CPI announces two recipients of 2022 Distinguished Leadership awards

National Harbor, MD – The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) announced two CPI Distinguished Leadership Award recipients: Nigel Barksby of Covestro and Mary Bogdan of Honeywell. These awards were presented during the awards luncheon at the 2022 Polyurethanes Technical Conference in National Harbor, Md.
“CPI established the Distinguished Leadership Award to recognize individuals who have provided outstanding leadership and advanced the goals of CPI as well as the interests of our industry,” said Lee Salamone, senior director of CPI. “Both Nigel and Mary have devoted many years to sharing their knowledge of polyurethanes through teaching and advocacy at CPI and I am thrilled to honor both of them with these prestigious awards and thank them for their contributions to our success.”
Nigel Barksby is currently a science fellow for Covestro in their Performance Materials business. He is retiring next year after almost 45 years of experience in the global polyurethane industry with a variety of companies including Union Carbide, Arco Chemical, Bayer Material Science and Covestro.
Nigel’s many accomplishments include new product development and commercialization that have resulted in many technical presentations, reviewed papers, and granted patents. He has taught one of the foundational courses in PU 101: Polyurethane Chemistry, in CPI’s Professional Development Program and is estimated to have provided a solid polyurethane chemistry background to about 500 professionals since he began teaching in 2015. Nigel is a graduate of Loughborough University of Technology.
Mary Bogdan is a senior principal scientist for Honeywell and is the technology lead for the Blowing Agent Technical Sales and Service Group. Since joining Honeywell in 1989, she has held numerous positions in research and development and currently supports the global fluorine products blowing agent business.
Mary’s achievements include more than 30 United States patents and numerous published technical articles on the development and use of fluorocarbons. She has participated in several CPI committees over the years, has helped develop technical product stewardship guidance as well as educational and training materials on spray foam critical to the success of the product. She has a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry and an MBA from Canisius College.
In addition to the Distinguished Leadership Award, the 2022 Polyurethanes Technical Conference also featured the 2022 Polyurethane Innovation Award — won by Carbon — 15 technical sessions, 23 posters, 70-plus presentations and 47 exhibitors.