Rudy Calderon

I am currently working within the Glad R&D team in a Product & Process Scientist role. I have operated within the Quality & Capacity, Brand Health, and Sustainability teams. As of July 2025, I am operating under Glad R&D’s Innovation team. Within my role, I am: - Developing a new platform with cross-functional partners to deliver a premium sensory experience at an accessible price point for consumers. - Collaborating with Supply Chain partners to assess the viability of in-housing externally sourced products. - Assessing equipment and product capability to unlock ~$500k in yearly savings with a minimal impact to product quality and processing performance (scrap & OEE). - Supporting the company’s transition towards a reduction in virgin material use via post-consumer resin (PCR) qualifications. - Exploring and improving film defect screening methods to improve the quality of film produced by blown film towers. - Managing and working to improve the utilization of Glad’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) database. - Providing key product and process information to members in cross-functional teams on an ad hoc basis. - Continuing to support Glad R&D’s recruiting efforts via the planning and execution of on-campus events, screening candidates during career fairs, and interviewing top candidates for internship opportunities.

Started my career as a Product & Process Development Scientist within Glad R&D. I operated within the Quality & Capacity, Brand Health, and Sustainability teams. In my role, I: - Led major cost savings projects achieved through production-scale process improvements and formulation development (>$4M in savings). - Led the development of a new product and the manufacturing equipment upgrades needed for a successful scale-up. - Identified and screened post-consumer resins (PCR) for our trash bag products, developing a knowledge base of material properties that can indicate viability in our processes - Explored film defect screening methods to improve the quality of film produced by blown film towers - Identified the need for a product lifecycle management (PLM) database lead within the Glad R&D team and took responsibility over addressing workflow inconsistencies as well as addressing proper knowledge transfer with production team members. - Responsible for screening and approving technical product data on consumer-facing media. - Developed a project and mentored Glad's 2022 Summer intern throughout their 10 week program. - Participated in the regional recruiting team to coordinate/host information sessions & interviews. I have participated during the Fall 2021 & Fall 2022 recruiting seasons.

This role is within Dr. Hananeh Esmailbeigi’s Wearable Technology & Sensory Enhancement Laboratory at UIC. This experience is a part of the L@S GANAS Research Fellowship. I worked on the simplification of user testing experiences for a wearable oral device through modifications of its physical design. This change promoted faster preparation times and less manual work between trials and subjects.

The Medicina Scholars program is designed to introduce undergraduate Latino scholars to the medical profession. The curriculum provided a strong foundation in the history of medicine, professional issues, public health policy, cultural competence, primary and specialized care, and medical school admissions. As a Scholar, I also participated in community service activities. My role as a Group Lead has allowed me to delegate tasks to other undergraduates as we collectively assessed the health of members of the Fuller Park neighborhood along with identifying any contributing environmental, social, and economic risk factors.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Program on Health Disparities (SURPHD) is a 10-week program that aims to improve the quality of health care by providing students with practical knowledge of research studies and its importance in the medical field. Through SURPHD, I continued my research with Dr. Saverio Gentile and produced a paper and a presentation on the effects of a KCa3.1 ion channel blocker on MCF-7 human-derived breast cancer cells.

Though this experience, I created a set of criteria to evaluate unexplored resins from different suppliers that can offer cost-savings through operational efficiency. My assigned project allowed me to explore product development through the exploration of current materials used in GLAD products and the current innovations in the manufacturing process. At the end of my experience, I presented my research findings to the GLAD team and recommended leading alternatives for currently used resins.

This lab experience was within Dr. Saverio Gentile's Ion Channel Laboratory in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the UIC Department of Medicine. My time in this laboratory was a part of my L@S GANAS Research Fellowship experience. I worked on my own project analyzing the effects of ion channel manipulations on MCF-7 breast cancer cells. These ion channel manipulators included biological activators/inhibitors and naturally-derived solutions. My roles included: passing cell lines; treating cells; running Western blots; real-time PCR; and running cell cycle analyses, cell viability assays, and quantifying reactive oxygen species (ROS) through flow cytometry.

I started my involvement with After School Matters in the Summer of 2013 as an apprentice in their Mariachi Ensemble program. Since then, I had enrolled in the same program multiple times throughout its Summer, Fall, and Spring sessions for the next three years. The 10-week seasonal sessions consisted of learning how to play 10-15 songs to showcase in a final presentation at the end of the season. Through the apprenticeship, I learned how to play the guitar and the guitarron, a bass made specifically for mariachi music.

The Youth Ambassadors Program, funded by the U.S. Department of State, brings together 9 high school students and 2 adult mentors from across the United States to promote mutual understanding, increase leadership skills, and prepare youth to make a difference in their communities. This 3-week program included a home-stay with a Brazilian family and several school visits. We also attended several meetings with government and local officials to promote mutual understanding between the United States and Brazil, to prepare young leaders to become responsible citizens within their communities, and to foster relationships among people from all walks of life.

Graduated with an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program certificate and as Valedictorian.