John Owens consults on chemistry and environmental science topics through Cedar Ridge Science Consulting, LLC. For 39 years, he worked with the 3M Company in research and product development capacities. His work focused on the development of organofluorine alternatives to ozone depleting substances and compounds with high global warming potential. Within his research portfolio he evaluated the properties of new compounds, their efficacy in industrial applications and their environmental fate. He currently serves on two United Nations Environment Programme committees that operate as technical advisory bodies to the Montreal Protocol Parties.

Mr. Owens holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota (USA) and University of Virginia (USA), respectively, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the USA. He is an inventor or co-inventor on more than 50 patents related to organofluorine compounds and their uses and has authored or co-authored over 50 publications on these topics.