|
ACMA Upfront
By Sabeena Hickman
ACMA has initiated a new program called Think Composites, sponsored by Owens
Corning. With all the, at times, what seems like insurmountable challenges we
pile on ourselves just prior to putting on the biggest composites convention
in North America, we pulled the directors into a meeting one day and batted
around an idea. Like most idea-generating environments, the ACMA staff has more
great ideas than we can ever implement, so we have to carefully pick and chose
the ones we can invest the energy and resources into. The fruits of these ideas
have turned into many high visibility projects—E&I awards, scholarships,
progressive convention programming, to name a few.
The latest winner of staff brainstorming is “Think Composites,”
an outreach program for high school-aged students to expose them to the industry.
In its inception, this first, soon to be (we hope) annual program, is designed
to attract not just engineering and even art and architectural students, but
also vocational students in local high schools in whatever city we locate COMPOSITES
& POLYCON. Think Composites is sort of an expansion of the Boy
Scout merit badge ACMA has been involved with. One charter idea we must advance
and is critical to the growth of the composites industry is to provide as much
exposure as possible to the next generation of engineers, architects, entrepreneurs,
artists, and technicians who will perpetuate our young industry to greater heights.
Remember, we are not too far removed from when Everett Pearson started building
boats in his garage, or when Hobie Alter began shaping surfboards, or when Brandt
Goldsworthy and Burt Rutan traded ideas on the future of air travel, just to
rattle off a few pioneer achievements. ACMA believes it is important to nurture
the tradition of discovery, hard work, and creative enterprise.
Thus, Think Composites. The idea is to bring 50-60 high school students to
the convention, provide an orientation on composites—several videos, power
point presentations, stand up briefs by staff—then take them on a tour
of the exhibit hall and live demonstrations. We also want to hook them up with
mentors—area employers in the business—and provide them with resources
to pursue science fair projects using composite materials. ACMA’s new
technical projects manager, Lauren McCaughey, has coordinated this year’s
effort with Greater St. Louis Science Fair and Honors Division Chair, Donna
Crecelius, who has been most helpful in getting local schools and students on
board. Lori Luchak, president of Miles Fiberglass & Composites, long-time
ACMA member, and experienced advocate for exposing youth to the world of composites,
is championing the effort from the industry side. With Owens Corning providing
financial backing, this team no doubt will gather the experience to build the
foundation for a long running and successful program.
Owens Corning Composites Vice President of Innovations, Ashish Diwanji recently
told me, “Owens Corning is committed to composites being the future of
the materials industry. To engage and motivate high school students is the perfect
way to ensure the future success of the composites industry.”
If you have some time in St. Louis and want to help the team motivate and inspie
high school students, Think Composites’ inaugural kick-off is on Wednesday,
October 18 at 9am, in conference center room 261. The program will run until
2pm. So, Think Composites, and join us.
Sabeena Hickman, CCT-A
Acting Executive Director
703.682.1669; shickman@acmanet.org
|