CDP Class of 2003 – 2006
North Carolina State
PhD Chemical Engineering
Today, I lead a team that is working to develop surfactants* derived from natural resources, including palm oil and coconut oil. The work is part of the company’s commitment to deliver improved sustainability and performance for customers.
I am a problem solver and have known since my undergraduate days that I wanted a career in product development. But I did have other interests I also wanted to explore. And so for me, the CDP program was definitely the way to go.
I did one rotation in product applications development, another in process research, and a third in new product research. I was able to explore my interests and confirm that product development was my true calling.
Today, I am doing exactly what I enjoy: interfacing with customers and solving their problems. Sometimes, a customer asks if we can modify a product to make it work better for their application. In these situations, we’ll do some investigation and provide a fairly quick solution. In other cases, we look at longer-term development opportunities, particularly those that solve customers’ unmet needs.
* Surfactants are compounds that improve wetting of a soiled surface and the dispersion or suspension of greasy soils in a solution. Our Tomadol® surfactants are used in industrial and institutional cleaning applications.