Program & Agenda
The LINE Austin
May 9 – 11, 2023
Austin, TX
Registration is open: $1,199 All Access Badge
Elevate Your Career
Enhance Industry Skills
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What does a conference designed by industry professionals mean to you?
Engaging
Healthcare packaging requires creativity, resourcefulness, and a specialized skillset. Each conference program will be developed to
present fresh material, new perspectives, trends and more so you walk away feeling empowered to handle your next challenge.
Relevant
Healthcare packaging is niche. You need actionable takeaways that apply to your field. We’re creating topical programs that boost your current skills and fill knowledge gaps. When you return from the[PACK]out, you’ll see the immediate impact on your work.
Innovative
As engineers, we’re always looking to anticipate the future needs of our industry and consumers. While we can’t give you a crystal ball, we hope to give you the tools to boost your creativity and take your ideas to the next level.
Our goal is to bring you a relevant, interesting, and actionable program that’s energizing and connects you with other industry professionals who speak your language.
Agenda
Monday, May 8th
Attendee Registration:
12 – 6 pm
Day 1: Tuesday, May 9th
General Session
6:15 – 7:00 AM
Optional: Exercise Event
7:30 – 8:30 AM
Registration, Networking, & Breakfast (Topaz Lobby)
8:30 – 8:45 AM
Day One Kickoff & Opening Remarks
8:45 – 9:00 AM
Keynote Opening, Paul Nowak
9:00 – 9:45 AM
The Intersection of Climate Change, Healthcare, and Packaging: Accelerating Industry Action for Patients and the Planet, Cristina Indiveri, MS, Erika Kimball RN, MBA, and Paul Nowak (moderator)
9:45 – 10:00 AM
Break
10:00 – 11:30 AM
Innovation Hour: The Innovation Hour will be a fast-paced session of TED-style talks highlighting collaborative research and new technology to address the industry’s most pressing challenges and needs. Whether developing and adopting novel innovations or applying proven solutions in new ways or from tangential spaces, this session of researchers, innovators, and users will inform and deliver quantifiable impacts to be gained by leaning into challenging the status quo.
- Innovation Hour Intro
- Answering the FDA Ethylene Oxide (EtO) Sterilization Innovation Challenge, Megan Frost, PhD and Kurt Yockey
- Progression of Digital Print in Healthcare Packaging, Rachel Ma, PhD, Haley Schrauben, and Dina Vees
- Bringing Industry and Technology Together with Academia, Matt Daum, PhD, and Matthew Wright
- Q&A with Speakers
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM
Lunch A
12:15 – 1:00 PM
Lunch B
1:00 – 1:20 PM
Packaging – It’s More Than Meets the Eye: Putting the “Ability” Back in Usability, Arti Roth, PhD and Amy Stewart
1:20 – 2:00 PM
Can your Package “Take a Licking” and “Keep On Ticking”? How to Tackle Human Nature and Mother Nature with Robust Package Design, Brian Farison
2:00 – 2:45 PM
Building Partnerships to Navigate Unprecedented Times: A Conversation with Supply Chain and Packaging Peers, Dennis Sullivan, Curtis Rose, Eric Pearson, and Karen Polkinghorne (moderator)
2:45 – 3:15 PM
Networking break
3:15 – 4:35 PM
Industry Power Hour
- MSU School of Packaging: Medical Packaging Center of Excellence: Matt Daum, PhD
- AAMI Technical Committee 198, Working Group: Jen Benolken
- ASTM F02 Primary Barrier Packaging Committee: Henk Blom, PhD
- HPRC (Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council): Peylina Chu, PE
- IoPP MDPTC (Medical Device Packaging Technical Committee): David DiVaccaro and Tyler Boyd
- KiiP (Kilmer Innovations in Packaging): Hanna Harris
- SPMC (Sterilization Packaging Manufacturers Council): Dhuanne Dodrill
- Industry Call to Action: Henk Blom, PhD and Austin Liu
4:35 – 5:00 PM
Industry Recognition
5:45 – 8:00 PM
Networking Reception @ P6 Rooftop Restaurant
Appetizers and Open Bar Provided.
Day 2: Wednesday, May 10th
General Session until 10 am
6:15 – 7:00 AM
Optional: Exercise Event
7:30 – 8:30 AM
Networking & Breakfast (Topaz Lobby)
8:30 – 8:40 AM
Day Two Kickoff
8:40 – 10:00 AM
General Session Theme: Leveraging Advanced Recycling Technologies for Sustainably-Sourced Medical Packaging Materials
- Unlocking the Potential of Advanced Recycling: Today’s Technology Landscape and Opportunities for Medical Packaging, Katherine Hofmann, PhD and Zack Patterson
- Catalyzing Circularity: A Case Study in Adopting Certified Advanced Recycled Materials for Medical Packaging, Cliff Labbe and Rod Patch
- Creating a Business Case for Advanced Recycled Materials: Critical Questions from the MDM Perspective – A KiiP Collaboration, Deepa Rampura and Anna Thomas
10:00 – 10:30 AM
Networking Break
Breakout Tracks
10:30 – 11:00 AM
Foundational Track: Using Damage Boundary Theory as a Tool for Sustainability, Nora Crivello
Tenured Track: Reducing Sealing Variability and Increasing Process Capability, Lynne Barton and Ben White
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Foundational Track: Wicked Stability: Project Progress and Workstream Updates, Nancy Battaglini, Jen Benolken, Henk Blom, PhD, and Rod Patch
Tenured Track: Shifting the Integrity Testing Paradigm for Medical Device Packaging, Rob Zecchin
11:30 – 12:15 PM
Lunch A
12:15 – 1:00 PM
Lunch B
1:00 – 1:30 PM
Foundational Track: Building a Plane While Flying is Not Easy – Learn How ASTM is Developing a Guide to Help the Industry Meet or Exceed Requirements of ISO 11607 Section 7, Broc Couling, Arti Roth, PhD, and Matt TerBush
Tenured Track: Not Concerned about the Regulation Landscape for Materials of Concern? You Should Be!, Alex Bowman and Haley Gorr, PhD
1:35 – 2:45 PM
Foundational Track Theme: Medical Packaging Recycling: Making it a Reality
- End of Life Journey of Medical Packaging: What You Should Know as a Packaging Engineer, Jamie Pero-Parker, PhD, Samantha Smith, and Keith Weitz
- Sterile Packaging Recycling Pilots: A Journey to Circularity, Nick Packet
Tenured Track Theme: User-Centered Packaging: Beyond a Container
- Human Factors Engineering: How to Incorporate Usability Principles and Practices to Packaging Design to Create Safe and Effective Product-Packaging Systems for Your Users, David Grosse-Wentrup, Dipl. Ing.
- Connected Combination Products Elevate User Experience, Mathias Romacker and Lisa Pierce
2:45 – 3:15 PM
Networking Break
3:15 – 3:45 PM
Foundational Track: Human Sustainability Through Connection and Vulnerability, Hanna Harris, Chris Kelley, Austin Liu, Seema Momin, and Jen Benolken (moderator)
Tenured Track: Medical Packaging From the Patient’s Perspective, Michael Johnston
3:50 – 4:55 PM
Foundational Track Theme: The Sustainable Packaging Journey: MedTech Perspectives
Packaging serves a critical role in protecting life-saving medical devices and maintaining sterility until the point-of-use. While these functions cannot be compromised, the demand for more sustainable healthcare packaging solutions is increasing. Whether your company has defined sustainability goals or you are just beginning the journey, it can be difficult to know where to start. How are medical device manufacturers challenging the status quo to reduce the environmental impact of healthcare packaging? In this session of TED-style Talks, we will hear from stakeholders at the intersection of packaging and sustainability as they share insights from their organization’s sustainable packaging journeys.
- Session Intro, Paul Nowak
- Packaging Groundhog Day: How Do We Challenge the Status Quo?, Nancy Battaglini, Haley Gorr, PhD, and Josh Bursack
- Q&A with Speakers, Moderator: Paul Nowak
Tenured Track Theme: The Path from Distribution to Validation
In this session, we will hear TED-style Talks that represent various phases of package validation. We will start with defining your distribution channels in order to design a proper validation plan. Taking that information, we will dive into how to choose protocols that satisfy both the distribution challenges and intricacies of ISO 11607. Wrapping up, we’ll challenge the status quo and discuss the possibility of leveraging validations for like-packaging. We will wrap up the hour with Q&A before testing your knowledge with a lightning round of trivia!
- Session Intro, Nora Crivello
- What is SBS Package Performance Testing 1, 2, 3 …, Jan Gates
- Comparing Impact of Distribution Hazards on Similar Packaging Systems – Adopting Bracketing Approaches to Meet Compliance, Seema Momin
- Q&A with Speakers, Moderator: Nora Crivello
- Distribution to Validation Trivia: Nora Crivello
6:00 – 9:00 PM
the[PACK]out Takes the Mic @ Speakeasy
Heavy Appetizers are provided with a cash bar.
Day 3: Thursday, May 11th
6:15 – 7:00 AM
Optional: Exercise Event
7:30 – 8:30 AM
Networking & Breakfast (Topaz Lobby)
8:30 – 8:45 AM
Introduction to Day Three Workshop
8:45 – 11:20 AM
TBA
11:20 AM – 12:00 PM
Live Q&A | Closing Remarks
Curated educational tracks for any level.
Whether you’re new to healthcare packaging or a seasoned healthcare packaging professional, join us to grow your expertise and knowledge of the industry.

Choose your own adventure from the topics that benefit you. Possible tracks include:
- Technical Skills
- Innovation
- Leadership & Management
- ASTM Standards
- Healthcare Packaging Process Qualification
- ISO 11607
- Healthcare Sustainability
- Healthcare Packaging Testing & Inspection
Speakers:
Attending the[PACK]outTM Conference is an investment in you, and we promise a ROI that will immediately impact your career.
Prepare for an experience like no other. With a customizable agenda, thought provoking content, and cream of the crop speakers, the[PACK]out in Austin, TX will make its mark on your career.

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