Our International Scientific Advisory Board
- Joseph G. Gho (Chairman of ISAB)
- Professor Norman Billingham
- Professor Emo Chiellini
- Professor Nikos Katsaros
- Dr. Graham Swift
- Dr. David M. Wiles
Joseph G. Gho (Chairman of ISAB)
Joseph G. Gho founded EPI in 1991 and, since that time, has served as its Chair, Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Gho’s experience prior to establishing EPI included conducting extensive audit and systems work for construction, resource and manufacturing corporations from 1966 to 1971 and working in public practice with Ellis Foster & Co., a chartered accounting firm in Vancouver, Canada (now Ernst & Young). Mr. Gho served as controller for Stevenson Construction Co. Ltd. and principal of the Flagstaff Group of Companies from 1972 to 1982. During that time, he developed, owned and operated numerous real estate investments in British Columbia and he also acted as a financial consultant to over seventeen development and investment corporations with construction developments amounting to over $200 million per annum. During the same period, he developed, managed and assisted in marketing, a comprehensive on-line, interactive computerized cost accounting package for general contractors. Since 1982, Mr. Gho was associated with a number of international companies providing financial and marketing services including private placement and public financing for technology, property development and computer software companies. Mr. Gho is also a director of the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Institute.
Professor Norman Billingham
Professor Norman Billingham has served as a member of EPI’s International Scientific Advisory Board since August 16, 2001. Professor Billingham is a Professor of Chemistry and former Head of the Department of Chemistry, University of Sussex, United Kingdom. He has over 40 years experience in polymer science and was awarded the RSC Industrial award for Macromolecules & Polymers (1994) with specific citation for work in polymer degradation and stabilization. Professor Billingham currently serves his second term as an elected member of the EPSRC Peer Review College for Structural Materials program and as a committee member of Macro Group UK (the joint RCS/SCI group representing all UK polymer science). He is Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier Polymer Degradation and Stability. Professor Billingham holds a PhD in Chemistry and has published over 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals, three books and numerous symposium papers, reviews and related publications. Professor Billingham is a director of the Oxo-biodegradable
Professor Emo Chiellini
Professor Emo Chiellini, Italy, a consultant to EPI, is Professor of Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pisa, Italy, and has 40 years experience in polymer science with a particular interest in biodegradable polymers and plastics. He has taught as a visiting scientist or professor at seven universities or institutes during his career and has been involved in 36 industry funded research and development projects spanning a 25 year period with leading companies. He is a Fullbright Fellowship Awardee. Professor Chiellini has been involved with numerous European Community funded projects and thematic networks as well as with the 6th Frame program and Muir projects. He has co-edited 17 books in the field of polymers, and serves as a member of the editorial advisory board of a number of scientific journals. Professor Chiellini has published over 350 publications in the field of polymer science and technology, has 20 patents to his credit and has written 17 books. He has attended over 170 national and international meetings and attended 50 conferences in national and international industries and scientific institutions by invitation. In addition, he has been actively involved in the organization of scientific meetings during his career, and is a member of a number of chemical societies and holds a number of representative positions, in particular, as it relates to degradable and bio/environmental polymers.
Professor Nikos Katsaros
Professor Katsaros has served on the EPI International Scientific Advisory Board since March, 2008. Professor Katsaros currently serves as a member of the Domain Committee of COST Chemistry and Molecular Sciences and as scientific expert in NCSR Demokritos. He previously served as a Director of Research at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the National Centre of Scientific Research Demokritos and as a Director of Graduate Studies at the same Institute. Professor Katsaros received his Ph.D in Chemistry and has published over one hundred and fifty research papers in peer-reviewed Journals and Proceedings of International Conferences. His research experience is in the fields of Inorganic Chemistry, Co-ordination Chemistry, Biodegradable Polymers, Bioinorganic Chemistry, Radiochemistry, Environmental Chemistry and Food Safety. He has been Chairman or Member of the Scientific or Organizing Committees of more than forty International Conferences. He served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Balkan Journal of the Environment, etc. He is an evaluator of many scientific proposals of the European Commission DG Research and a referee in many research papers and research projects of International Organizations and Journals. He has been President of the Greek Chemical Society, member of the Executive Committee of the European Society of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, and Chairman of the Inorganic Chemistry Division of EuCheMS.
Dr. Graham Swift
Dr. Graham Swift has served as a member of EPI’s International Scientific Advisory Board since August 16, 2001. Dr Swift, as a consultant to EPI, has and is assisting EPI on multiple projects including compliance with United States FDA requirements and establishing new ASTM standards methods and specifications relevant to EPI’s oxo-biodegradable technology. Serving on multiple plastic associations and standards committees including ASTM, SPI, and the American Chemical Society, Dr. Swift has extensive experience establishing standards and testing procedures in the field of plastics. Dr. Swift serves as an associate editor of the American Chemical Society’s journal, Biomacromolecules. He has over 30 years experience in the plastics and polymer industry working with both ICI in the UK and Rohm and Haas in the USA. Dr. Swift holds a PhD in organic chemistry and is an internationally recognized expert in polymer synthesis, applications, bio-degradation and green polymer chemistry. He holds over 90 US patents and has authored 140 scientific articles on polymer chemistry. Dr. Swift is a director of the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Institute.
Dr. David M. Wiles
Dr. David M. Wiles, Canada, R&D Consultant to EPI, is a scientist with over 36 years of experience in polymer stabilization and degradation of plastics in the environment. Dr. Wiles is internationally recognized as an expert in the photochemistry and microbiology of macromolecular materials. From 1975 to 1990, he was Director-General of the Chemistry Division at the National Research Council of Canada, and is currently the President of Plastichem Consulting. Dr. Wiles is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Chemical Institute of Canada and the Textile Institute (UK). He is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal and the Dunlop Lecture Award. He holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry and has authored over 200 research papers, 6 book chapters and is credited with 13 patents in the field of chemistry. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the SCI/Wiley periodical Polymer International. In 1989 the Society of the Plastics Industry of Canada presented him with the Canplast Award for outstanding leadership and continuous contribution to the Canadian plastics industry. Dr. Wiles has been a consultant to EPI since 1992 and oversees many research and certification projects.