Program & Agenda

General Session

6:15 – 7:00 AM: thePACKout gets moving! Optional group exercise (location: TBD)

7:30 – 8:30 AM: Registration and Networking Breakfast (location: Commodore Foyer & Commodore Ballroom AB)

8:30 – 8:45 AM: Day One Kickoff and Opening Remarks

8:45 – 9:45 AM: Opening Keynote: Building Strategic Networks – Jodi Glickman

9:45 – 10:15 AM:Networking Break

10:15 – 11:15 AM: Industry Power Hour

11:20 AM – 12:00 PM: Coming soon!

12:00 – 1:30 PM: Lunch

1:30 – 2:30 PM: Professional Development Workshop: Pitching Yourself for Opportunity – Jodi Glickman

2:30 – 3:00 PM: Networking Break

3:00 – 4:00 PM: Usability Insights with Healthcare Users: How Aseptic Presentation Impacts Healthcare Workers and How to Incorporate Usability Lessons into Your Packaging Designs – Matt TerBush and Malinda Elammari

4:00 – 4:30 PM: Industry Recognition

6:00 – 10:00 PM: thePACKout “Game Night” All-Attendee Networking Event

6:15 – 7:00 AM: thePACKout gets moving! Optional group exercise (location: TBD)

7:30 – 8:30 AM: Networking Breakfast

8:30 – 8:40 AM: Day Two Kickoff (location: Commodore Ballroom)

8:40 – 9:10 AM: Day Two Keynote: Innovating in a Regulated Environment – Kim Chaffin, PhD, PE (location: Commodore Ballroom)

9:15 – 10:00 AM: Breakout Tracks

Usability Track Theme: Attacking Usability with Healthcare Professional Insights (location: Commodore Ballroom)

9:15 – 9:40 AM: KiiP: Surprising Discovery! Cross-Disciplinary Engagement is a Challenge in our Professional Lives – Min DeGruson, PhD and Melinda Harman, PhD, and Tanya Magaña.

9:40 – 10:00 AM: Medical Device Packaging Peel Opening: A Potential New Automatized Test Method Representative of Users’ Practices – Christophe Simon

Professional Development Track  (location: Constellation Ballroom)

9:15 – 10:00 AM: : Career GPS: Techies vs. Bosses – Which Lane Will You Choose? – Kim Chaffin, PhD, PE and Jenn Goff

10:00 – 10:30 AM: Networking Break

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Breakout Tracks

Materials Track Theme: Engineering Value: Using Materials Science to Drive Critical Healthcare Packaging Design and Testing Decisions (location: Commodore Ballroom)

10:30 – 11:00 AM: Exploratory Approach to Characterizing Heat Seal Coatings – Jeremy Elwell and Jordan Montgomery

11:00 – 11:30 AM: Analysis of PETG and APET Material for Performance Equivalency in Medical Device Thermoformed Trays – Joey Gotchnik

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Wicked Stability: Oxidative Induction Time (OIT) Deep Dive – Henk Blom, PhD and Jordan Montgomery

Process Track Theme: Process Optimization via Underlying Principles and Emergent Technologies (location: Constellation Ballroom)

10:30 – 10:50 AM: Sealing Success: Navigating Common Challenges in the Tray Sealing Process – Lynne Barton

10:50 – 11:10 AM: Quantifying Visual Seal Quality to Aid in Optimizing Sealing Processes – Emily Graba

11:10 – 11:30 AM: Harnessing Technology to Error-Proof the Medical Device Kitting Process – Bill Sanders

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Use of AI Technology in Packaging Machine Design and Controls – Dominik Rotter

12:00 – 1:30 PM: Lunch

1:30 – 3:00 PM: Breakout Tracks

Professional Development Track  (location: Commodore Ballroom)

1:30 – 1:55 PM: Sowing Success: Planting Seeds & Growing Your Career – Karen Polkinghorne

1:55 – 2:15 PM: New Kids on the Block: Navigating the Medical Packaging Industry as an Early Career Professional – Greyson Hammer and Chris Kelley 

2:15 – 3:00 PM: Crafting Your Career Narrative: Unpacking Personal Branding and Challenging Legacy Thinking – Sarah Rosenblum Ptach and Charlie Webb

Sustainability Track Theme: Sustainability Now! (location: Constellation Ballroom)

Track Description: The vast landscape of sustainability is undergoing rapid transformation, prompting packaging engineers to ponder their immediate actions in championing sustainability objectives – be it on a personal, corporate, or global scale. The sessions encapsulated in Sustainability Now! are designed to equip you with practical measures that can be implemented immediately, propelling you towards a more sustainable future.

1:30 – 2:05 PM: Eclectic Innovation: Design for Sustainability Roundtable – Jack Ensing, Christian Hutter, and Kristen Limos

2:05 – 2:30 PM: Think Like an Ecosystem – Lauren LaSpina

2:30 – 3:00 PM: Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) – Haley Gorr, PhD, Brian Ingraham, Edgard Ngaboyamahina, PhD, and Sarah Webber (moderator)

3:00 – 3:30 PM: Networking Break

3:30 – 5:00 PM: Breakout Tracks

Design Track Theme: New Perspectives! (location: Commodore Ballroom)

Track Description: Coming soon!

3:30 – 4:00 PM: Package Imagineering: Sparking Creative Package Designs Through Disney Thinking – James Inabinett

4:00 – 4:30 PM: Real-World Perspectives: Using In-Silico Design to Transform Design for Sustainability and Deliver “Minimum Viable Plastic” Solutions – Nic Hunt and Nathan Vanderschaaf

4:30 – 5:00 PM: The Other Side of Usability: Understanding Packaging Design Impacts to Process – Josh Bursack

Sterilization Track Theme: Navigating the Horizon of Sterilization (location: Constellation Ballroom)

3:30 – 4:05 PM: Charting a Path Together: How Medical Device Manufacturers are Responding to the Challenge for More Sustainable, Resilient Sterilization Practices – Speakers Coming Soon

4:05 – 4:35 PM: Designing for the Future of Sterilization Innovation – Dan Floyd, Wendy Mach, and Andrew Patton

4:40 – 5:00 PM: : Emerging Sterilization Modality Spotlight: Supercritical CO2 – Greg Mouchka

6:00 – 9:30 PM: thePACKout Sets Sail: All-Attendee Networking Event

6:15 – 7:00 AM: thePACKout gets moving! Optional group exercise (location: TBD)

7:30 – 8:30 AM: Networking Breakfast (location: Commodore Foyer & Commodore Ballroom AB)

8:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Day Three Workshop (location: Commodore Ballroom)

12:30 – 4:30 PM: Exhibitor Move-Out (location: Commodore Foyer)