After earning his PhD at Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands, Peter Vollenberg pursued a career in product development and polymer materials science with Dow Chemical, General Electric Plastics, and is currently with SABIC. Of his 36 years in the chemical industry, he worked in Europe 16 years and 20 years in the US.

Peter held various roles, all in research and development. Starting as an individual contributor, he moved to technical service and product development, interacting directly with major customers across Germany, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. The next growth step was global technology management, followed by a Master Black Belt assignment, and 6 years as a Corporate Technology & Innovation programs manager. At the moment Peter is a Research Fellow with SABIC Specialties, based out of Mount Vernon, IN.

Peter has worked on a broad range of polymer materials innovations, as evidenced by the 37 granted (original) patents in his name. An additional 24 patent applications have been filed and are pending. Recent major achievements in winning prestigious external awards are: 2021 Silver Edison Award, 2022 Bronze Edison Award, 2022 R&D 100 Award, and a 2024 Gold Edison Award. Noteworthy is that each of these four covers a distinctly different materials technology.

Outside of work Peter and his wife enjoy nature walks, especially in the Chippewa Nature Center. He also likes to read up on historical events and people who changed the world.