Ryan Dirkx, is the Vice President of Research & Development, Arkema Inc., headquartered in King of Prussia, PA. In this capacity, he is responsible for R&D activity in North America, management of the R&D Center in King of Prussia and coordination with the global R&D activities of the parent company, Arkema, headquartered in Paris.
A 25 year veteran of Arkema Inc. and its predecessor companies, Dr. Dirkx has directed global R&D organizations for several Arkema businesses, most recently, those within the Performance Polymers and PMMA (Altuglas) divisions. He has also held business and market management positions within the Specialty Chemicals division. He is currently a past chair of the Industrial Research Institute (IRI) and past co-chair of the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, which is part of the National Academies.
Dr. Dirkx has a Ph.D. in Solid State Science from the Pennsylvania State University and a B.S. in Ceramic Engineering from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He actively supports STEM education activities and is currently Chair-Elect for a Penn State Alumni Board.