Science of PFAS Technical Program

Learn from experts about the latest research and solutions on all aspects of PFAS

Three full days of technical sessions offer the latest information on all aspects of PFAS, plus networking time with exhibitors, a reception, poster session, lunches, and more. 

Final Program posted! (updated 3-7) Check out the session topics and descriptions and make your plans to attend. 

Keynote Speakers:

Maureen Gwinn, Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Research & Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Maureen Gwinn is the Acting Assistant Administrator for Research and Development. She also serves as EPA's Chief Scientist. Dr. Gwinn previously served as the National Program Director for the Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Program in the Immediate Office in ORD. In this role she led the development of a coordinated Sustainable and Healthy Communities research program, ensuring that ORD's research products and services effectively serve the needs of EPA program offices, regions, and external stakeholders. Dr. Gwinn also served as the lead program director, coordinating across ORD’s six national research programs to increase consistency and coordinate partner engagement. Before taking on her various roles in the ORD Immediate Office, Dr. Gwinn served as the Director of the Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division. In that position, she focused on the translation of research designed to establish scientific confidence in new approach methods and demonstrate their application to regulatory decisions. In prior roles at the agency, she contributed to multiple human health hazard assessments in support of the Integrated Risk Information System Program and worked on a wide variety of important initiatives including the Public Access Data Plan for EPA. Dr. Gwinn earned a B.S. in Biology from Bates College. She earned both an M.S. in Oral Sciences and a Ph.D. in Oral Biology from State College of New York at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine.

D. Reid Wilson, Secretary, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
D. Reid Wilson was appointed by Governor Josh Stein to serve as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and he assumed the role in January 2025. From 2021-2024, Wilson served as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR), a position he held since January 2021. He brings a wealth of experience in environmental protection, land conservation, and government and nonprofit leadership to DEQ. From 2017-2020, Wilson was DNCR’s chief deputy secretary, responsible for the agency's natural resource divisions. Prior to joining DNCR, Wilson was the executive director of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, a statewide nonprofit that advances land conservation and connects people to the outdoors. In 2001 and 2002, he was a public affairs consultant to national environmental groups as senior vice president with M & R Strategic Services in Washington, DC. Prior to that, he served for nearly eight years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a political appointee in the Clinton administration, first as the agency’s public liaison director, then deputy chief of staff, and finally chief of staff under administrator Carol M. Browner. Wilson was national political director of the Sierra Club from 1989-1993, managing the nation’s largest environmental political action committee, and before that he was an environmental advocate for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group in Washington. Wilson has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Biology from Grinnell College in Iowa. He and his wife, Karen Rindge, live in Raleigh, and their two children are graduates of fine North Carolina public universities. 

Kenneth Waldroup, Executive Director, Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA)
Kenneth Waldroup is Executive Director of Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA), the primary drinking water and wastewater provider in Wilmington and New Hanover County.  Ken has more than 30 years of experience in the water industry, is a licensed professional engineer, and holds a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from N.C. State University and a master’s in public administration from N.C. Central University. He is a former member of the N.C. Environmental Management Commission and has volunteered in water sector trade and professional organizations for most of his career.

Invited speakers will present research and solutions on current topics related to PFAS in the environment, including:

EPA Facilities Tour
Monday, March 10 • 11:30 am - 3:30 pm 
Cost: $45 (includes transportation)

Back by popular demand, we are continuing the EPA facilities tour in RTP which will include overviews and demonstrations of several of the PFAS research laboratories, test facilities, and PFAS research platforms. Stops on the tour may include: 

• New this year!  Chemical synthesis and characterization laboratory
• High resolution mass spectrometry laboratories for non-targeted PFAS analysis
• Pilot-scale incineration test facilities and measurements
• Demonstration of source and ambient PFAS air sampling equipment
• Volatile and semivolatile PFAS analytical laboratories

This tour is sold out. All tour attendees must take the bus to EPA. Please meet in the lobby at 11:15 am. Foreign nationals must are not permitted to bring any electronics to the EPA facility, including phones, computers, tablets, smart watches, headphones, and more.