Plastics - PCToday - Pennsylvania College of Technology

College Expands Dual-Enrollment Offerings to Include Plastics

Nov. 18, 2009 - 6:28 p.m.

Penn College continues to expand the variety of its courses available to high school students through the Penn College NOW dual-enrollment program. The college received an $85,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to offer a selection of its plastics and polymer technology courses in high school classrooms.

Plastics Alumnus Opens Students' Eyes to Opportunity

Nov. 17, 2009 - 12:24 p.m.

Keith L. Jeffcoat, a 2001 alumnus of the plastics and polymer engineering technology major, recently returned to campus to speak with several plastics classes. Jeffcoat is a staff development engineer in R&D at Ethicon-Endo Surgery, part of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. Jeffcoat makes the visit to Penn College annually, talking to students about his career background and trying to open their eyes to important career topics often not covered in textbooks, such as networking and taking initiative. He also hosted an open forum to answer questions about Johnson & Johnson’s co-op program and its opportunities for new college graduates.

SPE, College Host Conference on Campus

Oct. 28, 2009 - 12:22 p.m.

Sixty-five people, representing 30 plastics companies, made a visit to Penn College’s campus Oct. 22 for an Extrusion Minitec (a mini technical conference). The program was a joint effort of the Society of Plastics Engineers and the college. Penn College students from plastics and polymer technology majors also attended as their schedules allowed, as did faculty from the majors and Plastics Manufacturing Center staff. The event featured eight technical speakers, four laboratory demonstrations, and ended with a reception.

James C. Gorham Named 'Student of the Month'

Oct. 14, 2009 - 8:01 p.m.

James C. Gorham, of Mill Hall, has been chosen by Penn College's Student Government Association’s as the first Student of the Month of the Fall 2009 semester. Gorham, a senior in the college’s four-year plastics and polymer engineering technology major, is the vice president of the Society of Plastics Engineers. “James is a hard worker who really enjoys his major,” his nominator wrote. “He even goes to the extent of working for the Plastics Manufacturing Center in his ‘spare time’ to improve the plastics program at the college.”

Ultimate Frisbee Team Competes in Gettysburg Tourney

Sept. 28, 2009 - 11:48 a.m.

The Penn College Ultimate Frisbee team competed at Gettysburg College this past weekend in the Abe Lincoln Fall Classic, the first-ever tournament for all of the players on this year's squad. Everyone on the team enjoyed a great event that included a victory in one of six games played and a tour of the battlefields and monuments, said Kirk M. Cantor, team coach and professor of plastics technology. In the tournament, 15 college teams from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and New York battled it out, with Shippensburg University taking first place, added Cantor, who also provided the photos at left.

College, Society of Plastics Engineers to Host Extrusion Conference

Sept. 23, 2009 - 3:52 p.m.

The Society of Plastics Engineers and Penn College will host an SPE Extrusion Minitec at the college on Oct. 22. The “mini technical conference” will benefit engineers, operators and managers. The one-day seminar includes eight presentations on a variety of single- and twin-screw extrusion technologies and will be followed by extrusion-machinery demonstrations in the college’s process laboratories. Among the presenters are Kirk M. Cantor, professor of plastics and polymer technology at Penn College, and several members of the SPE Extrusion Division Board.

Pennsylvania Companies Profit From Global Certification Program

Aug. 28, 2009 - 1:19 p.m.

The Plastics Manufacturing Center at Penn College – partnering with A. Routsis Associates Inc. and Mid-Atlantic Plastics Partners Inc. – recently conducted a pilot training program to certify employees in Pennsylvania’s plastics industry. In the internationally recognized Global Standards for Plastics Certification training, which featured 342 employees from 16 companies, significant gains were demonstrated in production efficiency and safety, along with a reduction in scrap rates, employee turnover and customer complaints.

Plastics Students Broaden Knowledge in Northern Ireland

July 30, 2009 - 10:18 a.m.

Seven students studying plastics and polymer engineering technology at Penn College recently returned from a study-abroad experience at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. The students studied specialized plastics processing techniques at the university’s Polymer Processing Research Centre. “Studying at Queen’s University broadened my knowledge of the plastics-manufacturing field because we learned so much about rotational molding and coextrusion there,” said John E. Gudonis, of Danville.

PMC Director Accepts Pinnacle Award for SPE Rotomolders

July 23, 2009 - 3:29 p.m.

C. Hank White, director of the Plastics Manufacturing Center at Penn College, recently accepted the 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers Gold Pinnacle Award on behalf of SPE’s Rotational Molding Division. SPE divisions are technical groups organized around a specific process or application in the plastics industry. The Rotational Molding Division promotes technology programs and education for the industry, as well as technical conferences and networking opportunities for its members. White recently became national chairman of the division.

Plastics Students Visiting Northern Ireland

June 29, 2009 - 4:05 p.m.

Penn College's first group of plastics students to study abroad is in Belfast, Northern Ireland, through July 5. The seven students – Alan J. Tate, Williamsport; James C. Gorham, Mill Hall; Bradley J. Stroup, Mount Pleasant Mills; Ryan L. Newman, New Columbia; John E. Gudonis, Danville; Christopher E. Kohler, South Williamsport; and Brennan B. Wodrig, Hughesville – are accompanied by faculty chaperone Kirk M. Cantor, professor of plastics technology, second from left. The students will attend a workshop on extrusion and rotational molding techniques at the Plastics and Polymers Research Center, Queen's University, and enjoy beautiful Northern Ireland. They are seen here in the village of Bushmills.
Photo provided by International Programs Office