Penn College

Penn College's Society of Plastics Engineers student chapter wins global acclaim

Penn College plastics and polymer engineering technology students gather in Orlando, Fla., where their campus chapter of the Society of Plastics Engineers received worldwide recognition. Front row (from left): Lucas S. Poche, Lewistown; Nathan A. Rader-Edkin, Williamsport; Ryan M. Huling, Jersey Shore; Danial J. Kilinski, Montague, Mich.; David A. Pfahler, Telford; and Harold C. Lampe IV, Phoenixville. Back row (from left): Logan A. Tate, Williamsport, chapter president; Dante C. Fiamingo, Montoursville; Anthony P. Wagner, Williamsport; Andrew W. Woods, York; and Spencer L. Cotner, Muncy. Credit: Pennsylvania College of Technology / Penn StateCreative Commons

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Members of the Society of Plastics Engineers’ student chapter at Pennsylvania College of Technology received an international award May 6 for their top-notch involvement in industry-related outreach.

Presented at ANTEC 2018 in Orlando. Florida — an annual technical conference for plastics engineers — the Outstanding Student Chapter Award recognizes groups whose programs, activities and participation are especially noteworthy. The college’s chapter was designated as No. 1 in the world for 2017-18, the first year that SPE has ranked its student affiliates.

“The Penn College SPE chapter engages plastics students with cocurricular learning that has enabled them to expand on their classroom instruction, make connections with industry and help excite potential new students about the exciting possibilities of a career in plastics,” said Bradley M. Webb, assistant dean of industrial, computing and engineering technologies. “We are very proud of their hard work and the service they provide their fellow students, as well as Penn College.”

In support of the award, chapter President Logan A. Tate submitted a wide-ranging summary of engagement by the campus organization. The Williamsport resident is joining the New Jersey-based BD medical technology company as a process engineer after receiving his bachelor’s degree this month in plastics and polymer engineering technology.

Among the chapter’s activities were a number of career development/networking events, interaction with SPE’s Susquehanna Section (serving the region in which the chapter operates), more than a dozen campus and community events, student presentations and displays at ANTEC 2017, entry in industry competitions, a variety of plant tours, and involvement with employers’ recruiting sessions and industry speakers on campus.

The award is accompanied by a cash contribution to the chapter’s treasury, funded by the SPE Thermoforming Division.

The SPE student chapter is advised by instructor Joshua J. Rice, who earned a bachelor’s degree in plastics and polymer engineering technology from Penn College in May 2013. It has been honored as the college’s Outstanding Student Organization of the Year several times, most recently in 2016-17.

For more information regarding plastics majors offered by Penn College’s School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies, visit www.pct.edu/plastics or call 570-327-4520.

For more about the college, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.

Last Updated May 8, 2018