WEBINAR DESCRIPTION:
Careers in Surfactants and Detergents: Exploring a Broad and Evolving Industry
This webinar will explore career paths in the surfactants and detergents industry—a field that spans many applications and sectors but does not follow a single, predictable route. Whether you’re interested in product formulation, applied research, or industrial processing, this session will offer practical insights into how careers can evolve in this space.
Speakers:
Nancy Falk – Formulation scientist with experience at major cleaning product companies. Her background includes sustainable chemistry, probiotic cleaners, technology and product development, and cleaning performance in laundry and hard surface applications. She has worked across surfactant systems, oxidants, chelants, enzymes, and more. Nancy is also Senior Associate Editor of the Journal of Surfactants and Detergents and lead author of a chapter in the 6th edition of Block’s Disinfection, Sterilization, and Preservation.
Lucas Moore – Vice President of R&D at Colonial Chemical with over 15 years of experience in R&D, innovation, applications, and business development. His work spans cosmetics, detergents, agriculture, oil and gas, and water treatment. Lucas focuses on translating specialty chemical development into practical industry solutions.
Julian Barnes – Now retired, Julian has had a career in R&D across the surfactants industry and upstream/downstream oil sectors. A PhD chemist by training, he has worked in home care, personal care, and industrial applications including enhanced oil recovery. His background includes global project management, intellectual property, and product introduction in collaboration with marketing and sales. Julian has worked in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands.
Moderators:
Zhenyu Jason Zhang – Professor of Soft Matter Engineering in the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham. His research combines formulation engineering, soft matter physics, and tribology. He works on consumer goods, specialty chemicals, and healthcare technologies, with a focus on molecular interactions and nano-formulation.
Tony O’Lenick – President of SurfaTech Corporation, which develops and manufactures novel surfactants and polymers primarily for the personal care market. He also leads Nascent Technologies Corporation, a consulting business. Tony has decades of experience developing, patenting, scaling, and commercializing product lines in surfactants and polymers, including phosphobetaine surfactants, Guerbet alcohols, silicone polymers, APG polymers, and naturally derived film formers. He is a recent past president of AOCS.
This session is designed for students, early-career professionals, and others interested in understanding the variety of roles and trajectories available in this industry.
Register to learn how careers in surfactants and detergents can take many forms.
You may also like the following events from AOCS; American Oil Chemists' Society:
