JULY 2004

In Memoriam – Jorge Marcondes
We are deeply saddened to report the passing of Dr. Jorge Marcondes. After a long and valiant battle with brain cancer, he passed away on June 24th.

Jorge was a popular and well-respected member of the global packaging community. Brazilian by birth, he received an M.S. and Ph.D from Michigan State, was a university professor in New Zealand and Australia, and coordinated the packaging program at San Jose State in California before joining the Clemson University Department of Packaging Science in 2001. He taught, lectured, and made presentations literally worldwide. He was presented with the R. David LeButt Award for his outstanding contribution to packaging education by the International Safe Transit Association in March 2003.

Jorge is survived by his wife, Pat, and two children, Alex and Alyse. Please send condolences to 107 Dogwood Terrace, Clemson, SC 29631.

A scholarship endowment at Clemson has been established in Jorge’s name. Gifts should be made payable to the Clemson University Foundation, designated for the Jorge A. Marcondes Packaging Science Scholarship Endowment, and sent to P.O. Box 1889, Clemson, SC 29633-1889.

Now You Can “Search” the ISTA Website

The “search” feature for ISTA’s website is up and running, and it’s very cool! Using the Google™ search engine, it makes finding information fast and easy.

Just type a word or phrase into the box at the upper right of
any ISTA web page and click “search”. You’ll be taken to a familiar-looking Google results display, but there are a couple of differences. First, there’s an ISTA logo at the top. Click this to return to the ISTA home page. Second, notice the two radio buttons under the Google search box – you see that the search has been confined to just the ISTA web site, but that you can expand your search to the entire internet by selecting the other button.

That’s all there is to it… everything else works just like Google, because it is Google. Happy searching!

Correction – Edwards Lifesciences 4AB Sponsorship
Our apologies to Edwards Lifesciences for incorrectly listing their ISTA Project 4AB sponsorship status. We identified them as a Supporting Sponsor, when in fact they have been a Charter Sponsor from the beginning.

4AB Charter Sponsors make a $3000 support commitment, and are entitled to participate in Beta software testing as well as to receive a number of other tangible and promotional benefits. Click Here for complete information about Project 4AB and sponsorship opportunities, a list of all sponsors, and links to sponsors’ websites.

ISTA Well Represented at IAPRI Conference in Sweden
The 14th IAPRI World Conference on Packaging was held in Sweden last month. Ed Church, ISTA Executive Director, as well as several ISTA officers and members were among the speakers.

IAPRI is the International Association of Packaging Research Institutes, and its member institutes represent more than 30 countries from all continents of the world. Over 100 speakers made presentations in six parallel tracks during the three-day June conference. Ed Church, ISTA’s Executive Director, spoke on “Transport Field Data Voids in the Global Transport Environment Simulation Tests”, presenting an update of Project 4AB and making a request for field environmental data from around the world. A number of ISTA officers, members, and friends (representing their own organizations) also spoke, including Paul Singh and Robb Clarke from MSU, Ann Stirling Roberts and Greg Wood from Pira, Jay Singh of Cal Poly, Dan Goodwin of R.I.T., Søren Østergaard from the Danish Technological Institute, and Michael Sek and Vince Rouillard from Victoria University.

A CD of the technical papers was given to each attendee, and may be available by contacting the IAPRI Secretary General marierushton_iapri@another.com.

DDL, Inc. Announces Pack-Advice™                        

DDL, with ISTA-Certified laboratories in Minnesota and California, has announced its new
Pack-Advice™ service pledge, a promise of no-cost package consulting for their customers.

Demonstrating DDL’s commitment to their clients and to the end recipients of the packages they test and approve, the Pack-Advice service pledge offers pre-and-post medical device and substance package testing consultation at zero cost.

See the DDL website for complete information.

Please Confirm Your Membership Information
In order to ensure the correctness of our member database, both in-house and online, we need confirmation of your contact and other information.

A mailing was sent to all ISTA members in early June asking for this information. Please review the forms and respond by September 1st, either confirming or correcting the data. If your member location has a certified laboratory, you should have received two forms; one for general info and the other asking for confirmation of your laboratory capabilities.

Completed forms can be faxed to us at 517-333-3813, or sent via e-mail to ista@ista.org. OR, you can now provide the information on-line! Simply login at http://www.ista.org/Login/login.php (or click the blue Member Login button located in the upper right-hand corner of all ISTA web pages) and click Edit User Profile. If you have questions or problems with any of this – or if you haven’t received your forms yet – please contact Meredith Young.

More Press for A.J.
A. J. Gruber, ISTA’s Certification Assistant, is a public celebrity! In addition to articles in ISTA publications, he was recently featured in one of mid-Michigan's leading publications, the Lansing State Journal.

A.J. is a Michigan State packaging senior working full-time for ISTA this summer. In June, The LSJ ran a series of articles on Michigan’s Work Force, and the June 30th edition was about internships – featuring A.J. and ISTA! The article focused on the importance of internships in relation to job searches, and how practical experience can make all the difference to a potential employer. A.J. gave information about ISTA and what he does for us; good publicity for himself, and for the organization as well. Click Here to read the article on-line.