Fellow of the Society candidates must be sponsored by an SPE Division or Special Interest Group and elected by the Fellows Election Committee on the basis of their professional record as well as written sponsorships from at least two SPE members.
Application Deadlines:
- Electronic submission of completed application: October 1
- Information as requested by Fellows Election Committee Chair: November 1
- Committee report forwarded to the Executive Board for endorsement: January
- Presentation of Fellows certificates and pins – at ANTEC®
Submission Guidelines and Application:
- Download Fellow of the Society Submission Guidelines here.
- Download Fellow of the Society Application here.
NOTE: This is a downloadable .pdf file that you can fill out and save on your computer. If additional space is needed, please attach in the form of Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) and include with the final application materials. Once the application is ready, please submit to kschacht@4spe.org.
357 members have been awarded this prestigious title since it was introduced in 1984.
2022’s Fellows of the Society honorees, with their SPE Division and Section affiliations, are:
Dr. Alper Kiziltas, Technical Expert, Ford
Nominated by the SPE Automotive Division
Dr. Kiziltas has 14 years of research and engineering experience in processing and characterization methods for sustainable plastics, textiles and foams, and advanced composite materials. His technical work on developing industry-first sustainable and advanced materials led to implementation on NVH foams, console substrate, carbon canister, fan & shroud, headlamp housing, body harness, and wiring channels for Ford vehicles built within North America and Europe. Dr. Kiziltas has 20+ patents awarded/pending for sustainable and advanced materials, published over 100 external publications, and co-authored two book chapters. Alper is currently the chair for the Society of Plastics Engineers, Automotive Division. Alper received his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Maine. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Karadeniz Technical University (KTU).
William Kramer, President, US Extruders
Nominated by the SPE Extrusion Division
Previously Technical Director at Davis-Standard then co-founder and President of American Kuhne, Mr. Kramer is now President of US Extruders, a new manufacturer of plastic extruders in Westerly, RI.
Mr. Kramer has over 50 years of experience in the plastics and rubber extrusion industries, holding positions in engineering, R&D, sales, and management. He has been responsible for many innovative extruder design elements and features throughout this career, instrumental in three extruder manufacturing start-ups, and a recognized leader in the industry. He has presented many papers and published various articles on extrusion subjects. He received the “Best Paper Award” at the 1985 SPE Technical Conference for his paper on gear pump applications, co-authored the extrusion chapter in SPI’s Plastics Engineering Handbook, and wrote the chapter on Single Screw Extruders for the SPE’s Extruder Technician’s Toolbox. Mr. Kramer served on the SPE (Society of Plastic’s Engineers) Extrusion Board from 1993 through 2004, serving as the 2001 Technical Program Chair and as Board Chairman in 2003, as well as serving on yearly paper review, nominations, and history committees. Mr. Kramer was honored with SPE’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 2006, and recently the Bruce Maddock Award for 2020.
Dr. Keisha B. Walters, Department Head and Professor, University of Arkansas
Nominated by the SPE Bioplastics & Renewable Technology Division
Dr. Keisha Walters has worked in the polymer field for over 25 years, first in industry R&D and then in academia. Her fundamental and applied research efforts have made significant impacts in the areas of bioplastics, polymer surface modification, novel living radical polymerization, stimuli responsive polymers, and polymer-grafted nanoparticles. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University and holds an M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering and a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences/Environmental Toxicology. Dr. Walters is currently Department Head and Professor of Chemical Engineering, the Kevin W. and Marie L. Brown Endowed Chair, and Director of the Polymer and Nano Engineering Lab at the University of Arkansas. She has been a member of SPE since 1999, serves on the Executive Boards for the Bioplastics and Renewable Technologies Division and Engineering Properties and Structures Division, and is the founding faculty advisor for SPE student chapters at two universities. In addition, Dr. Walters has been a member of the SPE Foundation Board since 2020 serving on the Plastivan/Outreach and Grants Committees.
