Resources
Plastics Publications/Web Sites Plastics Business Plastics Business is a quarterly magazine targeting the plastics processing business executive. It is distributed to corporate management as well as plant and production managers involved with all types of plastics processing and manufacturing, primarily in the United States. www.plasticsbusinessmag.com
Plastics Engineering Magazine Plastics Engineering magazine is published on behalf of the Society of Plastics Engineers by John Wiley & Sons Inc. www.plasticsengineering.org
Plastics News Plastics News and its sister publications together comprise the world’s largest plastics publishing organization. Owned by Crain Communications Inc., these brands include Plastics News, Plastics News China, European Plastics News and Plastics & Rubber Weekly. Other polymerrelated publications owned by Crain include Rubber & Plastics News, European Rubber Journal, Urethanes Technology International, and Tire Business. www.plasticsnews.com
Plastics Technology Monthly print magazine and online newsletter published by Gardner Business Media, Inc. Related publications owned by Gardner include Automotive Design & Production, CompositesWorld, Modern Machine Shop, MoldMaking Technology, Production Machining, Products Finishing. www.ptonline.com 331
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plastics.com plastics.com is the world’s largest online plastics community with over 70,000 members and features technical advice, blogs, calendars, resources, articles, news, forums, and a marketplace. www.plastics.com
plasticsguy.com A blog site with information on the art and science of mass production, including design, materials (especially plastics), and processing, as well as musings on the business of design. www.plasticsguy.com
Professional Societies American Chemical Society (ACS) An independent membership organization which represents professionals at all degree levels and in all fields of chemistry and sciences that involve chemistry. Has Technical Divisions in Polymer Chemistry, and Polymeric Materials: Science & Engineering. www.acs.org
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) ASME is a not-for-profit membership organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, career enrichment, and skills development across all engineering disciplines, toward a goal of helping the global engineering community develop solutions to benefit lives and livelihoods. Has occasional papers on design with plastics. www.asme.org
SAE International SAE International is a global body of scientists, engineers, and practitioners that advances self-propelled vehicle and system knowledge in a neutral forum for the benefit of society. Offers standards, books, technical papers, and training. topics.sae.org/polymers
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Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) An international professional member society, provides information on new materials and processing technologies through chapter technical presentations, two journal publications, symposia, and commercial expositions in which professionals can exchange ideas and air their views. www.nasampe.org
Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) SPE is the largest, most well-known plastics professional society in the world. www.4spe.org
Society of Plastics Engineers—Thermoforming Division Technical Division to facilitate the advancement of thermoforming technologies through education, application, promotion, and research. www.thermoformingdivision.com
Society of Plastics Engineers—Blow Molding Division Technical Division interested in all aspects of blow molding: ranging from machinery, tooling and auxiliary equipment, to polymer properties, processing, and fabricated part testing. www.blowmoldingdivision.org
Standards Organizations American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A private nonprofit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. www.ansi.org
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ASTM International (ASTM) Previously known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services. www.astm.org
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) An international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. www.iso.org
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) A safety consulting and certification company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. Primarily focused on drafting of safety standards for electrical devices and components, but also offers standards for plastics materials, including flammability. www.ul.com
Trade Organizations Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) SPI promotes growth in the US plastics industry. www.plasticsindustry.org
PlasticsEurope PlasticsEurope is one of the leading European trade associations with centers in Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan, and Paris. www.plasticseurope.org
American Mold Builders Association (AMBA) A leading association of mold builders representing a large variety of processes and capabilities. www.amba.org
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Association of Rotational Molders A worldwide trade association currently representing member companies in 58 countries. Members include manufacturers of rotationally molded plastic products, suppliers to the industry, designers, and professionals. www.rotomolding.org
Trade Shows K Trade Fair Known as the K show (K as in Kunststoff, the German word for plastic), it has been and still is the biggest international trade fair for plastics and rubber, and takes place once every 3 years. The next show is in 2016 in Dusseldorf, Germany. www.k-online.com
National Plastics Expo (NPE) The world’s leading plastics trade show and conference, NPE is held every 3 years: 2015, 2018, 2021, etc. The 2015 conference will be held in Orlando, FL. www.npe.org
Pacific Design & Manufacturing Show Held in Anaheim, CA every February, the Pacific Design Show is one of the largest engineering trade shows in the western US. It is held in conjunction with MD&M West, ATX West, WestPack, Electronics West, AEROCON, Quality Expo, PLASTEC West. pacdesignshow.designnews.com
Academia Auburn University Auburn, AL Samuel Ginn College of Engineering Polymer and Fiber Engineering Program BS, MS, and PhD degrees eng.auburn.edu/programs/pfen/index.html
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Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI BS degree in plastics engineering technology www.ferris.edu/plastics-engineering-degree.htm
Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA Materials Science and Engineering Department Center for Polymer Science and Engineering MS, ME, and PhD degrees www.lehigh.edu/∼inpolctr/index.html
Pennsylvania College of Technology Williamsport, PA Associates and Bachelor degrees in Polymer Engineering and Technology www.ptc.edu/schools/icet/plastics
Pennsylvania State University—Erie-Behrend College Erie, PA BS degree in plastics engineering technology psbehrend.psu.edu/school-of-engineering/academic-programs/plasticsengineering-technology
Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ Masters degree in polymer chemistry and polymer engineering www.stevens.edu
University of Akron Akron, OH College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering BS, MS, and PhD degrees www.uakron.edu/cpspe/
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University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA Department of Polymer Science and Engineering Offers graduate programs only www.pse.umass.edu/about-pse
University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell, MA Plastics Engineering Department BS, MS, and PhD degrees www.uml.edu/engineering/plastics
University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS School of Polymers and High Performance Materials BS, MS, and PhD degrees www.usm.edu/polymer
University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN MS and PhD degrees in Polymer Chemistry and Polymer Engineering http://www.engr.utk.edu
University of Wisconsin Madison, WI Polymer Engineering Center MS and PhD degrees in Polymer Engineering and Polymer Science pec.engr.wisc.edu/education.html