The 2024 Automotive Corrosion Symposium will feature speakers, presenters and panelists covering a broad spectrum of corrosion topics. Visit the Registration page to reserve your spot on April 11-12, 2024, at the Courtyard Detroit Downtown, 333 East Jefferson Ave., Detroit, MI 48226.
Keynote
Mark Nichols
Senior Technical Leader for Materials, Coatings and Analysis
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Coatings Technology and Research
Dr. Nichols received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1992, after which he joined the Ford Research Laboratory. His current research is focused on automotive coatings and battery manufacturing. He is currently the Senior Technical Leader for Materials, Coatings, and Analysis at the Ford Motor Company, and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Coatings Technology and Research.
Panelists
Ullrich (Ulli) Haus
Technical Integration Engineer, General Motors
Ullrich Haus is the Technical Integration Engineer (TIE) at General Motors' Corrosion Engineering and Laboratory division. During his international career spanning nearly three decades he developed extensive expertise in coatings, materials, sealing, and corrosion protection. Ullrich's journey began in 1995 as a Paint Engineer at Opel Russelsheim plant in Germany, advancing to roles including Corrosion Engineer at Opel and an assignment at the Proving Grounds at GM North America. Following his return to Germany, he assumed leadership positions, including Lead Engineer for Coating Systems at Opel and Group Manager for Paint Materials at SAAB in Sweden. In 2006 he returned to Corrosion Engineering GM North America where he took on an assignment as Senior Design Release Engineer with Sealing and Adhesives before transitioning to his current role as TIE. Ullrich holds a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University Darmstadt, Germany.
Kim Lazarz
Technical Specialist, Ford Motor Company
Kim Lazarz is Technical Specialist for Corrosion Protection at Ford Motor Company. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from the University of Michigan, Dearborn, and Master’s Degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Michigan. She has 28 years of experience at Ford, spanning Research and Product Development organizations, and has led the implementation of design rules for corrosion protection of vehicles, including the newest generations of battery electric vehicles. She holds 21 patents, more than half of which have been implemented in vehicle production.
Omar Lopez-Garrity
Materials Specialist, Lucid Motors
Omar Lopez-Garrity is a materials specialist at Lucid Motors, currently leading Lucid’s Materials, Process and Joining team. He is responsible for materials design and selection, corrosion prevention, simulation, and process optimization. The materials team at Lucid is committed to optimizing materials and processes to help deliver the best vehicles in the world and create exceptional customer experiences that drive the world forward. Prior to joining Lucid, Omar worked at Tesla where he managed and led teams responsible for materials development. He developed corrosion models used for the creation of new sheet metal and gigacasting alloys, and led the development of Tesla's proprietary stainless steel alloy used in the production of the Cybertruck. Omar obtained his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, and a doctorate's degree in materials and corrosion from The Ohio State University.
Heather Eich
Senior Engineer, Toyota Motor North America R&D
Heather Eich is a Senior Engineer in R&D Materials Engineering at Toyota Motor North America with over 10 years of experience across multiple material disciplines. In her current role within the Anti-Corrosion group, she leads Toyota’s development activity for new corrosion evaluation methods with improved correlation to vehicle performance in the field. Heather is also responsible for new model development and material development for anti-corrosion, leading collaboration activity with stakeholders across the enterprise including design, manufacturing, quality, and product planning. She received her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering with a Business Minor at The Ohio State University in 2013.
Related Links
Southwest Research Institute is excited to announce the second Automotive Corrosion Symposium scheduled for April 11-12, 2024. Contact SwRI Automotive Corrosion or call +1 210 522 5458 for more information.