SPE names latest Antec award winners

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) will present its annual awards for outstanding contributions to the plastics industry to three industry innovators during SPE Antec 2017 event, the world’s largest plastics technical conference.

The awards and honorees are:

International Award:

The SPE’s most distinguished award, the International Award, will be given to Dr. Tadamoto Sakai, a compounding and processing expert. Sakai is currently a Visiting Professor at Shizuoka University (since 2007), an executive member of Japan Society of Plastics Technology (since 2009), and an Honorary Fellow of the Japan Steel Works (JSW) (since 2005). “He has spent his career making important contributions in the global polymer processing field,” SPE said. “His achievements in R/D activities have been published as multi-authored books (40), oral presentations (more than 300) at international meetings, technical papers (more than 200) and patent (more than 70).”

Dr. Tadamoto Sakai

The International Award is sponsored by the SPE’s Detroit Section, Automotive & Engineering Properties and Structures Divisions.

Research/Engineering Technology:

Awarded to Mark Wetzel, a Research Fellow at DuPont who provided technical leadership at the firm in the area of polymer process development, scale-up, and analysis before his retirement in 2016. Wetzel has over 37 years of experience in various areas that include fundamentals of extrusion and compounding, extrusion and compounding process development, new product development through process innovation, and polymer nanocomposites and the safe handling of nanomaterials. “Since 1995, Mark collaborated with many leading academics and practitioners in the polymer processing field with over 70 publications on extrusion process characterization, melting fundamentals, residence time distribution, polymer nanocomposites and process monitoring and control,” SPE said.

Mark Wetzel

This award is sponsored the SPE Extrusion Division.

The Fred Schwab Education Award:

This award is sponsored by the Detroit Section of SPE and SPE Automotive Division.Awarded to Ica Manas-Zloczower, the Thomas W. and Nancy P. Seitz Professor of Advanced Materials and Energy in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering and the Distinguished University Professor at Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio.  “Professor Manas-Zloczower’s research accomplishments have been recognized through more than 80 plenary, keynote and invited lectures at national and international conferences and more than 100 invited seminars at various companies and universities worldwide,” SPE said. “She has also chaired several sessions at national and international meetings. She presented the 2014 Plenary Technical Lecture for the SPE.”

Ica Manas-Zloczower

This award is sponsored by the Detroit Section of SPE and SPE Automotive Division.

The 2017 SPE Antec will take place May 8-10 at the Hilton Anaheim in Anaheim, Calif. The annual award recipients will be honoured at the SPE Awards and 75^th Anniversary Gala on Sunday evening, May 7.