
John A. Martens
Scientist, Engineer & Product Innovator
With degrees in both Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, John Martens has decades of impressive experience as a scientist, engineer and product innovator. He served as a corporate scientist for 35 years at 3M Corporation, and he has been involved in the development of products and technologies in many categories including biomedical, aerospace, consumer products and industrial products. In particular, he has been instrumental in the development of numerous nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and biomedical products related to the treatment of eye diseases.
1968 BS Chemical Engineering/Chemistry U of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
1968 – 2003 Retired (’03) as Corporate Scientist, 3M Corporation, St. Paul, Minnesota
2003- 2024 Consultant, Thimble Peak Consulting Services, LLC
2008 – 2009 Senior Materials Scientist, Sion Power, Inc.- Tucson, Arizona
2012 – 2017 Consulting Engineer, Robertson Fuel Systems, Inc. – Tempe, AZ
2014 - current Co-Owner Jamrac Corporation (Specialty Resins)
2008 – current Director, Snyder Biomedical Corporation, Tucson, Arizona
2012 – current Industrial Associate, Biomedical Engineering, U of AZ
- Biocompatible Polymers, Materials, and Formulations
- Biomedical Devices (glaucoma drainage valves, implantable devices)
- Nurtraceutical Formulations (Eye Drops, Capsules)
- Polymer Chemistry and Polymer Processing
- Product Development and Innovation ( revolutionary, patentable,
- new product / technology platforms)
- Chemical Engineering / Polymer Technology / Materials Science
- New Business Development from New Technology Platforms
- Defining Market Driven New Product Needs (from market analysis)
- Project Management (Large projects with Enterprise Level Impact)
- Fortune 100 Corporate Experience ( 3M and Bemis )
- Industrial Consultant (Aerospace Composites, Lithium batteries)
- Technical Innovation – Inventor of >40 US Patents
- Formulation of Therapeutic Eye Drops for treating eye diseases
Elected to 3M’s Carlton Society (Hall of Fame of Innovation) in 1987
Recipient of the 3M PPP (Pollution Prevention Pays) Award in 1982
Chairman of the 3M Corporate Scientists Council (1998 – 2000)
• 3M VHB Brand bonding tapes - $600 MM sustaining business for 3M Devised,
Developed and Patented the World’s First solventless manufacturing technology for
producing High performance Acrylic Pressure Sensitive Adhesives providing the
basis for 3M to maintain its world market leadership in the High Bond and specialty
PSA market. 3M continues to lead this market based on this technology platform
and has received over 100 patents based on it.
3M Website: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/VHB/Tapes
• 3M Vikuiti Brand Optical films- $Billion+ MM sustaining business for 3M
Presented with the challenge of developing new technology to exponentially increase manufacturing productivity for high quality Fresnel optical lenses for 3M’s growing Overhead projector and Optical lighting businesses, a revolutionary technology called rapid microreplication using novel ultraviolet light (UV) curable photopolymers was developed which 3M successfully commercialized. This technology was responsible for 3M developing and maintaining a market leadership position which they have retained to this day. Several patents came from this work.
3M Website: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Vikuiti1/BrandProducts
• DuPont CyrelFast Flexographic Printing Plate system- $Billion++ MM business
The flexographic printing process is the pre-eminent printing process for
the packaging industry. Devised, developed and patented a revolutionary solventless
process for manufacturing flexographic printing plates which has received numerous awards given by the packaging industry. This technology was sold by 3M to DuPont in 1999 and continues to growing exponentially in this significant World Wide market. Numerous patents were awarded which protect this business.
DuPont Website: http://www2.dupont.com/Packaging_Graphics/en_US/products/thermal_platemak
• Ultraviolet and Electron Beam Curing: Pioneer in recognizing the potential of this technology in the 1970’s and in developing commercial applications of it for numerous markets. Among the many commercially successful product lines for 3M that came from these efforts include:
* VHB Brand high bond tapes
* High Density Data Recording Diskettes (2 MB)
* Vikuiti Brand Light Control Films
* Flexible Diamond Grade Reflective Sheeting
• Microreplication and Microstructured Surfaces: A novel 3M pioneered technology that involves producing microstructured surfaces with novel properties (optical, chemical, physical) for varied applications. Contributions revolve around mass producing these surfaces using fast curing resins, which is essential for commercialization. Continuous production of optical quality Fresnel type lenses is an example of commercial use of this technology. The 3M Vikuiti brand brightness enhancement (BEF) films are world leaders in this market place and are used in virtually every laptop computer sold in the world and have many other uses. The commercialization of BEF films led to the creation of the Optical
Systems Division by 3M that over several years became 3M’s largest and most profitable division with annual sales exceeding $3 Billion
• Thermal Mass Transfer Imaging: This technology was ultimately sold to DuPont
and became the CyrelFAST product line (see above)
• Jamrac Corporation markets specialty polymer branded products and formulations for producing high performance surf boards (Stckleback, Abalone, Barreleye) that are environmentally friendly and worker safe.
Medical and Pharmaceutical:
- Biomedical Devices including commercial development of a glaucoma drainage valve for both human and veterinary markets (Snyder Biomedical Corporation)
- ECG Electrodes - conductive pressure sensitive adhesives for skin contact (3M)
- Silux Light Curable Dental Resins- developed the purification process (3M)
- Formulation of nutraceutlcal and pharmaceutical products for treating eye diseases
Fuel Cells and Batteries:
* Battery and Fuel Cell Separator Membranes - perfluoro polymers (Nafion type)
Aerospace Composites / Adhesives / Binders:
- Aromatic Cyanates (used in the F-16 fighter- 3M)- developed the chemistry and manufacturing process
- Phenolic (Resole) Resins (binders for 3M coated abrasives)- developed an improved
process to manufacture on a production scale
- Pre-Preg technologies for Producing High Performance Composites
Magnetic and Optical Recording Technologies
- Hard Discs / Diskettes / Data Recording Tapes – developed Electron Beam cured
products for these markets (3M) based on recording media produced from 3M proprietary high coercivity magnetic pigments and dispersions
- Optical Recording of high density digital data
*American Chemical Society (ACS) - Polymer and Nanotechnology chapters
*Arizona Nanotech Cluster Group
Selected US Patents and Patent Applications:
US 9173862 Methods and Compositions for Treating Age-Related Macular Degeneration
US8834406 Biocompatible Glaucoma Drainage Device
US9505470 Sports Device Structures and Compositions
US6171758 Dimensionally Stable Flexographic Printing Plate
US5322761 Flexographic Printing Plate Having a Vanadium Oxide Anti-static Coating Layer
US5281482 Magnetic Recording Medium Comprising Magnetic Particles and an Electron Beam
Curable Polyurethane Binder Having Segments Derived from a Specified Unsaturated Diol
US5279697 Device for Forming Flexographic Printing Plate
US5215859 Backside Ionizing Irradiation in a Flexographic Printing Plate Process
US5175072 Flexographic Printing Plate Process
US5028683 Electron Beam Curable Polyurethane Compositions and Method
US5015556 Flexographic Printing Plate Process
US4963209 Method for Making Stretched Surface Recording Disk
US4923711 Magnetic Recording Medium Manufacturing Process
US4889895 Electron Beam Curable Copolymer Useful in Recording Media
US4835647 Stretched Surface Recording Medium
US4783370 Recording Media Containing Alkyl Acrylate Copolymers
US4631229 Article Having A Coating Prepared from Radiation Curable poly(vinyl chloride)
resin composition
US4576850 Shaped Plastic Articles Having Replicated Microstructured Surfaces
US4559382 Processable Radiation Curable poly(vinyl chloride) Resin Compositions
US4271223 Plastic Label Stock
US4181752 Acrylic Pressure Sensitive Adhesives by Means of Ultraviolet Radiation Curing
Biocompatible Materials and Formulations ( Including Therapeutic Eye Drops / Capsules)
- Polymers /
- Coatings
- Medical Devices
- Therapeutic Eye Drops and Capsule delivery formats
Product Development
- Focused market research to identify market / customer needs
- Identification of revolutionary product concepts capable of changing the
Basis of Competition
- Rapid Development and Testing of product prototypes (alternative designs)
- Project management (milestones, timetables, resources, budgets)
- Development of product manufacturing methodologies (pilot to production scales, Best Mode issues, manufacturing costs including waste minimization)
- Product optimization (design, performance, safety and liability considerations, design for manufacturing, product life cycles including disposal and recycle)
- Identification and management of sub-contractors / independent contributors
- Collaboration / Evaluation by critical customer bases (Input of the customer)
Intellectual Property Development
- Strategic Analysis of prior art
- Development of IP strategy (patents -vs- trade secrets)
- Preparation of Records of Invention, Patent Proposals, Patent Applications
- Management of IP Portfolio Development (attorneys, USPTO, etc.)
- Circumnavigation strategies
Process Development
- Develop and evaluate manufacturing prototype processes (pilot scale)
- Identify and evaluate alternative state-of-the-art manufacturing methods (Best Mode)
- Identity key process variables
- Optimize the manufacturing process using statistical process control methods
- Develop manufacturing capabilities leading to early limited market introduction
- Assist in design / fabrication / startup of the production manufacturing operations
Polymer Technologies
- Thermoplastic polymers (acrylics, polyesters, polyurethanes, fluoropolymers, silicones)
- Thermoset polymers (epoxies, phenolics, cyanate esters)
- Block copolymers (elastomers, toughened thermoplastics, etc.)
- Amphiphilic Polymers (biocompatible, biodegradable)
- Interpolymers (block, graft, star, hyperbranched copolymers)
- Polymer morphology / rheology (control, analytical determination, optimization)
- Mechanical / Chemical property Optimization and Characterization (design for application)
- Microscopy (optical, SEM, TEM)
- Adhesives (pressure sensitive, thermosetting, high temperature stable)
- Non-woven materials
Polymer Processing
- Polymerization (addition, condensation, cationic) processes
- Extrusion (including reactive extrusion)
- Precision coating (hot melt, slot die, rotogravure)
- Surface Modification (plasma, UV grafting, oxidation)
- Radiation curing (ultraviolet and electron beam)
- Bonding processes (ultrasonic, corona treatment, adhesive, plasma surface modification)
Photochemistry
- Photoinitiation (Type I and Type II photoinitiators)
- Photocrosslinkers (trichloromethyl s-triazines)
- Free radical and cationic photopolymerization
- Radiation induced grafting / bonding
Precision Printing and Coating Technologies
- Flexographic, Offset, Rotogravure technologies
- Extrusion coating (slot die)
- 2-Roll coating
- Curtain Coating processes