R&D 2023 Award Winner Announced

Over the past 12 months, the nominees for this year’s R&D award have been making important steps with research in many different areas of development including bio-based oils and asperity contact. The nominations were sent in from Europe as well as North America and Southeast Asia.

This year’s winner leads Quaker Houghton’s global effort on the development of their next generation of biologically-sourced quenching products. She has been described as a “trailblazer for women in the lubricating fluid industry”, making unprecedented progress in the male-dominated industry of lubricating fluids of the 1980s to today becoming the leader of the Quaker Houghton heat treating R&D team in EMEA as well as the senior-most scientist in the company’s global Center of Innovation.

I am delighted to announce Conxita Suarez, Senior Research Scientist in the Global Center of Innovation for Heat Treating at Quaker Houghton, as the winner of Base Oil & Lubes Connect’s Women in Focus 2023 R&D Award.

Conxita was born in Barcelona, Spain, and is married with one daughter. She studied at the Instituto Quimico de Sarria before starting her professional career at the Hispano Quimica company (now Fuchs) before joining Houghton Iberica (now Quaker Houghton).

Congratulations Conxita!