Daily Pioneer News

Dr. Tabrizi is pictured as he explains the controller on the MAAC Thermoforming machine to his students.

PLATTEVILLE - In January, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville was named a Center of Excellence by the Society of Plastics Engineers, an international society that is the focal professional organization for scientists and engineers both nationally and internationally. UWP was one of only two universities among 120 in the U.S. to receive this newly established designation.

"UWP has built quite a reputation in this industry, so we feel it is fitting for it to be recognized as a Center of Excellence. As an industry, we have come to rely on the quality of UWP's graduates and its programming. Your faculty, and especially Dr. Tabrizi, has done an outstanding job of putting a program and facility together, and we think it's a wonderful model of industry collaborating with higher education," said Walt Walker, chairman of the Board of Directors of SPE and executive vice president of operations of Prent Corporation, a custom thermoformer that designs and manufactures rigid plastic medical, electronic, and consumer trays.

The UWP Center for Plastics Processing, directed by Majid Tabrizi, a professor in the industrial studies department, is part of the College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture. In addition to the state-of-the-art Zed SC-Series roll-fed thermoformer that UWP acquired in the fall of 2007 and MAAC Cut Sheet Thermoformer that was acquired in the spring of 2006 with the help of industry donors, the CFPPT houses a 55-ton Van Dorn injection molder, a 750-watt industrial laser, a Hydrotrim thermoformer, ultrasonic welding equipment, a 1-inch extruder, compression and transfer molders and compression thermoformer. UWP is one of a handful universities in the United States equipped with a high power laser machining system. Also, the plastics program is equipped with some of the most updated software in the field of design and simulation, including T-Sim, and Mold-flow imaging systems.

"But it's not just about the quality of the equipment, which is outstanding," said Gene Schoohs, director of Tooling and Engineering at Plastic Ingenuity, a multi-plant thermoforming company with facilities across North America, and a member of the UWP Industrial Studies Department Advisory Board. "It's so critical to us that your students come from your program prepared about what these machines do and how they work. Their depth of understanding is impressive and we have found that they come in from day one able to make a contribution," he said.

The plastics industry is the fourth largest industry in the United States, employing 1.2 million people. It is the fourth ranking industry in Wisconsin, employing a workforce of approximately 50,000 people, and shipping approximately $11 billion annually. Significantly, almost 30 percent of jobs in the industry are in companies within 250 miles of Platteville, and UWP is one of the few universities in the region training students for this industry.

Duane Ford, dean of BILSA, noted that one of the reasons the program has been so successful is because of this important dialogue with industry.

"Professor Tabrizi has done a wonderful job for many years working with and serving the plastics industry and his students. The industry has long appreciated his efforts and over the years has shown this appreciation by providing essential financial and in-kind support. It is very exciting that SPE has decided to designate our program a Center of Excellence,"said Ford.

Over the last 60 years, SPE has become the recognized medium of communication among scientists and engineers engaged in the development, conversion and application of plastics. It is international in scope and a significant number of its members reside outside of the U.S. It offers membership to over 120 student chapters, including a number of Ivy League schools.

The UWP Industrial Studies Department, accredited by the National Association of Industrial Technology, offers major programs in manufacturing technology management, building construction management, occupational safety management, and technology education.

Anyone interested in learning more about the UWP plastics processing program may contact Tabrizi at (608) 342-1115 or tabrizi@uwplatt.edu; anyone interested in learning more about any of the other professional programs offered through the department of industrial studies may contact Richard Klawiter, chair, at (608) 342-1246 or klawiter@uwplatt.edu.

Contact: Majid Tabrizi, professor of industrial studies, College of Business, Industry, Life Sciences, and Agriculture, (608) 342-1115, tabrizi@uwplatt.edu Written By: Evelyn Martens, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, martense@uwplatt.edu