Student poster competition opens for SPE Thermoset Topcon 2024

The organizing committee for the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Thermoset Division (Bethel, Conn., U.S.) Topcon invites graduate and undergraduate students to submit abstracts on innovative thermoset composite technologies for its third annual student poster competition. The competition will be held during the SPE Thermoset TopCon Conference at the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center in Madison, Wis., U.S. taking place April 30 – May 1, 2024.

Judges — comprised of industry experts, SPE board members and members of the media — will review all posters with student authors on the first day of the conference, April 30. Awards will be presented to winners during a designated ceremony on the event’s second day, May 1.

Abstracts are due by April 19 and digital PDF copies of posters are due by April 26 for pre-review by judges. Students are required to bring printed copies of their posters to the conference. Students are required to bring printed copies of their posters (24 inches wide and 36 inches high) to the conference on April 29 or early morning April 30.

Poster topics may include subjects such as:

• Automotive, transportation, medical, appliances, oil and gas and more.
• Lightweighting.
• Biocomposites.
• Nanocomposites.
• Glass, carbon and hybrid fibers.
• Recycling and green technologies.
• Multi-materials.
• Joining technologies.
• Modeling and analysis of lightweight materials.
• CAFE standards and mandates.
• Cost-effective manufacturing.
• Use of advanced materials in innovative applications.
• Virtual prototyping and design.
• Microstructure, failure and fracture.
• Failure envelopes and theories.
• Additive manufacturing (AM).

Students and their posters will be ranked according to the following criteria:

• Content (student and poster demonstrate clarity of topic, objectives and background);
• Motivation for research and technical relevance to conference theme;
• Methodology and approach to problem;
• Quality of proposed research results/findings;
• Conclusions are supported by information presented;
• Presentation (display aesthetics are pleasing and there is a logical flow between sections);
• Knowledgeable (presenter has a good grasp of the subject);
• Understandability (poster is effective even without student being present to explain it); and
• Overall rank versus other posters and presenters.

All students presenting a poster in the competition will receive free registration to the conference. Passes include breakfast and lunch on April 30 and May 1, and a networking reception on May 1. Hotel rooms will be available for students at a discounted rate at The Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club. Students will be responsible for hotel and travel expenses if required for them to attend the event. 

Abstracts should be sent to Teri Chouinard (Teri@intuitgroup.com); contact Teri for a Poster Template and more info.

Visit https://spethermosets.org/topcon/ for more information on the event.