Drew Manica, Ph.D. - Managing Scientist - Polymer Science and Materials Chemistry

Academic Credentials

Ph.D., Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, 2003
B.S., Chemistry, University of Kansas, 1997

Academic Appointments

Associate Professor, Pott College of Science and Engineering, University of Southern Indiana, 2013
Research Assistant, Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, 1997-2002
Teaching Assistant, Chemistry, University of Kansas, 1996-1997

Professional Honors

Awarded 12 company awards for examples of exceptional performance, General Electric Plastics, (2003-2010)
Most Valuable Player, Analytical Sciences, General Electric Plastics (2006)
American Chemical Society Travel Award for graduate students (2002)
Fassnacht Scholarship in Chemistry, University of Kansas, 1996
Clark E. Bricker Scholarship in Chemistry, University of Kansas, 1995
Sigma Xi Honor Society, 1993-1997

Professional Affiliations

American Chemical Society, Member
Society of Plastics Engineers, Member

Dr. Manica specializes in polymer manufacturing and industrial applications of polymers, with an emphasis in materials characterization, product development, and quality assurance. He has over 20 years of proven experience working in the polymer industry in areas including R&D strategy, polymer design, quality management systems, quality assurance strategy, manufacturing, and operational excellence.

As a quality systems leader and internal quality auditor, Dr. Manica is intimately familiar with regulatory and QMS requirements within the polymer and materials supply chains, such as ISO 9001, IATF 16949, AIAG Core Tools, ISO-IEC 17025, ISO 14001, and GMP requirements. He applies his technical expertise and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification to drive operational excellence and continuous improvement in diverse industrial business processes, such as product development, operations, and sales and marketing activities. Dr. Manica is skilled in the application and interpretation of analytical laboratory techniques to solve material problems, and drive efficiency and quality in industrial manufacturing and business processes. His laboratory specializations include gas/liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, vibrational spectroscopy, electron/optical microscopy, elemental, and thermal analyses, as well as method development, transfer, and validation protocols.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Manica held various senior leadership positions at GE Plastics / SABIC, Holland Colours Americas, and DSM Engineering Materials / Envalior, guiding regional and global teams of scientists and engineers in R&D and Quality processes. Dr. Manica was an Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at The University of Southern Indiana, Evansville and has instructed chemistry courses at Penn State University and The University of Kansas. Additionally, he has taught short courses in statistical analysis, experimental design and analysis, and problem-solving methodologies (TOPS 8D, RCA/CAPA tools).

Dr. Manica earned his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Penn State University after graduating from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. His doctoral thesis focused on development of microfluidic separations-based sensors for cellular analysis. Through the course of his studies, he published novel techniques to fabricate and utilize nanofabricated capillary electrophoretic microchips with electrochemical detection for the analysis of exocytosis from individual neurons, and he elucidated the photochemical stability and degradation products of fluorescent and electroactive markers for biological compounds.

Served as Chair of the Corporate Quality Leadership Team, accountable to the Executive Board of a multi-national diversified nutrition, bioscience, and materials organization (>22,000 employees, $1.9 B Adjusted EBITDA). Aligned and published a new set of corporate quality requirements, spearheaded a refresh of the leading and lagging quality indicators, and updated product recall procedures to protect consumer safety and brand reputation.
Successfully led a globally matrixed Quality organization covering 13 manufacturing organizations and remote locations, and encompassing >2000 employees through the QMS transition from ISO/TS-16949 to IATF 16949 with minimal minor nonconformities.
Streamlined and improved the global customer complaint handling process for a global engineering materials business unit (>2000 employees, $2B Rev), resulting in a 59% reduction in total complaints received, a 37% decrease in average response time, and a 21% improvement in customer satisfaction of complaint handling.
Led several teams of multi-disciplinary scientists, engineers, and technicians in research and development of engineering polymer resins, including amorphous, crystalline, and semi-crystalline engineering thermoplastics and mineral/glass composites thereof (PA, TPI, PET, PBT, PC, ABS, ASA, PEI, PPO, and PPE).
Delivered tangible results valued at tens of millions USD annually in growth and productivity through new product translations, market development support, raw material cost-out initiatives, and manufacturing quality/efficiency improvements.
Hamdi, M.; Manica, D.; Sue, HJ.; A Multidimensional Scaling Analysis of Surface Perceptual Parameters on Scratch and Mar Visibility Resistance in Polymers. SAE Int. J. Mater. Manf. 2017, 10 (2).
Zhuge, J., Chen, X., KS, A., and Manica, D. P.; Microscale Combustion Calorimeter — Applications and Limitations. Fire Mater., 2016, 40: 987 — 998.
Manica, D.P.; Mitsumori, Y.; Ewing, A.G. "Characterization of Electrode Fouling and Surface Regeneration for a Platinum Electrode on an Electrophoresis Microchip", Analytical Chemistry, 2003, 75, 4572-4577.
Manica, D.P.; Lapos, J.A.; Jones, A.D.; Ewing, A.G. "Analysis of the Stability of Amino Acids Derivatized with Naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry", Analytical Biochemistry, 2003, 322, 68-78.
Manica, D.P.; Ewing, A.G. "Prototyping Disposable Electrophoresis Microchips with Electrochemical Detection Using Rapid Marker Masking and Laminar Flow Etching", Electrophoresis, 2002, 23, 3735-3743.
Lapos, J.A.; Manica, D.P.; Ewing, A.G. "Dual Fluorescence and Electrochemical Detection on an Electrophoresis Microchip", Analytical Chemistry, 2002, 74, 3348-3353.
Robinson G.; Manica, D.; Taylor, E.; Smyth, M.; Lunte, C.; Development of a Capillary Electrophoretic Separation of a N-(Substituted)-Glycine-Peptoid Combinatorial Mixture", J. Chromatogr. B., 1998, 707, 247-255.
Presentations
Manica, D.P.; Charbonnet, A.T.; Paradkar, M.; KS, Raghunandana; AD, Rosa; C, Seetharaman; Raghunathan, K; Jestel, N.; Naik, S.; Berzinis, A.; "Characterization of Emulsion Polymerization of Poly(butylacrylate) by Gas Chromatography, ATR-FTIR, NMR, and Iodometry", Poster presented at the 32nd Annual Conference of the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopic Societies (FACSS), Quebec City, Canada, 2005.
Manica, D.P.; Paxon, T.P.; Ewing, A.G., Monitoring Cellular Release Using Amperometric Detection on a Microfabricated Electrophoresis Chip, Presented at the 54th Pittsburgh Conference, New Orleans, LA, 2002.
Manica, D.P.; Lapos, J.A.; Jones, A.D.; Ewing, A.G., Dual Electrochemical and Optical Detection on a Microfabricated Electrophoresis Chip, Micro Total Analysis Systems 2001: Proceedings of µTAS 2001 Symposium, Monterey, CA.
Lapos, J.A.; Manica, D.P.; Ewing, A.G., Cell Monitoring on Microfabricated Chips with Optically Gated Sample Introduction and Dual Detection, Presented at the 12th Annual Frederick Conference on Capillary Elecrophoresis, Frederick, MD, 2001.
Ewing, A.G.; Lapos, J.A.; Woods, L.A.; Manica, D.P., Analysis of Cells with Chips and Nanocapillaries, Presented at the 24th International Symposium on Capillary Chromatography and Electrophoresis, Las Vegas, NV, 2001.
Ewing, A.G.; Smith, E.M.; Lapos, J.A.; Manica, D.P., High Throughput Separations on Chips Through Both Parallel and Series Formats, Presented at High Performance Capillary Electrophoresis, Boston, MA, 2001.
Ewing, A.G.; Lapos, J.A.; Xu, H.; Manica, D.P., Gated Fluorescence Injection and Detection on a Chip, Presented at PacificChem 2000, Honolulu, HI, 2000.
Manica, D.P.; Davies, M.I; Lunte, S.M., Evaluation of Extraction Efficiency of Microdialysis Probes: Interaction between Membrane and Analyte Properties, Presented at the 1997 Undergraduate Research Symposium, Lawrence, KS, 1997.
Director — R&D Americas, DSM Engineering Materials, 2020-2023
Chair — Corporate Quality Leadership Team, DSM, 2019-2020
Director — Global Quality, DSM Engineering Materials, 2017-2023
Director — R&D, Quality, Business Development, and Application Development, Holland Colours Americas, 2016-2017
Sr. Manager — Polymer and Materials Physics, SABIC, 2013-2016
Sr. Manager — Analytical Technology, SABIC, 2010-2013
Lead Analytical Chemist and Six Sigma Black Belt, SABIC, 2007-2010
Lead Analytical Chemist, GE Plastics, 2003-2007
US Patent Application US-20220119635-A1, Method of Forming Articles from Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene. Filed February 14, 2020, Published April 21, 2022 (Youngstrom, CR; Chen, C; Xu, J; Lowry, V; Zhou, B; Wan, C; Manica, DP)
Related Patent Documents:
- WO/2020/168180
- CN113423495
- KR1020210125081
- EP3924099
- JP2022520251

Drew Manica

Project Experience

Publications

Prior Experiences

Patents