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Paving the information superhighway with plastics
International
news S.vstenls und Components: Optical storage and transmission, computer components and peripherals Polymer Polymer Development. blends, inherently conductive and low dielectric polymers Process Development: Rapid prototyping, tooling and extrusion technology.
Paving the information superhighway with plastics The UK Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers will hold the first UK Regional Technical Conference ‘RETEC ‘96’ at the Manchester Conference Centre on 12 and 13 March, 1996. Some twelve papers will address the role of polymers in communications technology under the theme ‘Paving the Information Superhighway with Plastics’ in a two-day programme of four coordinated sessions comprising: l
Selected key note speakers will be drawn from contributors to the US ANTEC ‘95 programme and from national and multinational companies operating in Europe. The meeting will thus provide for a meaningful exchange of views between the USA and Europe in this rapidly developing field. The UK, as a major centre of international investment in information tech-
The Murket: International trends in the structure of supply and demand and the technical requirements of end-users
Rover is Engineer of the Year The Rover Group collected one of Britain’s highest accolades for a manufacturing company when it won the title of “Engineer of the Year’ in the Manufacturing Industry Achievement Awards (MIAAs). Rover won the Award for its L-series turbo-diesel engine which the judges said ‘is the epitome of modern design and establishes a new world benchmark’. The Awards recognize excellence in products, innovation, manufacturing expertise, exporting and training. Organized by Miller Freeman Technical Ltd, the MIAAs are supported by the DTI and the Engineering Council. Sponsors for the event are Shell Oils and Omron. Industry giants were not the only winners. The award for Exporter of the Year went to a small London company, 3D Scanners, just four years old, whose
The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society Award Sloan Foundation Grant The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, New York, has awarded The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) a grant of $441 550 as primary funding for the development of a career resource centre for the field of materials science and engineering. The TMS Career Resource Center for Materials has also received a commitment for financial support from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). 0261-3069/95/040227-12
0 1996 Elsevier
nology, is an appropriate location for this meeting and the theme is seen by the UK section of the SPE as a logical choice of subject matter for the first in their series of annual regional conferences RETEC ‘96 is being organized for the UK Section of SPE by Corporate Development Consultants Ltd, from whom further information may be obtained by companies interested in to the attending or contributing conference. For further information contact Anne Weston (Conference Manager) or Dr Geoffrey Barrett (Senior Consultant), Corporate Development Consultants Ltd, 3 The Plain, Thornbury, Bristol BS12 2AG, UK. Tel: 01454 419505. Fax: 01454 413421.
exports make up 89% of turnover. The company has developed a laser scanning system that can quickly convert the shape of three-dimensional objects into digital data. This information can then be used for computerized design or machining. A key market for 3D Scanners has been the Far East. Manufacturer of the Year was Isle of Man-based Strix, which makes thermostatic controls for domestic appliances such as electric kettles. The company reengineered one of its manufacturing processes to achieve dramatic cuts in lead times and costs. At the same it improved the performance of the component and so opened up new markets. Thorn Lighting, of Spennymoor, a high unemployment area in the North East, won the MlAA Training Award for the way it combined its own training needs with those of the local community. It set up a series of work-cxperience courses for local unemployed
people, including school leavers. Those who took part gained the experience and confidence necessary to find work, while Thorn developed a pool of partly trained labour from which it has already employed around 200 people. Other Award categories covered Innovations and Products of the Year. Award-winning innovations included a new way to measure the clearance gap on screw compressors from Holroyd, and a programmable radio microphone link from BBM. Among the products of the year were advanced control systems, an intelligent valve key, weighing equipment for hazardous areas, a novel bearing and new way to wrap Iceberg lettuces. The overall Product of the Year was won by Fisher-Rosemount for its intelligent fuzzy logic controller.
The TMS Career Resource Center will not only fulfil a need to provide information regarding the range of careers available in the field of materials science and engineering but is being designed to create a general awareness of the field itself. The primary audience for this programme is expected to be undergraduate and graduate students selecting a major field of study or contemplating further education and a career path. The focus of the TMS project is to provide people with highly visual and interactive information and data. The programme will seek to exploit the global reach of the Internet, and specifi-
tally the World Wide Web (WWW), to maximize information distribution and electronic interaction with ‘real’ people in the held. Simultaneously, a multimedia presentation capitalizing on the expanding appeal of the CD-ROM media, enhanced by the illustrative capabilities of Quicktime video, will be developed with the assistance of experts in these media formats. The TMS Career Resource Center is planned for completion within two years. The programme is being coordinated by Gerald L. Lied& Education Director of TMS, and Vicki Koebnick, TMS Manager of Education and Professional Affairs.
Science
Ltd
For more information on the MIAAs contact Andy Sandford. PR Manager, Miller Freeman plc, on 0181 316 3209.
Materials & Design Volume 16 Number 4 1995
227
news S.vstenls und Components: Optical storage and transmission, computer components and peripherals Polymer Polymer Development. blends, inherently conductive and low dielectric polymers Process Development: Rapid prototyping, tooling and extrusion technology.
Paving the information superhighway with plastics The UK Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers will hold the first UK Regional Technical Conference ‘RETEC ‘96’ at the Manchester Conference Centre on 12 and 13 March, 1996. Some twelve papers will address the role of polymers in communications technology under the theme ‘Paving the Information Superhighway with Plastics’ in a two-day programme of four coordinated sessions comprising: l
Selected key note speakers will be drawn from contributors to the US ANTEC ‘95 programme and from national and multinational companies operating in Europe. The meeting will thus provide for a meaningful exchange of views between the USA and Europe in this rapidly developing field. The UK, as a major centre of international investment in information tech-
The Murket: International trends in the structure of supply and demand and the technical requirements of end-users
Rover is Engineer of the Year The Rover Group collected one of Britain’s highest accolades for a manufacturing company when it won the title of “Engineer of the Year’ in the Manufacturing Industry Achievement Awards (MIAAs). Rover won the Award for its L-series turbo-diesel engine which the judges said ‘is the epitome of modern design and establishes a new world benchmark’. The Awards recognize excellence in products, innovation, manufacturing expertise, exporting and training. Organized by Miller Freeman Technical Ltd, the MIAAs are supported by the DTI and the Engineering Council. Sponsors for the event are Shell Oils and Omron. Industry giants were not the only winners. The award for Exporter of the Year went to a small London company, 3D Scanners, just four years old, whose
The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society Award Sloan Foundation Grant The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, New York, has awarded The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) a grant of $441 550 as primary funding for the development of a career resource centre for the field of materials science and engineering. The TMS Career Resource Center for Materials has also received a commitment for financial support from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). 0261-3069/95/040227-12
0 1996 Elsevier
nology, is an appropriate location for this meeting and the theme is seen by the UK section of the SPE as a logical choice of subject matter for the first in their series of annual regional conferences RETEC ‘96 is being organized for the UK Section of SPE by Corporate Development Consultants Ltd, from whom further information may be obtained by companies interested in to the attending or contributing conference. For further information contact Anne Weston (Conference Manager) or Dr Geoffrey Barrett (Senior Consultant), Corporate Development Consultants Ltd, 3 The Plain, Thornbury, Bristol BS12 2AG, UK. Tel: 01454 419505. Fax: 01454 413421.
exports make up 89% of turnover. The company has developed a laser scanning system that can quickly convert the shape of three-dimensional objects into digital data. This information can then be used for computerized design or machining. A key market for 3D Scanners has been the Far East. Manufacturer of the Year was Isle of Man-based Strix, which makes thermostatic controls for domestic appliances such as electric kettles. The company reengineered one of its manufacturing processes to achieve dramatic cuts in lead times and costs. At the same it improved the performance of the component and so opened up new markets. Thorn Lighting, of Spennymoor, a high unemployment area in the North East, won the MlAA Training Award for the way it combined its own training needs with those of the local community. It set up a series of work-cxperience courses for local unemployed
people, including school leavers. Those who took part gained the experience and confidence necessary to find work, while Thorn developed a pool of partly trained labour from which it has already employed around 200 people. Other Award categories covered Innovations and Products of the Year. Award-winning innovations included a new way to measure the clearance gap on screw compressors from Holroyd, and a programmable radio microphone link from BBM. Among the products of the year were advanced control systems, an intelligent valve key, weighing equipment for hazardous areas, a novel bearing and new way to wrap Iceberg lettuces. The overall Product of the Year was won by Fisher-Rosemount for its intelligent fuzzy logic controller.
The TMS Career Resource Center will not only fulfil a need to provide information regarding the range of careers available in the field of materials science and engineering but is being designed to create a general awareness of the field itself. The primary audience for this programme is expected to be undergraduate and graduate students selecting a major field of study or contemplating further education and a career path. The focus of the TMS project is to provide people with highly visual and interactive information and data. The programme will seek to exploit the global reach of the Internet, and specifi-
tally the World Wide Web (WWW), to maximize information distribution and electronic interaction with ‘real’ people in the held. Simultaneously, a multimedia presentation capitalizing on the expanding appeal of the CD-ROM media, enhanced by the illustrative capabilities of Quicktime video, will be developed with the assistance of experts in these media formats. The TMS Career Resource Center is planned for completion within two years. The programme is being coordinated by Gerald L. Lied& Education Director of TMS, and Vicki Koebnick, TMS Manager of Education and Professional Affairs.
Science
Ltd
For more information on the MIAAs contact Andy Sandford. PR Manager, Miller Freeman plc, on 0181 316 3209.
Materials & Design Volume 16 Number 4 1995
227