Dr.
Marion Schafer of Indiana State Achieves CPLP-Professional
Status
Marion
Schafer, Director and Chief Research Officer for the
Packaging R&D Center at Indiana State University, has
become the tenth person certified at the highest level in
ISTA’s Certified Packaging Laboratory Professional program.
Professional certification requires that the applicant
first be certified as both a CPLP Technician and Technologist,
based on the passing of written exams. Marion breezed through this
part of the program in record time, taking the two exams within
a week. Professional status is then based on a résumé
of industry activities and accomplishments; he applied immediately
and was certified just prior to Dimensions.
Dr. Schafer has been at Indiana State since 1997, teaching a variety
of packaging courses, in charge of the faculty and packaging curriculum,
and responsible for all laboratory testing and research. Prior to
that he was Assistant Professor of Packaging at UW-Stout, and early
in his career was employed by the Pillsbury Company in various packaging,
warehousing, and production capacities. He received B.S. and M.S.
degrees with packaging emphasis from Indiana State, and earned his
Ph.D. there in 2001.
Marion has taken a group of packaging students to every Pack Expo
since 1992 (and survived!), and has been involved with IoPP Student
Chapter Annual Packaging Conferences since 1988. He is a Past President
of the Central Indiana Chapter of IoPP and is still very active
with that group. He also served as an IoPP Regional Vice-President
for four years, responsible for the Central Indiana, Cincinnati,
and Mid-South Chapters. He has been an IoPP Certified Packaging
Professional since 1998, and has been a judge for the AmeriStar
Packaging Competition since 2000. He is also a member of ASTM International’s
Committee D10 on Packaging.
Dr. Schafer has served as an expert witness in approximately 30
cases involving transport packaging, has been interviewed for newspaper
articles on packaging and package testing, and has appeared twice
on television in packaging discussions. He is author of a chapter
on the bundling, case packing, and palletizing of petfood products,
as part of Petfood Technology, a comprehensive reference
from Watt publishing.
Click
Here to learn more about the Packaging Technology program at
Indiana State.
For information on the CPLP program, Click
Here.
Congratulations to Dr. Marion Schafer for becoming ISTA’s
latest CPLP-Professional!
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Procedure
3A Technical Change Approved
At
the Technical Council meeting held during Dimensions, final approval
was given to a technical change to Procedure 3A. This change adds
a second series of free-fall drops to the test sequence for Flat
and Elongated packages.
Procedure 3A is the General Simulation Test for Parcel Delivery
System Shipment. As reported in the February
issue of iNews, the change proposal went to the 3-Series Test
Series Group for ballot. The results were 32 affirmative, 0 negative,
and 1 abstention. The Technical Council discussed comments received,
several suggesting minor editorial revisions which have been incorporated.
Click
Here for information on the technical change.
Effective immediately, Procedure 3A now carries the “2007”
year designation as shown above, and supersedes the “2006”
version. Online, download, and current printed versions have all
been updated, but be aware that the version in the 2007 Resource
Book is now obsolete. ISTA members can download (at no charge) the
new Procedure 3A by going to the Member
Login page of the ISTA website, clicking on “Procedure
Search”, and entering “3A”. Those wishing to purchase
the new Procedure 3A may do so through ISTA’s
E-Market.
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Dr.
Paul Singh Receives ASTM International Award of Merit
Paul
Singh, professor at Michigan State University’s School of
Packaging and VP of Testing for ISTA, has received the Award of
Merit, with accompanying title of Fellow, from ASTM International.
The award is the highest society recognition given to individuals
for their part in voluntary consensus standards activities.
Paul is currently co-chair of Subcommittee D10.15 on Fragility Assessment,
and also leads Subcommittee D10.97 on University Liaison, a group
he helped develop and which encourages future ASTM International
membership in college and university students. He recently completed
four years as chair of D10's Division I (D10 is ASTM International’s
Committee on Packaging). During that time he introduced two new
task groups on radio frequency identification to lead standards
work in this current technology.
In addition to Dr. Singh’s ASTM International activities and
his work on the ISTA Board of Directors, he is also a member of
the board of the International Association of Packaging Research
Institutes (IAPRI), and a member of the Institute of Packaging Professionals
and the National Institute of Packaging Handling and Logistics Engineers.
Click
Here to learn more about ASTM International’s Committee
D10 on Packaging.
Congratulations, Paul, on this prestigious award!.
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Upcoming
Industry Events
Short
courses from Virginia Tech and Clemson, the Poly Pack Symposium,
and the Packaging Summit Expo and Conference are all coming up within
the next month. Check out this information and follow the accompanying
links to determine which events are of interest to you.
Virginia Tech Unit Load Design Short Course
Our
thoughts are with the students and faculty at Virginia Tech in the
aftermath of recent horrific events there. Fortunately no one associated
with the Unit Load Design Center, the Pallet and Container Research
Lab, nor the Packaging Science Department was injured in the attacks.
The Center's popular “Unit Load Design Short Course”
will be held as scheduled on April 24-26. The registration deadline
has passed and time is very short, so if you’re interested
in attending call Bonnie Maccubbin directly at (540) 231-5370. Click
Here for the website.
Poly Pack
Poly
Pack, to be held May 1-3 at California Polytechnic State University
in San Luis Obispo, is designed to "integrate industry with
education". Including speakers, panel discussions, a career
fair, the legendary egg-drop competition, golf, wine tasting, and
a number of special events, this promises to be a productive and
enjoyable get-together on the beautiful Central California coast.
On April 30, the day before Poly Pack officially starts, an ESD
Seminar will also be presented at Cal Poly. Click
Here for the website.
Clemson Short Courses
The Department of Packaging Science at Clemson University is presenting
two short courses: “Packaging Fundamentals” May 14-16,
and “Packaging Design and Development” May 16-17. The
Fundamentals course explains basic principles needed by all packaging
professionals, while Design and Development addresses approaches
to successfully meet the interactions and requirements of product,
distribution environment, package materials, and the packaging production
system. Click
Here for the course website. Click
Here for the brochure.
Packaging Summit
The
Packaging Summit is sponsored by IoPP, and will be held May 15-17
in the Chicago area. This year the focus is on Sustainability, Innovation,
Material and Container Developments, and Contract Packaging and
Services Solutions. Ameristar award winners will be announced and
will be on display during the event. Click
Here for the website.
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