History |
The SPE Objective |
Student Member Program |
Student Membership |
Student Chapter Defined |
General Guidelines |
Sponsoring Chapter Responsibility |
Petition for Charter |
The Society of Plastics Engineers, Inc. was chartered by the State of Michigan on August 21, 1942, at which time the Society consisted of 120 members in good standing. Predecessor to SPE was the Society of Plastics Sales Engineers, organized at a meeting in Detroit on December 2, 1941.
SPE has become the recognized medium of communication among scientists and engineers engaged in the development, conversion and applications of plastics. It is truly an international society since a significant number of its members reside outside the United States.
The objective of the Society is “...to provide and promote the scientific and engineering knowledge relating to plastics.”
The Society of Plastics Engineers, recognizing that students of today are tomorrow’s plastics professionals, has shown an interest in student members since the establishment of the Student Member grade in 1960. The first Student Chapter was founded that year at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, Massachusetts. Since that time, more than 175 schools have chartered SPE Student Chapters. The purpose of a Student Chapter is to supplement that students’ formal education and enhance their professional development.
Educational institutions offering a polymer curriculum are encouraged to form an SPE Student Chapter. The Society remains firm in its commitment to support a strong Student Member program.
Student Member Qualifications
Student Member – enrolled in a course of study for a future in the plastics industry.
Advantages of Student Membership
Student Members of SPE have all the privileges of SPE membership afforded to other member grades.
To see all the benefits students receive, visit the Member Benefits page.
Student Chapter Defined
To establish a Student Chapter of SPE you must have:
The information below will provide a basic overview of the Student Chapter operation.
Support from the sponsoring Chapter is vital to maintaining a successful Student Chapter. That support can include the following:
The following steps are to be followed in applying for an SPE Student Chapter:
Once these two forms have been completed, forward everything – Petition Form and the Student Chapter Information Sheet – to the President or Chair of the sponsoring Chapter along with the Sponsorship Form for completion.
The Sponsoring Chapter forwards all completed forms to Sue Wojnicki, COO at swojnicki@4spe.org.
Upon receipt of all information at SPE Headquarters, the SPE Staff team will review the petition information for approval by the SPE Board f Directors. The Student Chapter Charter will be forwarded to the Faculty Advisor following the affirmative vote.