Ryan Dirkx, Ph.D.
1986g
Vice President, Research and Development, Arkema Inc.
Ryan Dirkx is the vice president of Research and Development (R&D), Arkema Inc., headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. In this capacity, he is responsible for R&D activity in North America, management of the R&D Center in King of Prussia, managing the U.S. corporate incubator businesses, and coordination with the global R&D activities of the parent company, Arkema, headquartered in Paris.
A 30-year veteran of Arkema Inc. and its predecessor companies, Dr. Dirkx has directed global R&D organizations for several Arkema businesses, most recently, those within the Performance Polymers and PMMA divisions. He has also held business and market management positions within the Specialty Chemicals division. He is a past chair of the Industrial Research Institute (IRI) and past co-chair of the National Academies’ Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology.
Dr. Dirkx has a Ph.D. in Solid State Science from Penn State and a B.S. in Ceramic Engineering from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He is a long-time member of the American Chemical Society where he is currently serving on the ACS National Award Selection Committee. He actively supports STEM education activities and is the current president for the Penn State Department of Materials Science and Engineering External Advisory Board.