Presenters
Our Restek presenters have been chosen from across our organization for their in-depth knowledge, extensive experience, and innate ability to present complex material clearly and effectively. You will also find many of our presenters on ChromaBLOGraphy at blog.restek.com
Scott AdamsEquipped with a BS from The Pennsylvania State University and two years' experience as an environmental chemist at Lancaster Labs, Scott spent 13 years with Alltech Associates/WR Grace, where he worked in research & development, technical support, applications, product management, and e-business. Most recently before joining Restek, he also worked at Thermo Scientific as an applications specialist. Currently, Scott is Restek's GC business manager
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Mark BadgerDr. Mark Badger, Restek’s GC Accessories product manager, has been with Restek Corporation since 2002. He has had several roles within the organization: R&D, new product development and technical support, and domestic and international sales. An analytical chemist by training, his academic career was focused on applied hydrocarbon process technology. After obtaining his PhD from Staffordshire University, UK, Mark worked for the Energy Institute at The Pennsylvania State University for six years
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Haley BerklandHaley is an LC applications scientist at Restek. She attended Duquesne University, receiving her bachelor's degree in biochemistry and a master's degree in forensic science and law. As a graduate student, she performed research on the detection of drugs of abuse in vitreous humor by LC-MS/MS. Before joining Restek in 2023, Haley spent four years working as a forensic toxicologist. While in this role, she performed analysis of postmortem toxicology casework, identification of seized drug evidence, and development/validation of new assays by LC-MS/MS, GC-MS, and GC-FID.
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Jessi CollierJessi is an advanced scientist in the GC applications group where her work focuses on environmental and food contaminants. Prior to joining Restek in 2023, she worked for the Mississippi State Chemical Lab as a pesticide residue analyst, primarily testing regulatory samples, agricultural samples, environmental samples, foods, and other consumer products via GC-MS, GC-MS/MS, GC-FID, and GC-ECD. Jessi holds a BS in chemistry and a BA in Mandarin Chinese from Mississippi State University.
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Paul ConnollyPaul brought 24 years of analytical and chromatography expertise to Restek, including 16 years performing LC-MS/MS. He earned his BS in biology and a minor in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh, after which he was an environmental GC, GC-MS, and HPLC chemist for nearly a decade. Paul has also worked as a scientist and was principle investigator, group leader, technical leader, and method developer for a contract research organization providing LC-MS/MS support to the food safety, environmental, animal health, and crop protection industries. Paul was also a bioanalytical laboratory director, providing analytical laboratory services for drug development. As our liquid chromatography business manager, Paul's main focus is to grow and develop Restek's LC product lines and to provide our customers with high-performing solutions to their LC challenges. |
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Jaap de ZeeuwJaap is a world-renowned chromatographer with over 40 years of experience, including 15 years with Restek and 27 years with Varian/Chrompack prior to joining Restek. Throughout his career, Jaap has focused the chromatographic challenges of industrial analysis. For his 1979 graduation from The Institute for Higher Education, where he specialized in chemistry, Jaap authored a paper titled "The Challenge of Coating Flexible Fused Silica Capillary Columns" and has since distinguished himself as an authority on the subject. Jaap has been directly involved with the creation of numerous chemically bonded columns, including the first bonded PEG column and the stabilized PLOT columns widely used in the petrochemical arena. He has also helped develop new techniques, such as fast GC-MS using vacuum GC technology (low-pressure GC or LPGC). Over his innovative career, he has filed several patents for his work. Based out of the Netherlands, Jaap is extensively published and regularly travels internationally to share his knowledge. After retiring from Restek, Jaap founded CreaVisions, where he works as a GC Consultant and teaches master classes on key GC topics as well as on creativity in science. |
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Chris EnglishSince 2004, Chris has managed a team of chemists in Restek's innovations laboratory who perform new product testing, method development, and applications work. Before taking the reins of our lab, he spent seven years as an environmental chemist and was critical to the development of Restek’s current line of volatile GC columns. Prior to joining Restek, he operated a variety of gas chromatographic detectors conducting method development and sample analysis. Chris holds a BS in environmental science from Saint Michael's College. |
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Jason FisherJason Fisher is the Senior Reference Standards Product Manager for Restek. Jason has been with the company since 2006 and has supervised the packed column, inlet liner, LC columns, and air canister operations. Additionally, he managed the reference standards production and formulation chemistry teams prior to transitioning into product management in 2011. |
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Jana HepnerJana is an application scientist in Restek’s innovations lab. Her primary research focus is the development of solutions in food analysis for GC-MS and GC-MS/MS. Jana has over 10 years of experience with method development in both gas and liquid chromatography. Prior to joining Restek, she received her PhD in analytical chemistry from the University of North Dakota and her MS degree from the University of Chemical Technology, Prague. |
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Samantha HerbickSamantha Herbick is an applications scientist within the LC Solutions Department at Restek. Her primary focus is on the development of applications in the toxicology and life science markets. She attended Duquesne University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a master's degree in forensic science and law. Prior to joining Restek, Samantha worked as a scientist and method developer in a forensic toxicology lab. In this role, she performed analysis on toxicology casework and worked on the development and validation of new and existing assays using LC-MS/MS, GC-MS, and GC-FID. |
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Jason S. Herrington, PhDJason joined Restek in 2011 after spending over 10 years in environmental analysis, most notably as a postdoctoral research fellow with the U.S. EPA focusing on the development of techniques for organic speciation of ambient gas-phase and particulate air toxics. He has a BS in environmental sciences from Rutgers University and a PhD in exposure science from The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. His wide-ranging work has been published in over a dozen peer-reviewed manuscripts and presented around the world. As a senior scientist with Restek, Jason is heavily involved with developing new air products and applications. |
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Corby HilliardCorby Hilliard started his Restek career in the Quality Assurance department where he spent his first seven years as a QA analyst and worked his way up to a senior QA analyst. He then moved on to the Innovations department in 2009 as a GC Solutions Advanced Scientist. His experience is predominately in gas chromatography (GC) using various detectors and mass spectrometry as well as troubleshooting and method development. His primary work for Restek is generating product application data, using new and existing products in food safety, petrochemical, environmental, and the GC accessories line. He also is involved with quality and R&D as well as new product development. |
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Jason HoisingtonJason Hoisington received his bachelor’s degree in general science with a focus on chemistry from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He worked for SGS Environmental for seven years in environmental soil and water testing, developing methods for the analysis of volatiles and semivolatile organics to include pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In 2012, Jason moved on to lab and application support for Dow Chemical Company, providing advanced analytical troubleshooting and method development. In 2019, Jason joined Restek and has focused on air applications. |
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Grace IdowuDr. Grace Idowu joined Restek in 2023 as a principal scientist in the GC applications laboratory. She received her PhD in chemistry from the University of Manitoba, Canada; her master’s degree in environmental and petroleum geochemistry from Newcastle University, UK; and her bachelor of technology degree in pure and applied chemistry from Ladoke Akintola University, Nigeria. Grace's doctoral and post-doctoral research focused on the development and validation of GC methods for polycyclic aromatic compounds in environmental matrices. She has extensive experience developing analytical methods for GC-MS, GC-MS/MS, and GCxGC-MS, and her current research focuses primarily on persistent organic pollutants in environmental matrices. |
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Jonathan KeimJonathan "Munch" Keim joined Restek in 2001 with a BS in chemistry from Juniata College and an MS in analytical chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. With over twenty years at Restek, he has served in a variety of roles, including managing the technical service group and as the product manager for Sample Prep. Jonathan is passionate about chromatography education and now serves as the Content Marketing Manager leading an outstanding team that helps people all over the world understand and optimize their chromatography. |
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Shun-Hsin LiangShun-Hsin is a senior LC applications scientist at Restek. He received his bachelor’s degree from the National Taiwan University in 1988 and obtained his PhD from Michigan State University in 1996. He performed postdoctoral research at the University of Michigan from 1996 to 2000 for oncology studies. In 2001, he was appointed as research faculty at The Pennsylvania State University and focused on molecular toxicology research. In 2006, he joined MPI Research Inc. as a senior research scientist and was a study director for GLP analytical projects. In 2013, Dr. Liang joined the LC Solutions department at Restek and specialized in developing application methods across the fields of environmental, food safety, and life sciences. |
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Dörte Lohrberg, PhDDörte started her career at Restek as a sales rep in 2012, consulting and visiting customers for six years. In 2019, Dörte began working as a specialist for reference standards, providing her expertise about reference standards and compliance to customer and colleagues. Since 2022, Dörte has assumed the role of the business development manager for reference standards with a renewed focus on identifying and building new business opportunities for Restek's reference standards within the food, environmental, and cannabis market. Prior to joining Restek, Dörte worked at the Federal Institute for Material Research and Testing and was a research associate at the Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology in Berlin. She has a diploma degree in agricultural engineering and holds a PhD in protein biochemistry. |
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Diego LopezDiego is the product manager for sample preparation at Restek Corporation. He has over 10 years of experience in liquid chromatography for both chiral and achiral separations and holds a PhD in chemistry from The University of Texas at Arlington. |
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Colton MyersColton Myers is the R&D manager for sample preparation at Restek Corporation with over 10 years of experience in product development and application innovation, particularly in solid phase microextraction (SPME) and volatile analysis. He has made contributions across various industries, authoring multiple peer-reviewed publications. Starting his career in quality control before transitioning to the GC Innovations team, Colton now leads a team dedicated to advancing sample preparation and collection technologies. He holds a BS in chemistry from Juniata College. |
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Gary OdenGary has 20 years of hands-on experience with chromatography, including SPE, HPLC, and LC/MS instrumentation. He began his chromatography career in the laboratory as a bonding chemist and has served as a study director for PFAS analysis, specializing in both bioanalytical and environmental fields. His work in developing HPLC and LC/MS-MS applications has further broadened his expertise in chromatography. Since 2018, Gary has been a key member of Restek’s European-based technical support team, where he offers expert assistance to customers in overcoming complex analytical challenges. |
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Erica Pack, PhDErica is an interdisciplinary GC applications and technologies scientist at Restek. She obtained her bachelor's degree in forensic biology from The Pennsylvania State University, and her doctorate from Virginia Tech in plant pathology, physiology, and weed science. Since joining Restek in 2021, she has worked with a wide variety of GC columns, including fused silica, MXT, PLOT, and packed columns as well as accessories, such as liners, valves, and methanizers. |
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Jan PijpelinkJan has been a veteran of the petrochemical industry since 1980. He has extensive international experience in petro laboratories and with process applications throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. In his current position of technical business development manager for energy and chemicals, Jan leads our scientific collaborations and key industry partnerships. He also serves as chair of ASTM Section D02.D0.03 (C3 hydrocarbons) and as vice chair of D02.04.0H (SimDist). |
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Randy RomesbergRandy is a senior scientist who has been immersed in the design, manufacture, and use of LC columns for over 30 years. After working at Keystone Scientific, Inc., as both a chemist and research/applications supervisor, he came to Restek in 1994 to help establish Restek’s LC column product line. Ever since, he has been developing a steady stream of innovative new stationary phases, silica particles, and column hardware, such as the Biphenyl stationary phase, Pinnacle II silica and Trident guard system. Randy holds a BS in science from Penn State University and has collaborated with other organizations such as The Ohio State University and the National Institute of Science and Technology. Contact Randy Romesberg |
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Kristi SellersWith over 30 years of experience in chromatography, Kristi has worked for Restek as an applications chemist with experience in both GC and LC method development. She has also worked as a QC chemist and a process chemist in addition to her managerial positions in GC Column manufacturing, QC, the Applied Science Group, and R&D. Kristi is currently a senior product marketing manager for GC columns. She holds a BS in chemistry from Lock Haven University, an MBA from Regis University, and has been a Restek seminar instructor for more than three decades. |
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Alexis ShelowAlexis is a scientist in the sample preparation R&D department. Her primary focus is SPE in the environmental sector. In her previous role at Restek as an LC manufacturing chemist, she developed skills related to synthesizing silica particles, bonding stationary phases, and optimizing procedural workflows. Alexis attended Delaware Valley University where she earned her BS in wildlife biology. |
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Gary StidsenGary has over 30 years of experience in chromatography, including sample preparation techniques, air sampling, and chromatographic analysis. He specializes in gas chromatography with an emphasis on the environmental and petroleum markets. Gary has been at Restek for almost 20 years and has played an instrumental role in developing many key products and numerous applications. During this time, he has served as the innovations lab manager, product manager for both the GC Column and air sampling lines, and director of research and innovation, where he was responsible for all aspects of research and new product development. Gary is currently our business manager overseeing reference standards, air sampling, and sample preparation. |
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Jason ThomasJason first came to "Chromatography Valley," the location of Restek's state-of-the-art manufacturing and development facility, as a student of chemistry at The Pennsylvania State University. Upon graduation, he ventured into the environmental and chemical industries for four years before finding a home at Restek, where he has been involved in GC column development, environmental applications, and SPE product development since 2002. |
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Melinda UrichMelinda “Mel” Urich is an applications scientist in the LC Solutions department. Her primary focus is on the development of novel applications in the cannabis and food markets. In her previous role at Restek as an LC manufacturing chemist, she led the synthesis of silica, bonding of stationary phases as well as new process implementations and improvements. Mel attended Juniata College where she earned her BS in Chemistry and performed research in Atomic Force Microscopy AFM). |
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Becky Wittrig, PhDBecky is Restek's vice president of sales and is responsible for sales and distribution activities in this region. She has over 25 years of experience in chromatography, including GC and LC method development in the areas of food composition and food safety, environmental contaminants, and toxicology. She served previously as the European sales manager, Restek’s global LC specialist (2003–2009) and as a food & flavors applications chemist (2001–2003). Becky also spent two years as the food & environmental business development manager at AB SCIEX before rejoining Restek in 2011. Prior to moving from the Twin Cities to the Happy Valley, she supervised the chromatography laboratories at the Pillsbury Company and Ecolab, Inc., both in St. Paul, Minnesota. In addition to her BA in chemistry from Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, Minnesota), Becky holds a PhD in analytical chemistry from Purdue University and an MBA from the Krannert School of Business at Purdue. |
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Jamie York, PhDJamie York is a scientist in the Applications Lab at Restek Corporation in the LC Solutions department, where she works on the development of novel applications for the food, clinical, and cannabis markets. She earned her PhD in chemistry from The University of Texas at Arlington in 2019. There, she mastered many analytical techniques including gas chromatography–vacuum ultraviolet; gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization; and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry with a focus on food and environmental research. Jamie continued her post-doctoral work at The University of Texas at Arlington with a focus on the analysis of mammalian cell culture media by LC-MS/MS. |