Day 1: Composites in the Hydrogen Economy

Ginger Gardiner, a senior editor at CompositesWorld, began writing for Composites Technology and High Performance Composites as a contributor in 2006. She was hired as senior editor of the now combined CompositesWorld publication in 2013. She is a co-author of the textbook Essentials of Advanced Composite Fabrication & Repair. Ginger has a degree in mechanical engineering from Rice University and began her career as a technical marketing representative in DuPont’s Composites Division for KEVLAR and NOMEX products in aerospace and marine applications.

Michael Favaloro has 41 years in the composites industry with a career that includes experience in product and process development, manufacturing engineering and management, program management, engineering management, and business line management. In the 80’s and 90’s, Mike was at AVCO Textron and involved in the transition of several key composites programs from development to full rate production. Mike also worked at GE Aircraft Engines in that timeframe successfully incorporating composites to replace metal parts. Mike’s last job at Textron was business line director of the highly profitable composites and prepreg products which he assisted in its sale to different companies. Mike built and managed a team at Beacon Power which successfully developed a composite flywheel for energy storage, and he supported business development of thermoplastic composites for Ticona and Tencate in oil and gas, aerospace, automotive and medical industries. Mike is currently President of CompositeTechs, LLC, a professional resource company catering to the technical, business development and sales needs of the industry. In this role, he has consulted for numerous companies, including Albany, Mitsubishi, Sabic, Dupont, Exxon and others. Mike has given several papers at CompositesWorld events, most recently at Carbon Fiber NOW.

Mr. Migacs is a research and development engineer at CIKONI GmbH. He received his master degree in mechanical engineering from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He gained experience at Porsche AG and at Mercedes-AMG GmbH. Furthermore he participated in the Formula Student team of Budapest and Karlsruhe, and serves as Design Judge at the Association of Automotive Engineers in Hungary. His professional interests focus on lightweight design and simulation and her current projects includes the design of pressure vessels.

Luke Vardy joined Cygnet Texkimp as a design engineer in 2007 and became Chief Technical Officer in 2014 before taking overall leadership of the business in 2017. As company CEO, he has played a pivotal role in growing Cygnet Texkimp’s offering to the international composites market with a portfolio of full-life-cycle technologies built around sound fibre handling techniques, including creels, prepreg, coating, slitting, and filament winding.
He pioneered the company’s thriving programme of R&D, creating award-winning innovation, driving new concepts, and increasing technology speeds and capabilities to support the industry’s future ambitions, including its light-weighting and low-carbon objectives.

Dr. Dimitrios Sikoutris is the Application Development Lead in Cevotec GmbH. A Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineer with more than 15 years of experience in composites design and manufacturing. In Cevotec he is working closely with customers to bring the Fiber Patch Placement technology into manufacturing applications. Prior to Cevotec, he worked as an external partner for an automotive OEM on the design of engine thermal management systems. Dimitrios’ core expertise is on composites and their thermomechanical behavior with focus on aerospace applications.

Thorsten Groene is the Managing Director of Cevotec GmbH. As co-founder of the company, he acquired a deep expertise in automated composites processes early on and focuses on their applications to create value for manufacturers. Prior to Cevotec, he worked as a strategy consultant for international clients in the chemical industry. Thorsten holds an MBA from IESE Business School and has built up a worldwide network through his international projects and engagements.

Jeff Sloan has been editor-in-chief of CompositesWorld since 2006, overseeing and managing all editorial content deployed by the brand into its print, digital and in-person channels. CompositesWorld provides its audience global coverage of emerging and established materials and technologies used in the design, tooling, fabrication and finishing of composite parts and structures.
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CompositesWorld’s audience includes designers, fabricators and OEMs in the aerospace, automotive, defense, marine, energy, industrial and consumer end markets. Prior to joining CompositesWorld, Jeff worked for a decade as editor and then publisher of several trade publications serving the plastics processing industry.