2007 AFS Chair - Jerry Lynch

Jerry Lynch has 20 plus years of experience in filtration and separation technologies and has been a member of the American Filtration and Separations Society since 1989. He has served the AFS in various positions including; Chapter Affairs Chairman, Annual Conference Chair, Technical Session Moderator, Technical Speaker, Filtration Short Course Instructor, and Mid Atlantic Chapter President (9 yrs).

In 1999 Jerry acquired Sigma Design Company in Springfield, New Jersey. Founded in 1962, Sigma Design has been working behind the scenes at many prominent filter manufacturing firms developing innovative new products, manufacturing systems, and turnkey liquid process systems. Prior positions include 10+ years as Director of Engineering at Hayward Filtration. As a senior level manager, he was responsible for all phases of new product development. He has significant experience in technology acquisitions and has assisted in launching 6 new ventures.

He spent his early career as a marine equipment engineer for M Rosenblatt & Son’s and worked for 10 years overseas for J. Ray McDermott Marine and the US Navy. Jerry served 6 years in the U.S. Navy 4 of which was shipboard on a US Navy Destroyer. Education: MS Management; Stevens Institute of Technology: Hoboken, New Jersey, BE Engineering; State University of New York: Stony Brook, New York. Jerry is a licensed professional engineer in NY & NJ. and has been issued 4 US patents (2 more pending) on separation systems and equipment.

Why did you join the AFS?

In 1989 we thought of ourselves as a housing fabricator and strainer manufacturer, even though we had hundreds of separation and filtration products. Involvement with the AFS was the best way for us to learn about the broad science of filtration and separation as a course subject. Making AFS part of our new product and new business strategy made good sense and has paid off in many ways.

What changes have had the most impact on the filtration industry?

Recent consolidation in the filtration industry has created new ventures and teams with deeper insight to product and manufacturing processes. This has led to the development of new manufacturing methods and innovative products both here and abroad.

Where do you see the filtration Industry in 5 – 10 Years?

The US remains the innovative leader in many of the basic sciences that lead to separation technology development. While the manufacturing of mature and commodity products move offshore to low labor cost areas, new technologies and their development into new products and markets will be a strong. Especially for US firms that embrace a broader technology approach. By this I mean ones that utilize the talents and resources of our National Laboratories, Universities and technical education societies like the AFS. Some of the top R&D areas for 2007 that utilize separation technologies include: Environmentally Green Power Systems, Clean Ocean Environmental Systems, Nanoelectromechanical Systems, Anti-Bioterrorism, Battery-Chemical Energy, and Combined Drug Delivery / Medical Devices.