Penn State Erie Receives $3.7 Million Gift in Software from SIGMA Plastic Services, Inc. |
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SIGMA Plastic Services, Inc.
10 N. Martingale Road, Suite 425
Schaumburg, IL, 60173
USA
Press release date: September 23, 2011
Schaumburg, IL. - SIGMA Plastic Services Inc. has donated SIGMASOFT® polymer process simulation software to Penn State Erie's School of Engineering at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, a gift valued at $3.7 million.
With this software, the campus has new technical capabilities for its soon-to-open Medical Plastics Center of Excellence and current Medical Plastics certificate program, two initiatives that address the emerging medical plastics market.
The U.S. market for medical plastics is growing at a rate of 5 percent to 10 percent annually and sales are projected to reach $6.55 billion in 2012."Thanks to SIGMA Plastic Services, our students and faculty members will be able to develop the next generation of medical devices. This is a great partnership between academia and industry that ultimately benefits our students," said Ralph Ford, director of the School of Engineering.
The $3.7 million gift supports Penn State Behrend's goal of raising $32 million during the University's current capital campaign, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. To date, the college has secured 81 percent of that goal.
Penn State Behrend's Medical Plastics Center of Excellence is an applied research and outreach center that supports companies in the development of new medical devices and packaging, technologies that could not exist without advanced plastics materials. SIGMASOFT® software, designed for the molding of advanced elastomer, silicone and thermoplastic materials, supports these technologies.
Students enrolled in the Plastics Engineering Technology bachelor's degree program can pursue the Medical Plastics certificate. The 14-credit certificate program prepares graduates for careers in medical product development with courses in advanced materials, new product design, manufacturing, and FDA regulatory issues. Nationwide, this is the only medical plastics certificate or degree program offered at the undergraduate level.
"Students will acquire in-depth knowledge of SIGMA products and will be better prepared to put what they have learned into practice after graduation," said James Chiamardas, president of TPStek. "This is the first gift of SIGMASOFT® to a college or university in the United States. We're pleased to work with Penn State Behrend on this important initiative."
James Chiamardas, a Penn State Erie plastics alumnus and Erie native, played a key role in securing the gift. Chiamardas earned his associate and bachelor's degrees in Plastics Engineering Technology. He is president of TPStek, LLC, a SIGMASOFT® reseller. TPStek will provide technical support for the software, which is included in the value of the gift.
Christof Heisser, President of SIGMA Plastic Services, Inc. says, "We are happy to provide the School of Engineering at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, with 25 seats of SIGMASOFT®, thereby giving students access to state-of-the-art Polymer System Simulation. Simulation has revolutionized the manufacturing world in the last 25 years and has become an integral part of the manufacturing process. It is, therefore, essential to integrate this technology into the education of the next generation of engineers and we at SIGMA are proud that one of the leading universities in the manufacturing world has decided to work with our simulation tool." SIGMA Plastics Services is in Schaumburg, IL. Located outside of Chicago, SIGMA Plastics Services Inc. is part of SIGMA Engineering GmbH, headquartered in Aachen, Germany. SIGMA provides 3D Polymer System Simulation software and engineering solutions to companies throughout the world.
For further information on this announcement, interested parties should contact:
SIGMA Plastic Services, Inc.
10 N. Martingale Road, Suite 425
Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
USA
Phone: +1 847 969 1001 x 225
Email: cheisser@3dsigma.com
Web: www.3dsigma.com
Attention: Christof Heisser, President
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