Plastic film circularity: ambition, reality, and opportunity

This event has been cancelled. Please contact [email protected] with any questions. 

Brought to you by M-SPIRE, IPRIME, and CSP, our intent is to convene technical leaders from across the value chain – from material suppliers and converters to CPG brands and academic researchers. This workshop aims to move beyond why we must act and focuses on what challenges persist and how we can collectively succeed. The goal is to identify and map the hurdles you face today within plastic films and collaboratively outline a roadmap for the R&D and innovation needed to overcome them.

Speaker details

Kate Davenport, Chief Impact Officer, The Recycling Partnership

Kate brings nearly two decades of experience working on sustainability and waste. As the Chief Impact Officer for The Recycling Partnership, Kate works on advocating and implementing effective recycling policy to advance the circular economy.

Scott Trenor, Technical Director, Association of Plastic Recyclers

Scott Trenor is leading efforts on APR programs in design for recycling, recyclability testing protocols and global harmonization of packaging design and testing protocols. Prior to joining APR, he held R&D, technology acquisition and sustainability positions at Milliken & Company and Kraton Polymers giving him over 20 years of experience in the polymer industry. Scott is fortunate to serve on advisory boards for BOTTLE at NREL, CPI at UD, SM3 at ASU and MII at VT. Scott earned his Ph.D. in Macromolecular Science and Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Kurt Koppi, R&D Fellow, Dow Chemical

Kurt A. Koppi currently holds the position of R&D Fellow at Dow Chemical and serves as the Technical Leader of Dow’s Core R&D Materials Processing group. He is a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers and serves as a Board Chair of the SPE Applied Rheology Division. He has interests in polymer processing, rheology, and product development. Prior to joining Dow 32 years ago, he received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota.

Kimberly Schultz, PhD, Consumer Business Group, 3M

Kimberly Schultz is a product developer in 3M’s Consumer Business Group laboratory where she focuses on advancing sustainable product solutions for Scotch® and other 3M Consumer brands. She received her undergraduate training in chemistry from Ohio Northern University and holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Minnesota, where she conducted research under the guidance of Dr. Richard Hsung. Dr. Schultz began her 3M career in 2006 in the company’s chemical division, contributing to the development and scale‑up of acrylic adhesives, including the plant‑based adhesive used in the Scotch Home and Office Tape portfolio and eventually leading the waterbased adhesive platform. She moved to the Consumer Business Group Laboratory in 2018 where she has maintained a focus on sustainable product development. She has researched the impact of paper coatings on recycling and enhanced 3M’s capabilities for screening paper‑based products for recycle-compatibility. Most recently, she led the cross-laboratory investigation of recycled plastics into tape backings. Scotch® Heavy Duty Recycled Packaging Tape launched in 2025 with a 100% recycled plastic film as a result of these efforts.

Shuquan Cui, UMN

Shuquan Cui graduated from Fudan University, Shanghai, China, in 2016 with a B.S. degree in Polymer Science and Engineering. In 2021, he obtained his Ph.D. degree advised by Prof. Jiandong Ding in Polymer Chemistry and Physics at Fudan University. His Ph.D. thesis focused on structural studies of a thermogel with a thermo-induced sol-gel transition in water. In the fall of 2021, he began his postdoctoral studies in Chemistry at the University of Minnesota. At UMN, Shuquan Cui collaborate with Prof. Bates, Prof. Lodge, and Prof. Ellison on both fundamental studies and practical applications of block polymers. His projects include investigating the phase behavior of bottlebrush block polymers, as well as developing block copolymer compatibilizers to improve the toughness of recycled polyolefins.

Michelle Seitz, Circular Economy Program Director - Plastics, NIST

Before joining NIST, Michelle was an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy. She supported AMMTO’s Circular Economy pillar with a focus on advancing plastics circularity via program, strategy, and technology development. Prior, she was a Senior Scientist at DSM’s Material Science Center in the Netherlands where she worked on research and development of plastic materials. 

Rudolph Gbieor, Founder/CEO, Pace Mayo

Rudy Gbieor has a strong background across the supply chain and is working now to translate that experience as Founder and CEO of Pace Mayo. Our Omneboard™ High-Performance Modular Building Panels are manufactured from post-consumer recycled PET and deliver a sustainable, code-compliant alternative to traditional plywood.  

Derek Saxon, Amcor

Derek leads the Platform Innovation team within Core R&D at Amcor, driving the development of foundational technologies that enable solutions across diverse market segments. With a PhD from the University of Minnesota, Derek brings expertise in flexible films and coatings, spanning front-end innovation, product development, and commercialization—often at the intersection of sustainability and performance.

Ryan Jeffrey, gener8tor

Ryan Jeffery is an early-stage investor deploying capital into the founders building solutions to decarbonize our economy. As Vice President at gener8tor, Ryan leads North America's largest network of sustainability accelerators, investing in 50+ climate startups annually across energy, mobility, agriculture, and industrial innovation. Ryan is also a three-time founder (two acquired), with 15+ years building and scaling high-growth companies and is an adjunct Professor at Northwestern University.

Cecilia Hall, UMN Tech Comm

Cecilia Hall is the Technology Licensing Officer responsible for the portfolio of technologies within Engineering, Physical Sciences, and Horticulture. She brings subject matter expertise in polymer science and business-driven R&D to support faculty and staff in commercializing innovations developed at UMN. Prior to joining Tech Comm in 2023, Cecilia spent five years advancing technology in industrial research roles. She worked on projects that ranged from scouting early technology to process scale-up and commercialization, with direct experience in pursuing and protecting inventions to support business goals. Cecilia has diverse experience innovating across a variety of applications including flexible circuits and membranes.

Peter Jepson, HB Fuller

Phillip Hustad, VioNano

IPRIME workshops bring together experts from both industry and academia on focused topics of mutual interest. This workshop is free and open to IPRIME member companies, invited guests, and University of Minnesota faculty, students, and staff. 

If you are not an IPRIME member or M-SPIRE Partner, please contact [email protected] or [email protected] to inquire about attendance as an invited guest.