Dr. Peter A. Burke
Sr. Vice President & Chief Technology Officer
STERIS Corporation

Why should you join STERIS Research & Development?

• A creative, fast-paced work environment
• State of the art technologies
• Innovative culture
• The opportunity to help make the world a safer place

Click here for current career opportunities.

R&D Values:
These values are fundamental to our business activities:

Integrity – We embrace truthfulness and trust. We say what we mean and deliver what and when we promise.

Mutual Respect –We value and respect our customers, suppliers, fellow employees and communities.

Responsibility – We strive for excellence in everything we do. We adhere to established legal and ethical standards. We take responsibility for our actions.

Corporate Citizenship – We operate our businesses in a manner that respects and obeys all applicable laws, and reflects a commitment to excellence in safety, health and environmental matters.

North American Research and Development Locations:

Canada

Beauport, Quebec, Canada
R&D Product Development Department

United States

Erie, Pennsylvania, United States
Research and Development Engineering Department

Libertyville, Illinois, United States
Research and Development Department

Mentor, Ohio, United States
Advanced Sterilization Department
Advanced Engineering Department
New Technologies Department
Control and Automation Department
Device Testing Program
Scientific New Product Development Department
Surgical and Critical Care Technologies Product Development Department

St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Scientific R&D Department <anchor to description below>

Individual Department Descriptions:

Advanced Sterilization Department - Mentor, Ohio

The Advanced Sterilization Department’s primary focus is development of new innovative sterilization and decontamination technologies including chemical sensors and biological indicators. Department personnel are professionally trained microbiologists and chemists who possess in-depth knowledge of their respective fields. The group works in cross functional teams with Engineering as well as Marketing and Regulatory personnel to develop complete sterilization solutions.

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Advanced Engineering Department - Mentor, Ohio

The Advanced Engineering Department is focused on inventing and discovering next generation technologies from which novel products are commercialized. The department interfaces with worldwide development teams to provide technical solutions for infection prevention, decontamination, and surgical support systems. The team possesses a broad range of technical talents with experience and expertise in the areas of fluid mechanics, lighting, systems development, engineering design, and rapid prototyping. The team is skilled in utilizing advanced analytical tools such as computational fluid dynamics for process systems design and fluid flow modeling, finite element analysis, and design optimization programs. The designs are rapidly prototyped in house and evaluated in the laboratory using state of the art instrumentation and techniques.

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New Technologies Department - Mentor, Ohio

New Technologies Department’s principal focus is to identify, assess, license, and acquire new technology concepts and products that are synergistic to STERIS’s business units. The department is charged with the task of providing a continuous flow of new and leading products and/or process technologies to STERIS by combining expertise in chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and business development to ensure that STERIS is a world leader in infection control, microbial reduction, and contamination prevention.

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Control and Automation Department - Mentor, Ohio

Control and Automation Department is responsible for research, discovery, development, and implementation of control and automation technologies for use in all new and existing STERIS products. The department also provides feasibility studies to shorten the product development process, standards for design of the control and automation portion of all products, and coordinates control and automation development between different R&D groups. The control systems of STERIS products cover the whole gamut from embedded controls to programmable logic controls (PLC) to full supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. Other areas covered are sensor development and testing, robotics, vision systems, and automation security. The group is a common resource for control and automation products, as well as standards and technologies for STERIS.

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Device Testing Program - Mentor, Ohio

The focus of the program is to provide a service to other medical device manufacturers that will allow their products to be processed with STERIS Corporation products. The testing performed may utilize multiple technologies, those that are already on the market, as well as those that are in development. This testing includes the development of new connection devices, as well as material compatibility and sterile efficacy testing.

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Scientific New Product Development Department - Mentor, Ohio

New Product Development is STERIS Corporation’s principal center for liquid chemical sterilant (LCS) and high level disinfectant (HLD) product development efforts. In addition to providing chemistry and microbiology support for the various LCS and HLD systems under development, the New Product Development Department provides on-going product support services and complements STERIS’s Advanced Sterilization, Defense & Industrial, R&D Engineering, and New Technologies activities. The Mentor Ohio operation is also engaged in the R&D of various process indicators, chemical indicators, and methods and assay development for LCS as well as the other disinfection and terminal sterilization systems offered by the company.

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Surgical and Critical Care Technologies Product Development Department - Mentor, Ohio

This talented team of engineers and designers is a leader in the development of equipment for operating rooms, outpatient surgery centers, ICU/CCU, emergency rooms, and labor and delivery rooms. Innovative new products in surgical lighting, patient support, transport, and equipment management make STERIS Corporation a world leader in meeting the needs of healthcare providers. Cross-functional teams develop products from concept to production, incorporating the latest technologies in optics, advanced materials, hydraulics, controls, and fabrication techniques. An example of the ground breaking products developed by this group is the HarmonyTM Lux Advantage LA surgical lighting and visualization system. This newest STERIS lighting system for cutting edge operating rooms features intuitive controls, WavelensTM optical lens technology for super-focus capability, advanced optics for superior shadow control and depth of field, and an easy-to-replace lamp system with backup. Advanced controls technologies allow for future upgrades and expansion of the system while preserving the customer’s initial investment.

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Erie, PA Department:

R&D Engineering Department- Erie Pennsylvania

The STERIS Sterilization/Decontamination Group has extensive development experience in electro-mechanical design and implementation. The staff of electrical and mechanical engineers, designers, and technicians is experienced in meeting the international CE Mark as well as domestic FDA regulatory requirements. Low temperature VHP decontamination processes and high temperature steam sterilization processes have been developed and commercialized by the group to meet the needs of the healthcare and scientific markets. From a mechanical standpoint, finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis are performed to meet the ASME (Domestic), PED (Europe), CRN (Canada), and Seismic (California) standards required for the equipment. Electrical design and development focuses on proprietary and PLC control technology design, application programming for the equipment and electrical standards required for the marketplace such as UL (domestic), EMC (Europe), LVD (Europe), and CSA (Canada).

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Libertyville, IL Department:

Research & Development Department - Libertyville, Illinois

STERIS Libertyville R&D Department is a research center for development of physical concepts relating to methods of sterilization and decontamination technologies, including electron beam, X-ray, gamma irradiation, plasma, electrical discharge, and pulsed electrical fields. The department has unique equipment, such as pulsed nanosecond high current electron accelerators, nanosecond pulsed generators, plasma systems, and diagnostic equipment. The department also has computer modeling programs for simulating the interaction of beams with condensed matter.

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Quebec, Canada Department:

R&D Product Development Department - Beauport, Quebec, Canada

R&D Product Development Department designs, improves, and patents state-of-the-art washing and decontamination systems and technologies for STERIS worldwide customers. The primary markets are healthcare central service departments, healthcare gastrointestinal endoscopy suites, laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, and comparative medicine departments. In a constantly improving, stimulating, and innovative work environment, the Product Development Department is creating value added systems for our customers to drive continuous fast paced growth. Our local expertise resides in mechanical, electrical, and software engineering as well as microbiology and chemistry. We are STERIS’s center of excellence in washing and decontamination technologies and systems.

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St. Louis, MO Department:

Scientific R&D Department - St. Louis, Missouri

STERIS St. Louis R&D Department is a technical center for developing and supporting product technologies for the decontamination of critical surfaces in medical and pharmaceutical environments. The department is composed of experts in chemistry, microbiology, and skin care technology. The facilities include laboratories for analytical chemistry, formulation chemistry, microbiology, biophysical measurement, and pilot plant production. Product focus is on cleaning and disinfection chemistries for medical instruments, pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment, and skin care products in the medical market.

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