The Society of Plastics Engineers honored 40-year SPE member Kishor Mehta as a Distinguished Member, during a May 4 awards banquet to kick off Antec.
Also at the banquet, SPE named nine honored service members and 11 fellows.
Gail Bristol, a 26-year employee of SPE in Brookfield, Conn., won the President's Cup, an award that is kept secret until the event.
Mehta is retired from Bayer MaterialScience LLC, where he was manager of design engineering. He now is president of plastics consulting firm Plascon Associates Inc. in Gibsonia, Pa.
Mehta, who became an SPE member in 1968, said it was ``truly humbling'' to be named a Distinguished Member. He recalled his first Antec in 1979, ``where I was running like a kid from one session to another. Just like a kid with too many toys to play with.''
These days, Mehta said, when he goes to Antec, he stops to chat with so many longtime SPE friends that he doesn't hear too many technical papers.
He has held many posts with SPE, including two separate stints on the Executive Committee, from 1985-88 and again from 1999- 2003. During those periods, he was secretary, treasurer, vice president and senior vice president. For the past four years, he has chaired the Constitution & Bylaws Committee (now Bylaws & Policies).
Bristol is managing director of the SPE Foundation, which distributes scholarships and grants. The SPE veteran also has many organizational tasks, including ordering the award for the President's Cup. Fellow society employees fooled Bristol by telling her the award was for someone else.
``I am privileged beyond belief to have received this,'' she said.
Honored service
Honored service members have demonstrated long-term, outstanding service to SPE. The following nine honored service members were sponsored by at least one section or division:
Sandra Davis of DuPont Co., Philadelphia Section, Color & Appearance Division.
Jamal El-Hibri of Solvay Advanced Polymers LLC, Southern Section, Engineering Properties & Structure Division.
Lloyd Goettler of the University of Akron, Akron Section, Engineering Properties & Structure Division.
Dale Grove of Johns Manville, Ohio Firelands Section, Composites Division.
David Johnson of Clariant Corp., Ohio Firelands Section, Color & Appearance Division.
Roger Kipp of McClarin Plastics Inc., Susquehanna Section, Thermoforming Division.
Ronald Price of Global Polymer Solutions, Detroit Section, Automotive Division.
Michael Thomas, Milwaukee Section, Injection Molding Division.
Donald Witenhafer, Central Texas Section, Engineering Properties & Structure Division.
Fellows
Fellows must be senior members of SPE for six years, receive written sponsorships from two members and be nominated by an SPE division or special interest group. The Fellows Election Committee also considers the personal history of each candidate.
The 11 new fellows are:
William Arendt of Velsicol Chemical Corp., Chicago Section, Vinyl Plastics Division.
Ananda Chatterjee of Chatterjee Consulting LLC, South Texas Section, Thermoplastic Materials and Foams Division.
David Grewell of Iowa State University, Iowa Section, Decorating and Assembly Division.
Avraam Isayev of the University of Akron, Akron Section, Engineering Properties & Structure Division.
Sadhan Jana of the University of Akron, Akron Section, Engineering Properties & Structure Division.
Edward Kosior of Nextek Pty. Ltd., Australia-New Zealand Section, Plastics Environmental Division.
Tim Osswald of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Section, Composites Division.
Duane Priddy of Plastic Failure Labs Inc., Mid-Michigan Section, Plastics Analysis Division.
Frederick Steil, Detroit Section, Mold Making & Mold Design Division.
Lih-Sheng Turng of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Injection Molding Division.
Mark Wetzel of DuPont Co., Philadelphia Section, Extrusion Division.
The Antec 2008 conference was held May 4-8 in Milwaukee.