Rubber Division Archived News Items

Help Us Create a Tribute to Jim Graham

Jim served on the 25-Year Club Committee for many years and was a long-time member of the Rubber Division. He died on December 7, 2007, at the age of 87, and will be greatly missed. We will honor Jim at our 25-Year Club Dinner on Monday, April 28, 2008, and need your help.

We are collecting "Tribute to Jim" letters via Postal Mail or as E-mail attachments for a memory book to share at the 25-Year Club Dinner and then give to Ann Graham. We would love to include your memories and thoughts of Jim, so please send your letters to Melanie Avdeyev or Rubber Division ACS, PO Box 499, Akron OH 44309-0499.

Any photographs of Jim that you will allow us to "borrow" will be much appreciated and should be sent to Melanie's attention. We would apprecaite receiving your letter and/or photographs by April 18, 2008.

174th Technical Meeting Call for Papers

The official Call for Papers is now open for the fall 174th Technical Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, from October 14-16, 2008. To view the symposia topics and to download the solicitation, please visit the Fall Meeting page. The deadline for submitting abstracts has been extended to April 21, 2008.

Two $1,250 Rubber Technology Training Awards Available

Deadline: March 1, 2008

The Rubber Division’s Rubber Technology Training Award provides a stipend to rubber industry employees to allow them to attend a spring or fall Rubber Division Meeting in the year they are selected. Award winners receive up to $1,250 each to attend a Rubber Division spring or fall Meeting. At a spring Technical Meeting awardees are invited to attend on-site seminars and workshops, technical meetings, Science & Technology Awards banquet, and the Sponsors’ Reception. At a fall Rubber Expo and Rubber Mini Expo awardees are invited to attend on-site seminars and workshops, Business Summit, technical sessions, the Exhibitors’ Reception, and visit the exposition floor.

Three $5,000 Undergraduate Scholarships Available

Deadline: March 1, 2008

The Rubber Division is offering three (3) $5,000 Undergraduate Scholarships to students entering their junior or senior year of study for the fall 2008-spring 2009 academic year. Applicants may have a major area of study in Chemistry, Physics, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Polymer Science or any other technical discipline of relevance to the rubber industry. Each winner receives $5,000 to defray educational expenses and a plaque designating them as a Rubber Division Scholar.

J. Reid Shelton - 1983 Goodyear Medalist Dies at Age 96

J. Reid Shelton was born January 16, 1911, in Allerton, Iowa, the third and youngest son of George and Hattie Shelton. He grew up in a rural area characterized by small family farms and received his early education in a one room school house. Despite attending a high school so small that no chemistry course was offered, he won a $20 gold piece for writing a prize-winning paper on the industrial use of corn cobs. He continued on to major in chemistry at the State University of Iowa in Iowa City where he received a B.S. in 1933, an M.S. in 1934, and a Ph.D. in 1936. At the university he sought out the company of math major Leah Brown, whom he had met earlier at the Methodist Student Center. They married in 1934 and then completed their degrees. [read more]

2007-2009 Strategic Plan Approved

The approved 2007-2009 Strategic Plan contains the new Vision and Mission Statements as well as a breakdown of the areas of Membership; Communication and Marketing; Educational, Technical and Business-related Programs; Expositions; and Information Technology.

Once available, the related business plans from appropriate committees will only be available through the Members Only section.

Division Names 2008 Award Winners

During the recent Rubber Expo, the 2008 Science & Technology Award winners were announced as follows:

Prof. Joseph P. Kennedy - Charles Goodyear Medal
Dr. Robert P. Lattimer - Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award
Dr. Christopher G. Robertson -- Sparks-Thomas Award
Dr. Frank N. Kelley -- George Stafford Whitby Award
Dr. Richard J. Spontak -- Chemistry of Thermoplastic Elastomers Award.

Curious About Rubber Recycling?

The Rubber Recycling Topical Group of the Rubber Division, ACS now has it's own page within this site. Check it out for more information about the group, to download it's latest newsletter, and become a member today.