Editor's Page
Education for plastics Edward G. Jefferson is senior vice president of Du Pont He spoke recently in Washington, D.C., at a conference of the Society of Plastics Engineers. Here is part of what he had to say. The plastics industry has great opportunities for continued growth. But simultaneously, it faces [several] special challenges. [One of these is] the industry's unending need for genuinely creative research and development, which carries with it a need to improve the breadth and quality of engineering curricula in our colleges and universities, particularly as they apply to the special requirements of the plastics industry. Plastics engineering has been largely a sideline discipline—almost an afterthought—in higher education. We can't afford to let it remain so. The need [is] to ensure that the nation's engineering schools provide our industry with young people who are equipped to take full advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead. Marshall McLuhan has noted that we tend to view new technology according to the framework of the old technology which it is replacing. For example, the first automobiles were designed like horse-drawn carriages, although they no longer had to be; the first television programs were radio shows with pictures. The same has been true of the plastics industry and, to a certain extent, of plastics education. For years we have recruited students in chemical or mechanical engineering who have had little knowledge of polymers; and, to meet certain needs, we will continue to do so. However, since the late 1960's, it has been evident that many of our needs are going unfilled. In 1969 the SPE-SPI Education Committee reported that the availability of trained plastics engineers was decreasing at an alarming rate. The committee put its finger squarely on the nature of the problem: In the plastics industry, knowledge grows obsolete at an alarmingly rapid rate; a knowledge of the latest developments is essential, because standard materials and methods are so rapidly replaced. Considerable progress has been made in narrowing the educational gap. Some schools now offer degree programs in polymer engineering. Others offer a core of plastics courses within more traditional programs, and most schools have at least one or two polymer courses. Still, there are less than a half-dozen mature polymer or plastics engineering programs throughout the country. As an illustration of how much room is left for progress, let me quote part of a letter Du Pont received from a university in the Midwest. The writer explained that a state education board had suggested a new set of requirements for industrial arts teachers, including seven semester hours each for woodworking and metal, but not a single semester hour in plastics. Then he plaintively—and pointedly—asked: "Does this reflect modern industry?" Obviously, it does not—and it is equally evident that despite the progress that has been made in the recent past, the needs of the plastics industry are not being served adequately. The challenges and opportunities of the years ahead cannot be met without a significant increase in the supply of young engineers who understand the special properties of polymers and are trained to use them creatively and responsibly. It is not enough to understand the mechanical intricacies of extruding machines; we need engineers who can deal effectively with the full range of problems that will be encountered in utilizing the sophisticated properties of the new breeds of man-made materials.
C&EN editorials represent only the views of the author and aim at initiating intelligent discussion
June 12, 1978 C&EN
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