Mark Banta is currently the Manager for Research & Development and Advanced Systems at GE Appliances. He leads a team of Senior Level Engineers responsible for creating a future pipeline of industry leading features for current products and new products for growth. Mark has over 25 years of experience working in Product Design and Development at GE Appliances in the areas of Washer, Dishwasher, Refrigeration and Innovation. Mark holds a BSME and MEng Degree from the University of Louisville.
André Desjarlais is the Program Manager for the Building Envelope Research Program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He has been involved in building envelope and materials research for over 40 years, first as a consultant and, for the last 24 years, at ORNL. Areas of expertise include building envelope and material energy efficiency, moisture control, and durability. Desjarlais has been a Member of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) since 1987 and serves on Committees C16 on Thermal Insulation and D08 on Roofing. He is the past Chairman of ASTM Committee C16 and was awarded the title of Fellow in 2011. He now serves as the chairman of ASTM’s committee on Technical Committee Operations (COTCO). He has been a member of ASHRAE since 1991 and serves on Technical Committees TC 4.4 on Thermal Insulation and Building Systems, TC 1.8 on Mechanical Insulation Systems, and TC 1.12 on Moisture Control in Buildings, and is past Chairman of TC 4.4. André is also a founding director of the RCI Foundation.