Innovation Award Program
2025 Innovation Award Sponsored by:
Innovate and Secure the Future with ASC
2025 ASC Innovation Award
Submission deadline is January 31, 2025. Click to submit.
The ASC Innovation Awards Program is designed to recognize innovation in adhesive and sealant product developments. These awards identify significant impact chemistries that contribute to downstream industries unmet needs and advancements in technology. The award is intended to foster and encourage innovation across the industry and academia.
Who Can Submit for 2025?
Raw material suppliers or manufacturers of adhesives and or sealants as well as academia can submit for the award.
CLICK to view the Call for Entries handout.
CLICK to view and download the Nomination Package.
Dates & Requirements:
- Call for Entries to ASC: August 2024
- Closing Date for Award Submittals to ASC: January 31, 2025
- Judging Completed by: February 28, 2025
- Winners Informed via ASC by: March 10, 2025
- Awards Ceremony at the Annual ASC Conference in Louisville, Kentucky April 14-16, 2025
There is ONE Award Category for 2025:
- The 2025 Innovation Award (voted BEST innovation)
- ASC will also recognize the first and second runners-up
How Winners Will be Recognized:
- Awarded at a special ceremony at the 2025 ASC Annual Conference in Jacksonville, FL April 2025
- The Innovation Award Winner will receive the beautiful crystal award recognizing the achievement
- The award winner will be featured on a banner stand graphic displayed at the conference
- Runners up will also receive awards to recognize their innovations
- Winner and runners up are asked to present at the conference in special sessions
- All submitters will be featured in the onsite awards program to include a description of each innovation
- Featured in the official Innovation Awards press release and on the Innovation Awards web page
- Be promoted on social media to the industry
Dr. Greg Schueneman, US Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory
Dr. Greg Schueneman is a Supervisory Materials Research Engineer and Project Leader of the Forest Biopolymer Science & Engineering group at the US Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin. His research is focused on the conversion of forest based nanomaterials for use in traditionally petroleum based materials applications such as adhesives, coatings, sealants, and composites. Prior to joining the Forest Products Laboratory he had over 10 years of industrial experience.
Dr. Christopher C. White, Senior Managing Scientist - Exponent Inc.
Dr. White joined Exponent in January 2021. In this new role, Dr. White assists clients by solving technical problems related to the specification, reliability, and sustainability of polymeric materials used in various industries, including construction, infrastructure, transportation, chemicals, and utilities. One of Dr. White's core competencies is characterizing weather-related changes to polymers' chemical and physical properties and how those degradative changes may affect end-user performance. This expertise enables him to provide solutions to complex issues related to assessing durability, failure, sustainability, and climate change effects on materials and assets exposed to weathering. He is skilled in developing and utilizing test methods and standards to analyze plastics, rubbers, textiles, metals, glass, and ceramic composite materials. Dr. White offers technical guidance throughout all product development phases, including formulation, scale-up, end-use testing, and field performance assessments.
Before joining Exponent, Dr. White was a research chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. His research focused on developing new test methods that assess the durability of polymers exposed to weathering. He also worked on projects related to the adhesion of spray-applied fireproofing, blast resistance of trash containers, and material selection for building envelopes. Additionally, Dr. White has also led multidisciplinary teams focused on sustainability, climate change impacts, enterprise risk management, and community resilience. He was also a credentialed member of the National Construction Safety Team. Dr. White is a fellow of ASTM International, Chair of ASTM C24, Building Seals and Sealants, and an elected officer of the Society of Rheology. Dr. White was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1994. He also earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland in 2007.
Marc Benevento, President - Industrial Market Insight
Marc Benevento is the founder and president of Industrial Market Insight, a consultancy focused on identifying organic growth opportunities for manufacturers and distributors of industrial products and materials by matching capabilities to unmet market needs.
His experience encompasses over 20 years with global multi-national manufacturers of industrial products in product development, business management, and marketing leadership roles in adhesives, composites, and metals serving the construction, energy, infrastructure, and transportation markets.
Marc's background includes nearly a decade in materials engineering at a global automotive OEM in addition to a variety of commercial roles in the chemical, composites, and adhesive industries. He has a passion for all aspects of product development, from discovering market needs, executing development, and commercializing new products, and is a practitioner and certified coach of New Product Blueprinting.
Mr. Benevento holds a Bachelor of Science in Materials Science & Engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA.
2024 Innovation Award Winner
The primary award was presented to H.B. Fuller and the team of Jayesh G. Bokria, Thomas Kauffman, Andrew Prybylowski, David McDougall for their development “Thermoplastic Encapsulant Platform for Photovoltaic Modules”. For more information, click HERE to view a short video on this technology.
Thomas Kauffman, Andrew Prybylowski and Jayesh G. Bokria of H.B. Fuller accepted the award.
1st Runner Up - Bostik
1st Runner Up went to Bostik for their entry titled “Copolyester Based Compostable Cold Seal for Heat Sensitive Packaging: Turbo-Seal® LOOP 1.0” For more information, click HERE.
2nd Runner Up - Geisys Ventures, LLC
2nd Runner Up went to Geisys Ventures, LLC. Kristoffer Stokes accepted the award for their technology, “D-Glue – A debondable adhesive platform” For more information, click HERE.