SPE Announces 2026 Fellow of the Society Award Recipients
In January, SPE announced the recipients of its 2026 Fellow of the Society Award. Established in 1984, this prestigious honor has been awarded to 377 distinguished SPE members who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in plastics engineering, science, technology, or management. Candidates must be sponsored by an SPE Section, Technical Division or Special Interest Group and elected by the Fellows Election Committee based on their professional record as well as written sponsorships from at least two SPE members.
Recipients will be honored at ANTEC® 2026, taking place March 9-12, in Pittsburgh, PA.
The 2026 recipients of the Fellow of the Society Award are:
Dr. Jay Hanan – Thermoforming Division
Dr. Jay Hanan has developed and commercialized PET light-weighting technology, reducing material usage and advancing sustainability; pioneered polymer nanocomposite applications from academic research to industry; and has spearheaded thermoforming innovations for PET caps and sustainable manufacturing. In addition to his academic career, his achievements in industry are very impressive.
Dr. David Jack – Composites Division
Dr. David Jack’s research has focused on high resolution inspection/feature extraction for composites, field portable inspection of composites, and short fiber composites. He has been heavily involved in FAA 8100-0 air worthiness compliance, including writing 12 standards and providing many inspections. He also led the development and certification of core research facilities at Baylor University.
Dr. Patrick C. Lee – Thermoplastic Materials and Foams Division
Dr. Patrick C. Lee has experience in industry and academia. His groundbreaking research in foams, composites, and polymer processing have advanced sustainability and high-performance applications. His microlayer film/foam structures with nano-sized cells provide superior mechanical and thermal insulation properties and his advanced multifunctional hybrid composite technology has been scaled for lightweight automotive components, thermal management, and EMI shielding.
Mark MacLean-Blevins – Product Design and Development Division
Mark MacLean-Blevins has spent over 40 years shaping the plastics industry as an independent product design consultant. His work spans consumer products, medical devices, and advanced dispensing systems. It includes 57 commercialized patents as well as products that are still in use. He also authored the successful book Designing Successful Products with Plastics.
Dr. Kimberly Miller McLoughlin – Thermoplastic Materials and Foams Division
Dr. Kimberly Miller McLoughlin’s experience in industry and academia has often focused on creating technologies that can be commercialized. Her work includes high-performance polypropylene technologies for automotive and packaging applications (HMS-PP) and developing a mechanochemical approach to convert crosslinked EVA into vitrimer networks for reprocessing, thus addressing a major sustainability challenge for foams and thermosets.
Dr. Pierre Moulinie – Medical Plastics Division
Dr. Pierre Moulinie is primarily an industry-based researcher. He developed transparent blends of PC with other polymers, led research to create high gloss PC/polyester blends with reactive additives and to stabilize PC/polyester blends, developed new PC materials for multiple medical applications, and is currently leading the development of medical grade PC materials for improved performance and for use with electronics-containing products.
Dr. Ramani Narayan – Bioplastics and Renewable Technologies Division
Dr Ramani Narayan is a leader in advancing bioplastics and sustainable materials. His research led to breakthrough technologies such as NatureWorks PLA scale-up and his leadership in scaling bioplastics from lab to full production has enabled global adoption of sustainable material. His pioneering work also includes ASTM and ISO standards for biodegradable and compostable plastics, which are currently being adopted.
Dr. Saurav Sengupta – Extrusion Division
Dr. Saurav Sengupta’s industrial research has focused on wire and cable extrusion. He has developed ultra-clean crosslinked polyolefins for power cables, moisture-curable polyolefin copolymers, PFA-free polyolefin compounds, polyolefin systems with high levels but smaller domain sizes of carbon black, and novel grafting technologies in reactive extrusion. This research has had significant economic impact.
Dr. Margaret Sobkowicz Kline – Extrusion Division
Dr. Margaret Sobkowicz Kline is a leader in polymer processing, sustainability, and circular economy research and education efforts. She has developed innovative methods for mechanochemical recycling, reactive compatibilization, and high-speed extrusion. Other research has focused on reactive extrusion, polymer recycling, biobased polymers, and advanced processing for sustainability.
