Dr. Sathanjheri Ravishankhar (“Ravi”) has been elected as Vice Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) for the Nonwovens Institute (NWI) at North Carolina State University. He succeeds Dr. Bryan Haynes who was appointed as Chairperson of the Executive Committee earlier this year.
Dr. Ravishankar, who is currently R&D Manager for Nonwoven Product Technologies, Saint-Gobain, has been serving in the nonwoven and materials industries for more than 30 years, providing technology solutions to industry challenges as a global leader. He holds two master’s degrees from the Indian Institute of Technologies in Metallurgical Engineering and Chemistry and received his doctorate from Virginia Tech in Material Science and Engineering in 1995. Subsequently, he held positions of increasing responsibility at IMERYS, BASF and Cytec Solvay Group. In 2017, he joined Saint-Gobain at its Northboro, Massachusetts, USA, R&D Center in a leadership role with the Surface Solutions group. During his career, Dr. Ravishankar has developed several patented sustainable separation technologies for minerals in both physical and chemical separation areas. Dr. Ravishankar’s work has been recognized by industry and professional societies such as The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) with the prestigious Frank Aplan and Robert Richards Awards. In 2023, he was inducted as “SME Fellow – Class of 2022” for his technical innovations and leadership contributions. Dr. Ravishankar serves at the advisory level to numerous academic and industrial groups such as SME, Unified Abrasives Manufacturing Association, Hoover medal board, Univ. Columbia and NC State University. Dr. Ravishankar has been appointed to serve as the Board of Director for SME starting in February 2025. He has published over 30 publications in journals and books and presented several papers and keynote speeches at SME and several international conferences.
Dr. Ravishankar has been a member of NWI’s IAB since 2018 and was elected to the Executive Committee in October 2023.
The strong tie between Industry and Academia is a hallmark of NWI. Each of our over 45 Member organizations have representation on the Industrial Advisory Board. The IAB reviews proposed and existing programs and recommends alternatives or additions and provides review over Institute budgets and policies. The IAB also elects the nine-member Executive Committee which provided higher level member oversight and policy guidance. In addition, the Executive Committee makes recommendations to Institute Leadership with regard to the composition of the Strategic Scientific Advisory Board (SSAB) and collaborates with Leadership to select SSAB members. Many of the IAB and SSAB members actively mentor NC State graduate students in NWI’s nonwovens program and act as ambassadors for the Institute across the industry.
The time and effort contributed by all of the IAB representatives and especially the Executive Committee members is symbolic of the value that their member companies place upon the relationship with NWI. Each individual is a respected leader not only in their own organization but across the broader industry. To join NWI, see: https://thenonwovensinstitute.com/join/
Based at the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University, The Nonwovens Institute (NWI) is a consortium of stakeholders spanning the breadth of the nonwovens value chain. Operating on an “Open Innovation” platform and covering the full Technology Readiness Level (TRL) range, NWI engages industry, government and academia to enable next-generation nonwoven solutions to mission-critical challenges. thenonwovensinstitute.com
Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and solutions for the construction, mobility and industrial markets. Developed through a continuous innovation process, its integrated solutions provide sustainability and performance in daily life. Saint-Gobain’s nonwoven abrasive products are ideal for materials surface preparation and finishing applications. https://saint-gobain.com/
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