Monday, May 23, 2022
SAMPE 2025 Tutorials
SAMPE 2025 in Indianapolis isn’t "just another industry event;" SAMPE has created a space where breakthrough innovations emerge from serendipitous collisions between curious minds. It's where materials engineers, researchers, and industry pioneers stop working in silos and start weaving the future of our field together, one conversation at a time.
The difference between ordinary conferences and extraordinary ones? It's in the details, like SAMPE’s exclusive learning experiences – Tours and Tutorials.
Happening Monday, May 19, each morning Tutorial can be paired with an afternoon Tour or opt to spend the day at Purdue's Composites Manufacturing & Simulation Center.
Take advantage of early-bird pricing (until March 31) on SAMPE’s Premium Conference Pass (one Tour and one Tutorial are complimentary) and save up to $40 over Full Conference or a la carte pricing, while securing your seat in the experience of your choice.
Read more about the Tutorials below or check out the Tours here.
Secure Top Talent & Be Top Talent
Cost: $250
This workshop equips both hiring managers and job seekers with the tools to navigate today’s competitive job market, offering valuable insights into both sides of the hiring process. For hiring managers, it provides actionable strategies to attract, engage, and secure top talent in a candidate-driven environment. You'll leave with a proven playbook to hire the best. For job seekers, the workshop offers expert advice on crafting impactful resumes, excelling in interviews, and evaluating job offers to ensure they align with both short- and long-term career goals and cultural fit. Understanding both perspectives also benefits those looking to advance within their current organization, as it fosters stronger leadership skills, enhances your ability to recognize and develop talent, and improves career growth opportunities. By mastering the art of attracting and evaluating top talent, you can position yourself for leadership roles and become a more effective contributor within your own team. Whether you're hiring, seeking a new opportunity, or aiming for advancement, this workshop will help you secure top talent and become top talent.
Mike Novak | Hiring Partner, AIJSearch
Michael’s recruiting journey began in 1998 with a small firm, where he cut his teeth in Aerospace & Defense recruiting. During the dot-com bubble, he was recruited by a client for an in-house Talent Acquisition role at an Aerospace startup. This experience ultimately led him to launch AIJ Search in 2001. In the early years of AIJ Search, Michael focused on clients designing and developing complex in-aircraft systems, including actuation, hydraulics, flight controls, landing gears, cargo handling systems, and in-flight refueling and aerial deployment/recovery systems. He also deeply supported Aircraft MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) and Distribution companies. Reflecting on this period, Michael says, “Following in my grandfather’s footsteps, I was excited from a young age to work on aircraft platforms and programs that supported the defense of our country.” By the mid-2000s, Michael’s focus shifted heavily towards advanced materials and composites, primarily for components and structures in commercial and military aircraft and other airborne military platforms. “Within Aerospace at this time, there was a strong continued shift towards advanced materials. I was very excited to be involved with materials and products that would positively impact the environment by reducing fuel consumption.” As advanced non-metallic materials became more readily available and utilized in commercial sectors, Michael’s work steadily expanded to include clients in other highly regulated industries. “As passionate as I am about Aerospace & Defense, it’s been a pleasure over the past decade to expand our firm’s focus into other markets shaping our world. The applications for advanced materials within the Life Sciences and Semiconductor markets particularly interested me. Products that help save lives and drive technology and communication forward… sign me up! Today, I’m most excited to have a hand in developing Clean Tech, such as green hydrogen and battery technology. I want my firm’s work to impact global decarbonization positively.” Michael acts as the primary point of contact for AIJ Search clients. “My goal with each client is to deliver an exceptional experience and to be viewed as our client’s trusted go-to partner. We strive to achieve this through transparent communication, strong project management, and collaborative teamwork.”
Exploring the Chemistry and Production of SMC with Probir Guha
Cost: $250
In this in-depth tutorial, we delve into the chemistry behind Sheet Molding Compound (SMC), examining the key ingredients that make up this versatile material, their specific roles, and how they interact to form the final product. The tutorial provides a comprehensive overview of the SMC compounding process, detailing each step involved in its production. Led by industry expert Probir Guha, the tutorial offers valuable insights into the current landscape of SMC technologies, highlighting the pioneering efforts of IDI Composites International in advancing SMC production. This session is designed for professionals and enthusiasts looking to deepen their understanding of SMC materials.
Probir Guha | President, Composites Innovations Inc.
Probir retired in 2021 after an illustrious career in the composites industry mostly associated with The Budd Company later acquired by Continental Structural Plastics (now Teijin Automotive) and Coats. After retirement, Probir formed a technology consulting company, Composites Innovations Inc., in 2022 to continue having fun furthering the cause of Composites as a consultant to IDI. After finishing his undergraduate in Chemical Engineering from a leading engineering school in India, IIT, in 1973, Probir completed his graduate studies in Polymer Engineering form the Polymer Institute, University of Detroit, and his MBA from Wayne State University also in Detroit. That was followed by his 50-year journey with SMC and Composites, starting with The Budd Company in Troy, Michigan. His career started as a Chemical Engineer in Budd’s Plastics R&D Center and led up to leading their research efforts as VP, Advanced R&D at CSP and then as VP, Global Composites Innovation at Coats. During his career, Probir has participated in key innovations in the field as borne out by his over 150 global patents; participated in industry technical conferences presenting several papers and holding committee leadership positions; & has been recognized with industry awards for innovation, research and advancements. In 2021 Probir edited the book - Composites Innovations: Perspectives on Advancing the Industry - where he coordinated the efforts of industry and academic experts to share concepts of how to further the composites industry. And, in 2022 Probir was recognized for his contribution to Composites with two very prestigious Awards •The Hall of Fame Award by the ACMA •& The Lifetime Achievement Award by SPE Automotive Probir attributes his success to being surrounded by very talented people in his career and feels blessed to have been recognized by his peers.
Artificial Intelligence and Other Digitalization Techniques for the Material Science Industry
Cost: $250
This tutorial will educate industry professionals and leaders about Artificial Intelligence and other digitalization techniques that are relevant to the material science industry. These techniques can be used to optimize the manufacturing processes, reduce the experimental efforts in developing new materials and processes. Conventional AI has been around at least since 1955, but it has found industrial application in last decade. These applications are in the areas of areas of robotics, face and speech recognition, data mining, and banking software due availability of large data sets and high-power computing (HPC) systems. Recently generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Llama, Palm, Gemini, and Bloom have made break throughs. These tools are primarily suitable for personalized digital assistants, multimodal AI, and research and analysis. Regression machine learning techniques are being explored for materials science applications. After giving a brief introduction about the AI and its recent progress, the tutorial will focus on the AI techniques that can be used in the material science applications such as optimizing the manufacturing process and development of new materials. Below is a brief outline. 1. Introduction to AI and recent progress 2. Regression vs Classification and Supervised vs Unsupervised Machine Learning 3. Regression Techniques for Material Science Applications a. Neural Networks b. Decision Tree Regression c. Random Forest Regression 4. Overfitting and Degrees of Freedom 5. Combining Science and AI for better predictions 6. Application of Neural Networks for Process Optimization 7. Application of Neural Networks for developing new materials 8. A brief summary of other digitalization techniques The attendees will have a chance to work with the Intugent AI software to gain practical skills and understanding.
Asjad Shafi | Senior Fellow, Intugent
Asjad Shafi is a part of the core team that launched Intugent in 2021. He specializes in combining material science with artificial intelligence (AI) to develop machine learning applications. Intugent has already commercialized digital transformation software for two separate industries. Engineers without any training in AI can use these software to collect data, train model, and obtain real-time predictions as they design new products or optimize the process. Before joining Intugent, he worked at Dow Chemical and held various positions in digitalization, artificial intelligence, materials science modelling, product and process development, and new business development. As Digitalization Leader, he initiated and led Dow Polyurethane’s “Predictive Intelligence” program, and introduced theory based neural networks to improve the innovation speeds. He also led development of eCURE to speed innovations in applications of Epoxy resins. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1992. Asjad has published extensively in scientific journals.