Rose Ryntz has been named 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award winner by the Society of Plastics Engineers' automotive division.
Ryntz, vice president of global advanced development and material engineering at Luxembourg-based International Automotive Components Group, will receive the award Nov. 7 during the society's 48th annual Automotive Innovation Awards Gala in Novi, Mich.
IAC, a global supplier of automotive components and systems, including instrument panels and center consoles, has North American operational headquarters in Southfield, Mich. Ryntz first joined the company in 2007 as director of advanced engineering, according to her LinkedIn profile.
"I am very honored to be recognized to receive this very prestigious award and hope it will help to inspire more women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and manufacturing programs and become more involved in their industry," Ryntz said in a statement.
The technical specialist and research leader in automotive plastics technology has been part of several game-changing innovations, including the development of damage-resistant fascias, automotive interior skin technologies for use in seamless passenger airbag instrument panels as well as interior and exterior automotive coatings on plastics.
Her 30-plus-year career has included stints at Dow Chemical Co., Ford Motor Co., Akzo Nobel NV and Visteon Corp. In 2016, she was featured as one of Plastics News' Women Breaking the Mold, a program honoring women who are making a difference in the plastics industry. In 2015, she was named one of the Top 100 Leading Women in the North American auto industry by Automotive News, a sister publication of PN.
Ryntz holds a doctorate in organic polymer chemistry from the University of Detroit, an MBA in business supply chain from Michigan State University and a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Wayne State University.