Kamal is a graduate student at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI, where he is majoring in Manufacturing Engineering. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Madras University in India and also holds a diploma in Tool and Die Making. Kamal served as a tooling engineer for Nikhita Industries in Bangalore, India and as a Tooling Engineer at Tafe Engineering Plastics Division, India. According to his professors at Western Michigan, Kamal’s ability to read tooling prints, disassemble molds and diagnose tooling problems, build tooling components, and participate in the tool design process earned him an appointment as a Graduate Assistant in the Plastics Professing Laboratory. He is currently working on a research project that deals with the effect of thermal conductivity of mold materials and their effects on molding.

Tim will be a junior at the University of South Florida this fall, majoring in Chemical Engineering. He currently attends Lake-Sumter and Valencia Community Colleges where his fascination with chemical science – and polymers – was born. Tim was a member of the College Brain Bowl Team, is on the National Dean’s List, the All-USA Academic Team, and is a member of Phi Theta Kappa. He is active in the local Lion’s Club student chapter, raising money for children’s glasses and for research on curing blindness. He will be serving as a student mentor for the spring 2004 semester, to help new students with the transition to college life.

The SPE Foundation annually presents 15-20 scholarships to full-time undergraduate or graduate students in science, engineering and related disciplines who show interest in pursuing a career in the plastics industry.