technical, environmental, and economic potential of novel, engineered systems for resource recovery and reclamation of waste streams.
Participating Institutes
IACMI – The Composites Institute
The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, or IACMI—The Composites Institute, is committed to accelerating the development and adoption of innovative manufacturing technologies for low-cost, energy-efficient advanced composites. Our collaborative work through public-private partnerships drives domestic production capacity, strengthens U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and elevates job creation across the U.S. composite industry.
The REMADE Institute
Today, manufacturing accounts for 25% of U.S. energy consumption at a cost of $150 billion. Industry is also the third largest contributor to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at 22%. Our experts, together with our partners, are working to reduce those amounts. In fact, reducing embodied energy and decreasing emissions is in our name: REMADE.
The REMADE Institute is committed to accelerating the adoption of the Circular Economy through development of cutting edge sustainable manufacturing technologies to make real, near-term environmental and economic impacts.
The RAPID Institute
In December, 2016, the Department of Energy announced the establishment of the 10th Manufacturing USA Institute, representing a critical step in the federal government’s effort to double U.S. energy productivity by 2030. The Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment (RAPID) Institute is focused on addressing the barriers listed above to enable the development of breakthrough technologies to boost energy productivity and energy efficiency through manufacturing processes in industries such oil and gas, pulp and paper and various domestic chemical manufacturers. RAPID will leverage approaches to modular chemical process intensification (MCPI) — such as combining multiple process steps such as mixing, reaction, and separation into single more complex and intensified processes — with the goal of improving productivity and efficiency, cutting operating costs, and reducing waste.