SPE Automotive Composites Conference and Exhibition 2020 transitions into virtual event

Keynote presentation being given at SPE ACCE’s annual event last year. Source | Mark Richardson, Society of Plastics Engineers

The organizing committee for the SPE Automotive Composites Conference and Exhibition (ACCE), which is jointly organized by the Automotive and Composites divisions of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE, Detroit, Mich., U.S.), announced on June 26 the transition from an in-person event to a virtual platform for its 20^th anniversary event.

The virtual ACCE will be held Sept. 9-11, 2020 — the dates it was originally planned for — and will include keynotes, panel discussions, technical sessions, sponsorship and exhibit options and online networking opportunities. Continuing the ACCE tradition of supporting students pursuing careers in the automotive composites industry, the annual ACCE and Dr. Jackie Rehkopf scholarships and Student Poster Competition awards will be announced at the event.

“We were looking forward to celebrating 20years of advancing transportation with innovative composites technologies in person,” says Dr. Alper Kiziltas, lead research scientist for Ford Motor Co. and 2020 SPE ACCE Co-Chair. “The ACCE is more than a technical conference. It is also an annual reunion with industry friends and where new connections are made.”

Kiziltas notes that SPE cannot have an in-person ACCE, and provide the same personal collaborative experience its attendees expect, with physical distancing and other CDC recommendations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, says Kiziltas, the virtual format enables SPE to continue the ACCE mission of educating the market on the latest advancements in composites technologies, providing its sponsors with targeted corporate exposure and supporting its students who are the future of the industry.

“I am confident we will have a large automotive OEM and supplier base registering for the virtual ACCE,” says Dr. Xiaosong Huang, lab group manager of Polymer Composite Systems in GM research and development, General Motors Company and ACCE Co-Chair. “Free passes for automotive OEMs to attend the ACCE are appreciated as we look forward to learning about composites technologies to add value to our vehicles.”