Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE- The University of Wisconsin-Platteville will host the Milwaukee's Society of Plastics Engineers monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the Pioneer Room at the Pioneer Student Center. The event will begin at 5 p.m. and includes a tour of UWP's Plastics Processing Technology Laboratory and Laser Laboratory, dinner at 7 p.m. and presentations by three experts in the field of biotechnology: Lou Honary of the University of Northern Iowa, Fariborz Parsi of Winona State University and Majid Tabrizi of UWP.

From 5 to 5:30 p.m., guests will arrive and socialize before the laboratory tours begin. During the tours, UWP students will be on-site to briefly explain their research activities and projects. At 7 p.m., dinner will be served and two individuals and their respective industries will be recognized for their contributions to the plastics program at UWP.

The technical presentations will begin at 7:30 p.m. and are open to students free of charge. The presentations will each involve a brief introduction of the presenter's institute, their institute's cooperative involvement in the field of biotechnology and its available services to the regional industries.

Honary is a nationally recognized scientist in the field of biotechnology. He holds a doctorate of industrial technology and is a professor and founding director of the National Ag-Based Lubricants Center at UNI. In 2006, he was appointed to the United States Department of Agriculture/Department of Energy Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee; a group that delivers expert advice on strategic planning and provides the technical focus and direction of proposals set forth by the Biomass Research and Development Initiative. Honary has issued many publications, including a book chapter, focusing on agricultural-based lubricants.

Parsi, who holds a doctorate in chemical engineering, has been part of the faculty at WSU since 1991. His dissertation focused on the effect of the chopped fibers of a mold when studying flow and curing of thermosets in a simple shear flow and how different methods of pouring molten material into molds affect the strength of a polymer. Parsi's research interests include polymer and composite processing, studying the flow of polymers and suspensions, and the application of digital imaging technology in the analysis of heterogeneous materials.

Tabrizi is a professor of plastics technology and director of the UWP Center for Plastics Processing Technology. His dissertation was in the form of government-funded research focused on the application of high-powered lasers in the production of amorphous metallic materials. Conducting this research in the Ames National Laboratory at Iowa State University, he developed a successful method of producing cast iron-based amorphous structures. Tabrizi's position as a director of plastic processing technology allows him to work in various aspects of plastics manufacturing including material, design, production and process improvement.

"With the support of the most generous CEO's and industry leaders," said Tabrizi, "the plastics program at UWP has been equipped with some of the most sophisticated technology used in industry today."

Tabrizi continued that many individuals see the role of traditional universities as a conduit from which professors give theoretical knowledge to its students. Others feel that it is the university's responsibility to train highly qualified individuals for entry-level positions in local industries. Tabrizi emphasized that it is UWP's advanced lab equipment and quality faculty that prepares students in both ways, satisfying the wants and needs of employers, no matter what those wants and needs may be.

The meeting is open to UWP faculty, students, and the local plastics industries, but reservations are required no later than Friday, Nov. 6. The cost of the event will be $30 for members of the SPE, $35 for nonmembers and $10 for students. For more information about the event, to make a reservation, or to find out more about the SPE or plastics processing at UWP, contact Tabrizi at (608) 342-1115 or tabrizi@uwplatt.edu.

Contact: Majid Tabrizi, professor, UWP Industrial Studies Department, (608) 342-1115, tabrizi@uwplatt.edu Written by: Ian Clark, UWP Office of Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, clarki@uwplatt.edu