Richard W. Pekala

Chief Technology Officer at ENTEK International

Corvallis, Oregon, United States

About Richard W. Pekala

Richard W. Pekala is Chief Technology Officer at ENTEK International. Location: Corvallis, Oregon, United States.

Dr. Pekala is Chief Technology Officer for ENTEK International LLC. He has a B.S. degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University (1981) and a Sc.D. degree in polymeric materials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1984). Dr. Pekala began his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where he worked for 11 years in the Materials Science Department on aerogels and other low density, microcellular materials. In 1996, Dr. Pekala joined PPG Industries as a scientist working in the Silica Products business unit. At PPG, he managed the Microporous Materials Group and had responsibility for precipitated silica used in battery separators and synthetic printing media. In 1999, Dr. Pekala joined ENTEK where he helped to commercialize new products such as lithium-ion battery separators, waterproof breathable membranes, and golf car separators. Dr. Pekala has over 100 technical publications, 2 R&D 100 awards, and 33 patents.

Skills

  • R&D
  • Polymers

Additional experience

  • Scientist

    PPG Industries

    Started January 1996

Education

  • Doctor of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Master of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology