Written on 24.10.2013 - Personnel
You have these options:

Peaslee wins PFA Herman Stone Technical Excellence Award

Graham F. Peaslee, Ph.D. and Hartgerink Professor of Chemistry at Hope College in Holland, MI, USA, is the winner of the spring 2013 Herman Stone Technical Excellence Award of the Polyurethane Foam Association (PFA). Peaslee’s presentation of “New Methods for Identification of Flame Retardants in Polyurethane Foams” scored highest among the six technical papers presented during the PFA Spring General Business Meeting and Technical Program in St. Petersburg, FL, USA.

The paper focused on how changing flammability standards and increasing public awareness of the eco-toxicity of halogenated flame retardants may have significant implications for polyurethane foam manufacturers and their customers. The presentation described a novel method for the rapid detection and identification of flame retardant compounds in foams, plastics and fabrics. Preliminary results of ion beam analysis of several hundred foams samples compared to traditional methods were presented, along with the impact of this technology.

Peaslee was trained as a nuclear chemist and continues to do research and teach. He received his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1987 and his A.B. from Princeton University in 1981. Peaslee helped develop the Hope College Ion Beam Analysis Laboratory to perform quantitative elemental analysis on solid, liquid and aerosol particulate samples. He has authored or co-authored more than 160 papers on related research and technology.

The objective of the Herman Stone Technical Excellence award is to encourage the sharing of technical innovations, the use of scientific methodology, and professionalism in presentation technique. The award was created by the Herman Stone family in honour of Stone’s 80^th birthday. Dr. Stone is a renowned researcher, inventor, expert in flexible polyurethane foam production technology, and a leading contributor to the FPF industry. In 2007, Dr. Stone was inducted into the Flexible Polyurethane Foam Hall of Fame, housed virtually at www.pfa.org.