March 11, 2024
The SPE Foundation is proud to announce the establishment of the Brightmark Scholarship in Plastics Circularity endowment. In collaboration with the SPE Foundation, Brightmark, a circular innovation company with a mission to Reimagine Waste®, has created an enduring legacy by establishing an endowed scholarship intended for students attending the Georgia Institute of Technology. Read More.
October 18, 2023
The SPE Foundation recently announced the outstanding individuals who have been selected as the Foundation’s 2023 scholarship recipients. These scholarships are a testament to the Foundation's unwavering commitment to supporting the next generation of talent in the plastics industry. Read More.
September 25, 2023
Changing the perception of plastics is a challenging prospect considering the almost constant barrage of misinformation, scare-tactics, and the spread of inaccurate reporting designed to devalue, or worse, diminish, the benefits plastics play in society. It takes a strong commitment and powerful collaboration to provide opportunities to flip the perception from negative to positive. Read More.
July 6, 2023
The SPE Foundation, a leading organization dedicated to the growth of plastics professionals and the advancement of plastics education, is pleased to announce the election of four new Board members. Albert McGovern, Steve Zamprelli, Matt Urfali, and Greg Adams have been elected to serve on the Board for a three-year term. Read More.
May 3, 2023 • Coatings World
BASF recently hosted students from the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Junior Researchers Program along with other students in the community for hands-on learning experiences in the labs at the BASF site in Wyandotte. Read More.
April 11, 2023
The Celanese Foundation, part of Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), (NYSE: CE), a global specialty materials and chemical company, recently granted $50,000 to fund the SPE Foundation’s work in Detroit and Dallas. The grant will be used to sponsor SPE After-School STEM Clubs, Ecotek Lab collaboration, and the PlastiVan® programming, which upholds the Foundation’s three-pronged approach to enrich and develop future workforce for the plastics industry. Read More.
March 22, 2023
DuPont™ Tedlar®, the global leader in technology-based materials and solutions, recently donated $20,000 to the SPE Foundation to support the Foundation’s three-pronged approach to enrich and develop future workforce for the plastics industry. Read More.
March 20, 2023
SPE Foundation PlastiVan Educator Evan Morton discusses the science behind plastics engineering with McKinney, TX, Faubion Middle School students on Wednesday, March 16. Read More.
December 2, 2022
The SPE Foundation offers numerous scholarships to students who have demonstrated or expressed an interest in the plastics industry. They must be majoring in or taking courses that would be beneficial to a career in the plastics industry. This would include, but is not limited to, plastics engineering, polymer science, chemistry, physics, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, journalism or communications. All applicants must be in good standing with their colleges. Applications for our 2023-2024 SPE Foundation Scholarships are open until April 1, 2023. Read More.
November 1, 2022
In collaboration with the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, the SPE Foundation has created its first SPE Color Your World with Polymer Science Girl Scout patch. The newly released patch was introduced during Color Your World with Science, a science and engineering event, which took place at the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas STEM Center of Excellence in Dallas, TX. More than 200 Girl Scouts earned their patch and saw first-hand how polymer scientists and engineers are improving our world by developing new materials to make items like shoes, bike helmets, car parts, and more. Read More.
September 15, 2022
The SPE Foundation is pleased to announce the scholarship recipients for 2022. Each recipient has demonstrated or expressed an interest in the plastics industry and all are majoring in or taking courses that would be beneficial to a career in plastics. Altogether, the SPE Foundation helped award 77 scholarships totaling $191,875 to 51 students for 2022. Read More.
August 11, 2022
The SPE Foundation Board is pleased to announce Dr. Matthew Harthcock as its new chair. He is replacing the Foundation Board’s previous chair, Dr. David Kusuma. Dr. Harthcock assumed the chair position on July 1, 2022, with his term running until June 30, 2023. Dr. Harthcock has been a member of the SPE Foundation board since 2021. Read More.
June 3, 2022
McKinney Independent School District in McKinney, TX, has partnered with SPE and Manner Polymers to pilot a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Club at Faubion Middle School that will be the first ever cohort of its kind in the state of Texas. Read More.
October 8, 2022
The SPE Foundation is launching SPE After-School STEM Clubs this fall. This new program will serve 400-600 students with weekly lessons focused on sustainable materials science and positive plastics education. It costs $5,000 per year to cover each club. Make a gift today and help us show plastics the love it deserves! Read More.