Key Bios

George Bittner, Ph.D. – Founder
Dr. Bittner received his B.A. in chemistry at Duke and his Ph.D. at Stanford. He has worked at UCLA as a postdoctoral fellow. Dr. Bittner is a Professor of Biology (Neurobiology Section) with over 150 peer-reviewed publications in synaptic biophysics, electrophysiology, cell/molecular biology, and biochemistry of nerve regeneration. He was elected an AAAS fellow in 1992 for his scientific contributions in these areas. Dr. Bittner has been PI or CO-PI of over 30 NIH-R01, NSF, Texas Advanced Technology grants totaling more than $10 million in direct costs. Dr. Bittner’s tenure as CEO or major stockholder includes Panda, Blue Heron, EASi, CertiChem, and PlastiPure. He holds one patent and has three patents pending.

Mike Usey – Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Usey received his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering & his Bachelor of Science degree in Bioengineering from Texas A&M University. He has over 20 years of experience in leading and profitably growing technology companies. As president and CEO of Delta Add-Power Systems he rapidly grew this unprofitable organization to the leader in its industry. He has also functioned as both a senior management and technical consultant to many companies including Marchon, Accenture, SAIC, and Entergy. Previously Mr. Usey worked as an engineer for Siemens and Baylor College of Medicine. Mr. Usey has extensive knowledge on successfully commercializing breakthrough technology.


Jacqueline Henry Laiz, Ph.D., M.B.A. —Vice President of Research and Production
Dr. Laiz received her M.S. & Ph.D. in polymer chemistry from the University of Connecticut and her M.B.A. from Pepperdine University. Her career in industry spans nearly two decades and has included research positions at Solvay Polymers and ARCO Polypropylene. She has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and has been a featured speaker at various polymer chemistry conferences and symposiums.

Chun Zhi (Cathy) Yang, MD, Ph.D. – Chief Operating Officer(CertiChem); Scientific Consultant, PlastiPure
Dr. Yang received her MD from Hunan Medical School and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the Pasteur Institute. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and a full professor of Biochemistry at Beijing Medical University. More recently, she was research director of biotechnology at Monsanto Company. Dr. Yang brings to PlastiPure and CertiChem extensive experience from a career of academic and corporate research.


Stephen J. Suknaic – Sales Manager
Mr. Suknaic received both his Masters of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science degrees from Florida State University. Prior to joining PlastiPure, he held the position of sales manager at Core Chemical, a national distributor and trader. He has over 18 years sales & marketing experience within the polymers and chemical industry. He has overseen international business for a Fortune 500 manufacturer, and has extensive knowledge of supply chain management.