Biography

Dr. Heshmat Laaly is an analytical chemist, internationally recognized as an expert in the technical areas of plastics, rubbers, roofing and waterproofing materials, with a solid background in the fields of construction materials testing and instrumental analysis.
 

His education includes Bachelor, Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, 1962. His professional activities during the 21 years from 1963-1984 were concerned with the development and evaluation of ion exchange resins and the measurement of chemical, physical, and mechanical properties of materials, before and after natural aging and accelerated weathering in the laboratory, in Germany and Canada. Assisting in the preparation of standards and code of practice for roofs was also a major part of his responsibilities. Languages spoken fluently: Persian, German, English, and French.
 

Dr. Laaly is or has been a member of various scientific organizations and professional associations in Canada and the United States, such as APEO, ACS, IRWC, RCI, ASTM - Technical Committee D08, SPRI, CSA, CSI, CGSB, UNIDO, ICBO, RILEM/CIB - Joint Committee and numerous other related organizations.
 

He has addressed several national and international conferences on "Plastics, and Conventional and New Roofing and Waterproofing Materials" in the past 25 years. He is the author of several papers dealing with roofing science, and the technology and development of testing methods.
 

In July 1983, he received the "Certificate of Merit" from the Canadian General Standards Board in recognition of his contributions to the development of Standards and Test Procedures for roofing materials and methods of application. In January 1984, he left the National Research Council of Canada, Division of Building Research (NRCC/DBR) renamed Institute for Research in Construction (IRC), in Ottawa, Canada.
 

After 20 years compiling technical information on the field of roofing technology, he published his book in 1992 which encompasses 80 chapters in two volumes, 3,152 pages with over 1,100 photos, figures and tables, and which is entitled:
 

Dr. Laaly's educational and scientific background, combined with his specialized expertise in the science of roofing materials, led him to the successful development of a new class of revolutionary and bi-functional Roofing Material, " Photovoltaic Single-Ply Roofing Membranes," for which he holds a U.S. patent granted in 1989 and a Canadian patent awarded in 1991. For his invention, he was awarded "The Most Commercial Potential Award" at the 1988 Invention Convention held in Pasadena, California.
 

While his book was being completed, he continued to make presentations at roofing symposia and conventions including: "A Basis for Selecting Roofing Membranes," presented at the 1985 Second International Symposium on Roofing Technology held in Gaithersburg, Maryland; "Photovoltaic Single-Ply Roofing Membranes," presented at the Roofing Research and Standards Development symposium held in San Francisco, California by the American Society for Testing and Materials in June of 1990; and, "A New Horizon in Single-Ply Roofing (Free Electricity for Every Home)," at the Third International Symposium on Roofing Technology held in 1991 in Montreal, Canada; the latter two of which dealt specifically with his invention.
 

Dr. Laaly is listed to "Who's Who in California," since 1986, "Who's Who in the West," since 1987, "International Leaders in Achievement," published by IBC Cambridge, UK since 1988, and The Marquis' "Who's Who in the World," since the 1989-1990 edition.
 

The American Biographical Institute (ABI) awarded Dr. Laaly the
"World Lifetime Achievement Award" for "Outstanding Contributions
to the Roofing Materials Technology" in recognition of his book in 1992.