About
Award-winning Cornell PhD chemist Dr. Wanat has over 30 years of experience in the chemical industry. With 10 personal US patents and leadership in the granting of over 20 additional patents, he is a leading expert in research and development, intellectual property, and litigation initiatives. As a scientist, global director of research, director of manufacturing, and CTO for multi-billion-dollar chemical companies, Dr. Wanat has led initiatives around the world. His expertise in the chemical industry includes polymers, plastics, adhesives, composites, film, sheet, nanotechnology, aerosols, additives, coatings, light management, optics, material science, and intellectual property. He has a broad background in polymers with experience in acrylics, polyurethanes, polyesters, polyolefins, styrenics, and fluoropolymers. He has been retained as an expert witness on:
• 17 intellectual property cases including inter partes reviews (IPRs), post grant
reviews (PGRs), and patent infringement cases
• 25 other litigation/arbitration
• 8 depositions as expert
• 4 expert testimonies at trial and in arbitration
He is an expert in product development and commercialization of numerous new products with cumulative sales exceeding two-billion dollars for use in automotive, aerospace, cosmetics, energy, medical, construction, packaging, display, lighting, optical, and marine applications. He has supervised teams of 200+ technical professionals and >300 manufacturing employees.
Dr. Wanat has worked with attorneys to secure dozens of patents and to reach favorable resolutions in multi-million-dollar litigations. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Adhesives and Sealants Council and judged the 2019, 2020, and 2021 Adhesives and Sealants Innovation Awards. He is also an expert in process scale-up and manufacturing.
After graduating in 3 years Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Chemistry from the University of Scranton, Wanat earned a PhD from Cornell University with the Tunis Wentink graduate student of the year award and received the distinguished Rohm and Haas Fellowship. He also holds a certificate in technology management from Cal Tech.
As the current president for Innov8 Chem, LLC (innov8chem.com), Dr. Wanat provides chemistry, leadership, and strategic problem solving to the chemical industry with expertise in polymers, plastics, materials, coatings, and adhesives.