PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Lisa van der Vorst, Senior Sales Director-North America at Mold-Masters Ltd., live from the Innovation and Emerging Plastics Technologies Conference at PennState Behrend, June 11-12, 2025.

They discussed the state of the industry and future of hot runners, her career journey leading to injection molding, lessons learned from living in different countries, the importance of emotional intelligence, career advice for engineering students, mentoring a Net Impact Circular Plastics Challenge finalist team, local and global challenges with recycling and waste management, advances in circular recycling, and career risks that led to greater opportunities.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes on the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Shilpa Manjure, Global Technical Leader at Northern Technologies International Corporation/Natur-Tec and SPE's Bioplastics and Renewable Technologies Division Chair. They discussed how her interest in plastics and biopolymers developed, the global approach to find solutions for plastics pollution, the definition of bio-based and compostable materials, developing an empathetic leadership style that helps bring the best out of everyone, sustainable alternatives, developing bio-based and compostable materials that can run on current plastics manufacturing lines, the mission of SPE's Bioplastics and Renewable Technologies Division, and igniting the spark of interest in the next generation of students to explore the difference they can make in the world in STEM fields and manufacturing.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes on the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Jennifer Hoffman, Director of Project Management for Eurofins | EAG Laboratories. They discuss her journey in materials science, her role as a "technical therapist," determining the best approach to address varying client needs, most common issues in plastics, deformulation/reverse engineering of materials, helping companies make smart business decisions based on scientific data, trends in plastics, sustainable materials, favorite tools, her role with SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals, student mentorship and activities, and advice to new scientists entering the field.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host April Brown, Applications Engineer at Moldex3D. They discuss her professional journey to a plastics industry career, injection molding simulation projects, reducing manufacturing cost and optimizing processes while reducing waste and considering sustainability, being more inventive and efficient in the workplace, creating a sustainable future for everyone in the plastics industry, using AI to compile years of simulation data to help optimize a new part design, using simulation to predict defects before production and reduce necessary trials and tooling modifications, Moldex3D's Moldiverse cloud ecosystem, and future predictions for simulation and AI in plastics manufacturing.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Dr. Andy Francis, Vice President of Marketing at Q-Lab Corporation. They discuss the big forces of plastics weathering, the arch nemeses of plastics, the difficulty of service life prediction, techniques and equipment for testing the effects of weathering on plastics, common misconceptions about plastics durability, plastics failure methods due to weathering, and the future of materials testing.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host the Kenders, siblings with careers in plastics: Laura Kender, Polymer Process Engineer at Corning Life Sciences; Elizabeth Kender, Senior Product Developer at New Balance; and Stephen Kender, Senior Design Engineer at UPPAbaby. They discuss how their interest in plastics developed, their teamwork in college, their career journey in plastics, networking, injection molding, sustainability, the future of plastics, and designing for plastics strength, lightweighting and performance.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Andy Kamholz, CEO, Edge Precision Manufacturing. They discuss compression molding micro features on a macro part, micropore filters, hiring strategies for success, building a thriving corporate culture, the challenges in launching a new enterprise, and upcoming plastics innovations.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.

PlastChicks Lynzie Nebel and Mercedes Landazuri host Lytia Watson, Vice President of Human Resources, Deceuninck North America. They discuss her educational journey, approaching impediments with curiosity, finding the best employees for your company, removing bias in hiring decisions, building collaboration skills for success, planning your personal career growth, and navigating the future and challenges of AI in the plastics industry for employers and staff.

Watch the PlastChicks podcast on the SPE YouTube Channel.

PlastChicks is sponsored by SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals. Look for new episodes the first Friday of every month.