ACESS-Akron Council of Engineering and Scientific Societies

SPE - Cleveland Section Virtual Meeting
2024-02-13 17:00 - 18:30 (America/New_York) | OH
Grey is the New Green: Nuances at the Nexus of Plastics and Sustainability
Conor Carlin, Managing Director of ILLIG North America LP
Plastics and sustainability: is this a contradiction in terms? Plastics are either the devil incarnate, the source of humanity’s woes, an environmental scourge… or they are miracle materials, life-saving materials, inert, GHG-saving materials. We will explore this debate and attempt to find some common ground across competing narratives, impersonal algorithms, impending legislation and material science.
Conor Carlin – Bio: Conor Carlin is the Managing Director of ILLIG North America LP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ILLIG Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG., a Germany-based designer and manufacturer of thermoforming, tooling, and packaging systems. Carlin has 20 years of international experience in packaging machinery, tooling, and advanced materials. Carlin also serves as President of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and is a contributing member of the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IOPP). In 2020 he was elected as the first VP of Sustainability for SPE and edits publications for their Thermoforming and Recycling Divisions. Carlin has delivered papers and contributed articles on plastics and sustainability for international industry press in the US, Europe, and Asia. He is the co-author of “Plastics & Sustainability: Grey is the New Green” published by Scrivener/Wiley. Carlin holds a BA from Boston University (Boston, MA) and an MBA from the FW Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College (Wellesley, MA). He lives in the Greater Boston area with his wife and three children.
For Online Ticket Purchase use the link below.

AIChE (Cleveland) - Chemical Process Safety Analysis
2024-01-29 18:00 - 20:00 | The Independence Public Library, 6361 Selig Drive,, Independence, OH, 44131, United States
American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Cleveland Section
Monday, January 29, 2024, 6:00 PM
“Chemical Process Safety Analysis”
Gurmukh Bhatia, CPSA, Certified Process Safety Auditor, Risk & Process Safety Consulting
(RPSC, LLC), CLE AIChE Risk & Process Safety Director. Email address: gbhatia.rpsc@gmail.com
Abstract: Chemical Process Safety as a field and as a discipline has gained wide acceptance as a vital and significant part of an overall Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Management System for chemical operations. After a brief look at some recent process safety incidents, we will examine the history and the origins of chemical process safety and its components as valuable and necessary tools in preventing process safety incidents. We will also lay the groundwork for a more detailed study of the individual components in the coming weeks.
Biography: Mr. Gurmukh Bhatia is President of RPSC, LLC a Risk & Process Safety Consulting services company. He retired as the Corporate Process Safety Director from The Sherwin-Williams Company, with over 45 years of work experience in the chemical industry. Mr. Bhatia is certified by the Board of EHS Auditor Certification (BEAC) as a Certified Process Safety Auditor (CPSA) with 15 years of auditing experience at PSM regulated facilities. He graduated from the Case Western Reserve University School of Engineering with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering.

Akron Public Schools: STEM Expo
2024-01-27 07:30 - 13:30 | Ellet Community Learning Center, 309 Woolf Ave., Akron, OH, 44312, United States
Akron Public Schools (APS) hosts a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) EXPO. This year is the 68th ANNUAL STEM EXPO! Anyone with a background in a STEM field, and a desire to inspire and encourage the next generation of STEM scholars are encouraged to participate as a judge!

Judges are required to be at Ellet CLC on January 27th around 7:30 a.m. and will be leaving after lunch around 1:30 p.m
Judges Sign-up form 2024

Is judging not your thing? We have interactive booths for the participants and attendees to explore during the EXPO. If you are a University, industry, K-12 organization, or a vendor and would like to bring an interactive booth to the STEM EXPO, register at the link below.

Booths are required to be at Ellet CLC on January 27th at 7:30 a.m. and will be leaving after lunch around 1:30 p.m
Booth Sign-up form 2024

Judging or Exhibitor, not your thing? We have volunteer opportunities to enhance the smooth operation and experiences for our budding STEM Scholars at STEM EXPO, register at the link below.

Volunteers are required to be at Ellet CLC on January 26th and/or 27th around for at least 2hr shifts!
Volunteer Sign-up form 2024

Judging or Exhibitor or Volunteering, is it not your thing? Instead, you are part of a STEM organization, STEM industry, and/or a STEM Society with financial awards for our STEM Scholars at STEM EXPO, register at the link below.

Sponsored Award Judges are required to be at Ellet CLC on January 27th around 7:30 a.m. and will be leaving after lunch around 1:30 p.m
Sponsored Award Sign-up form 2024
Sponsored Award Judges, please also notify Dan Jones (daniel.h.jones@sbcglobal.net) of your intent and award(s).

You can participate as both a subject judge and a sponsored award judge, but you must have past experience and work quickly.

ACESS Joint Societies Meeting Cosponsored by ACS and SPE
2024-01-23 17:15 - 20:30 | R. Shea Brewing – Canal Place, 540 South Main St., Akron, OH, 44311, United States
Jing Lyon, Entrepreneur Programs Director, Brite Energy Solutions
“Empowering Tomorrow: Navigating the Battery Future”
VENUE: R. Shea Brewery Canal Place
504 S. Main Street, Suite 214
Akron, Ohio 44311
Tuesday, Jan 23, 2024
5:15 pm. Social- Networking time
6:30 pm. Dinner
7:15 pm. Speaker Presentation
Pizza Buffet, Cash Bar. Cost: $20 Employed Members and Guests; $10 Students, Retirees, or Unemployed. Buy tickets online at the link below.
ABSTRACT: In our pursuit of a sustainable and electrified future, the significance of batteries is undeniable. This presentation, titled “Empowering Tomorrow: Navigating the Battery Future,” explores pivotal aspects of the battery landscape. Commencing with an examination of battery types driving energy storage innovation, we traverse from traditional lithium-ion to emerging technologies, delving into their unique characteristics and applications. Specifically, we dissect the two major applications of EV vs Stationary to understand these distinct markets. A broad landscape overview follows, offering a macroscopic view of the battery market, and shedding light on challenges and opportunities within the space. The discussion extends to the impact of federal funding and incentives, concluding with an insightful overview of what is happening in our region.

ORG - Winter Technical Meeting 2024
2024-01-23 16:00 - 21:00 | Hilton Garden Inn Twinsburg, 8971 Wilcox Dr., Twinsburg, OH, 44078, United States
Ohio Rubber Group Winter Technical Meeting 2024
January 23, 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Twinsburg Hilton Garden Inn
Agenda:
4:00 – Dinner Ticket / Membership Sales
4:30 – Technical Presentations
6:00 – Social Hour
7:00 – Dinner
Advanced Reservations: $35 each ***Without prior reservation: $40 each (limited number available). Tickets are available from this event page; click on “Get Tickets” below.
Technical Presentations:
“Bio-Sourced Rubber Curing Ultra-Accelerator For Tire & Technical Rubber Good Applications”
John Kounavis, Sr. Technical Service Manager, SI Group
The tires and the technical rubber goods (TRG) industry is progressing rapidly towards sustainable and bio-sourced solutions. This automotive megatrend is primarily driven by regulatory pressure, environmental concerns, rubber industry needs as well as consumer perception. SI Group has been promoting sustainable as well as bio-sourced solutions for the rubber industry, in particular, rubber tackifiers and bonding agents. With this paper, we would like to present an experimental rubber curing ultra-accelerator with sustainable & bio-sourced product attributes. The product benefits to the tires & TRG market will be discussed along with some case studies.
“Therban HT: Compounding with a New Heat Resistant HNBR Elastomer”
Victor Nasreddine, NA Technical Manager, Arlanxeo
Therban® HNBR, Arlanxeo’s hydrogenated nitrile rubber, is a specialty elastomer with excellent mechanical, dynamic, and sealing properties combined with resistance to tear, abrasion, and aging. It is used in demanding automotive, industrial, and oil and gas applications. Under the hood automotive operating temperatures continue to increase as airflow is reduced around components due to aerodynamic engineering and space saving designs. Therefore, there is always a need for elastomers with improved heat resistance including HNBR. This paper presents the compounding and properties of Therban HT, a polyamide reinforced HNBR elastomer with improved heat resistance, in HNBR formulations.
“Investigating the Dependence of Elastomeric Fracture on Temperature and Rate”
Zehao Fan, Grad. Student in Polymer Science, The University of Akron, and 2024 Scholarship Winner
Decades of elastomeric fracture phenomenology due to Thomas and Smith demonstrated a remarkable fact that rubbers are stronger and tougher at lower temperatures. The prevailing explanation relates the fracture behavior to polymer viscoelasticity. Given the recent insight and evidence that toughness is determined by strength, we examine elastomeric fracture with a different perspective and conclude that chain scission dictates fracture characteristics including its temperature dependence. Working within a selected temperature range, stretching is shown to be entirely elastic at stretching rate below 0.17 s -1 , we demonstrate that the same temperature and rate dependencies of strength and toughness, observed by Thomas and Smith, still occur in our crosslinked polybutadiene (BR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). The temperature effects on rate dependence of strength and toughness are found to be much stronger than that prescribed by the WLF shift factor aT. Moreover, crack propagates, upon either stepwise stretching or during creep, at a much lower speed at lower temperature that cannot be rationalized with polymer relaxation dynamics. Our new interpretation is that a carbon-carbon bond is stronger at a lower temperature, equivalently, it takes a longer time for a covalent bond to undergo dissociation in tension because available thermal energy is proportional to temperature T.

ACESS Board Meeting
2024-01-17 17:30 - 18:30, 2023-11-15 17:30 - 18:30 | ACS Rubber Division office, 306 N. Cleveland Massillon Rd., Akron, OH, 44333, United States
This will be a hybrid, in-person and virtual, meeting with a Zoom link to be sent to Board members. All members of ACESS member societies are welcome to attend.

ACS - Akron Section Award
2023-11-14 17:30 - 20:30 | Kent State University – Integrated Science Esplanade Commons, 1175 University Esplanade, Kent, Ohio, OH, 44242, United States
Dr. Prashant K. Jain, G.L. Clark Professor of Physical Chemistry
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Afternoon – Technical Lecture
Catalysts Dressed in Light
3:00 PM at The University of Akron, Mary Gladwin Hall 111
Evening Program – Akron Section Award Lecture
Kent State University, Integrated Science Esplanade Commons
5:30 PM Networking
6:30 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Lecture (open to the public)
Dinner Reservations: RSVP at akronacs.org
$30 for members / public and $10 for students
Dr. Prashant K. Jain Bio: Prashant K. Jain grew up in Bombay, where he completed his undergraduate education. He obtained his PhD working with M. A. El-Sayed at Georgia Tech, following which he was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. After a Miller Fellowship at UC Berkeley, he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he is the G. L. Clark Professor of Physical Chemistry and a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Materials Research Laboratory. He is also a University Scholar and an Affiliate Faculty Member of Physics and the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology (IQUIST). Prof Jain’s lab specializes in nanoscale light–matter interactions and nanoscale chemical imaging. His research website is found at https://nanogold.org.
Afternoon Abstract: Catalysts Dressed in Light. The interaction of light with molecules can be used to access new modes of chemical reactivity; however, this interaction is often difficult to exploit in a universal manner. I will describe how plasmonics is proving to be a general strategy for interfacing photons with molecules and activating chemical transformations. This strategy involves heterogeneous catalysts comprised of plasmonic nanoparticles. Plasmonic excitation of the catalyst generates electronically and vibrationally excited states, which modify chemical activity at the interface and even induce emergent activity. I will describe how catalysts based on plasmonic nanoparticles are allowing light to be used as a redox equivalent in chemical reactions, for driving non-equilibrium chemical processes, for modifying product selectivity, for photosynthesizing fuels, and for boosting electrochemical conversions. The ultimate vision is a future where plasmonic excitations can be used to power chemical transformations or direct them with bond-level precision.
Updates will be posted on akronacs.org.

ACESS Joint Societies Event - Sponsored by 3 ACS Sections
2023-11-02 18:00 - 22:30 | OH
Cleveland Poison Symposia – The Dark Side of Chemistry
Nickname: Arsenic Bar Crawl
Location 1: “Spirits of Willoughby” 6:00 PM (Spirits has a huge parking lot)
Speaker 1: Mike Fricke, Akron ACS “Introduction to Arsenic”
Speaker 2: Mike Kenney Contact, Cleveland ACS “Arsenic Poisoning”
Location 2: “Nora’s Public House” 7:30 PM (0.2 mile walk from Spirits)
Speaker 3: Kevin Kubachka, US FDA “Arsenic in Foods”
Speaker 4: Abe Gutierrez, Agilent “Arsenic Analysis by ICP-MS”
Location 3: “The Wild Goose” 9:00 PM (0.1 mile walk from Nora’s)
(Invited) Speaker 5: Reid Kirby, Z-Day Center “Before Manhattan: The Dew of Death”
(Invited) Speaker 6, Melissa Tedone, U of Delaware “The Poison Book Project”
http://wiki.winterthur.org/wiki/Poison_Book_Project
Notes from Mike Fricke: A little more about Reid Kirby, who’s abstract is in this chain. I gave a presentation to the Cleveland ACS Section in Jan 2020 about the Cleveland Mousetrap (just before the pandemic started). This is America’s 1918 chemical weapons facility that was built in Willoughby and likely the first WMD factory in the world. Here’s a good primer on the site:
https://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2014/01/17/conants-war-inside-mouse-trap/.
Our current bar crawl event will roughly follow the route that the Mousetrap soldiers took three times a day as they walked into Willoughby for their meals. For this event, I wanted to find an authority to speak about the Mousetrap. This proved difficult as local historians: John Grabowski and Alan Rocke were unfamiliar with the story. I contacted authors who have written about the Mousetrap and came up empty. Finally, I contacted the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) which won the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. Eventually, I made contact with Alastair Hay with Physicians for Human Rights (2105 Hague Award and Order of the British Empire). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastair_Hay. Alastair Hay put me in touch with Reid Kirby who is very familiar with our Willoughby site and has even held in his hands the infamous black book of notes that Jim Conant kept while building the site.
More details to be announced

ACS - Careers Night
2023-10-25 | OH
Virtual Event – More details top be announced

ORG - Fall Technical Meeting
2023-09-26 16:00 - 21:00 | Hilton Garden Inn Twinsburg, 8971 Wilcox Dr., Twinsburg, OH, 44078, United States
Ohio Rubber Group Fall Technical Meeting
Sept 26, 2023 from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Hilton garden Inn Twinsburg
Technical Presentations:
“Sustainability in Rubber and Plastics”
Nicki Hershberger, Senior Technical Advisor, Akron Rubber Development Laboratories
Overview of different sustainable / recycled products that can be used in elastomers and how to compound for them.
“Testing and Analysis Methods for Rubber Durability”
Tom Ebbott, Vice President, Endurica LLC
Having an impact with durability analysis and predictions starts with good materials data. Reliable and accurate predictive methods require advanced testing equipment, software, and analysis methods. Topics of discussion will include testing methods for crack growth and intrinsic strength, strain-induced crystallization in filled natural rubber compounds, testing and analysis for ozone aging conditions, and workflow for durability analysis.
“It’s Not How Much You Make. It’s How Much You Keep.”
Fred Carter, Strategic Partner, Schooley Mitchell
In this presentation, Fred will be sharing practical insights from Schooley Mitchell’s fight against irrational and abusive pricing practices. This will include helping you recognize questionable vendor pricing practices and showing you how to combat prices that aren’t always as fixed as we assume. Afterall, who doesn’t love paying vague addons like hazmat charges? They sound official and mandated. Not always! Fred’s information will be useful for business owners, finance officers, purchasing agents, or even homeowners who are tired of having too much taken from what they’ve earned. For businesses these methods get millions of dollars returned to their bottom lines.

ACS - Joint Meeting Akron and Cleveland Sections
2023-09-21 17:30 - 20:30 | The Brew Kettle, 11 Atterbury Boulevard, Hudson, OH, 44236, United States
Ross Widenor and Ron Shaffer, Bridgetome
“Radically Re-Thinking our Raw Materials Supply Chain”
The Brew Kettle, 11 Atterbury Boulevard, Hudson OH 44236
5:30 PM – Social time
6:30 PM – Dinner
7:15 PM – Talk
RSVP by Sept 19 at ACSCleveland.org. Menu Cornbread, Salad, White cheddar Mac & Cheese, Coleslaw, Baked beans, Cajun chicken pasta, Pulled pork, Chicken tenders. Soft drinks are included, as will be one beer for those of legal age.
Members $20, retirees, $10, unemployed and students FREE.
Abstract: As the tire industry strives to deliver sustainability objectives, one major challenge will be to decouple our upstream supplies from traditional petrochemical feedstocks and diversify into renewable, bio-sourced and recycled materials. This presentation will investigate how Bridgestone views this challenge and how our traditional industry ecosystem, combined with new players and new technologies can work together to deliver on those objectives.
Ross Widenor Bio: Originally from the Pittsburgh area, Ross received his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. He joined Bridgestone Americas in 2013, and has progressed through roles in Central Research, Raw Materials Development, Compound Development, Open Innovation, and Project Management. He leads Bridgestone’s volunteer Akron Campus Green Team and chairs the Summit of Sustainability Alliance, a collective of for-profit, non-profit, government, and educational institutions interested in partnerships for sustainability. Ross also sits on the board of BProud!, Bridgestone’s employee resource group for LGBTQ+ teammates and allies. He is active in his local community, promoting similar values to those he champions in the workplace.
Ron Shaffer Bio: Dr. Ron Shaffer is Senior Manager, Materials & Sustainability in the Core Material Sciences Division at the Bridgestone Americas Technology Center in Akron, Ohio. In this role, he is responsible for management of an applied R&D program focused on advanced and sustainable materials and material data science. His department is also responsible for the raw material approval program for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. Before joining Bridgestone in 2018, he worked in a variety of scientific and leadership positions at the Naval Research Laboratory, General Electric Global Research Center, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Shaffer received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Ohio University in 1996. He is the author/co-author of 90+ manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals (H-index = 45, 7t00+ citations) and 7 US patents.

SPE - September Meeting
2023-09-11 17:30 - 20:00 | Doubletree by Hilton Akron Fairlawn, 3180 West Market Street, Akron, OH, 44333, United States
Akron Section SPE
Monday, September 11, 2023 5:30 p.m.

Greg Kozera
Director of Marketing, Shale Crescent USA
Global Economic Factors Now Favor U.S. Plastic Product Manufacturing over China-Based Operations
Long term fundamental shifts changed the playing field. What it means to Ohio processors.

Hilton Inn, 3180 West Market Street Akron, Ohio 44333

Gathering Dinner Program

Member $30
Retiree $25
Student $10
Gathering 5:30 p.m.
Dinner 6:00 p.m.
Program 7:00 p.m.

Greg Kozera, is the Director of Marketing for Shale Crescent USA, a non- profit economic development, marketing and research organization based in Marietta, Ohio. He is a professional engineer and an environmentalist with more than 40 years of experience in the natural gas and oil industry. Kozera is the author of the books Just the Fracks Ma’am and Learned Leadership. Greg is a marketing and leadership expert and a high school boys soccer coach whose teams have won 18 regional and 7 state championships. He understands the importance of teamwork and leadership. He is also a professional speaker, weekly regional newspaper columnist and former Adjunct Professor at Pierpont Community College.

Reservations by Sept. 8. Buy tickets at the links below or RSVP and pay at the door.
Be sure to include your company affiliation and dietary restrictions.
