Rohm and Haas Company honored the recipients of its annual
Otto Haas Award and NOVA Awards.
The recipient of the Otto Haas Award for Technical Excellence is Doug Abrams, Senior Technical Associate,
specialty materials Process Technology,
PBM scale-up Group. According to the company, Abrams' commitment to operating key technical equipment is critical to new
product development and customer service in the Packaging and Building Materials industry. He has distinguished himself for initiative and stewardship in
training and developing personnel on this equipment and his overall dedication to Rohm and Haas, where he has worked for more than 25 years.
The recipients of the Otto Haas Award for Scientific Achievement are Kebede Beshah, Distinguished Scientist and Team Leader, Central Analytical Support, and Ed Kostansek, Senior Fellow and Manager, Delivery Systems, AgroFresh.
Beshah is one of only a handful of scientists to have received this award more than once (also honored in 1995). A physical scientist and technical
leader, he is an expert in using nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR)
spectroscopy. According to the company, his proprietary approach to using NMR has given Rohm and Haas a true competitive advantage and holds promise for ongoing growth and development in an array of applications around the world. Beshah is also hailed for the excellent scientific support he provides to all businesses, and for supervising a high-performance team of seven scientists.
Ed Kostansek, Senior Fellow and Manager, Delivery Systems, AgroFresh. Kostanek is being hailed for his work in successfully developing technology that is used globally to help growers deliver consistently higher-quality
fruits and
vegetables. The technology guards against quality loss and over-ripening in fruits and vegetables caused by
ethylene. Kostanek further explored how this technology could protect field
crops from yield-reducing
stress during extended periods of high
temperature, mild to moderate drought and other crop stresses. His work led to a new product designed for agricultural markets worldwide.
The recipient of the NOVA Innovation Award is Yaobang (Ian) Li, Senior Scientist, Specialty Materials Process Technology APR, Specialty Materials. The scientist developed a more economical manufacturing process for an important product and enhanced the company's understanding of
latex freeze/thaw
stability. He is a founding member of Rohm and Haas's Specialty Materials Process Technology team in the Asia Pacific Region, and has been credited with establishing the group's can-do attitude and 'act-to-excel' culture. Li is the first scientist from the company's
China Research and Development Center to join the Polymer Rotation Ph.D. program at the Spring House Technical Center. He returns to
China in September.
For more than 25 years, the Otto Haas Award has celebrated outstanding work throughout Rohm and Haas Company’s worldwide technology community in two categories: Technical Excellence and Scientific Achievement. The NOVA Innovation Award recognizes individuals who, in the early stages of their careers, have demonstrated significant achievement in defining and executing creative and innovative approaches to problem solving that can lead to valuable platforms, products or cost-savings for the company.