SPE Thermoforming Division awards scholarships to five students

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Thermoforming Division has awarded scholarships to four American undergraduates and one graduate student to help support their studies in plastics.

The Scholarship recipients are:

Samuel Bliesner, Tulane University. During his undergraduate career, Bliesner served as a co‐op at the DuPont site in Richmond, Virginia, performing research in the Kevlar business area. As PhD student, his research now focuses on control of semicrystalline polymer thin film morphology via solvent vapour annealing. His career interests include industry research, intellectual property law, and consulting.

Samuel Bliesner

Haven Bontz, Pennsylvania College of Technology. Bontz is a senior studying for a B.S. in Plastic and Polymer Engineering Technology and expects to graduate in the Fall of 2019.  Since May 2017, he has held an internship with Consolidated Container Company in Oil City, Pennsylvania, where he has executed 5s plans and performed process validations.

Haven Bontz

Antonia Chin, Kettering University. A chemical engineering student, Chin is completing her thesis, conducting research on plasticizers. She previously did a co‐op with BASF where she assessed paint quality on automobiles.

Antonia Chin

Lexington Peterson, Pittsburg State University. A double‐major in plastics engineering technology and polymer chemistry, Peterson also works part‐time as a lab assistant at the Kansas Polymer Research Center.

Lexington Peterson

Nathan Rader-Edkin, Pennsylvania College of Technology. A senior studying Plastics and Polymer Engineering Technologies, Rader-Edkin currently serves as SPE Student Chapter President, previously served as secretary, and is also the current chair of SPE’s Next Generation Advisory Board.

Nathan Rader-Edkin

The five students have been invited to attend the 27^th SPE Thermoforming Conference, which will be held September 9-11 at the Wisconsin Center and Hilton Milwaukee City Center Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They will be recognized during the Thermoforming Awards Dinner on Tuesday, September 10, at the hotel.

“The Thermoforming Division received a large volume of scholarship applications this year,” said Matt O’Hagan, chair of the SPE Thermoforming Division Student Activities Committee. “These students demonstrate track records of success and a clear interest in and commitment to our industry. At our Conference in Milwaukee, they will have an opportunity to learn more about careers in thermoforming and to network with industry leaders and potential employers.”

The SPE Thermoforming Division is a technical division of the SPE, based in Bethel, Conn.