SAMPE 2024 Conference & Expo announces keynote speaker

The Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE, Diamond Bar, Calif., U.S.) has announced that Stephen Heinz, vice president of R&I for Syensqo’s Composite Materials Division (previously part of Solvay Group, Brussel, Belgium), will deliver the opening keynote speech at the upcoming SAMPE Conference and Expo, taking place from May 20-23, 2024, at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California.

Heinz heads research and innovation for the Composites Materials Business at Syensqo, a supplier of advanced adhesives, composites and high-performance polymers for aerospace and defense, automotive and other industrial markets. His organization is responsible for developing the materials and processes that will enable the future of mobility — a future that is light, electric or even propelled by hydrogen. Heinz is an industry-recognized composite subject matter expert and an aviation industry enthusiast.

“It will be an honor to open the SAMPE 2024 Conference this May and to share my vision of what the future holds and how the combination of materials and processes will make that future possible,” Heinz says. “The SAMPE organization is celebrating 80 years as an association, and we look forward to seeing how the industry has evolved over the past eight decades. Our company, through its multiple iterations, has been a leading industry innovator and we look forward to celebrating with the SAMPE team.”

According to Dr. Clement (Clem) Hiel, general co-chair of the SAMPE Long Beach Conference Committee, “His [Heinz’s] wealth of knowledge and experience in the composites industry is unparalleled. I’m also thrilled that Synesqo’s CEO, Dr. Ilham Kadri, has graciously agreed to provide an inspiring video message, running the SAMPE audience through her vision of sustainability through innovation and education before introducing our keynote speaker.”

Heinz’s knowledge and experience in advanced materials and processes, combined with his insights, promise to elevate the conference to new heights. Heinz holds a B.S. and Ph.D. in polymer science and engineering from the University of Southern Mississippi. Before joining Syensqo, he was a senior manager at Boeing Research & Technology, where he led an organization responsible for implementing new composite materials and manufacturing technologies in commercial and defense programs.

To register for this event, please go here.