Page 12 - Heroes of Chemistry Program Booklet

Donald (Don) Peterson
Donald (Don) Peterson earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in 1980
and his M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1982. Don has been a
part of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honorary society since 1979 and retired from 3M as a Corporate
Manufacturing Engineer. In 2020, he was elected a 3M Carlton Society inductee.

Daniel (Dan) Popko
Daniel (Dan) Popko is a Senior Lead Specialist at 3M Company. He earned his B.S. in Chemical
Engineering from Michigan State University in 1985. Popko is married with two grown children and
has a granddaughter. Popko’s efforts helped laboratory researchers bring their ideas into reality by
developing capable manufacturing processes. TCHG represents a proud achievement.

Maria Ruiz
Maria is a Project Manager for the Medical Solutions Division at 3M Company. Maria has a B.S. in
Chemical Engineering, and Biochemistry, from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Deb Schwab
Deb retired from 3M last July, finishing her long career as a Microbiology Specialist. She holds a
B.A. degree in Biology. Deb developed new relevant test methods for unique antimicrobial
products, including Tegaderm CHG I.V. Securement Dressing, and generated critical efficacy data
to guide development of many antimicrobial products.

12 #HeroesofChemistry | 2021 Recipients