Dr Tyrone Wells - Building the Future at Parkers Filtration Innovation Center

[MUSIC PLAYING] This is Parker Hanifen's Purpose and Action podcast. I'm your host, Annie Merman. Today, we are stepping inside a place where science fiction meets reality. The HOMM of Machines, the soft click of lab instruments, the low murmur of engineers deep in thought. This is Parker's filtration innovation center. And it's here in this lab that problems most of us never think about, like how to keep hydrogen fuel cells running clean or how to make air purer or being tackled every day. And the people working here, they aren't just solving problems. They're designing a cleaner, smarter world. Today, we'll meet Dr. Tyrone Wells, a scientist, engineer, and the kind of problem solver who thrives on the unknown. But it wasn't just the technical challenge that drew him to Parker. It was the ethos. On his first visit, Tyrone saw more than lab equipment and safety protocols. He saw engineers in classrooms, students learning in media centers built by Parker, and a company donating its time and tools to help kids dream bigger. It was the kind of place that aligned with the reasons he got into this field in the first place. I've always loved science. I've always thought that engineering and science is based on helping people. I had an opportunity to come and do an interview with Parker. And what I really loved when I walked in the first day was not only was there an amazing safety culture, but there were all these schools nearby our building that we already had an impact on. We had internships going on. We had recently donated $500,000 to a local school system. And we had boots on the ground representation from engineers at our site in those classrooms, teaching kids, attending seminars, building chemistry labs for them, media centers, engineering rooms. I thought this is more than just a job. It's a culture. And I really want to be a part of this. At the heart of Parker's innovation strategy is the filtration innovation center, or PIFIC, an 82,000 square foot facility dedicated entirely to advancing filtration technology. It's the largest of its kind in the nation. And it's here in this fast-paced collaborative space where engineers like Dr. Wells and his team listen closely to customers, anticipate change, and develop sustainable solutions that touch everyday lives. We are a facility that helps to generate intellectual property, copyrights, trademarks, new innovations, trade secrets, technology that we will make that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world. If you come down to our building, it has a fairly modest footprint, a modest number of staff that work on a regular basis. You think, what can this small team accomplish? What we're capable of doing is quickly changing priorities as needed to be able to resolve new problems and build solutions for them. And with a small team, we become intimately familiar with what everyone's doing. And I feel like it's that sort of camaraderie at our location that makes us a really interesting place to see. And you can feel that everyone's really excited about the projects that they're working on, that there's a level of engagement and ownership and accountability that comes with building solutions for customers and for other sites. And it's sort of like an inspiring theme to come and be a part of at the same time too. Pefic isn't just a place where new technologies take shape. It's a reflection of the people and ideas driving them forward. For Dr. Wells and his team, innovation isn't just a process. It's a mindset, a purpose. So markets are volatile, right? It's similar to being on a scene. There is a level of uncertainty that comes with reliance on suppliers, customer needs, governance, and available resources. And you have to play these many different ways as a captain of a ship. One of the key components of it is being able to be flexible and project what kind of challenges might come in the future and build solutions for them ahead of time so that they aren't problems when they arrive at you. And that is the heart of innovation. It is the ability to deal with problems before they become problems. Let's sit with that idea for a moment. Innovation isn't just about responding to today's challenges. It's about anticipating tomorrow's. At Pefic, Dr. Wells and his team are navigating unchartered waters, building tools and technologies for markets that don't exist yet. It's a bold approach, one that helps parkers stay ready for whatever comes next. I have a two word phrase, which is basically, what do we do at our innovation center? We build solutions. We are not a problem-solving force. We're not here to rapidly drop whatever we're doing to resolve the next problem that comes down to the problem-manufacturing line. We build solutions. And the difference between the two is that one is reactionary. You're reacting to a problem. You're reallocating resources for a problem. When you build a solution, you stem where the problems come from. You build a platform that doesn't only exist in its own right, but can serve as a template for solutions to come in the future. And when you build that solution, the amount of problems that exist disappear. And so what we are thinking about is that long-term strategy at our site. We will look at markets that don't exist for 10 years from now and start building platform for tools, products, validation systems, so that when that market drops, we're already pioneers in the area. Examples of that would be our hydrogen technology, holo fiber technology, cathode air filtration technology. You name it. It's the brand new area infiltration. We're already there. We're already making products for it. And we will have products available that fit legacy infrastructure and are ready to test out our new systems with very minimal transition time. We want to foster this so that more people can benefit from it, because we see the future. We see where this market's going. And we want to do more than just sail through it. At Parker's Viltration Innovation Center, the work is focused on looking ahead, developing the tools and strategies that will shape what's next. That often means being out front. The first to test an idea or try a new approach. Dr. Wells reflects on how that mindset drives the team's work. We are oftentimes the first point of impact. As an innovation center, you have to get there first, right? And that's what a tip of a spear does. It gets to the target first, and it makes the meaningful impact that can drive direction for the rest of the company. And at our center, we are always focused on where is our next target, because we're thinking about our long-term and short-term strategy at one facility. For the major groups within Parker, every group needs to rely on filtration at the end of the day. Aerospace needs filters, engine mobile needs filters, engineering materials. It's one of the most fundamental tools, along with ramps and pulleys. And you'd be amazed how useful that as a fundamental tool is. But it needs to be crafted and engineered appropriate for each environment. You are really hitting the entire market of engineering at our site, which means that all of the partners that are coming to you are from all walks around the world. Every day, you are learning about a brand new market. And so currently right now, we're learning everything we can about hydrogen. We have a new hydrogen-conditioning lab that we're building. A first of its kind, lifetime cycle analysis in a controlled format on the other side of the building, maybe even just down the hall, truly, we're making hollow fibers. This is brand new technology that we use for fuel cells, which will be used for eventually when cars run on hydrogen and then eventually running on water. A hydrogen fuel cell takes hydrogen gas and converts it into electricity, producing only clean energy and a bit of heat. At the heart of the process is a proton exchange membrane, a material that splits hydrogen atoms and pushes electrons through a wire to create power. It's an elegant system with enormous potential for clean energy. But like any breakthrough technology, it comes with challenges. Keeping these systems clean and running efficiently takes innovation across an entire ecosystem. The fuel cell is capable of taking in hydrogen and outputting electricity with zero carbon emissions as a result. That's a very, very cool way of making electricity that you can use, the power of vehicles, but the proton exchange membrane is very easy to get dirty. And the dirtier it gets, the less efficient it becomes. So how do we keep it clean? You need filters. You've got to have filters. And you've got to have a lot of different kinds of filters. What can we do to help fully drive down emissions of vehicles that will be on the road in the future? And can that same technology also be used in other facets as well? Electrical grids, powering hospitals, powering schools, powering homes? And that's a lot more fuel cell. research goes into. There's so many different parts of an ecosystem that are needed to make that fuel cell work and we are in every part of that ecosystem, making sure that the products that are sustainable for the future are capable of operating as efficiently as they possibly can. And that leads me to wonder, you know, how does Parker Foster market-driven innovation? So, how do you listen or solicit customer feedback or collaborate with your customers to enable breakthroughs? That's fantastic question. It's driven by our customers. It's driven by listening, innovation, new inventions, new patents that all drive value towards what our customer interests are. But we also have ability to leverage opportunities where we can engage with the community, where when we go to schools, events, science fairs, industry meetings, we talk with school principals, CEOs from water company facilities, fire departments come over to our site. Murray County Agricultural Commissioner Office, when they come by and they say, these are some of the problems that we're facing. These are some of the contaminants that we see on a regular basis. How do we ensure purity? How do we ensure better flow rates? How can we drive down costs while maintaining efficiency? These are the people who we can support directly. And when we make products, it's not like they go into a vacuum we never see them again. When you walk into a room and you can enjoy clean air or you drink water and it's clean at a fountain. We have systems that work, machines that are operating well, kids are safe, coffee tastes clean, everybody's happy, that's filtration in a nutshell. That's the purpose of filtration. It's to make your lives better and it feels good to have that thumbprint on both history and the quality of life. It's exciting to see what's possible when creativity meets purpose. But for Dr. Wells, the most meaningful part of his work isn't just what gets built. It's how his team grows along the way. Empowering others and creating space for curiosity and shared purpose is every bit as important as the breakthroughs themselves. My work, my purpose as the laboratory manager, is to find the level of engagement in all of my different team members to find the work that inspires them to work excellently and challenge them slightly out of their comfort zone so that when they accomplish their tasks, they're proud of the work that they're doing and they're looking forward for the next challenge. Being able to foster that gives me a great deal of purpose at our site. One of the most rewarding parts of Dr. Wells's work is connecting with the next generation of innovators. Parker's commitment to community engagement, especially with schools, was one of the things that drew him here in the first place. By showing students what engineering looks like in real life, he hopes to spark curiosity and help them see what's possible for their own future. One of the most crucial aspects of engagement that we have with our community is that we don't just support them financially, but are there as living examples of what's real and impossible for kids who have that interest. We had an online classroom challenge called the Egg Filtration Challenge. It was a great nine-year-old girl named Alina who won, she not only came up with this multiple tier prototype, but she actually built the contraption and did a quasi-PhD thesis presentation. This is my Egg Filtration idea. Three cups like this and two lits and this cup I've been told to hear which was seven holes which were each one centimeter wide. So then, only the one screw over and not the egg yolk. Part of the reward was we give the kids a tour. I could clearly see from the time she walked into the time she walked out a slight switch. A slight change in angle in the trajectory of her interest in life. I can see that spark in kids eyes when we have an engagement with them and I think that makes all the difference. From fueling the future to mentoring the next generation, Parker's Filtration Innovation Center brings purpose and innovation together in powerful ways. Dr. Tyrone Wells has given us a glimpse into a world where science, teamwork, and long-term thinking are shaping what's next one clean solution at a time. Dr. Wells, thank you for sharing your insights and for the work you and your team are doing to create a cleaner, more sustainable future. Thank you, Annie, I hope you have a great day. And to our listeners, thanks for joining us on Purpose and Action. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow and stay tuned for more stories from the front lines of technology, sustainability, and human ingenuity. Until next time, I'm Annie Merman and this has been Purpose and Action.