Instructors
Seminars are taught by world-renowned faculty and industry leaders
Dr. Carol Barry is a faculty member of the Plastics Engineering Department at UMass Lowell. As well as teaching courses in plastics processing and computer-aided engineering, she coordinates the undergraduate plastics processing laboratories. Dr. Barry is also an active researcher in these areas.
Thomas Bezigian is a consultant in film extrusion, extrusion coating, packaging, and converting. He has specialized in process troubleshooting, product development and design, and quality management. He received a B.S. in Plastics Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and an M.B.A. from Bryant College and has written extensively in his areas of expertise.
Professor Stephen Burke Driscoll has been a faculty member in the Plastics Engineering Department for almost 40 years. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in polymeric materials, additives and modifiers for plastics materials, testing / characterization with an emphasis on dynamic mechanical rheological testing, and marketing. Professor Driscoll was past Chair of the ASTM D20 Committee on Plastics Sections on Long-Term Properties and Dynamic Mechanical Properties, the D20 Advisory Subcommittee, a member of the D20 Executive Subcommittee, an appointed member of ASTM International COTCO, and an elected member of the ASTM International Board of Directors. He is a Fellow of ASTM International as well as a Fellow of The Society of Plastics Engineers. He is one of very few SPE members also awarded the Honored Service Member recognition. He received the SPE International Education Award in 2004. He has presented / published more than 100 technical articles, has organized several plastics conferences, consulted for many international plastics-oriented companies, and is a United Nations Consulting Fellow for Rheology.
J. George Drobny, President of Drobny Polymer Associates, is an international consultant in the field of polymer processing and product development, author and translator of technical books and magazine articles. He has been an adjunct professor in the Department of Plastics Engineering at UML since 1991. His career spans more than 35 years in the rubber and plastics industries, mostly having responsibility as a senior engineer or R&D executive in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, South America, U.S. and Canada. He is the author of Technology of Fluoropolymers (CRC, 2000) and Radiation Technology of Polymers (CRC, 2002) and co-inventor of three US patents.
Dr. Stephen Johnston came to UMass Lowell in 2003 to pursue his M.S. degree and subsequently his Ph.D. in Plastics Engineering. His expertise is in the area of instrumentation, analysis, and simulation of the injection molding process. Dr. Johnston has worked at Lord Corp., Moldflow Corp., Bausch & Lomb Inc., and does research and consulting for numerous other companies. In the fall of 2007, he started teaching courses at UMass Lowell. His course offerings focus on mold design, product design and processing.
Suhas Kulkarni is the President of FIMMTECH, a consulting firm that specializes in services related to injection molding. He earned his Master's in Plastics Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a Bachelor's in Polymer Engineering from the University of Poona in India. He has 20 years of experience as a process engineer. His main area of expertise is Scientific Processing for Injection Molding. Based on his experience, he has developed a custom software called Nautilus, that aids the complete process development routine to production release. He has given numerous presentations on injection molding related topics and written several articles. He is also an author of the book Robust Process Development and Scientific Molding published by Hanser Publications.
Dr. Robert Malloy is a Professor and Chair of the Plastics Engineering Department at UMass Lowell. He is an active researcher and consultant in the areas of plastics processing, design and recycling. Dr. Malloy is the author of many publications and patents, including a textbook on the subject of plastic part design. Prior to joining the faculty at UMass Lowell, he was an instructor at the Algerian Petroleum Institute in Annaba, Algeria. Professor Malloy is the recipient of SPE's 2009 Educator of the Year award, past chair of the Injection Molding Division and is a Fellow of SPE.
Ana Maria Marin holds a Master of Science degree in Plastics Engineering from UMass Lowell, a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Engineering, Major in Polymers from Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas- Venezuela and is Autodesk® Moldflow® Silver Certified. She is also an adjunct faculty member for the Department of Plastics Engineering at UMass Lowell, where she teaches a "Computer Aided Design" course.
Throughout her 12 years of professional experience with CAD and CAE products, she has assumed different roles that allowed her to expand her knowledge and experience. Her roles include Technical Instructor & Information Designer, Training Content Manager, Application Engineer and Technical Support Engineer. Her bilingual skills of English & Spanish have helped her service customers internationally including within the US, Latin-America and Europe. She is the founder of A-Z Sophisticated Solutions, LLC offering services for technical training and information design in English and Spanish.
Dr. Stephen McCarthy is a faculty member of the Plastics Engineering Department at UMass Lowell. He is actively involved in research and consulting, has presented seminars and short courses both nationally and internationally, and has held positions at Owens Corning Fiberglass and the Textile Research Institute. He is also the Director of the Institute for Plastics Innovation at the University.
Dr. Ramaswamy Nagarajan is an assistant professor in the Plastics Engineering Department at UMass Lowell. Dr. Nagarajan's research is in the area of "greener" routes to the synthesis and processing of polymeric materials. Dr. Nagarajan has developed enzymatic/biomimetic routes for synthesizing electrically conductive and photoresponsive polymers. His teaching interests include polymers from renewable resources, rubber technology, thermal and morphological characterization of materials. He has authored roughly 30 papers published in peer-reviewed journals and is named co-inventor in seven patents related to enzyme catalysis.
Michael Paloian is president of Integrated Design Systems, Inc. (IDS), located in Great Neck, New York. Since its inception almost 30 years ago, IDS has developed hundreds of products ranging from MRI machines to pool chlorinators for companies worldwide. Mr. Paloian received his undergraduate degree in Plastics Engineering from Lowell Technological Institute in 1972 and his Master's of Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design in 1976. His unique education as an industrial designer and plastics engineer has enabled him to design products from concept to production. Mr. Paloian has more than 30 years experience designing products in numerous materials, including plastics, metals and composites. Mr. Paloian's extensive experience in numerous markets as both an industrial designer and engineer provides him with a distinctive advantage in optimizing designs based on materials, process and cost.
Mr. Paloian holds more than 30 patents, has been committee chairman for the SPE and has frequently lectures for numerous professional organizations internationally. Michael has also written numerous articles concerning design for publications such as Machine Design, Design News, Innovation, Rotation and Plastics Design Forum.
John Perdikoulias is a licensed Professional Engineer with 20 years of experience in the plastics industry. He has a Master's Degree in Engineering from McMaster University and a Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo in Ontario. He has designed numerous screws and over 200 dies for the tubular (blown) film process including the world's first commercially available 8- and 9-layer blown film dies. Mr. Perdikoulias has also designed many dies for profile pipe, tubing, blow molding and coating applications. In 1990, he co-founded Compuplast International Inc., a company that provides engineering services, product development assistance and specialty flow simulation software specifically designed for the polymer processing industry.
Andy Routsis is an alumnus of and adjunct professor for the University of Massachusetts Lowell's Plastics Engineering Department. He has worked hand-in-hand with all levels of processing, tooling, and design personnel. A. Routsis Associates (a division of RJG), founded by Andy Routsis in 1982, has provided training and plastics engineering support to over 2,000 companies worldwide and over 70 educational training institutions. As well as providing onsite training and technical support for all aspects of plastics part design and production, A. Routsis Associates has also produced over 60 video-training programs, 20 DVDs, and over 190 interactive training programs for the plastics industry. They have pioneered the use of 3-D animation and CD-ROM technology for training in the plastics industry.
Steve Thibeault is the President of Poly-Ject Inc., a small custom injection molder and mold maker located in Amherst, NH. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Plastics Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He has designed and built over 200 injection molds for products ranging from tight tolerance military connectors to sporting goods, medical devices and everything in between. He also does all of the part designs at Poly-Ject for a wide range of customers and applications.