The UConn Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Student Chapter was founded in 1981. The President is graduate student Eric Catuccio and the SPE advisor is Dr. Myer Ezrin, Director of the IMS Associates Program. The sponsoring SPE Section is the Western New England Chapter. The Student Chapter renders assistance to IMS in various ways and sponsors programs to benefit polymer graduate students. It provides for the audio-visual equipment used by seminar speakers. For many years it has taken part in presentations for youth programs on CPTV (Connecticut Public Television). It has sponsored a series of talks by industry representatives, some from Associates Program members, for polymer graduate students. This helps to introduce students to what it is like to work in industry. Another series of talks each year is by polymer faculty on their research to help introduce the new students to the variety of research going on and to help in selecting a research advisor.

SPE Student Chapter officers have met annually with the IMS Advisory Board to share with them areas of concern and interest from the students' point of view. When IMS sponsored tours for the Western New England Section of SPE, the students played a key role in all aspects. SPE students have attended various programs of the Western New England Section of SPE including technical presentations and plant tours. The other officers of the Chapter besides Eric Catuccio, President, are Smita Boob, VP; Rongfu Li, Treasurer; Gobinda Saha, Secretary. Funds are always in short supply to help with possible programs of interest. The Western New England Section has helped sometimes. The students have sold various items, including a calendar with international recipes contributed by polymer graduate students. Other items sold are coffee mugs with the polymer logo and sweatshirts.

What does all this have to do with the members of the IMS Associates Program? The SPE Student Chapter is a reservoir of potential future employees who have demonstrated an interest in the polymer/plastics industry and are leaders for the benefit of all polymer graduate students, whether affiliated with SPE or not. If you get to know them, you may find an important future employee for your company in polymer science and technology who knows how to lead, to relate to people and to get things done.

As Director of the IMS Associates Program and advisor to the UConn SPE Student Chapter, Mike Ezrin can help make the connection between your company and this promising group of students. Possibilities are a plant tour for the whole group, learning of their research, targeting an individual for contacts regarding their research or for consideration of future employment. Possibly a student could be invited to give a seminar at the company. Or the other way around -- an offer to present a seminar or round table discussion at IMS.