Daniel Klein, PhD
About Daniel Klein, PhD
Daniel Klein, PhD, is the Manager of Polymeric Materials at Nikola Motor Company, with extensive experience in polymer science and previous roles at NASA, Collins Aerospace, and other institutions.
Company
Daniel Klein, PhD, currently works at Nikola Motor Company. He serves as the Manager - Polymeric Materials in the Phoenix, Arizona Area. In his role, he focuses on developing polymeric composite options for lightweighting vehicles and supports projects related to off-road vehicles, personal watercraft, and semi trucks.
Title
Daniel Klein holds the position of Manager - Polymeric Materials at Nikola Motor Company. He serves as the polymeric materials subject matter expert and has been responsible for establishing relationships with polymer distributors, test labs, academic institutions, and industrial partners to drive material selection and approval.
Education and Expertise
Daniel Klein earned his PhD in Polymer Science from The University of Akron, completing his studies in 1998. He also holds a BA in Chemistry from Carthage College, which he obtained in 1994. His academic background laid the foundation for his expertise in the field of polymeric materials and their applications.
Professional Background
Daniel Klein has an extensive professional background in polymer science. Before his current role at Nikola Motor Company, he worked at Collins Aerospace as a Senior Materials/Polymer Scientist from 2015 to 2019 and at Arizona State University as a Research Professional from 2014 to 2015. He also held the position of Senior Research Scientist and Principal Investigator at PlastiPure, Inc. from 2010 to 2014, as well as Senior Research Scientist at Ashland Chemical from 2006 to 2009.
Early Career
Daniel Klein's career began with roles at NASA Langley Research Center, where he was a Senior Staff Scientist from 2002 to 2005 and a Research Associate from 1999 to 2002. He also completed a Postdoctoral Research tenure at The University of Akron in 1999. These early roles helped build his foundation in research and polymer science.