Education Expo

About Education Expo


Education Expo is an annual event where students active in Bay Area university SPE chapters present their plastics-related projects, receive monetary scholarships and poster prizes, and network with industry. The organizing committee is led by Education Chair and includes university chapter officers and academic advisors from each university.


Benefits for Industry Professionals


Meet potential candidates for internships and entry-level positions


Learn about interesting research and offer constructive feedback


Provide advice on career paths and share your experiences


Support of student chapters through company sponsorship


Networking with students and other industry professionals



2018 Expo Recap


Many thanks to this years' organizing committee:
  • SPE GGS board members (Jennifer - Education Chair and Yanika Schneider - President
  • Students (Jake Thorup and Sam Prince from Chico; Crystal Pereira and John Schenkel from SJSU)
  • Academic advisors (Nathan Anderson - Chico and Ozgur Keles - SJSU)

This year our event was held at CSU Chico, to showcase the university's plastics-related programs and capabilities. Students from the Chico SPE chapter hosted a tour of the plastics processing lab (twin screw extruder, injection molding, blow molding, thermoforming machines). Very impressive, and the lab is managed by a student (Sam Prince) who maintains the equipment and trains other students on their use! A special thank you to Jake Thorup (SPE student chapter president), Zeb Wagner, Sam Prince and Nathan Anderson (Chico student advisor/professor) for organizing the tour! We also got to tour a well-stocked machine shop, which has a CNC machine, mills, lathes, and other tools and equipment utilized by students for their projects.
After the tours, we walked across the street to Tres Hombres for a poster session, dinner and awards presentation. Four posters were presented:
  • Jake Thorup (Chico) - Antenna cover thermoforming mold
  • Zeb Wagner (Chico) - Bicycle tire lever mold
  • Jordan Olson (Chico) - Compound plastic made from coffee beans
  • Syed Rahim (SJSU) - Processing 3D Printed Molds for Centrifugal Microfluidic Devices


Poster Prizes

1st prize ($100) - Jordan Olsen (CSU Chico)
2nd prize ($50) - Syed Rahim (SJSU)

Jordan did all aspects of his project - compounding, molding, mechanical testing and materials analysis. He conducted additional tests (SEM, DSC) to study the cause of the results obtained in mechanical testing and observations during injection molding. Syed's poster was nicely put together and he presented the topic extremely well with a good level of understanding on the background behind the work.


Louis Temesvary Memorial Scholarship winner

Anthony Tran ($750) and CSU Chico chapter ($250)
Anthony is a well-rounded student in the Sustainable Manufacturing program at CSU Chico. He seeks diverse experiences to gain knowledge in engineering and manufacturing. Anthony is passionate about manufacturing and demonstrates that in all his activities on/off campus, including working at a bicycle shop (where he fixes, builds, designs and trains), being an active member of Chico State Cycling Club and getting involved in professional societies (SPE and SME - lead engineer). In addition, Anthony had the opportunity to intern at a plastics company where he designed and fabricated fixtures and tooling to automate processes (e.g. pneumatics, robotics and electrical).



Overall, the 2018 Education Expo was a success! It was well-attended (13 students, 2 professors, and 4 industry professionals), the poster session was well-received and the food was delicious!



Sponsorships
$100 (Bronze)
$200 (Silver)
$400 (Gold)
Contact Jennifer Hoffman
SPE GGS Education Chair
For more details: jhoffman@airxpanders.com