organized by

SPONSORS

SUPPORTERS

official media sponsor

To Add Additional Sponsors:

Please use the navigator tool, this should be located in the left pane, that looks like stacked papers. This will open the navigator pane. Most of the time the elements will be collapsed. I’ve renamed the elements so that way we can easily identify what are headings and what are sponsors.

 

You will need to find the sponsor container in the navigator, then either use the keyboard shortcut of CTRL + D or right click the element in the navigator and select duplicate.

 

To Add Another Grouping of Sponsors

You will need to find the element that follows the naming convention of the grouping, then either perform the keyboard shortcut for duplicate (CTRL + D) or right click the element in the navigator and select duplicate.

Panel Discussion

Friday, September 18, 2026 | 4:50 – 5:50 p.m.

Join this interactive session for open, peer-driven conversations on key industry topics. Guided by experienced moderators, participants will gain valuable insights, explore diverse perspectives, and connect with leaders from industry and academia.

Moderator
Rogerio Lima, National Research Council Canada – NRC

Dr. Rogerio Lima is a Senior Research Officer with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), where he has been a member of the Thermal Spray Team since 2001. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Center for Thermal Spray Research at Stony Brook University and has extensive expertise in the development of thermally sprayed thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) and environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) for aerospace applications. Dr. Lima served as the 15th President of the Thermal Spray Society (TSS) at ASM International from 2022–2024.

Moderator
Radek Musalek, Institute of Plasma Physics CAS

Dr. Radek Musalek is a researcher at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, within the Department of Materials Engineering. His research focuses on the preparation, mechanical properties, and failure mechanisms of thermal spray coatings and spark plasma sintered materials. He holds a Dipl.-Ing. and Ph.D. from Czech Technical University in Prague.

Panelist
Nicholas Curry, Northwest Mettech Corp

Dr. Nicholas Curry is a thermal spray technology consultant with Northwest Mettech Corp., bringing extensive expertise in thermal spray materials and coating technologies. He earned his Ph.D. from University West in Sweden, specializing in Thermal Barrier Coatings, and previously led the R&D division for thermal spray materials at Treibacher Industrie AG in Austria. Since 2020, he has supported Northwest Mettech, SalloyTech, Entech AB, and various OEMs as a consultant on a wide range of thermal spray applications.

Panelist
Brian Hazel, Pratt & Whitney

Mr. Brian Hazel is a Senior Technical Fellow in the Materials and Process Engineering group at Pratt & Whitney, with more than 25 years of experience in gas turbine materials development. His expertise includes thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), environmental barrier coatings (EBCs), bond coatings, corrosion-resistant coatings, and single-crystal superalloys. Mr. Hazel holds degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from The Ohio State University and Purdue University and is the inventor on more than 70 patents and author of numerous publications in high-temperature coating technologies.

Panelist
Tanvir Hussain, University of Nottingham

Professor Tanvir Hussain is an internationally recognized expert in coatings and surface engineering at the University of Nottingham, with research focused on advanced thermal spray and cold spray technologies for aerospace, automotive, renewable energy, and healthcare applications. A Fellow of ASM International (FASM) and consistently ranked among the world’s top 2% of scientists by Stanford University, he has published more than 170 peer-reviewed articles and leads several major UK research initiatives in advanced materials and manufacturing.

Panelist
Richard Trache, Treibacher Industrie AG

Richard Trache is the R&D Manager for Thermal Spray Materials at Treibacher Industrie AG, where he leads a team focused on the development of advanced ceramic spray powders and suspensions. With nearly 20 years of experience in thermal spray technology, his expertise spans atmospheric plasma spray (APS), high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) processes, cemented carbides, and ceramic materials, building on research conducted at the Fraunhofer Institute and Dresden University of Technology.