JPS Luncheon: Steven Deutsch, “Rare Earths: How to Navigate the Rough Seas”
Steven Deutsch
This installment of the Joseph Priestley Society (JPS) lecture series included a keynote address by Steven Deutsch, business development manager, Rhodia Rare Earth Systems. Deutsch presented “Rare Earths: How to Navigate the Rough Seas.”
Background
Since the summer of 2010, the rare earth industry has gone from a place of obscurity to one of prominence in newspapers, investor reports, and the halls of Congress. This presentation will explore the history of rare earths in our everyday lives, how we came to be in the current situation, and what that implies for the future. Through innovation, supply diversification, and industrial expertise, one can find ways to navigate through the present uncertainty to a more sustainable future.
About the speaker
After a brief post-doctoral appointment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Steven Deutsch joined Rhone-Poulenc in 1996, performing research on rare earth-based materials for emissions control catalysis. Since then, he has worked on additional applications such as phosphors, polishing powders, polymerization catalysts, feed additives and polymer reinforcement. He has held positions of increasing responsibility with Rhone-Poulenc and Rhodia Rare Earth Systems. Steve holds a Ph. D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and is the co-author on 14 papers and patents.