Donaldson Co. Inc., a manufacturer of filtration systems and parts, has announced the patent recipients and winners of the company’s 14th annual Inventor Awards. These awards are given to employees whose work on various technology innovations have contributed to Donaldson’s continued success as an innovator of filtration.
Employees are eligible to win one of five annually designated awards. The Technology Achievement Award is given to an employee who has developed a material, product, process or method that has made an extraordinary contribution to Donaldson’s long-term success. This year’s recipient is Hans-Michael Schuster for Ultrapac 2000. Schuster is a technical manager for Compressed Air and Process, based in Haan, Germany.
The Emerging Innovator Award recognizes innovative technical leadership from those with fewer than 10 years of experience at Donaldson. This year’s winner is Matt Goertz, Corporate Technology, senior scientist, based in Bloomington, Minnesota.
The Technology Champion Award recognizes an individual who advances a technology or process against popular opinion, which is later recognized as the right thing to do. Dave Mulder, engineering director for Engine Off-road Air Filtration Applications, and Brian Tucker, development engineering director for Engine Liquid Filtration, both based in Bloomington, Minnesota, are this year’s recipients.
The Frank A. Donaldson Award, named after the company’s founder, recognizes long-term engineering achievement. This year’s awardee is Johan Fobe, director of the Donaldson Innovation and Technology Center in Leuven, Belgium.
Donaldson also recognized 65 employees who received patents in calendar year 2015, including: Dan Adamek; Andy Albitz; Ted Bezat; Wayne Bishop; Mark Boyce; Richard Brandimarte; Michael Brown; Fabrizo Buratto; Steve Campbell; Mauro Cantoni; Bruce Crenshaw; Andrew Dahlgren; Andrew Dallas; Johan DeWit; Nic Degelin; Jason DeGuelle; Korneel De Rudder; Randy Engelland; Chris Fischer; Steve Gieseke; Enrico Greco; Bradley Gross; Dave Harder; Mike Hebert; Doug Iddings; Jason Johnson; Derek Jones; Kurt Joscher; Veli Kalayci; Vladimir Kladnitsky; Lloyd Keleny; John Kirkwold; Steve Larsen; Kathy Legault; Andy Leier; Mike Madsen; Lee Miller; Ted Moe; Dave Mulder; Troy Murphy; Wayne Musselman; Ben Nelson; Larry Nepsund; Ben Nichols; Tom Olson; Dick Osendorf; Kirit Patel; Jeff Rahlf; Dominique Renwart; Dan Risch; Steve Sabelko; Kevin Schrage; Jim Scott; Bart Schellens; Ajay Singh; Tim Sporre; Ed Steinbrueck; Dan Tuma; Jimmy Vanderlinden; Erwin Verbelen; Fred Wahlquist; Paul Wendt; Bob Widerski; and Brian Zauner.
“As customers’ equipment and technology advances, Donaldson’s engineering, technology and operations staffs are continually developing original solutions that anticipate and exceed evolving requirements,” said Sheila Peyraud, Donaldson vice president and chief technology officer. “With more than 1,400 active patents and the design of industry-leading media, materials and products, our employees’ innovations are vital to our global filtration leadership. I congratulate each of the awardees on their outstanding achievements.”
