The Society of Plastics Engineers thermoset division has named three keynote speakers for its upcoming TopCon event.
The event is May 17-18 at the Monona Terrace & Convention Center in Madison, Wis. Keynote speakers announced are:
• Tim Osswald, a professor and director of the Polymer Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Osswald's presentation, "Thermosets — A Historical and Future Perspective" will take the audience through time, from the "heat and pressure" patent application in 1907, through the growth of an industry now known as the thermoset plastics industry, officials said in a news release.
Osswald is also honorary professor of plastics technology at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany and the National University of Colombia. His research includes modeling and simulation in polymer processing, engineering design with plastic and composite materials, and sustainability in plastics manufacturing.
He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed conference and journal articles as well as 15 books translated in five languages, including International Plastics Handbook (2019) and Understanding Polymer Processing (2017).
• Carla Bailo, president and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research, will present "The Evolution of Auto/Mobility including Battery Electric Vehicles & Growth Opportunities for Composites."
Her presentation will outline the evolution taking place in the auto industry. including connected, automated, shared and electric (CASE) mobility and will include CAR research demonstrating how plastics and composites can play a role.
• Dale Brosius will deliver a presentation titled "Opportunity Brings New Challenges: The Future of Thermosets." Brosius is interim CEO and chief commercialization officer for the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation. His presentation will focus on the future landscape of the thermoset industry and the challenges it must overcome to remain highly relevant.
SPE Thermoset TopCon will include technical presentations and exhibits highlighting advances in materials, processes, and equipment for thermoset technologies in electrical, automotive, off-highway, appliance, aerospace, building and construction, oil and gas, and other industries.
Sponsors of the event include Mar-Bal, Plastics Engineering Co. (Plenco), LyondellBasell Industries, Chromaflo Technologies, Huber Engineered Materials Lattice Composites, Materia, Composites One, Omya, Axiom Materials and Ineos Composites.