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  1. Home
  2. Community and Workforce Programs
  3. Plastics Training Academy
  4. Innovation and Emerging Plastics Technologies Conference

Conference Agenda

Jump to either day's schedule below.

  • Wednesday, June 11, 2025
  • Thursday, June 12, 2025

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

TimeProgram
7:30 a.m.Registration and Continental Breakfast/Visit Exhibits
8:10 a.m.Welcome and Program Overview, 180 Burke
Brad Johnson, Conference Chair, Penn State Behrend
8:25 a.m.Keynote—Capturing Industrial Expertise with Autonomous AI Agents
Bryan DeBois, Director, Industrial AI
Time

Session A, 180 Burke

Moderator Nick Vitelli

Session B, 001 Burke

Moderator Xiaoshi Zheng

Session C, 002 Burke

Moderator Kurt Duska

9:20 a.m.

Pressure Drop Studies…Are Air Shot Pressures Accurate? 

David Hoffman, American Injection Molding Institute

VR (Virtual Reality) Learning Integrations

Torsten Kruse, Kruse Analysis

Sustainable In-House Recycling Solutions

Joe Platek, ACS Group

9:55 a.m.

Shrinkage Compensation: When Cavity Size Really Matters

Mason Myers and Trevor Thorwart, Autodesk Moldflow

Innovative Hybrid Molding Concepts for Cost-efficient Manufacturing of Multi-Material/Functional Components

Saeed Farahani, Clemson University

Optimize Your Blending Operations:​ Achieve Peak Efficiency

Michael Tuchalski, ACS Group

10:30 a.m.

Advancement in Melt Delivery and Control Systems to help achieve Sustainability and Productivity Objectives

Lisa van der Vorst, Mold-Masters Ltd.

Faster Product and Process Development with Real-Time Chemical Intelligence

Christoph Pielen, Anton Paar

Introducing Regrind into your Molding Process

Thomas Dunn, Wittmann

11:05 a.m.

Invisible Weld Lines: Direct-Flo Hot Runner Systems with Heat-INject™ Technology

Matt Robb, INCOE

Optimizing Low Constant Pressure Molding through Simulation

Ken Cheng, Moldex3D

Recycling Gold Rush – How to use your “picks and shovels”

Paul Martin, Krauss Maffei

11:40 a.m.TBA

Ultrasonic Welding of CYROLITE and other medical plastics

Michael Zadrozny & Andrew Sneeringer, ROHM CYROLITE® 

Conveying: The Underrated Utility Powering Plastics Manufacturing

Nick Paradiso, Conair

12:15 p.m.

Unlocking Innovation with Hot Runner Systems: Compact Solutions

Paul Boettger, Technoject

Introducing Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide to Molding Machine

Kohei Shinohara, Sodick

Two-Stage Process: The most environmentally friendly way to recycle

Lukas Neunzig, Engel

TimeProgram
12:45 p.m.Lunch and Visit Exhibits
2:45 p.m.

Wednesday Tutorials (choose one):

  • Injection Molding Set-Up & Control Strategies, Brad Johnson, Penn State Behrend, 105 Burke
  • Improve Your Negotiation Skills!, Mike Brown, Penn State Behrend, 107 Burke
  • Integrating VR into Injection Mold Training, Torsten Kruse, Kruse Analysis, 106 Burke
  • Troubleshooting Injection Molding Issues Using Flow Groups, Travis Belz, Beaumont Technologies, 153 Burke
  • Get a Grip on Warpage: Discover Moldflow Insight's Visualization and Measurement Tools, Joe Huegel, Matt Jaworski & Jeff Higgins, Autodesk Moldflow, 176 Burke
  • Sustainable Polymers, Gamini Mendis, Penn State Behrend, 103 Burke
  • Introduction to Automation, Nick Vitelli &Yohannes Haile, Penn State Behrend, 102 Burke
5:30–7:00 p.m.Networking Reception

[BACK TO TOP]

Thursday, June 12, 2025

TimeProgram
7:30 a.m.Registration and Continental Breakfast/Exhibits
8:10 a.m.Program Review, 180 Burke 
Brad Johnson, Conference Chair, Penn State Behrend
8:15 a.m.Overview of Behrend Research and New Initiatives
Dr. Alicyn Rhoades, Vice Chancellor and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies and Associate Professor of Engineering, Penn State Behrend
Time

Session A, 180 Burke

Moderator Jason Williams

Session B, 001 Burke

Moderator Brian Young

Session C, 002 Burke

Moderator Gamini Mendis

9:10 a.m.

Pack Pressure’s Influence on Gate Freeze Time

Zach Morton, American Injection Molding Institute

Portable CMM’s for Shop Floor Quality Control

Randy Biebel, Faro

The Role of Fiber Cross-Section: A Comparative Study on How Flat Fibers Affect Processing and Part Performance

Hunter Beaumont, The Madison Group

9:45 a.m.

Controlled Viscosity Molding

Rick Fitzpatrick, X2F 

Electric versus Servo-Hydraulic for Thermoplastic Molding

Bill Saunders, Boy Machines

Unlocking the Potential of Polycarbonate used in Medical Molding

Derrick Hennebicque, Husky

10:20 a.m.

Smart Hot Runner for Autonomous Sequential Molding

Jeremy Makohn and Dan Ward, Barnes Molding Solutions 

Innovation and variety are key to success in product development and plastics

Wayne Daniel, Canon

Troubleshooting Acrylics in Injection Molding

Michael Zadrozny and Andrew Sneeringer, Rohm

10:55 a.m.

Monitoring with Nozzle Pressure Sensors versus Cavity Pressure Sensors

Jeremy Dworshak, 3M

Technology and Methods for Improving OEE in the Plastics Industry

Kent Royer, Milacron

Design to Injected Part in a Single Shift with Ceramic Mold Inserts

Rajeev Kulkarni, Axtra3D

11:30 a.m.

Improving Part Quality: Key Design and Manufacturing Factors

Eric Gerber, SigmaSoft

How AI-driven control capabilities advance efficiency and quality in the molding environment without overcomplicating its application

Eric Anderson, Absolute Haitian

Lightweighting of Plastic Injection Mold Inserts, Scott Kraemer

Xact Metal

12:05 p.m.

Precision Cleaning for Plastics Manufacturing: Understanding Dry Ice Blasting

Mike Henderson, Cold Jet

A Real User’s Experience in the Advancing Automation Age

John Williams and Shawn Dailey, Plastikos

Plastificants – A different sort of plastic

John Pinchek, Piab

TimeProgram
12:35 p.m.Lunch and Visit Exhibits
1:45 p.m.

Thursday Tutorials (choose one):

  • Injection Molding Troubleshooting, Brian Young, Penn State Behrend, 105 Burke
  • Executive Overview of Validation for Plastics Processors, Sean Tucker, 176 Burke
  • Application of DMA and other Thermal Analysis Techniques, Gamini Mendis & Xiaoshi Zhang, Penn State Behrend, 103 Burke
  • Injection Mold Building at Penn State Behrend, Dave Baird, Penn State Behrend, 104 Burke
  • Low-Pressure Molding and 3-Stage Molding:  Overview, Simulation, and Molding Lab Demos, Alex Baker, Moldex3D, Brad Johnson, Penn State Behrend & Stacey Payne, 153 Burke
  • Material Selection Overview, David Rhoades, Penn State Behrend, 102 Burke
4:30 p.m.Penn State Creamery Ice Cream and Prize Drawing, 180 Burke

[BACK TO TOP]

Innovation and Emerging Plastics Technologies Conference

  • Conference Agenda
  • Conference Keynote
  • Technical Sessions
  • Tutorials
  • Conference Sponsors

See Also

  • Plastics Training Academy
  • Plastics Engineering Technology
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