Tracy Young is the Core R&D Program Director for the Consumer and Infrastructure Solutions Division at The Dow Chemical Company. In this role, she is responsible for leading the innovation portfolio for Energy & Water, Electronic Materials, Building & Construction, Coatings, and Consumer Care. Prior to this role, she was the Growth Technologies R&D Director for the Dow Water and Process Solutions business unit. She is a member of the Dow Corporate Water Strategy Team, and has been actively involved in leading technology programs to address the water-energy nexus and advance Dow’s 2025 sustainability goal to advance a circular economy through breakthrough water reuse partnerships. She is currently the co-chair for AIChE’s International Society for Water Solutions and past advisory board member for several water industry and research organizations.
During her tenure with Dow, Young has led product and application development across a wide variety of market segments in the plastics and chemicals businesses within biocides, specialty packaging, and performance plastics. She has over 10 years of technical and market leadership team experience with multiple product launches into new markets and a proven track record for driving new innovation growth. In 2009, she led the launch of Dow’s new CONTINUUM™ EP HDPE platform and Dow’s entry into the caps and closures market as the Rigid Packaging TS&D leader. Young was a member of the Polystyrene Value Center Team and led the establishment of the technical organization for Americas Styrenics LLC in 2008. Within Specialty Packaging, Young led the Films Process R&D group and provided TS&D leadership to the Medical and Wire & Cable market teams to grow barrier films for medical applications and adhesive film metal laminates for fiber optic cable applications. From 1993-2000, Young led developments within Biocides R&D and TS&D to support the adhesives, coatings, personal care, and water treatment markets.
Young earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University in 1993. In 2011, she completed training for Executive Leadership through the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. She is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers with past leadership roles and is currently a member of the Sustainable Engineering Forum. Young has held numerous industry leadership committee roles and active in industry conference presentations, publications, and holds three patents for new commercialized technology.