Thomas M. Sack , Ph.D.

Dr. Thomas Sack is Regional Vice President of Midwest Operations for Midwest Research Institute (MRI). In this role, Dr. Sack is responsible for the Institute’s largest business group, which includes the Energy and Life Sciences and the National Security and Systems Integration Divisions. These divisions conduct contract research in the fields of energy and the environment, life sciences, national security/defense, and food/agriculture, producing more than $70 million annually in revenue.

Dr. Sack oversees 300 technical staff, including chemists, biologists, engineers, and microbiologists, working in five regional locations; Washington, D.C.; and overseas. These locations include more than 132,000 ft2 of state-of-the-art laboratories; biosafety containment facilities, including BSL-2, -3, and a bioaerosol chamber; two rural field stations for conducting agricultural research; and a mobile laboratory production facility. MRI’s Kansas City facility has been awarded certification to the International Organization Standardization’s (ISO) 9001:2008 quality management standard.

Dr. Sack previously served as Director of the Chemical Sciences Division. This responsibility involved the technical management, fiscal monitoring, and strategic planning for technical professionals providing analytical chemistry support to clients in government and industry. Projects ranged from rapid-response assignments to long-term programs in the areas of chemical surety, instrument development, environmental analytical chemistry, chemical synthesis, proteomics, and mass spectrometry. Dr. Sack managed MRI’s Chemical Agent Laboratory under a Bailment agreement with the U.S. Army RDECOM.

Dr. Sack’s technical specialty encompasses the chemistry and detection of chemical warfare agents and related materials, analytical method development for trace analysis, and program management. During his career at MRI, he has provided leadership and management oversight for a series of contracts worth more than $20 million to develop methods for determining the presence of chemical agent related materials in soil, water, and vegetation. Dr. Sack also successfully managed major programs to determine levels of common indoor air pollutants in household products, examine chemical migration from packages during the microwaving of foods, and characterize the thermal decomposition products of electrical utility materials and materials used in electronics manufacturing.

Dr. Sack graduated summa cum laude from Rockhurst College with a B.S. in chemistry. He received a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Sack is a member of the American Chemical Society, and was appointed the Surety Operations Sector Representative of the U.S. Government’s Chemical Biological Defense Acquisition Initiatives Forum. He has coauthored more than 50 publications and technical papers.