The Alexander Schwartz Award is a prestigious award presented only when a candidate is deemed to have met the outlined criteria. The recipient of this award:
- Made a significant contribution to the reflective products industry, either through technical achievement, leadership, product development, and/or new technology;
- Motivated industry representatives and advanced the reflective products industry and/or RIMA International and,
- Contributed to the overall acceptance of reflective products within the building codes and in the overall marketplace.
Additional criteria include:
- Awarded to a member or non-member
- Awarded to an individual or company
When a recipient is chosen, the award will be presented to them at the bi-annual International Reflective Insulation Manufacturers (I-RIM) Conference. A complimentary conference registration and hotel room will be provided.
Anyone interested in nominating a candidate for consideration can do so by completing the Nomination Form.
About Alexander Schwartz
In 1945, Alexander Schwartz, president of Infra Insulation, Inc. out of New York City, commercially produced a radiant barrier reflective insulation product he called INFRA Insulation. It was designed to keep summer heat out and winter heat in a home or building. Architects and builders immediately embraced this solution as a way of building higher energy efficient homes. Infra Insulation, Inc. quickly became the largest producer of reflective foil insulation.
In the 1950’s, INFRA Insulation was introduced to the consumer market as an accordion-fold style product and was touted as easily installed by anyone who could use a staple gun. Newspaper advertisements even depicted women installing the radiant barrier in their own homes. By the early 1960’s, millions of square feet of radiant barrier had been installed in homes and buildings.
Unfortunately, an unfavorable FTC ruling against Infra Insulation Inc., coupled with Schwartz’ untimely death in the early 1960’s put an end to any further expansion. By 1965, his INFRA Insulation radiant barrier product was taken off the market entirely and the business closed.
Award Recipients
Dr. 
Hamed Saber – Presentedat the 2024 RIMA International Meeetings in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dr. Saber is currently a Professor at the Mechanical Engineering Department at Jubail Industrial College and the Chair of Research at the Deanship of Research and Industrial Development, Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He has work experience as a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute for Space and Nuclear Studies and the Chemical and Nuclear Department at University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM, United States), and a Research Officer at the National Research Council of Canada (Ottawa, ON, Canada).
Dr. David Yarbrough – Presented at the 2018 I-RIM Conference in Puntarenas, Costa Rica
David Yarbrough is President of R&D Services, Inc., a testing and consulting company located in Cookeville, TN. Dave is professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at Tennessee Technological University and retired Research Staff Member from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dave holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. As a registered professional engineer in the states of Tennessee and Florida, he authored or co-authored over 200 technical papers or reports. Dave has been active in technical areas dealing with thermal insulation and related building materials for about 25+ years. We are pleased to recognized David as our first Alexander Schwartz Award recipient. He goes above and beyond on behalf of this industry and is well deserving of this award.
Robert W. Wadsworth – Presented at the 2019 RIMA-I Fall Membership Meeting in Houston, Texas
Mr. Wadsworth was President of Innovative Energy Inc. and engaged in the reflective insulation industry for over 35 years. He has been an active member of RIMA International, was a past president, served on the board of directors and held every executive office position over the years. He conducted a number of seminars in various building industry conferences and trade shows, including several at NFBA and Metalcon. In addition to reflective insulation product, His company specializes in providing protective packaging solutions for temperature sensitive products during shipment. Bob passed away in January 2019. The award was accepted by his son-in-law and new owner of Innovative Energy, Jonathon Hagarbome.
Monty Millspaugh – Presented at the 2022 RIMA-I Srping Membership Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee
For the last thirty years, Mr. Millspaugh has worked in various roles at Reflectix, Inc. including sales, marketing, operations and research and development. He was one of the original members of their Board of Directors, serving for many years, and is currently the Vice President of Technical Service. He currently serves as co-chairman of the Technical Committee, Director on the RIMA-I Board and serving on the Past Presidents Advisory Council. He has represented both Reflectix and RIMA-I at American Society of Testing and Materials International (ASTM) both at C16 Thermal Insulation and E5 Fire Safety. He is active in code development as a member of the International Code Council (ICC). He is also a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). RIMA International is pleased to recognize Mr. Monty Millspaugh for all he has contributed on behalf of this organization and the industry it represents throughout his professional career. The industry has benefited greatly from his contribution.