Ken Bertagnolli

Dr. Ken Bertagnolli currently serves as the Vice President of Research, Development, and Engineering at US Synthetic Corp. US Synthetic leads the market in providing robust polycrystalline diamond inserts for petroleum and geothermal drilling, as well as diamond bearings designed to withstand the most challenging environments.

Throughout his three-decade career, Ken has been at the forefront of new product development and innovation. Under his leadership, his team enhanced product performance by an astonishing 1000-fold—a testament to the power of rapid learning cycles and continuous improvement.

Ken earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and holds a Master’s degree from Utah State University. His inventive spirit is captured in 121 US patents, marking significant contributions to the field of superhard materials and high temperature - high pressure technology.