Technical Sessions

2026 Technical Sessions

Immerse yourself in the latest advancements and innovations shaping the surface finishing industry! 

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just entering the field, these sessions promise to equip you with invaluable knowledge and skills essential for success in today’s workforce. Prepare to be inspired by cutting-edge technologies, industry trends, and expert insights that will elevate your understanding and proficiency in surface finishing.

Spanning two dynamic days, our conference boasts over 60 enlightening sessions, each meticulously curated to deliver insights into crucial topics that you can preview below.

Please note, you must be registered for the Full Conference to attend.

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Tuesday Morning, June 2

Session 1: Advances in Equipment
Session Co-Chairs: TBD
8:30 AM
Fischer Technology Latest Innovations
TBD 
9:00 AM
Process Control Testing at Plating Facility
Austin Provost
9:30 AM
Residual AC Ripple in The Output of A DC ‎
Felipe Atti
10:00 AM
‎5 Different Heating Methods
Michael Leeming
10:30 AM
Overview Of Chemical Concentration Control
Paul Cook
11:00 AM
Optimizing Pump Efficiency and Reliability
Kees Stigter
11:30 AM
Takeaways For the Audience: Laser Surface
Alexander Hicker
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
Session 2: Automotive Surface Finishing
Session Co-Chairs: TBD
8:30 AM
Importance Of Tin, Tin Alloy, And Solver Impregnated ‎Graphite
Subrata Chakraborty
9:00 AM
Blackening Process for Electroless Nickel
Jacob Weingart
9:30 AM
Plating Industry Crossroads in Env Regulation
Ryan McBath
10:00 AM
Automotive Industry Zinc Nickel
Christian Kissig
10:30 AM
Topcoats Formulated with Environmentally ‎Responsible Raw
Tony Oriti
11:00 AM
Switch From Hexavalent to Trivalent Chrome
Steven Smith
11:30 AM
New Electroplating Solution with Highly Wear ‎Resistance
Jamie Chen
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
Session 3: Surface Finishing for the Military
Session Co-Chairs: TBD
8:30 AM
Blockade GC - A Non-Chrome Galvanic
Adam Goff
9:00 AM
Airworthiness Validation of Brush Zn-Ni
Beth Randolph
9:30 AM
Gold Copper Alloy Electroplating of Polymer Capsules ‎for ICF Research
Allen Gresham
10:00 AM
Critical and Strategic Material ‎
Keith Legg
10:30 AM
Ctitanium Chemical Milling ‎
Bart Stevens
11:00 AM
Hybrid Coatings to mitigate corrosion
Adam Goff
11:30 AM
Revisions to MIL-DTL-81706 ‎
Marie Claudio-Cintron
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing

Tuesday Afternoon, June 2

Session 4: New Techniques in Nickel
Session Co-Chairs: TBD
1:00 PM
Accelerating High-Phosphorus Electroless Nickel: A ‎New Era with Ennovate Stabilize
Peter Tremmel
1:30 PM
Electroless Nickel Applications _ Numerous & Diverse
Boules Morcos
2:00 PM
Electroless Ni Plating on Micropatterned SI (100) ‎Wafers Without Surface Pretreatment
Jack Walton
2:30 PM
Electroless Nickel Repair with Nickel-Phosphorous ‎Brush Electroplating ‎
Sarah Medeiros
3:00 PM
Elevated Corrosion Resistance Medium and High ‎Phosphorous Electroless Nickel Proc
Joe Zabielski
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
Session 5: Advances in Equipment
Session Co-Chairs: TBD
1:00 PM
Overview Of Chemical Concentration Control
Paul Cook
1:30 PM
Focus On Sustainable and Efficient Processes
Dave Simpson
2:00 PM
Electroplating Processes & Equipment for Data Center ‎and AI Applications
Rob Schetty
2:30 PM
Mechanical Vapor Recompression
Rob Fritz
3:00 PM
Midwest Electronics Manufactured Computer Chips
Martin Hanka
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
Session 6: Improving Quality and Training
Session Co-Chairs: TBD
1:00 PM
Predicting Quality: Using AI To Avoid Scrap Parts
Andreas Scholz
1:30 PM
Leveraging Technology for Sustainable Growth
Jeff Halonen
2:00 PM
Modular Anodes for A Sustainable Future: Circularity ‎in Electroplating and Surface Technology
Jacko Pijper ‎
2:30 PM
A Discussion on Technical Education in The Workforce
Jason Sikora
3:00 PM
TBD
TBD
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing

Wednesday Morning, June 3

Session 7: Light Metal
Session Chairs: TBD
8:00 AM
Pre-Treating Aluminum Alloys
Sascha Wegner
8:30 AM
DOE on Anodized Aluminum for Matte Finishes
George Oh
9:00 AM
Troubleshooting Anodizing Defects
Jacqueline Cook
9:30 AM
Meeting Design Complexity in Aluminum Anodizing
Romain Baudson
Session 8: New Techniques in Plating
Session Chairs: TBD
8:00 AM
Next Generation Plating on Plastics Process Without ‎Hexavalent Chromium and Palladium
Ryuichi Tamura
8:30 AM
Ternary Alloy Electroless Nickel ‎
Ambrose Schaffer
9:00 AM
Protective Coating for The Enhancement of Solid ‎Oxide Fuel Cell Durability
Desmond Madu
9:30 AM
Electrodeposition Of VIB And VIB Metals and Alloys ‎from Water-In-Salt Electrolytes
Qiang Huang
Session 9: PFAS Water Treatment
Session Chair: TBD
8:00 AM
PFAS Contamination in Challenging Water
Stephen Wheeler
8:30 AM
Ozone Foam Fractionation (FF) Proven
Steven Butel
9:00 AM
Closed Loop Circular Operation for PFAS Removal
Jack Huang
9:30 AM
PFAS Management Issues Regulatory, Health
Andrew Zlotnick

Wednesday Afternoon, June 3

Session 10: Improving Operational Efficiency
Session Co-Chairs: TBD
1:00 PM
Modern approach to industrial cleaning
Mike Burbey
1:30 PM
AI-Powered Sustainable Electroplating: A Preliminary ‎Study on the Development of a Domain-Specific Large ‎Language Model-Based Framework
Mahboubeh Moghadasi
2:00 PM
The Sustainability of Brush Plating: The Devil Is in The ‎Details
Joshua Thomas
2:30 PM
Advantages Of Pulse Automated Water Strip System ‎‎(PAWSS) Over Traditional Coating‎
Ryan Bradshaw
3:00 PM
Advantages Of Zirconium Pretreatments for Zinc Flake ‎Applications
Mike Burbey
3:30 PM
An Introduction to Optimizing Pump Efficiency and ‎Reliability Resulting in Improved ROI And LCC Through ‎Reduced Operational Cost as Well as Improved ‎Equipment Reliability, Reduced Overall Process ‎Downtime Leading
Kees Stigter
4:00 PM
Maximizing Cleaner Performance Through Rigorous ‎Analytics
Peter Tremmel
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
Session 11: New Techniques in Operations
Session Co-Chairs: TBD
1:00 PM
Electrodeposition in Porous Fiber Cloths: From Poor ‎Coverage to Optimized Process
Romain Baudson
1:30 PM
Surface Engineering Solutions for High-Performance ‎Busbars ‎
Ana Valenzuela
2:00 PM
Advancements in Membrane Filtration for Stabilizing ‎Aqueous Parts Cleaning
TBD
2:30 PM
Next-Generation Bus Bar Manufacturing: Integrating ‎Advanced Tin Chemistry with Au
Philip Hastings
3:00 PM
The Advantages of Spray Pickling
Joshua Backman
3:30 PM
Dual Mode Rectifier Monitoring for Plating Stability: ‎Real-Time Energy Analysis and Hi
Casey Lutz
4:00 PM
From Tribal Knowledge to Trusted Data
Bobby Haggard
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
Session 12: Water Treatment
Session Co-Chairs: TBD
1:00 PM
Cleaning Process in The Plating and Surface Finishing ‎Is Critical
Scholz 
2:30 PM
Efficient, Safe, and Clever Tempering of Process Liquids
Gaugigl
3:00 PM
The Importance of Controlling UV Coating Temperature to Stabilize Viscosity During Application
Bonner
3:30 PM
What Technical Support do Electroless Nickel Platers Really Need?
Feldstein
4:00 PM
Streamlining Success: Automation and Reporting Made Easy with PHTPlus
Haggard
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Aluminum
Finishing