The 2025 World Filtration Initiative will bring together 42 experts from ten countries for a two-day online program focusing on filtration science, materials, regulations, sensing technologies, and AI applications. The event includes 18 technical presentations, six roundtables, six roundtable discussions, and two award ceremonies.
WFI 2025 – Program
Day 1: 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 Tyler A. Smith, Vice President, Global Lifecycle Solutions, Johnson Controls, US
- 8:10–8:25 1. From Pollution to Prosperity: Integrating Filtration into Sustainable Urban Design, presented by Iyad Al-Attar, Strategic Director, WFI, CA, & Visiting Academic Fellow, Cranfield Univ., UK
- 8:25–8:40 2. Odor Control and Fragrance enhancement in Residential Buildings and Occupied Space, presented by Thomas Caesar, Vice President, Freudenberg, DE
- 8:40–8:55 3. Filter industry Megatrends and Rising Demands for Healthy Buildings, presented by Marc Schmidt, Vice President, AAF International, DE
- 8:55–9:20 Round Table Panel Discussion: Dr. Stephanie Taylor, MD, Medical Advisor, ThinkLite Air, US, Kathleen Owen, ASHRAE Fellow, Air Filter Expert, US, Jon Douglas, Director, Healthy Building, Johnson Control, US
- 9:25–10:35 Session 2: New Technologies for Sustainable Filtration, chaired by Mike Clark,President, Filtration Division, H&V, US
- 9:25–9:40 1. Outlook of Nanofiber Technologies for Filtration, presented by Joan Gao, CEO, NFT Purification Technologies, US
- 9:40–9:55 2. Next-Generation Wetlaid: Shaping the Future of Filtration, presented by Cédric Vallet,Head of Business Development & Product Management, Ahlstrom, FR
- 9:55–10:10 3. Data, Design, Decarbonize: Transforming Filtration for a Sustainable Tomorrow, presented by Martin Klein, Sr. Vice President, Engineering Filter Elements & Filtration Materials, MANN+HUMMEL, DE
- 10:10–10:35 Round Table Panel Discussion: Dr. Michael Chen, President, Midwest Filtration, US, Sneha Swaminathan, Sr. Director, H&V, US, Ashley Scott, CEO, NanoMeld, US
- 10:40–11:50 Session 3: Filtration Advances for Emerging Technologies, chaired by Nick Agopian, President, Reviveaire LLC, US
- 10:40–10:55 1. Data Center Filtration: The Hidden Lever for Lower Energy Costs, presented by Bruce Lorange,Global Director, Corporate Marketing & Communications, H&V, US
- 10:55–11:10 2. Plugging into Efficiency – Can Electronic Technologies Improve Filter Efficiency?, presented by Tony Abate, VP and CTO, AtmosAir, US
- 11:10–11:25 3 Filtration Intelligence: MEMS Sensors in Modular Air Systems, presented by Ashley Jameson, President, PureAir Filtration, US
- 11:25–11:50 Round Table Panel Discussion: Dr. Swarna Agarwal, Sr. Scientist, PTI Technologies, US, Joshua Manasco, Director of Business and Application Development, Elmarco, CZ, Mehdi Shirmohammadi, R&D Director, Termeh, Dubai, AE
- 11:50–12:00 2025 Product of the Year Award Ceremony, presented by Mike Malloy, Communications Director, WFI, US
Day 2: 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 Richard Lydon, Secretary-General, The Filtration Society, UK
- 8:10–8:25 1. Membrane Filtration Evolution – From Formulation to Application to Form-Factor, presented by Paul Gagliardo, MPH, P.E., Founder and Host of The Water Entrepreneur podcast, US
- 8:25–8:40 2. Selected Aspects of Circular Economy and Filtration, presented by Thomas Peters, Sr. Director, Dr-Ing. Peters Consulting, DE
- 8:40–8:55 3. New EN Standard and Its Impact on Development of More Sustainable Filtration Solutions, presented by Tobias Zimmer, Sr. Vice President, Camfil AB, DE
- 8:55–9:20 Round Table Panel Discussion: Dr. Jenny Beren, ASHRAE 52.2 Chair, US, Scott Yeager, President/CEO, FAST, US, Philippe Wijns, Founder, CleverSustainability, DE
- 9:25–10:35 Session 5: Regulations, Tariffs, and Resilient Global Operations, chaired by Paul Marold, CEO, Aeristus, Inc., US
- 9:25–9:40 1. How Tariffs and Trade are Reshaping the Global Economic Ecosystem, presented by James Manser, Vice President, Global Government Relations, Johnson Controls, US
- 9:40–9:55 2. Tariffs and Trade in the Trump 2.0 Era: Implications for Global Filtration Supply Chains, presented by Wes Fisher, Director, Government Affairs, INDA, US
- 9:55–10:10 3. Engineering & Technology in the Filtration Industry for a Dynamic Global Landscape, presented by Greg Hoverson, Vice President & CTO, Atmus, US
- 10:10–10:35 Round Table Panel Discussion: Dr. Samual Li, Vice President, Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, CN, Jeff Thibodeau, Vice President, Mikropor America Inc., US
- 10:40–11:50 Session 6: Smart Filtration: Sensors, Data, and AI Innovations, chaired by John McKeon,CEO, iAIR Group, US
- 10:40–10:55 1. Consumer Centered Indoor Air Quality Intelligent system, presented by Jatin Khanpara, Sr. Vice President, Engineering & Technology, AprilAire. US
- 10:55–11:10 2. From Petri Dish to Prediction: AI-Driven Aerobiology for Smarter Filtration, presented by John Ryan, CEO, iAIR Labs, IE
- 11:10–11:25 3. Smarter Filtration Design through Digital Modeling and AI, presented by Andreas Wiegmann, CEO, Math2Market, DE
- 11:25–11:50 Round Table Panel Discussion: Mr. Matt Ferguson, Global Product Manager Fleetguard FIT, Atmus, US, Yasmine SKANJI, Director at ZAACK, IGIENAIR Group, FR
- 11:50–12:00 CFSS 2025 Class Graduation Ceremony, presented by Christine Sun, President, WFI, US
- 12:00 Adjourn / Conference Close
