Nanotech Industry Panel

Tian Lan, Ph.D.
Associate Research Scientist
Core R&D, Dow Inc.

Dr. Tian Lan is an Associate Research Scientist in Formulation, Automation & Materials Science, Core R&D, Dow Inc. After Dr. Lan graduated with a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University in 2016, he joined Dow through the Research Assignment Program, in which he spent 2 years rotating in three different business departments of Dow, including Core R&D Formulation Science, Packaging & Specialty Plastics, and Home & Personal Care. With a background in polymer physics and materials science, he engaged customers and worked with collaborators internally and externally to drive new innovations. Since joining Dow, Dr. Lan has worked on over 10 research development projects as a project leader or as a key technical contributor of the team. Through his work, he enabled Dow to launch three new commercial products, including EPITEX™ 99 Polymer for cosmetics, SUNSPHERES™ BIO SPF booster for sunscreens, and DOWSIL™210S Silicone slip/mar additives for waterborne paints. Among the three products, SUNSPHERES™ BIO natural SPF booster has won the 2020 Business Intelligence Group Sustainability Award, as well as silver for the in-cosmetics Global Innovation Zone Ingredients Award in the functional ingredient category. Dr. Lan’s research also resulted in the filing of 20 patent applications for Dow. He stays strongly committed to connecting the academic community and industry. As one of the main authors, he contributed to a research proposal through the University Partner Initiative program of Dow that led to a 3-year research collaboration between Northwestern and Dow to study fundamental polymer physics topics and train the next generation of chemical industry researchers. He has published 16 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and has reviewed more than 20 articles in different scientific journals, including Scientific Reports and Progress in Organic Coatings.
Nitin Hansoge, Ph.D.
Senior Predictive Engineer

Dr. Hansoge did his undergrad in India and moved to Northwestern University, Evanston to pursue his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering. His Ph.D. focus was on molecular modeling of polymers and nanocomposites during which he studied how different design aspects of nanocomposites (such as polymer chain length, size, and shape of nanoparticle) affect mechanical properties like modulus and toughness. He has published papers in reputed journals such ACS Nano and Science Advances. Dr. Hansoge is currently a Senior Predictive Engineer at 3M, where he is working on molecular nanoscale modeling to predict the performance of some of the 3M products.

Regarding accomplishments, Dr. Hansoge received the Terminal year fellowship and Walter Murphy fellowship from Northwestern University. He was one of the finalists of the APS Padden Symposium which recognizes a graduate student for excellence in polymer physics research. He also received the best poster award at Northwestern’s 5th annual computational day which awarded me a travel grant to go and present my work at the SES conference in Madrid, Spain.

Navin Manjooran, Ph.D.
Chairman

Dr. Navin Manjooran currently serves as the Chairman of Solve, a global technology and research company addressing critical energy, industry, medical and infrastructure challenges. For almost a decade, he was in the global leadership team of Siemens AG. In this role, he provided leadership from the corporate side for the entire Siemens portfolio; including expanding international collaborations, developing the global strategy, and ensuring Siemens stays a trend-setter for advanced technology and innovation.

Dr. Manjooran is also a Board of Trustees member and Fellow of ASM International. Since 2010, he has served as a Board Member of the US Technology Advisory Group. He also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Advisory Board for MSE at the University of Florida. He has also served on the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, University of Chicago Board of Trustees and on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Energy Initiative board. Navin has also served as the co-chair of the Virginia Tech capital campaign (aimed at raising one billion USD) for the New York Region and the Orlando/ Tampa Region under the leadership of Ex-Virginia Tech President, Dr. Charles Steger, and Vice President for Development, Dr. Betsy Flanagan.

Since 2010, Dr. Manjooran has served as a Professor Adjunct in MSE at Virginia Tech. He taught multiple courses and co-organized over thirty international symposia for the National Institute of Technology, University of Florida, Virginia Tech and various global materials engineering and mechanical engineering professional societies including, ASM International, ACerS, TMS and ASME.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from the National Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in materials science and engineering from the University of Florida, and a doctorate in materials science and engineering from Virginia Tech. He also has an MBA from the prestigious Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.

Manjooran has eleven patents or disclosures, twelve books, over hundred publications and presentations at national or international events. He has received several awards including the following prestigious awards: Outstanding Indian American (Engineering) Award, Distinguished Virginia Tech Alumnus (ISA), Outstanding University of Florida Alumni (MSE), Siemens Award, TMS Young Leader Award, Virginia Tech Outstanding Leader Award, Virginia Tech Paul Torgerson Doctoral Research Excellence Award, Virginia Tech Outstanding Service Commendation Award, Virginia Tech Outstanding Student Award, NITW Sri Kabadi Subalu Medal and the NITW Alumni Association Gold Medal (Valedictorian and best student).

Manjooran enjoys leading and managing people, technology development and consulting, research, engineering and teaching. He is based at Windermere, Florida and enjoys water sports, tennis and golf in his spare time.

Alex Titov
Lab Manager

Alex Titov is a graduate of the University of Florida. In his role today as lab manager, Titov helps NanoPhotonica leverage nanotechnology and innovative nanomaterials to create high-resolution, efficient electronic displays at a significantly reduced cost. NanoPhotonica is revolutionizing how quantum dots and other next-generation nanomaterials are used in display. Nanophotonica’s innovations in nano-material chemistry, as well as processing and layering techniques for Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diodes, set us apart from all other related display technologies.

NanoPhotonica provides innovative nano-materials and fabrication techniques that enable electronic displays to have high resolution, pure, vivid colors, and high efficiency at significantly reduced manufacturing cost. NanoPhotonica’s system of light-emitting nano-materials, including Quantum Dots (QDs), and method of layering these materials together, form the core technology for a new generation of electronic displays. NanoPhotonica’s award-winning nano-materials, outstanding and motivated team, and effective growth strategy have gained worldwide recognition and caught the eye of several large display manufacturers who have become our development collaborators. Together, we are bringing “Quantum Dot-Light Emitting Diode (QLED)” displays to this large and important market – from smartphones, to tablets and notebooks, to TVs.