WFI 2026 Annual Virtual Conference
Filtration for a Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable World
December 8–9, 2026, 8:00AM–12:00PM ET
Bigger. Bolder. WFI 2026 is coming.
Welcome from WFI 2025 Chairs
On behalf of the WFI 2025 organizing committee and all the distinguished speakers, we invite you to join us at the World Filtration Institute 2025 Annual Conference (WFI 2025), December 2–3, 2025, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST. The theme of this year’s conference is “Filtration for a Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable World.” Our distinguished international experts will explore the latest advances in filtration and separation technologies for clean air and clean water, and their critical roles in protecting human health, safeguarding critical equipment, and improving the environment — all contributing to building a healthier, more resilient and sustainable world.
The virtual conference will feature the following six sessions:
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Filtration Innovations for Resilient & Healthy Buildings
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New Technologies for Sustainable Filtration
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Filtration Advances for Emerging Technologies
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Circular Economy and Sustainable Filtration
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Regulations, Tariffs, and Resilient Global Operations
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Smart Filtration: Sensors, Data, and AI Innovations
WFI 2025 brings together global experts, industry leaders, and researchers to share insights, innovations, and strategies shaping the future of filtration and separation. Whether you're focused on air, water, energy, manufacturing, or advanced materials, this event will provide a powerful platform to learn, connect, and collaborate. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to engage with the forefront of filtration innovation and be part of the solution for a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable world.
We look forward to welcoming and seeing you online at WFI 2025!
Sincerely,
WFI 2025 Chairs
Dr. Christine Sun
President
WFI, US
Mr. Richard Lydon
Secretary-General,
Filtration Society, UK
Mr. Paul Marold
CEO
Aeristus, Inc., US
Mr. Tyler Smith
Vice President
Johnson Control, US
Conference Secretary: Ms. Camilla Gomes
Contact: info@wfius.com
Speakers
Mr. Greg Hoverson
Vice President and CTO
Atmus, US
Dr. Marc Schmidt
Vice President
AAF International, DE
Dr. Thomas Caesar
Vice President
Freudenberg, DE
Dr. John Ryan
CEO
iAIR Labs, IE
Dr. Jenny Berens
Chair
ASHRAE 52.2, US
Mr. Scott Yeager
President
FAST, US
Mr. Matt Ferguson
Global Product Manager FleetguardFIT, US
Mr. Philippe Wijns
Founder
CleverSustainability, DE
Mr. Jeff Thibodeau
Vice President
Mikropor America, US
Mr. Paul Marold
CEO
Aeristus, Inc., US
Mr. James Manser
Vice President
Johnson Controls, US
Mr. Tobias Zimmer
Sr. Vice President
Camfil, DE
Dr. Joan Gao
Founder & CEO
NFT Purification Tech., US
Mr. Paul Gagliardo
Founder and Host
The Water Entrepreneur, US
Mr. Tony Abate
Vice President and CTO
AtmosAir, US
Ms. Kathleen Owen
ASHRAE Fellow
Air Filter Expert, US
Dr. Yasmine Skanji
Director
ZAACK, FR
Mr. Jon Douglas
Director - Healthy Buildings
Johnson Controls, US
Dr. Joshua Manasco
Director
Elmarco, CZ
Mr. Nick Agopian
President
Reviveaire, US
Dr. Iyad Al-Attar
Strategic Director
WFI, CA
Mr. Martin Klein
Sr. Vice President
MANN+HUMMEL, DE
Mr. Wes Fisher
Director, Government Affairs, INDA, US
Ms. Ashley Jameson
President
PureAir Filtration, US
Dr. Thomas Peters
Sr. Director, Dr. Peters Consulting, DE
Dr. Michael Chen
President
Midwest Filtration, US
Dr. Ashley Scott
Founder & CTO
NanoMeld, US
Dr. Swarna Agarwal
Sr. Scientist, PTI Technologies, US
Mr. Tyler Smith
Vice President,
Johnson Controls, US
Mr. Richard Lydon
Secretary-General,
The Filtration Society, UK
Dr. Andreas Wiegmann
CEO
Math2Market, DE
Dr. Stephanie Taylor
Medical Advisor
ThinkLite Air, US
Dr. Jatin Khanpara
Sr. Vice President
AprilAire, US
Mr. Bruce Lorange
Director
H&V, US
Dr. Cédric Vallet
Business Development
Ahlstrom, FR
Dr. Sneha Swaminathan
Sr. Director
H&V, US
Dr. Samuel Li
Vice President
Freudenberg Filtration, CN
Dr. Mehdi Shirmohammadi
Director, Termeh Filtration, UAE
Mr. Mike Clark
President, Filtration Division, H&V, US
Dr. John McKeon
CEO
iAIR Group, IE
Schedule at a Glance
Filtration Innovations for Resilient & Healthy Buildings
Chaired by Tyler Smith
December 2, 2025
8:10 AM to 9:20 AM EST
Circular Economy and Sustainable Filtration
Chaired by Richard Lydon
December 3, 2025
8:10 AM to 9:20 AM EST
New Technologies for Sustainable Filtration
Chaired by Mike Clark
December 2, 2025
9:25 AM to 10:35 AM EST
Regulations, Tariffs, and Resilient Global Operations
Chaired by Paul Marold
December 3, 2025
9:25 AM to 10:35 AM EST
Filtration Advances for Emerging Technologies
Chaired by Nick Agopian
December 2, 2025
10:40 AM to 11:50 PM EST
Smart Filtration: Sensors, Data, and AI Innovations
Chaired by John McKeon
December 3, 2025
10:40 AM to 11:50 PM EST
WFI 2025 Program
Tuesday, December 2, 2025, 8:00AM–12:00PM ET
8:00–8:10 Welcome Introduction
8:10–9:20 Session 1: Filtration Innovations for Resilient & Healthy Buildings
Chaired by Mr. Tyler A. Smith, Vice President, Global Lifecycle Solutions, Johnson Controls, US
8:10–8:25 1.1. From Pollution to Prosperity: Integrating Filtration into Sustainable Urban Design
Presented by Dr. Iyad Al-Attar, Strategic Director, WFI, CA, & Visiting Academic Fellow, Cranfield Univ., UK
8:25–8:40 1.2. Odor Control and Fragrance enhancement in Residential Buildings and Occupied Spaces
Presented by Dr. Thomas Caesar, Vice President, Freudenberg, DE
8:40–8:55 1.3. Filter industry Megatrends and Rising Demands for Healthy Buildings
Presented by Dr. Marc Schmidt, Vice President, AAF International, DE
8:55–9:20 Round Table Panel Discussion
Panelists: Dr. Stephanie Taylor, MD, Medical Advisor, ThinkLite Air, US
Ms. Kathleen Owen, ASHRAE Fellow, Air Filter Expert, US
Mr. Jon Douglas, Director, Healthy Building, Johnson Control, US
9:20–9:25 Coffee break
9:25–10:35 Session 2: New Technologies for Sustainable Filtration
Chaired by Mr. Mike Clark, President, Filtration Division, H&V, US
9:25–9:40 2.1. Outlook of Nanofiber Technologies for Filtration
Presented by Dr. Joan Gao, CEO, NFT Purification Technologies, US
9:40–9:55 2.2. Next-Generation Wetlaid: Shaping the Future of Filtration
Presented by Dr. Cédric Vallet, Head of Business Development & Product Management, Ahlstrom, FR
9:55–10:10 2.3. Data, Design, Decarbonize: Transforming Filtration for a Sustainable Tomorrow
Presented by Mr. Martin Klein, Sr. Vice President, Engineering Filter Elements & Filtration Materials, MANN+HUMMEL, DE
10:10–10:35 Round Table Panel Discussion
Panelists: Dr. Michael Chen, President, Midwest Filtration, US
Dr. Sneha Swaminathan, Sr. Director, H&V, US
Dr. Ashley Scott, Founder & CTO, NanoMeld, US
10:35–10:40 Coffee break
10:40–11:50 Session 3: Filtration Advances for Emerging Technologies
Chaired by Mr. Nick Agopian, President, Reviveaire LLC, US
10:40–10:55 3.1. Data Center Filtration: The Hidden Lever for Lower Energy Costs
Presented by Mr. Bruce Lorange, Global Director, Corporate Marketing & Communications, H&V, US
10:55–11:10 3.2. Plugging into Efficiency – Can Electronic Technologies Improve Filter Efficiency?
Presented by Mr. Tony Abate, VP and CTO, AtmosAir, US
11:10–11:25 3.3. Filtration Intelligence: MEMS Sensors in Modular Air Systems
Presented by Ms. Ashley Jameson, President, PureAir Filtration, US
11:25–11:50 Round Table Panel Discussion
Panelists: Dr. Swarna Agarwal, Sr. Scientist, PTI Technologies, US
Dr. Joshua Manasco, Director of Business and Application Development, Elmarco, CZ
Dr. Mehdi Shirmohammadi, R&D Director, Termeh, Dubai, AE
11:50–12:00 2025 Product of the Year Award Ceremony
Presented by Mr. Mike Malloy, Communications Director, WFI, US
Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 8:00AM–12:00PM ET
8:00–8:10 Welcome Introduction
8:10–9:20 Session 4: Circular Economy and Sustainable Filtration
Chaired by Mr. Richard Lydon, Secretary-General, The Filtration Society, UK
8:10–8:25 4.1. Membrane Filtration Evolution - From Formulation to Application to Form-Factor
Presented by Mr. Paul Gagliardo, MPH, P.E., Founder and Host of The Water Entrepreneur podcast, US
8:25–8:40 4.2. Selected Aspects of Circular Economy and Filtration
Presented by Dr. Thomas Peters, Sr. Director, Dr-Ing. Peters Consulting, DE
8:40–8:55 4.3. New EN Standard and Its Impact on Development of More Sustainable Filtration Solutions
Presented by Mr. Tobias Zimmer, Sr. Vice President, Camfil AB, DE
8:55–9:20 Round Table Panel Discussion
Panelists: Dr. Jenny Beren, ASHRAE 52.2 Chair, US
Mr. Scott Yeager, President/CEO, FAST, US
Mr. Philippe Wijns, Founder, CleverSustainability, DE
9:20–9:25 Coffee break
9:25–10:35 Session 5: Regulations, Tariffs, and Resilient Global Operations
Chaired by Mr. Paul Marold, CEO, Aeristus, Inc., US
9:25–9:40 5.1. How Tariffs and Trade are Reshaping the Global Economic Ecosystem
Presented by Mr. James Manser, Vice President, Global Government Relations, Johnson Controls, US
9:40–9:55 5.2. Tariffs and Trade in the Trump 2.0 Era: Implications for Global Filtration Supply Chains
Presented by Mr. Wes Fisher, Director, Government Affairs, INDA, US
9:55–10:10 5.3. Engineering & Technology in the Filtration Industry for a Dynamic Global Landscape
Presented by Mr. Greg Hoverson, Vice President & CTO, Atmus, US
10:10–10:35 Round Table Panel Discussion
Panelists: Dr. Samual Li, Vice President, Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, CN
Mr. Jeff Thibodeau, Vice President, Mikropor America Inc., US
10:35–10:40 Coffee break
10:40–11:50 Session 6: Smart Filtration: Sensors, Data, and AI Innovations
Chaired by Dr. John McKeon, CEO, iAIR Group, IE
10:40–10:55 6.1. Consumer Centered Indoor Air Quality Intelligent system
Presented by Dr. Jatin Khanpara, Sr. Vice President, Engineering & Technology, AprilAire. US
10:55–11:10 6.2. From Petri Dish to Prediction: AI-Driven Aerobiology for Smarter Filtration
Presented by Dr. John Ryan, CEO, iAIR Labs, IE
11:10–11:25 6.3. Smarter Filtration Design through Digital Modeling and AI
Presented by Dr. Andreas Wiegmann, CEO, Math2Market, DE
11:25–11:50 Round Table Panel Discussion
Panelists: Mr. Matt Ferguson, Global Product Manager FleetguardFIT, Atmus, US
Dr. Yasmine SKANJI, Director at ZAACK, IGIENAIR Group, FR
11:50–12:00 CFSS 2025 Class Graduation Ceremony
Presented by Dr. Christine Sun, President, WFI, US
WFI 2025 Highlight Recap
Organizing Committee
Dr. Christine Sun
President
WFI, US
Mr. Mike Clark
President, Filtration Division, H&V, US
Dr. Ellie Amirnasr
Vice President
MANN+HUMMEL, DE
Dr. Gajanan Bhat
Chair Prof. & Dept. Head, UGA, US
Mr. Richard Lydon
Secretary-General,
The Filtration Society, UK
Mr. Nick Agopian
President
Reviveaire, US
Dr. Bryan Haynes
Sr. Technical Director, Kimberly- Clark, US
Dr. Yun Liang
Secretary-General, China Filtration Society, CN
Mr. Paul Marold
CEO
Aeristus, Inc., US
Dr. John McKeon
CEO
iAIR Group, IE
Dr. Vincent Hu
Exec. Director, Taiwan Filtration Society, TW
Mr. Vincent Edery
Managing Director,
IFTS, FR
Mr. Tyler Smith
Vice President,
Johnson Controls, US
Dr. Wu Chen
Chair, AFS Education Committee, US
Ms. Kay Devlin
Senior Director, Marketing, AAF International, US
Mr. Mike Malloy
Communications Director, WFI, US
About Us
The World Filtration Institute (WFI) is a global non-profit organization dedicated to propelling the filtration and separation industry towards a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future. Through our comprehensive education programs and robust industry support, we equip individuals with the knowledge, creativity, and skills to drive innovation and excellence. We offer a broad spectrum of resources, from cutting-edge research on filtration technologies to professional certification and networking opportunities. At WFI, we're bridging the gap between academia and industry to advance filtration and separation processes worldwide. Join us in our mission to create a better world through innovative filtration solutions.
