Conference Agenda | Penn State Behrend

Check back for 2026 agenda!

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Time	Program
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—Using Rebels to Push Innovation Lynzie Nebel, Upstream Hardware Engineer, Cytiva

Time	Session A, 180 Burke Moderator Nick Vitelli	Session B, 001 Burke Moderator Xiaoshi Zhang	Session C, 002 Burke Moderator Kurt Duska
9:20 a.m.
9:55 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
11:05 a.m.
11:40 a.m.
12:15 p.m.

Time	Program
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

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Time	Program
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 Josh Lutz	Session B, 001 Burke Moderator Brian Young	Session C, 002 Burke Moderator Gamini Mendis
9:10 a.m.
9:45 a.m.
10:20 a.m.
10:55 a.m.
11:30 a.m.
12:05 p.m.

Time	Program
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 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 Industry 4.0 and Adaptive Molding Technology, Christian Glueck, Wittmann, 107 Burke
4:30 p.m.	Penn State Creamery Ice Cream and Prize Drawing, 180 Burke