TLT: How long have you worked in a lubrication-related field, and how did you decide to pursue a career in the lubricants industry?
Havelka: My passion for problem-solving led me to the lubricants industry early in my career. I was drawn to the intellectually stimulating challenges at the intersection of chemistry, materials science, engineering, physics and biology. The collaborative, innovative culture of the lubricants industry further solidified my decision to pursue this field, which has shaped my current role as senior vice president of RD&A.

I began my career at Lubrizol, where I developed a solid foundation in structure-property relationships, smart technologies, renewable base stocks, additive development and optimizing lubricant packages. To expand my expertise, I rotated through various departments and took courses in statistics, engine mechanics, marketing and finance. I also led pioneering projects, such as developing electrorheological fluids for damping applications, including a demonstration on an ER semiactive suspension system. It was both exciting and rewarding work.

Mentored by industry leaders, and encouraged by colleagues, I became actively involved in the American Chemical Society (ACS) and STLE, making key discoveries, chairing conferences, presenting and authoring papers and holding various leadership roles. This helped me build a strong network and earn national recognition, including the honor of being named an ACS Fellow.

After 30 years in the field, I’m still energized by technical challenges, mentoring the next generation of leaders and fostering a collaborative environment. I’m proud of my contributions to the industry and remain deeply committed to its future.


Kathleen Havelka stands beside a 400 MHz NMR with chemical synthesis and analytical scientists, along with a metalworking fluid customer application specialist. This powerful tool enables molecular structure and composition analysis, supporting QSAR evaluation by this multidisciplinary team.

TLT: What has been your most rewarding accomplishment throughout your career in the lubricants industry?
Havelka: My most rewarding accomplishment has been my growth from bench chemist to business development manager to executive RD&A leader, making a significant impact by enabling innovation and bringing strategy to life.

This journey reflects my passion for fostering innovation, a consistent theme throughout my career. A key achievement has been transforming Advancion’s RD&A organization into a more agile, high impact innovation engine. I expanded the RD&A team to address global challenges, fostering multi-disciplinary approaches focused on creating solutions that enhance everyday products. With creativity and precision, we tackle market disruptions and develop solutions using advanced tools like molecular modeling, Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR), sensors, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). Our open innovation approach accelerates product development by leveraging both internal and external capabilities, partnerships and acquisitions, ensuring we utilize the most effective solutions. This strategy enhances my team’s ability to generate breakthrough technologies and deliver impactful, innovative products.

Aligning research efforts with strategic goals has been essential to this success. By focusing on key market disruptions like e-mobility and sustainability and working closely with marketing to shape a research portfolio that addresses challenges and drives innovation, we’ve been able to stay ahead. As the steward of innovation strategy, I engage with key stakeholders to balance its risk profile and make impactful portfolio decisions that ensure long-term growth and value creation. I’m also deeply committed to talent development, having established a clear career progression framework to nurture world-class scientists.

Additionally, I serve on the Scientific Advisory Board for Florida Food Products, guiding their technical direction. Exploring lubrication’s impact on food—affecting rheology, viscosity, texture and mouthfeel—has been fascinating and rewarding. I’m proud to contribute my expertise in this unique space.

Through collaboration, innovation alignment and stronger customer relationships, my team is defining the future of the industry and creating sustainable value. This journey continues to be incredibly rewarding.

TLT: What is the No. 1 piece of advice you would give to a person who might be interested in starting a career in the lubricants industry?
Havelka: My top piece of advice is to focus on an area where you can make an impact and find purpose, while being intentional with your time, continuously learning and embracing new challenges. This approach helps you build expertise while remaining adaptable and innovative as you progress in your career.

A former colleague had a phrase in her office: “Bloom where you’re planted.” This idea is empowering because it encourages you to find ways to contribute and create impact. The lubricants industry offers countless opportunities for innovation, so explore areas that interest you, experiment and build a sense of purpose. The field is multidisciplinary, so always expand your knowledge and collaborate with others—this not only broadens your perspective but also sparks new opportunities.

Networking is key. Engage with colleagues, attend technical meetings and seek connections that align with your purpose. I’ve found STLE invaluable for growth and have encouraged my team to get involved. I’m particularly passionate about education, and I regularly participate in STLE courses and training, like my upcoming role as a presenter at the 2025 STLE Annual Meeting. I also serve as Session Vice Chair for the STLE Environmentally Friendly Fluids Technical Committee, as sustainability is a key focus of mine.

Being intentional with your time and committing to lifelong learning is essential for development. The lubricants industry is ever evolving, and continuous learning ensures you stay adaptable and ready for new opportunities. Stay curious, embrace cross-disciplinary growth and challenge yourself by stepping outside your comfort zone.

Lastly, be open to trying new things. If something doesn’t resonate with you, pivot to something else. This mindset will help you build a dynamic, impactful career—just as I’ve experienced over the years.


Kathleen Havelka stands in front of the tap torque instrument alongside a microbiologist, formulator and metalworking fluid customer application specialist. As a formulation team, they use tap torque testing to assess the lubricity of metalworking fluid formulations.

TLT: Throughout the different segments within your career (additives, sensors, testing, blending, R&D, formulating, etc.), which one has been the most interesting, challenging and/or rewarding?
Havelka: I’ve held diverse roles across the lubricants and specialty chemicals industry, from additive development and sensor technologies to testing, blending, formulating and application identification. Each segment has presented unique challenges and opportunities, but my most fulfilling experience has been at Advancion, where I’ve partnered with the CEO and senior leadership team to drive strategic growth through science-based innovation, addressing the evolving technical demands of our markets.

I joined Advancion in March 2021, during the heart of the pandemic—a time of global uncertainty and disruption. While the ambiguity of the post-pandemic landscape was daunting, it also created opportunities for transformation. Shaping a forward-looking vision became a catalyst for meaningful change. Over the past four years, I’ve spearheaded sustainable development efforts while staying engaged with hands-on science, driving innovations that enhance performance, minimize waste and maximize impact.

By consistently exploring industry and customer needs, with a focus on innovation and sustainability, I’ve worked closely with marketing to refine technology and product roadmaps to reflect the latest insights. This proactive approach has been pivotal in building a robust new product development pipeline, powered by a rigorous and agile Stage-Gate process I developed and now oversee in RD&A. This framework unites cross-functional teams—regulatory, manufacturing, quality, marketing and sales—under a cohesive strategy, ensuring future-readiness. This integrated approach drives value, accelerates growth and balances speed with long term, sustainable impact.

This transformation energizes RD&A and sparks a cultural shift within the organization. Breakthroughs in one area often fuel deeper exploration and inspire teams to challenge the status quo. It’s truly extraordinary to witness complex problems being solved with elegant solutions, powered by multifunctional teamwork and high levels of engagement. People embrace risk, viewing failure as catalyst for growth. If we’re always succeeding, we’re likely not pushing boundaries enough. The goal is to fail early, share failures openly and grow smarter together.

R&D is inherently messy and embracing that mess fuels discovery. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” This mindset builds resilience, sparks creativity and empowers teams to think beyond traditional limits, collaborating to drive innovative solutions to complex global challenges. Each innovation fuels a continuous cycle of inspiration, driving a more sustainable, impactful future.

The most rewarding aspect of my career has been working with diverse teams to shape and execute a forward-looking vision. Witnessing the collective impact of our efforts is truly inspiring. Leading science-driven innovation that strengthens resilience, fosters collaboration and advances a sustainable future has been profoundly meaningful. This shared sense of purpose and progress makes the work truly fulfilling.

TLT: What are some of the most technical lubrication-based concepts or topics that you have encountered throughout your career?
Havelka: Throughout my career, I’ve faced a variety of technically challenging concepts that have shaped my approach to innovation in the lubricants industry. One constant theme has been the need for cross-functional collaboration and multidisciplinary solutions to overcome complex technical challenges.

A pivotal project early in my career involved the development of novel electrorheological (ER) fluids, where I led a multidisciplinary team to create field-responsive fluids. This work presented significant engineering challenges, such as achieving precise viscosity control with reversible and tunable changes, as well as ensuring rapid response times across a wide temperature range. We successfully demonstrated ER technology in a vehicle, collaborating on a semiactive suspension system. 

Despite its remarkable potential for enhancing handling, we faced limitations with temperature range, leading us to pivot to magnetorheological (MR) fluids. While MR fluids eliminated temperature constraints, the high loading of ferrous particles resulted in significant wear and device failure. Ultimately, the technology was licensed and found utility in niche applications with less demanding requirements.

This project taught me valuable lessons about trade-offs in technology development, emphasizing the importance of setting clear goals, validating assumptions early and recognizing the impact of decisions in innovation—principles that continue to guide my work in subsequent projects.

Later, at Elevance Renewable Sciences, I led the development and launch of bio-olefins using a vegetable oil cross-metathesis process. Alongside generating internal bench test data, we partnered with Argonne National Laboratory to evaluate the scuffing performance of our biobased functionalized PAO products. While the results were impressive, the cost of the biobased solution was still too high compared to petroleum-based alternatives, limiting its market viability at that time. A key lesson from this experience was the importance of recognizing market cost constraints.

Currently, I lead the development of a platform for high-performing, multifunctional additives derived from both petroleum and renewable feedstocks. The challenge is to create additives that not only outperform existing solutions but also meet rigorous environmental, health and safety standards while adhering to cost targets. This initiative has fostered strong engagement across the organization and necessitated close collaboration among R&D, marketing, regulatory and manufacturing teams to ensure alignment on specifications and scalability. We employ structured approaches, akin to pre-flight checklists, to guarantee technology readiness and adhere to timelines.

A key innovation in this project is what I refer to as “molecular engineering.” We leverage QSAR tools, molecular modeling, bench testing and Design of Experiments (DOE) to define structure-property relationships and ensure optimal performance and safety. After identifying the “Goldilocks” molecules—those that strike a perfect balance between performance and environmental, health and safety (EH&S) considerations—our synthesis and process teams collaborated closely with manufacturing to scale production. The field performance has been overwhelmingly positive. I’m excited to share that this is a plug-and-play process, scalable based on technical complexity and applicable to any project, particularly discovery projects with ambitious goals.

The common thread across all these projects has been the ability to manage complex technical details while ensuring alignment with the broader value proposition. These experiences have reinforced my belief that innovation thrives at the intersection of diverse disciplines and that strategic alignment across teams and functions is essential for success.

TLT: What is the one thing you wish you would have learned earlier in your career?
Havelka: Earlier in my career, I wish I had recognized the powerful connection between personal fulfillment and business success. Over time, I’ve learned that when I prioritize clear goals in both my personal and professional life, my productivity and creativity improve. A big part of this journey has been the unwavering support of my husband and daughter, who have been invaluable assets in helping me stay grounded and focused. I’ve also had the privilege of working at great companies with outstanding professionals who have continually inspired and supported me. Additionally, my professional network, particularly through organizations like STLE, has been instrumental in helping me thrive. The relationships and opportunities within this community have significantly expanded my knowledge, resilience and creativity. I now understand that a strong support system—whether through family, community or professional networks—directly enhances my ability to innovate and succeed. By nurturing these relationships and committing to mentoring others, I’ve seen a tangible improvement in both my career and overall life satisfaction.

You can reach Kathleen Havelka at khavelka@advancionsciences.com.