Former SPE leader, Plastics Hall of Fame member Robert Forger passes away
Canadian Plastics
Plastics ProcessesDuring his 21 years as executive director, SPE more than doubled in size, and the number and scope of its activities grew even more rapidly.
Robert Forger. Photo Credit: Plastics Hall of Fame
Robert Forger, a former executive director of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and member of the Plastics Hall of Fame, died in Connecticut on Jan. 24 at age 94.
Forger graduated from Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., with a chemistry degree in 1949, and initially worked as an engineer and then manager of technical publicity for Dorr-Oliver in Stamford, Conn. He joined the Bethel, Conn.-based SPE in 1959, starting as conference manager and becoming executive director in 1971. During his 21 years as executive director, Forger played a central role in helping SPE to become an important worldwide professional association for the plastics industry, doubling the size of SPE membership from 16,500 to 37,000, almost doubling the size of its staff, and also dramatically growing the number of SPE technical conferences and seminars.
Forger, who lived in Newton, Conn., also served in leadership positions on the Plastics Education Foundation and the National Plastics Museum; and was an advisor to the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s plastics engineering curriculum advisory committee, resulting in the creation of the first-in-the-nation degree in plastics engineering.
Forger was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 1997.
