Webinar: Thermoplastic Composite Solutions For Aerospace Structures by Gardner Business Media, Inc. Webinars

Thermoplastic Composite Solutions For Aerospace Structures

About

Innovative materials, advanced processes, and surging demand from the commercial aerospace and defense sectors for rapid production solutions are elevating thermoplastic composites to the forefront of aerostructures manufacturing.

When

Wednesday, June 24, 2026 · 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (US & Canada) (GMT -4:00)

Presenters

Lady Miah Kane

Digital Marketing Coordinator

Lexington Peterson

Americas Business Development Manager, Automotive and Mobility; Engel

Lexington Peterson is ENGEL Machinery’s Business Development Manager for Automotive & Mobility, supporting the Americas. She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Plastics Engineering Technology and Polymer Chemistry, along with an MBA, bringing a multidisciplinary perspective across manufacturing, materials, and business strategy. Her work centers on composite manufacturing trends, lightweight mobility applications, and the evolving role of thermoplastic technologies within North America’s automotive, drone and defense industries.

Eric Pohl

Research Associate, Fraunhofer

Eric Pohl is a research associate at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS (Dresden, Germany). He studied materials science at Technische Universität Dresden with a strong focus on polymers and composite materials. Since 2019, he is responsible for the development of the laser in-situ joining technology (CONTIjoin) at Fraunhofer IWS. He was the lead developer for butt strap integration by laser welding for the Multifunctional Fuselage Demonstrator (MFFD) within the European Clean Sky 2 programme, in which the longitudinal joint of the world’s largest thermoplastic aircraft structure was manufactured.

Francesco Rondina

Simulation Engineer

Francesco Rondina is a Simulation Engineer specializing in process and manufacturing, holding a Doctorate in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Bologna. With over a decade of experience in composite materials research, spanning computational mechanics, material modeling and process optimization. His contributions cover both aerospace and automotive sectors, ranging from the development of full carbon wheels to passive safety simulations for a leading Italian automotive manufacturer and contributing to crashworthiness prediction within the CMH-17 working group. With previous work at DTU and Leonardo, Rondina is now at the TPRC in the Netherlands, working in process modelling of thermoplastic composites.

Wade Bowles

Registered Profession Engineer

Wade Bowles is a Registered Profession Engineer with 40 years of experience in the
development of new technology, manufacturing and new product integration. He has
experience in both the automotive and aerospace industries working with aluminum
alloys and composites. Over the past 25 years, Wade has been focused on the
advancement of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic products and manufacturing
process that include initial concept through industrialization and high-volume
automated production lines. Wade holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering, MBA along
with (7) US patents.

David Leach

Director, Business Development; ATC Manufacturing

David Leach has over 30 years’ experience in polymers, composites and adhesives. He has spent most of his career in thermoplastic composites for aerospace and high-performance applications. His experience includes materials and process research, applications engineering, operations, new product introduction and business development. He has authored three book chapters and over 40 technical papers.

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