Air Filtration for Personal Protection
August 27, 2024, Tuesday
8:00am-10:00am, ET Canada & US
$USD 350
$USD 175 (Member Only )
Course Objective
This course provides a comprehensive understanding of air filtration technologies and their critical applications for personal protection, mainly including face masks, respirators, and powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR). Participants will explore core media technologies, product design, evaluation, and an in-depth understanding of how the properties of nonwoven media influence filtration efficiency and performance. The course also offers insights into the latest standards and regulations for various masks and respirators, new developments, reusable fashion protective masks, emerging trends and opportunities in air filtration for personal protection.
Course Outline
Introduction to Air Filtration for Personal Protection (Christine Sun)
Core Media Technologies (MB, Nanofiber)
Nonwoven Properties and Filtration Efficiency (Peter Tsai)
Electrostatic Charging and Performance
Standards and Regulations for Medical Face Masks, N95/99/100 Respirators, and Barrier Face Coverings in the United States (Sarah Smit)
Personal Respiratory Protection – Product Design, New Developments, and Trends (Eric Fu)
Filtration in RPE, Media Selection, and Global Regulatory Standards (Samia Moore)
Reusable Fashion Protective Mask Design and Trends (Wendover Brown)
New Developments of Air Filtration for Personal Protection, Opportunities, and Trends (Mehdi Shirmohammadi and panel)
Instructor Biography
Dr. Peter Tsai
Instructor
Dr. Peter Tsai, Emeritus Professor at the University of Tennessee, has over 40 years of expertise in developing meltblowing (MB) systems and electrostatic charging (EC) materials for creating air filter electrets. The MB and EC technologies developed by Dr. Tsai have been utilized globally to produce billions of N95 face masks and numerous other air filtration applications. As the architect behind the core technology in N95 respirators, Dr. Tsai has made tremendous efforts to help industry players and the general public worldwide stay safe during the pandemic. He has received numerous international awards, including the Impact Award by the Federal Laboratory Consortium, the Director Award from Oak Ridge Laboratory, the 2021 US R&D Award, the Health Care Heroes Award from Knox.biz, and the Innovator Award 2020 from the Chinese American Museum. Dr. Tsai has earned 500 academic credit hours in Science and Engineering, published 500 technical papers, and holds 12 US patents. He has received three of the most prestigious awards from the University of Tennessee (UT) in recognition of his contributions to technology innovation and transfer. He is remaining active in R&D, curretnly conducting 10 projects with $1 million funding.
Christine Sun, PhD
Instructor
Dr. Sun, President of the Waterloo Filtration Institute, is a globally renowned technical and market expert in the filtration and nonwovens industry. With over 30 years of experience in academia and industry, she has in-depth knowledge of filtration and extensive hands-on expertise in product and business development, evidenced by her contribution of over 100 technical publications and patents in the field. She is also actively involved in the development of many air and liquid filter test standards, such as ASHRAE and ISO. Dr. Sun worked for Freudenberg Filtration Technologies from 2004 to 2011 as an R&D manager and then served as Technology Director for Donaldson Company from 2011 to 2013. She was the Chair of the American Filtration and Separation Society (AFS) from 2016 to 2017 and has received the AFS Fellow Award in 2019, the Sr. Scientist Award in 2012, and the best paper awards from INDA (Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry) in 2008. She is also an editorial board member for the Textile Research Journal and the Journal of Industrial Textiles. Dr. Sun received her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, and her Executive Certificate from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, USA.
Sarah Smit, B.S, CQPA (ASQ)
Panelist
Mrs. Sarah Smit, UT, USA, has been employed at Nelson Laboratories for over 15 years and has been the Director of Lab Operations for 2 years overseeing many departments focused on testing of medical devices and safeguarding global health which include Protective Barriers, Product Sterility (cleanroom and isolator), Bioburden, Bacterial Endotoxin, Particulates, Chemistry and Microbiology. Sarah spent the first 13 years at Nelson in the Protective Barriers section and was the Senior Lab Operations Manager during COVID and high demand of face mask testing. Sarah has experience bringing new test offerings, improving test methods, managing extreme fluctuations in workload, improving processes and customer experience. Sarah has been active in ASTM and AAMI standards committees for over 10 years and has been the sub-chair of the F23.40 ASTM biological committee for 5 years. In this role she helps oversees the standards for medical face masks and gowns and lead standard development and improvements for testing medical protective clothing. She received a BS in biology from the University of Utah.
Panel Speakers
Ms. Samia Moore, Global Marketing Manager – Respiratory/Medical/Personal Protective Apparel Systems at Hollingsworth & Vose (H&V), is a marketing professional and business developer with over 23 years of experience in the chemical and filtration industries. She spent 10 years at Clariant as a Sales Engineer before joining H&V where she has held diverse roles in Account Management, Marketing, and Business Development for 13 years. Samia is actively involved in industry standards development as a committee member for AAMI PB70 (Protective Barriers) and ASTM F23 (Personal Protective Clothing & Equipment). Samia’s recent focus has been on addressing gaps in Respiratory Protection Equipment (RPE), driven by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. She collaborates with healthcare workers, RPE producers, and regulatory experts to improve filter performance, production processes, and end-user adherence. She holds a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, and a Master of Science degree in Inorganic Chemistry from Lyon, France.
Mr. Eric Fu is the founder and managing director of Aimwell, an Australian company specializing in the design, manufacture, and market of respiratory devices for breathing protection, breathing training, breathing measurement and diagnostics. With over 25 years of experience in the respiratory device industry, Eric is an accomplished mechatronics engineer, product designer, and serial entrepreneur. His core competencies include research and development, design for manufacturing, and marketing of technology-based products with proven track records. Eric founded Aimwell Pty Ltd in 2017 with a mission to improve people’s breathing quality in work and life by delivering world-class and affordable breathing products through continuous innovation in design, manufacturing, and marketing. Previously, Eric co-founded PAFtec, where he led the invention and development of CleanSpace, an industry game-changing brand of powered respirators. Prior to that, he worked as a senior electronics designer at ResMed for 10 years, contributing to the product design for a few generations of ResMed CPAP devices. Eric is passionate about helping people breathe safer and better by creating solutions that address the challenges and opportunities in the personal respiratory protection, breathing training and diagnostic market.
Ms. Wendover Brown is a visionary entrepreneur based in San Francisco, renowned for founding Vogmask®, the pioneering brand that introduced aesthetically pleasing and highly efficient reusable filtering face masks. With a career spanning over 35 years, Wendover has amassed extensive expertise in product development, design, manufacturing, quality management, regulatory compliance, international distribution, marketing, and environmental education. She has led industry efforts to set new standards by combining functionality with fashion, creating protective face masks that are both effective and stylish. Wendover's commitment to innovation and quality has established her brand as a trusted global name, reflecting her dedication to enhancing public health and environmental sustainability. Her multifaceted experience and passion for creating impactful products continue to drive success and influence in the market.
Dr. Mehdi Shirmohammadi is the R&D Manager of Termeh Mask Co., a key face mask manufacturer in Turkey, Iran, and the UAE. He has more than 20 years of experience (academic and industrial) in air filtration systems and respiratory masks. Mehdi is a recognized expert in textile fibers, high-efficiency filter media, and antibacterial adsorbents, involved in co-leading standard development committees at the ISIRI in writing standards for respiratory masks. During his air purification research, he worked through the chain of air cleaning processes from polymers, textile fibers, filter media, filter elements, filtration systems, testing instruments, and standardization. He has been focused on antimicrobial adsorber filter media since 2010 and has some patents and publications. Mehdi received his Ph.D. in Textile (chemistry and fibers sciences) from IAU, Iran. He is a Certified Filtration and Separation Specialist (CFSS) for air filtration, awarded as WFI’s Student of the Year in 2022.