Next-Gen Processors: Secondary Education Options in Rubber Processing

By Liz Stevens, writer, Inside Rubber

The manufacturing industry in the US continues to face workforce recruitment challenges. Colleges and universities are helping to address the shortage by offering rubber processing-oriented subject matter, often in conjunction with their plastics and polymer programs. What are institutions offering, and what might they need from industry partners to support their programs in ways that better fill the industry’s needs? Inside Rubber surveyed universities in the Upper Midwest, on the East Coast and on the Gulf Coast to get insight into the rubber processing education available.

How many students are enrolling in the rubber processing-oriented programs each year?

Unfortunately, not that many. If we are talking about kids that specifically go into the bachelor’s program or come over for the minor, it usually is between two and four a year.

Once they have finished their education, how quickly are those students getting hired?

Very quickly, since we are the only school in the country that actually offers a rubber-specific program at the bachelor’s level.

What practical experience is required as part of these programs? Internships?

Students are required to do an internship for the associate degree and one for the bachelor’s degree as well. The students usually find them on their own, but we always have companies reaching out to the university and making offers, which we post for the students to see.

How is Ferris State partnering with the manufacturing community in your area?

Ferris State University

Ferris State University, www.ferris.edu, is a four-year public institution located in Big Rapids, Michigan. Ferris State started its Rubber Technology program in 1998. Marc Guske, program coordinator/associate professor, Plastics & Rubber Tech, School of Design & Manufacturing, answered questions for this article.

What does Ferris State institution offer in rubber processing-oriented certificates or degrees?

We offer a Rubber Minor (often paired with an Industrial Chemistry or Plastics major), an associate degree in Plastics and Polymer Engineering Technology that includes rubber coursework, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Rubber Engineering Technology.

Some manufacturers let us go into their facilities and do field trips. The rubber industry can be a little secretive, so we appreciate that they will let us do that. I have a good rapport with local companies; if I need chemicals or bales of rubber, I am able to get donations fairly quickly. And some of our recent alumni have done a really good job of guest lecturing and bringing their expertise back to share with the students.

What additional support do you wish you had for these programs?

More students would be great. The low volume of students is, I think, the same problem that everybody is facing; for whatever reason, when high school kids think about going to college, they don’t seem to be considering engineering or the plastics and rubber fields. Plastic gets a lot of bad publicity, as we all know, but when it comes to rubber, I think people just don’t really think about rubber parts being as necessary and ubiquitous as they are. It’s rather hard to find a cool rubber part among the tires and hoses and belts. O-rings aren’t sexy, but they definitely are critical.

How is your institution promoting these programs?

Most of our recruiting efforts are focused on high-school-age prospects. Every semester we invite the high schools within an hour’s radius of Big Rapids to come on campus for a half day. We pay for the bus, and the students get free lunch. We give a lecture about what our programs are all about, and then we have rotations where the kids go to the plastics lab, then to the rubber lab and then do hands-on chemistry experiments. This approach seems to pay big dividends. When we survey incoming freshmen, we get a lot of kids who say, “Oh, yeah, when I was in ninth grade, we came here and so then when I was thinking about where I wanted to go, studying this at Ferris State just kind of clicked.”

What do you think should/could be done to get more students to enroll?

We have an upcoming event that likely will expose some more people to our programs. The Michigan Rubber Group will hold its technical meeting at Ferris State on September 20, 2023. That will be an opportunity for people in the industry to meet with the Michigan Rubber Group, to see what they do and see our lab facilities, and network. We will have some students presenting at that meeting.

University of Houston

The University of Houston, www.uh.edu, is a four-year public institution located in Houston, Texas. Andy Chang, MBA, program director II, Subsea Systems Institute, UH Energy – Chancellor/President’s Division, described what the U of Houston has to offer.

What does your institution offer in rubber processingoriented certificates or degrees?

We have Rubbers in Extreme Environments, a short course for a certificate that is a micro-credentialing program that offers an understanding of the challenges of how rubber behaves and fails in extreme conditions, along with solutions to prevent failure and develop better materials. The program is geared toward industry professionals and rising seniors in a bachelor’s degree program or graduate student – business, engineering or technology preferred.

How many students are enrolling each year?

It is not a regular program. We offered a course for an industry in March 2023, where more than 50 people participated.

What practical experience is required as part of these programs?

We accept both industry professionals and university students into the program. There are minimum requirements for both groups:

● Industry professionals must have several years of relevant industrial experience.

● Students either must be rising seniors in a bachelor’s degree program or graduate students – in engineering or technology preferred.

The course is lecture-based. Minimum science or engineering background is needed, with a few years of experience in the industry.

How is your institution promoting these programs?

Rubbers in Extreme Environments is of great relevance to industries that use rubbers in extreme environments. We, therefore, focus our promotion on companies in these sectors. We also promote our programs through newsletters, social media and other means that reach out to a wider audience, both in academia and to the industrial sector. We will be offering our next program in November.

What do you think should/could be done to get more students to enroll?

Reach out more. As discussed in the first question, there is a growing need for rubber materials in harsh environments. Greater understanding of that need, and of the opportunity that exists in addressing it, is key to getting more students to enroll. Our main approach to increasing enrollment is through growing our relationships with companies that are active in these applications for various types of rubber materials.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, School of Continuing Education

As part of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the School of Continuing Education, www.uwm.edu/sce, is the largest provider of professional development in southeastern Wisconsin. Aaliyah Schoclet, program manager, engineering, School of Continuing Education, answered these questions.

What does your institution offer in rubber processingoriented certificates or degrees?

The School of Continuing Education offers non-degree certificates in Elastomers Technology, with courses such as Bushing Design for Automotive and Commercial Applications, Molding of Rubber and Design of Rubber Molds, RPA Testing of Rubber Processability and Dynamic Properties and others.

The Elastomer Technology Certificate focuses on recent technologies, advancements in the field and strategies to improve elastomer designs. It benefits anyone designing, manufacturing or working with synthetic rubbers. Students receive firsthand knowledge from current industry professionals to address real-world challenges. Learning outcomes include proficiency in analyzing methodologies of process variation and control; the ability to assess elastomer material selection, dispensing methods and the molding process; skill in integrating knowledge of elastomer processing equipment, including pumping, shaping, curing and monitoring; the ability to describe different types of manufacturing limitations within the injection molding process; proficiency in evaluating the principles and techniques of designing molds and molded part design; and competence in applying problem-solving techniques and strategies to address situations the student currently faces.

How many students are enrolling in the rubber processing-oriented programs each year?

Our classes are geared toward industry professionals and vary based on industry needs.

How is your institution partnering with the manufacturing community in your area?

We provide customized courses to the manufacturing community. Plus, our instructors are manufacturing professionals in the community with real-life experience who are at the center of growth and change in the rubber processing industry. I also am an active member of the Women in Manufacturing (WiM) organization.

How is your institution promoting these programs? Our comprehensive marketing plan focuses on driving traffic to our website and these programs. From SEO to targeted email campaigns and social media marketing, engineers and other professionals are learning about our programs. We also get a lot of referrals from local companies and past students. Plus, we are working to build connections with key manufacturing businesses.

What do you think should/could be done to get more students to enroll?

It is not about what we should/could do but what we do. We focus on building relationships within the community.

University of Massachusetts Lowell

The University of Massachusetts Lowell, www.uml.edu, is a four-year public institution located in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Amy Peterson, Ph.D., associate professor and associate chair for master’s studies, provided information about the education options at UMass Lowell.

What does your institution offer in rubber processingoriented certificates or degrees?

We offer a graduate certificate in Elastomeric Materials. Additionally, MS students can complete a specialization in Elastomeric Materials by completing the courses associated with the graduate certificate in Elastomeric Materials. Specific courses related to rubber processing include Processing with Elastomers, Rubber Technology, Thermoplastic Elastomers and Design with Elastomers. In addition, thermoset rubberbased experiments are offered as part of the Plastics Process Engineering Labs for the BS degree and the Graduate Polymer Lab required for all MS and Ph.D. students.

We also have a student chapter of the ACS Rubber Division. The students attend the International Elastomer Conference each fall, sponsored by the ACS Rubber Division.

How many students are enrolling in the rubber processing-oriented programs each year?

The Elastomeric Materials graduate certificate program was just reinstated this academic year, so we do not have good data yet. We have a number of students involved in elastomer research projects.

Once they have finished their education, how quickly are those students getting hired?

Since the Elastomeric Materials graduate certificate program was just reinstated, we do not have good data specific to rubber processing yet. The ACS Rubber Division members and the New England Rubber and Plastics Group keenly are interested in recruiting students. In general, students are hired very quickly.

What practical experience is required as part of these programs? Internships?

All of our degree programs include required laboratory courses, which give our students valuable hands-on experience in polymer synthesis, plastics processing and characterization. Our BS and MS programs also have optional co-op programs, which give students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they’re learning in classes to realworld challenges in a work environment, while also earning money. Many of our students continue working at their co-op employers after their co-op ends, either by working part-time during the school year or by returning to that employer as a full-time employee after graduation. Students also may work on industry-sponsored research projects in elastomers.

How is your institution partnering with the manufacturing community in your area?

UMass Lowell students and faculty regularly attend and present at the International Elastomer Conference and the local ACS Rubber Division section – the New England Rubber and Plastics Group (NERPG). NERPG generously has supported student travel.

We have sponsored research projects and student internships with local industry. Additionally, several (local and non-local) manufacturers are members of SHAP3D, our 3D printingfocused, National Science Foundation-sponsored IndustryUniversity Cooperative Research Center, with particular interest in the thermoset elastomer project.

What additional support do you wish you had for your programs?

We always are grateful for additional support, whether it be internships, sponsored research, equipment or something else. Specific to rubber-related teaching and research, we would like to have a new Banbury mixer.

How is your institution promoting these programs?

Our admissions offices organize regular open houses (including virtual ones for graduate programs) and webinars. That being said, many of our programs are promoted through word of mouth – we offer the oldest and largest ABET- accredited Plastics Engineering program in the country, so our alumni do a lot of work promoting us actively through conversations and passively through their successes.

What do you think should/could be done to get more students to enroll?

At the graduate level, we have greatly increased our online options to allow working professionals and those who don’t live in the Lowell area (or don’t want to deal with traffic) to complete our graduate certificates and MS. Our graduate certificates can be completed online. Additionally, as of this year, we have an online pathway for our Plastics Engineering MS. To ensure that students graduate with that critical hands-on experience, the online MS includes a two-week on-campus residency to be completed during one of the summers a student is enrolled in the program. During this residency, students will be full-time in our labs. In this way, we can maintain the hands-on strength of our program, which is critical to our industry stakeholders, while still making the degree program achievable for people working full-time.

Specific to rubber processing, we think that better articulation of the importance of elastomers to many products is needed. Elastomers are critical to soft robotics, stretchable electronics, tires and barrier materials, just to give a few examples. Students often are unaware of the interesting, impactful jobs that are available in this field. n