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College of Applied Science & Technology

 

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ntegrated Manufacturing Systems Professional and Student Organizations

Professional Organizations

• Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)
• Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE)

Student Organizations

Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)

SME Student Chapter 203

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers is an international professional society dedicated to serving its members and the manufacturing community through the advancement of professionalism, knowledge, and learning. Established in the Department of Technology in 1985, the student chapter's membership is comprised of students concentrating in plastics, production design, process and production control, industrial computer systems, and technology education.

Scholarships

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Scholarship is awarded annually to a full-time upperclassman majoring in the Integrated Manufacturing Systems sequence and who is an active member of the SME student organization. Tim Januszyk was given the scholarship at the department's spring banquet in April 2007. Mark Laingen was awarded the Peoria SME Chapter 31 Scholarship for $1,250 and the Illinois State SME Scholarship for $1,000. Mark has extensive industry experience and is a major in the IMS sequence.

Certification

Each year, seniors and graduate students are given the opportunity to take the Certification Exam to become a Certified Manufacturing Technologist. This certification documents your manufacturing-related knowledge, skills, and capabilities. As a student, certification enhances your professional value to prospective employers and increases your marketability.

Why Join?

Member benefits include:

• a monthly magazine and notices of professional meetings and workshops
• professional events allowing you to network with professionals in your field
• the opportunity to serve as an officer, which allows you to develop and demonstrate your leadership skills and enhance your credentials when applying for scholarships and a job
• access to SME's electronic bulletin board, SME ON-LINE, which includes job opportunities, technical forums, shareware files and is used by manufacturing students and professionals throughout the world
• a resume database service that allows you to enter your resume into a system that is searched worldwide by companies seeking manufacturing professionals

As a student, it only costs you $20 for one full year of SME student membership. If you continue your membership after graduation, you will receive the associate member upgrade at half price ($30 a year) for 3 years, plus a $700 voucher that can be used to attend workshops or conferences sponsored by SME headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.

Don't leave your career up to chance. For more information, contact the SME faculty advisor Dr. Ken Stier in Turner Hall, room 132A. You may contact Dr. Stier by phone (309) 438-2384 or e-mail at

Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE)

SPE sponsors nearly 100 Student Chapters in nine countries around the world. Chapters are formed at technical colleges and universities where there are courses and programs in plastics. There is also an SPE Sigma Pi Epsilon Honor Society, which recognizes outstanding academic achievements by SPE Student Members. 

For students about to graduate, the Society publishes a book of student resumes that is distributed to all exhibiting companies at the Annual Technical Conference, or ANTEC. Student membership in SPE leads to professional contacts and industry involvement. It can be your passport to a future as a plastics professional.

Student Member Benefits

 

Give your friends a head start on their way to a future in the plastics field. Have them fill out a student membership application so they can also reap the benefits that SPE offers to all student members.

For more information, contact the faculty advisor Dr. Louis Reifschneider in Turner Hall 103A. You may contact Dr. Reifschneider by phone at (309) 438-2681 or by email at .