Our Team

Our team is dedicated to building a sustainable future through the development and implementation of the Circular Economy.

Meet Our Team

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Leadership team

Nabil Nasr

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Nabil Nasr is the founding Chief Executive Officer of the REMADE Institute, where he oversees everything from node-level research roadmap development to corporate engagement of the Institute’s largest industrial partners. Dr. Nasr also serves as the Director of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability and an Associate Provost for Academic Affairs at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Throughout his career, Dr. Nasr has worked in the fields of sustainable manufacturing, remanufacturing, clean production, and sustainable product development, and is considered an international leader in research and development efforts in those disciplines. Dr. Nasr has served as an expert delegate for the U.S. government in several international forums, including the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Dr. Nasr is also a member of the International Resource Panel (IRP) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Dr. Nasr holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Helwan University (Egypt), an MEng in Manufacturing Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, and both an MS and PhD in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Rutgers University.

Magdi Azer

Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Magdi Azer is the Chief Technology Officer of the REMADE Institute, where he oversees inter-node and Institute-wide collaboration in the development of new technologies.

With 20 years of experience in technical and business management, Dr. Azer spent much of his career forging innovation and collaboration at General Electric. As a program and business development manager, he worked to coordinate diverse teams of experts in manufacturing, software, and product development in building new pathways for technical collaboration and commercialization.

Dr. Azer was instrumental in GE’s involvement in other Manufacturing USA network initiatives, securing over $7M in total funding for efforts in technology research, scale-up program development, and full-scale deployment. Shortly prior to joining the REMADE Institute, Dr. Azer began serving as the Associate Director for Manufacturing Science in the Applied Research Institute (ARI) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Azer holds a BS (Kansas State University), MS, and PhD (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), all in Mechanical Engineering.

Michelle Schlafer

Chief Operating Officer

585.213.1031

As Chief Operating Officer, Michelle directs the day-to-day operations of the REMADE Institute, including project and IP management, technology transition, business development and sustainability, education and workforce development, marketing and communications, and institute staffing.

Michelle has over 25 years of industry experience leading large-scale initiatives in engineering, manufacturing operations, sales support, reverse logistics, and information technology. She is an inventor of nine US patents and holds a black belt certification in Lean Six Sigma.

Michelle has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University, an MS in Materials Science and Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and an MBA from St. John Fisher College.

Ed Daniels

Director of Strategic Programs

Ed has been with the REMADE Institute since October 2017. Prior to joining REMADE, Ed was with Argonne National Laboratory for 32 years. During his career at Argonne, his research focused on the development of sustainable manufacturing processes, in collaboration with the iron and steel, aluminum, chemicals, automotive and recycling industries. His last assignment at Argonne was as the Deputy Associate Laboratory Director for the Energy and Global Security Directorate. The research activities of the directorate included nuclear engineering, decision and information sciences, national security, transportation technology, industrial process engineering research and renewable energy. Prior to that assignment, he served as the Division Director for the Energy Systems Division, growing the Division to one of the largest at Argonne. During his career at Argonne, Ed established one of the first collaborative research and development agreements (CRADA) at Argonne and within the national laboratory complex. He subsequently led a number of other CRADA’s including a 10-year $20 million CRADA on automotive materials recycling with the Vehicle Recycling Partnership (Ford, GM and Chrysler) and the American Plastics Council.

He holds 14 patents and has authored more than 125 papers on energy and sustainable technology. His work has been recognized through numerous awards including the University of Chicago Distinguished Performance Award and the Intellectual Law Property Association of Chicago Inventor of the Year Award.

John Kreckel

Director of Membership & Workforce Development

585.213.1040

John Kreckel serves as the Director of Membership and Workforce Development at REMADE. In this role, John drives the Institute’s outreach to current and prospective members, and coordinates REMADE’s efforts to train the U.S. workforce in Circular Economy and sustainable manufacturing technologies.

John serves as Chair of REMADE’s Education and Training Steering Committee and works with subject matter experts on the Technical Leadership Committee to deliver training content.

Prior to his role with REMADE, John served as the Director of Economic Development for the late U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York. He received his J.D. from Vermont Law School and B.A. from the University of Rochester.

Megan Connor Murphy

Director of Marketing & Communications

585.213.1036

Megan Connor Murphy leads and develops REMADE’s marketing communications activities, raising awareness of the institute and its leading role in accelerating the U.S.’s transition to a Circular Economy.

Megan has more than 20 years of experience in public relations, public affairs, journalism, and politics. Her considerable experience includes work in the public sector, economic development, energy and environment, technology, and consumer product industries. Clients have included Fortune 500 companies, respected regional firms, and national consumer brands.

Prior to joining REMADE, Megan held various leadership positions within marketing communications agencies, leading and developing teams and directing public relations, public affairs, social media, content, business development, and crisis communications activities. For more than a decade, she worked at Dixon Schwabl, where she served as vice president of public affairs.

Previously, Megan worked in a variety of editorial positions with local, national, and international publications. She began her career in government and politics, working with the National Endowment for Democracy followed by a stint on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Mike HaselKorn

Senior Project Manager

Dr. Haselkorn is a senior project manager at the REMADE Institute and has assisted in the direction and execution of research roadmaps, industry interface, and technology scale-up development. Dr. Haselkorn’s career includes significant experience in both industry and research in material evaluation, product design, and production technology development for complex materials, where his work has led to more than 35 US patents. Dr. Haselkorn formally was a Research Faculty Member and Director of the Materials Science & Engineering Laboratory at the Golisano Institute for Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology. Prior to his work in research, Dr. Haselkorn also served as a Senior Project Engineer for remanufacturing at Caterpillar, Inc., where he developed expertise in remanufacturing process development and implementation.

Dr. Haselkorn holds a BS (Alfred University), MS, and PhD (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) all in Ceramic Engineering.

Technical Leadership team

Barbara reck

Node Lead, Systems Analysis & Design

Dr. Barbara Reck is a Senior Research Scientist at the Yale School of the Environment and leads the Systems Analysis & Integration Node at REMADE, where her work helps identify and prioritize opportunities to save energy and reduce embodied emissions across product design, material optimization, reuse and remanufacturing, and recycling & recovery initiatives. In Dr. Reck’s almost 20-year research career in the field of industrial ecology, she has focused on evaluating how sustainably materials are used in society, information relevant to environmental and resource policy as well as circular economy assessments. Prior to her research career, Dr. Reck worked in industry as Manager of Environmental Affairs for Lufthansa German Airlines. Dr. Reck holds an MS and PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences (Bingen, Germany) and the Technical University of Berlin (Berlin, Germany), respectively.

Bert Bras

Node Lead, Design for Reuse & Disassembly

Dr. Bras is the Deputy Lead for the Design for Reuse & Disassembly Node of the REMADE Institute. Dr. Bras works with Node Lead Dr. Deborah Thurston to oversee roadmap development and guide critical research in designing products to extend their life and maximize their extractable value. Dr. Bras’ 25-year career as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology equips him with considerable expertise in sustainable design and manufacturing that has taken him through many areas of industry, from automotive to alternative energy.

Dr. Bras holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Twente (Netherlands) and a PhD in Operations Research from the University of Houston.

Alan Luo

Node Lead, Manufacturing Material Optimization

Dr. Luo is the Deputy Lead for the Manufacturing Material Optimization Node of the REMADE Institute. In this capacity, Dr. Luo serves as an advisor and aid to Dr. Rohatgi, supporting research roadmap development and execution, identifying new needs and opportunities, and ensuring positive performance. Dr. Luo has led advanced research as a Professor in both the Department of Materials Science & Engineering and the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering at the Ohio State University. Prior to his leadership at OSU, Dr. Luo spent 15 years researching light metals manufacturing technologies with General Motors and translating his findings into deployable technologies to improve production activities—a critical translational asset to the REMADE Institute.

Dr. Luo holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Anhui Polytechnic University (China), an MS in Materials Science & Engineering from the Harbin Institute of Technology (China), and a PhD in Engineering Materials from the University of Windsor (Canada).

mike thurston

Node Lead, Remanufacturing & End-of-Life Reuse

Dr. Mike Thurston leads the Remanufacturing & End-of-Life (EOL) Reuse Node of the REMADE Institute, where he guides applied technology research and industry integration of advanced remanufacturing technologies and methodologies. As the Director of the New York State Center of Excellence in Advanced and Sustainable Manufacturing (COE-ASM) and Technical Director at the Golisano Institute for Sustainability. Dr. Thurston builds on 15 years of experience in remanufacturing expertise in the areas of design, product use-phase performance and health monitoring, and remanufacturing process technologies. This expertise includes significant experience in technology development for governmental stakeholders, having worked extensively with the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research, and Marine Corps. Prior to his work in research, Dr. Thurston worked as a Product Development Supervisor and Noise & Vibration Engineer for Delphi-Harrison Thermal Systems. The combination of Dr. Thurston’s expertise in both technology research and the product development process equips him well to lead the Remanufacturing & EOL Reuse Node to success.

Dr. Thurston holds a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and a PhD in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Vicki thompson

Node Lead, Recycling & Recovery

Dr. Thompson is the Deputy Node Lead for the Recycling & Recovery arm of the REMADE Institute working to ensure research roadmap development and execution aligns with industry needs, as well as overseeing industry partnerships and involvement in Institute research activities. Dr. Vicki Thompson is a Distinguished Staff Engineer in the Idaho National Laboratory’s Biological and Chemical Processing department. She has been with the INL since 1996. Her research interests include environmental bioremediation, development of novel forensic tests, use of extremophilic micro-organisms and proteins derived from those organisms for industrial applications such as waste water treatment, biocatalysis, production of fuels and chemicals from biomass and enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose. Her most recent research has focused on characterization of waste feedstocks such as municipal solid waste, agricultural wastes, food processing wastes and industrial wastes. These feedstocks cost less than traditional biomass feedstock and offer a way to reduce feedstock costs and enable the development of biorefineries.

Dr. Thompson holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University.

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