2026 ITSA ANNUAL MEETING & SYMPOSIUM

Chiragkumar Raval is a Key Materials Engineer and Thermal Spray Coating Specialist at Hannecard Roller Coatings Inc., USA, specializing in thermal spray and high-pressure cold spray application development for aerospace, power generation, defense, automotive, and industrial markets. He previously served as a Senior Application Engineer with Oerlikon Metco, supporting advanced thermal spray technology implementation. Mr. Raval holds a master's degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, with research focused on Thermal Barrier Coatings. He is an active member of ASM International, the Thermal Spray Society (TSS), iTSA, ACerS, AIST, MSNO, and AWS, and has served as a symposium co-chair, session chair, and technical committee member for international conferences. He also serves on the AWS C2 Thermal Spraying Committee and is Co-Chair of the North American Cold Spray Conference (NACSC) 2027, co-located with IMAT 2027 in Columbus, Ohio.

Dr. Rogerio S. Lima earned his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering in 2001 from the Center for Thermal Spray Research at Stony Brook University (USA), where he was honoured with the Distinguished Doctoral Student Award for his work, performed under the mentorship of Prof. Chris Berndt (now Distinguished Professor at Swinburne University of Technology – Australia). Right after his PhD graduation, Dr. Lima joined the Thermal Spray Surface Engineering Team of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) in 2001 as a Research Associate and was awarded permanent position in 2006. He currently holds the position of Senior Research Officer at the NRC. From 2022 to 2024, Dr. Lima served as the 15th President of the Thermal Spray Society (TSS) at ASM International. His main scientific interest is R&D of thermally sprayed thermal/environmental barrier coatings (T/EBCs) for aerospace applications.

Ms. Mozolic has 50+ years of technical sales, marketing, business development and senior management experience in the thermal spray industry and in powder metal additive manufacturing. In her career she has held positions of increasing responsibility with Plasma Technology Incorporated, Linde Advanced Materials Technologies (formerly Praxair and Union Carbide), Sulzer Plasma Technik (currently Oerlikon Metco) and H.C. Starck (currently Hoganas). She currently is Founder and President of The Mozolic Group, a consulting company focused on market analysis and business expansion programs for the surface technology and metal additive manufacturing industries.


She has extensive experience in Plasma, HVOF, Cold Spray, EBPVD, VPS and Wire materials, coatings, equipment, systems and applications. Her expertise spans many industries including energy, aerospace, automotive, printing, medical, gas and oil exploration, chemical processing, mining, semiconductors and plastics. Ms. Mozolic was elected to the 2021 Class of ASM Fellows in recognition of her contributions to the thermal spray industry. She holds a BS/MS in Materials Science from MIT.

Guy Chouinard is Director of Materials Science at Avail Infrastructure Solutions (specifically working with WSI / Stoody Company / ESAB divisions). He has over 30 years in heavy industrial environments managing specialized welding, anti-wear technologies, and R&D. He serves as a prominent committee chair and member within the American Welding Society (AWS), including leadership on filler metals and hardfacing subcommittees.

Dr. Julio Villafuerte, P.Eng., Ph.D. is Corporate Technology Strategist at CenterLine Windsor Ltd., a North American leader in automotive fabrication, welding, and cold spray systems—recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies. With over 30 years of experience in materials science and a doctorate from the University of Waterloo, he has focused the past 20+ years on advancing cold spray technology for industrial applications. An ASM Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the Universities of Waterloo and Windsor, Dr. Villafuerte has authored more than 50 publications and is an active member of organizations including ASM-TSS, ITSA, and AWS. His contributions span research, commercialization, and international presentations, helping shape the future of repair, remanufacturing, and production technologies.

Manuel Schubert is a Senior Engineer Application Development at Höganäs Germany GmbH in Laufenburg, Germany. He is responsible for identifying new technology and application trends, developing technical solutions for customers and target markets, and leading application development and product qualification projects.

Prior to his current role, he served as Manager ArcX – Höganäs own Customer Development Center in Germany and held engineering positions with GE Power and Alstom Power. Manuel holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, is a certified International Welding Engineer (IWE), and a European Thermal Spray Specialist (ETSS). His expertise includes thermal spray technologies, welding, surface engineering, process development, and advanced manufacturing.