Membership Awards

Mr. Pilpel holds both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in mechanical engineering. His professional career began with several years in the aerospace industry at Pratt and Whitney Aircraft, followed by over 45 years in the composites industry, initially at Olin Corporation (Olin Ski Division) and ultimately at Gordon Holdings as President of Polystrand. Pilpel has held positions including Senior Engineer, Engineering Manager, Technical Director, Executive Vice President and President. For over 25 years served as a principle at Gordon Composites and co-founder of Polystrand where he developed, manufactured and marketed new products and composite materials, utilizing a variety of matrix systems and fibers. Pilpel holds 30 U.S. patents as well as corresponding foreign patents in over 10 countries. He has also authored and presented technical papers and presentations related to composite product applications and sustainability. He has served as the Subcommittee Chairman for the ASTM Committee on snow skis and as the Delegation Chairman on Snow Skis to the ISO Standards Group. He has chaired the ACMA (American Composites Manufacturers Association) Engineered Wood Task Group and the CSC Composites Sustainability Council. He established Sustainable Composites, LLC in 2017 and is working with startup companies in advisory and Board Member capacities focused on sustainability and circularity. Mr. Pilpel has been an active member in the Defense Orientation Conference Association (DOCA), a nonprofit organization that focuses on Education in America’s Defense and National Security Affairs on a global basis since 2007. DOCA interacts with branches of the Department of Defense, Department of State, the Defense University System of colleges, the intelligence community in addition to the Department of Homeland Security and DOE national labs. The organization also contributes and supports military personnel located in installations around the world and is very active with the Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

The ACMA Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a business owner who has been in the composites industry for at least 20 years and, through their involvement, has made a significant and lasting contribution to the industry.

Nominees must have demonstrated lasting and outstanding contributions in one or more of the following areas:

• Exemplary contribution to legislative and/or regulatory affairs of significant long-term consequence to the industry.
• Invention of a process or product that has significant long-term importance.
• A very successful business career in which measurable contributions have been made to industry, government, employees, or the community.
• Leadership throughout their career to the industry’s trade associations where lasting contributions were made, including SPI, SIRC, NMMA, ACMA, etc.

Additional Considerations

• Previous recipients of the Pioneer Award are eligible for this honor.
• Sitting members of the ACMA Board are not eligible for consideration.

Kevin McDonald is a retired, composites industry executive with a 39 year career which included sales, marketing and financial roles with global responsibility.  His most recent assignment prior to retirement was President for NEG-US, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Electric Glass.  Prior to this role he was the global vice president for the PPG Industries Fiber Glass division.  Kevin also served as Chairman of PFG (PPG and Nan-Ya Plastics fiber glass joint venture). Kevin has a long history with the composites industry associations including the SPI and the ACMA.  He served 2 non-consecutive terms on the Board of Directors of the ACMA from 1994-1996 and then again from 2011-2014.  Kevin was co-chair of the Composites Growth Initiative and was on the Executive Committee in 2014.  Kevin’s efforts helped launch the ACMA ACE awards and PPG was the original sponsor.  Kevin is a graduate of Indiana University and also earned his MBA degree in Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

The ACMA Hall of Fame Award recognizes a member who has attained distinction among peers through their efforts, involvement and accomplishments in the composites industry and its associations.

Nominees must have demonstrated outstanding contributions in one or more of the following areas:

• Contribution to legislative and/or regulatory affairs of significant long-term consequence to the industry.
• Invention of a process or product which has commercial value to the composites or cast polymer industry.
• A successful business career in which notable contributions have been made to the composites industry.
• Participation in the industry’s trade associations, including SPI, SIRC, ACMA, etc.
• Academic contributions that have resulted in a noteworthy impact on the composites industry.

Additional Considerations

• Previous recipients of the SPI Clare E. Bacon Award or the Pioneer Award are eligible for this honor.
• Sitting members of the ACMA Board are not eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame.
• ACMA staff are eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame.

Professor Sami Rizkalla obtained his B.Sc. degree in Civil Engineering at Alexandria University, Egypt in 1965. He moved to the United States in 1971, and received his M.Sc. degree in 1974 and his Ph.D. degree in 1976, both from the Department of Civil Engineering at North Carolina State University. In 1978, he joined the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Manitoba, Canada as an Assistant Professor where he moved up the academic ranks and was promoted to Full Professor in 1988and  served as an Associate Dean (1992-1994). He established and served as the President and Scientific Director of a Canadian Network of Centers of Excellence on “Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures”.  

 Professor Rizkalla established himself as a pioneer in: (1) the use of high performance reinforcing steel and concrete materials; (2) the use of novel fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) materials to (a) strengthen or repair existing concrete, steel, masonry, or timber infrastructure, and (b) to reinforce, or prestress new concrete infrastructure; and (3) the application of sensors, and sensing systems, for structural health monitoring and the diagnosis/prognosis of infrastructure. While serving as President of the Centers of Excellence, Professor Rizkalla was largely responsible for the design and construction of the first “smart” bridge reinforced and prestressed with FRP materials in North America in 1993 and a second bridge in 1997 . In 2000, Professor Rizkalla returned to the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University as a Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering and Construction, where he has remained after his retirement in 2018 as a Distinguished Professor Emeritus.  

 During his time at NC State University, Professor Rizkalla served as the Director of the Constructed Facilities Laboratory, and the Site Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) on the Repair of Buildings and Bridges with Composites. He subsequently served as the Site Director of the NSF I/UCRC on Integrating Composites into Infrastructure until his retirement. He was also among the founding members of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee 440: Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Reinforcement, and he served as Committee Chair from 1997-2003.  

The global impact of his research is significant and is published in more than 300 refereed journal publications, over 350 conference proceedings papers, and large number of technical reports. During his 50 year career in academia, Professor Rizkalla served as the Committee Chair for more than 70 M.Sc. graduate students and more than 35 Ph.D. graduates. His research and contributions to the profession have been recognized by many awards. Some of the most significant selected awards are: Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineering (1988), Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (1992), Fellow of the American Concrete Institute (1993), Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (1995), Fellow of the International Institute for FRP in Construction (2004), Fellow of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (2009), Inducted to the “Hall of Fame” by the Department  of Civil, Construction and Environmental  Engineering, North Carolina State University (2021), Elected “Honorary Member” of ACI (2021), and selected as a Titan of the Precast Industry by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (2024).  Professor Rizkalla received also several recognitions for his industrial achievements.  Some significant selected examples include the Harry H. Edwards Industry Advancement Award (1998) from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute in recognition of the design and construction of The Taylor Bridge (Manitoba, Canada), the world’s first highway bridge girders using Carbon FRP prestressing strands to fully replace conventional steel reinforcement.   In addition, a Lifetime Achievement Award from FIIC (2006), a Distinguished Educator Award in 2008 from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, and the Mirko-Ros Award (2008) from Empa in Switzerland.

The Academic Pioneer Award has been created to recognize original, visionary, and innovative ideas that have been scientifically investigated, tested, and demonstrated to advance composites technology.

Nominees must be academic professionals who have demonstrated outstanding contributions in one or more of the following areas:

As an academic:

• Performed fundamental research leading to prototyping of new composite products.
• Active in the development of standards, specifications, design guidelines, and codes supporting state-of-the-art practices in new applications.

As a professor:

• Educated undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and postdoctoral students in composites technology through course development, instruction, and testing programs.
• Authored technical papers, journal articles, educational presentations, book chapters, or books to advance composites technology.
• Actively engages the composites industry to promote market development through technical, trade, and professional associations, including but not limited to ACMA.

Waruna Seneviratne is currently the Director of Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS) of the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University. He manages a research portfolio that includes projects from the FAA, DoD, DHS, NASA, and aircraft industry in the areas of advanced manufacturing and inspections, durability and damage tolerance, certification, and aging of composite aircraft structures.  

He has been working at NIAR for over 25 years and found NIAR ATLAS manufacturing innovation center in 2019 to create a makerspace in the United States for advanced manufacturing research and prototyping. One of his key research projects sponsored by Air Force Research Lab, Manufacturing for Affodable Sustainable Composites or MASC, has been engaging research community on all aspects of manufacturing including in-process inspections. The in-process AFP manufacturing inspection system developed by his team won the JEC Composites Innovation Award for Digital, AI & Data in 2023. During SAMPE 2024, his research on thermoplastic injection overmolded aircraft window plug, a manufacturing demonstrator to showcase automotive-matured technologies for aerospace high-rate manufacturing applications, won the best technical paper award. 

He is an active member of Composite Materials Handbook (CMH-17) and his previous research findings have contributed to damage tolerance, disbond delamination, data review, and statistics working groups, and supported world-wide composite damage tolerance and maintenance workshops sponsored by FAA, USN, and EASA.  

Waruna is a member of the Technical Oversight Committee for NASA Advanced Composites Consortium and a member of the Executive Steering Committee of The Composites Consortium to support the Office of Naval Research Composites Manufacturing Technology Center. He received the NASA Honor Award for “Turning Goals into Reality” – for his outstanding contributions to AGATE Alliance Project Team and exceptional progress toward revolutionize aviation in 2002 and NASA Group Achievement Award for Advanced Composites Project Team in 2022. 

Prior to joining Wichita State, Waruna worked as a Stress Analyst for Airbus-Wichita and was responsible for performing detailed stress analysis on AIRBUS A380 passenger aircraft wings per FAA and EASA regulations and preparation of certification documents. 

Waruna received his BS, MS, and PhD for Aerospace Engineering from Wichita State University and has been living in Wichita, Kansas for the past 30 years.

The Pioneer Award honors individuals who have played a pivotal role in advancing the composites industry through hands-on innovation, technical expertise, and dedication to excellence. This award recognizes the unsung heroes—the engineers, technicians, craftsmen, and problem-solvers—who have made lasting contributions through their work, often behind the scenes.

Nominees must have demonstrated outstanding contributions in one or more of the following areas:

• Process & Manufacturing Innovations – Developed or refined manufacturing processes that improved efficiency, quality, or scalability of composite materials.
• Material Advancements – Played a key role in formulating, testing, or deploying new composite materials that enhanced performance and expanded industry applications.
• Hands-On Engineering & Problem-Solving – Solved critical technical challenges in production, fabrication, or product development that enabled industry progress.
• Mentorship & Workforce Development – Trained, mentored, or influenced the next generation of composite professionals through education, training, or knowledge-sharing.
• Sustainability & Impact – Contributed to recycling initiatives, waste reduction, or sustainable material solutions within composites manufacturing.

This award is designed for doers, not just decision-makers—the engineers, shop-floor innovators, technicians, and behind-the-scenes contributors whose efforts have shaped the industry. Candidates do not need to hold executive or leadership positions but must have had a measurable impact on composites technology, manufacturing, or industry growth.

Additional Considerations

• Candidates must not have been previously recognized as Lifetime Achievement or Hall of Fame award winners.
• Pioneer Award recipients will remain eligible for these honors in the future.
• Open to individuals across all industry sectors, including R&D, manufacturing, production, and field operations.
• Awards can be made posthumously.
• Must have worked for a company that is currently or formerly a member of ACMA.

Dr. Chris Skinner is the Vice President of Strategic Marketing and R&D for the Composites business of Owens Corning.

In this role, he is responsible for developing and executing strategies focused on creating growth in building and construction, infrastructure, and renewable energy. Dr. Skinner and his team lead the product lines, brand and customer experience, commercial excellence, and strategy in partnership with commercial and manufacturing teams. He is also responsible for the global R&D team for the Composites business.

Prior to his current role, Dr. Skinner served as Director of Front-End Innovation from 2016 to 2018. Previously, he was the Director of Product Platforms for Composites from 2013 to 2016. He joined Owens Corning in 2009 and worked in technology and marketing roles within Composites including the global Technical Fabrics and Engineered Solutions businesses.

Before working at Owens Corning, he held the role of VP of Strategic Marketing for the Rhodia Polyamide Business based in Lyon, France. He also worked for more than 10 years at ICI / Huntsman Polyurethanes in various international assignments in technology and marketing in the U.K., Belgium, and Germany in business units including Composites, Elastomers, and the Automotive market.

Dr. Skinner graduated from the Open University Business School with an MBA in 2001. He also holds a Ph.D. and B.Sc. (Hons) in chemistry from the University of Durham, U.K.

Dustin Troutman received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 1993. Currently, he serves as the Chief Sales Officer for the Creative Composites Group.  

 During his 29 years with CCG, Mr. Troutman has been instrumental in the market investigation development and sales of major pultrusion products and product lines associated with infrastructure applications including SUPERPILE™ pipe piles, SuperLoc® sheet piles, and StormStrong® FRP transmission and distribution poles to name a few. He continues to be a key player in the development of codes and standards in support of the fiberglass reinforced polymer pultrusion industry. Mr. Troutman is a co-inventor, holding six patents related to pultruded systems.  

Mr. Troutman is a member of professional associations, including ASCE, ANSI and ASTM. He is a past president of the Pultrusion Industry Council and is currently the chair of the Utility and Communication Structures Committee. He was a member of the Project Advisory Committee (PAC), charged with developing the ASCE/LRFD standard for pultruded structural profiles.