SAMPE State of the Technology Industry Report

JEC Composites Magazine: Sampe has recently released the first State of the Technology Industry Report (SoTIR) about the latest composite and advanced materials industry advancements and trends. Do you plan to release it regularly?
Raj Manchanda, SAMPE Chief Technology Officer: We commend SAMPE’s Technical Committees for their dedication and contributions to the development of the first State of the Technology Industry Report. The SoTIR has just been released so it is important to gather feedback to inform future editions.

JEC Composites Magazine: The report is focusing on 7 key topics. Are they mirroring the key technological trends identified by Sampe? How do you make the split between “hype topics” with limited or long term potential and “game changers” for the industry?
Raj Manchanda: Yes, the seven topics that the SoTIR focuses on are aligned with SAMPE’s technological interests. Continuous improvement of current technologies is a hallmark of SAMPE’s Technical Committees. The TCs regularly collaborate to share best practices and discuss emerging technologies that may have broad impact.

JEC Composites Magazine: As part of the sustainability overarching topic for the industry, the report is making a focus on Recycling of composites. How do you see the development of these activities and the demand for such recycled products.
Raj Manchanda: Net zero goals, a finite supply of raw materials, increasing energy costs, and the rising Gen Z population will insist on sustainability. The industry is robust and will meet the growing demand for recycled products and creative EOL solutions.

JEC Composites Magazine: Are events and global gatherings like Sampe Summit or JEC World crucial to collect content and exchange information?
Raj Manchanda: Yes, the SAMPE SE Summit, JEC World, CAMX, SAMPE Long Beach Conference and Exhibition and other industry events play a critical role in knowledge exchange for the M&P community.

JEC Composites Magazine: In your position, you have a global view on the trends presented in the report. If you were to advise a young engineer or a student, which topic would you recommend him to work on?
Raj Manchanda: An early career engineer or student could benefit by getting involved in professional organizations such as SAMPE to learn about a variety of topics that are important to the industry. She/he will also be offered leadership opportunities that will enhance their career growth. As they build their knowledge they can focus on a few topics that resonate with them and strive to become experts in those areas. JEC World and CAMX are excellent starting points to be introduced to topics that are relevant and important to industry. 

The report is available for free on the SAMPE online store.
Next event : Sampe Europe Madrid

About Raj Manchanda:
Raj Manchanda is the Chief Technology Officer at the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) responsible for setting the technology strategy for the North American operations of the global professional member society.  He has oversight of the Technical Committees.  Prior to joining SAMPE in 2021, Raj served as a Training executive at HYTORC – an industrial bolting manufacturer that serves engineers in refineries, power plants, wind turbines, steel mills, mining, transportation and construction in more than 140 countries. 

Also, Raj served on the staff of ASME and held positions in the Engineering, Training, Conformity Assessment, Emerging Technologies and Industry Events business units over 20+ years. After a stint at the American Management Association in which he managed the Project Management and Process Management seminars he returned to ASME to launch the Nanotechnology Institute in 2001 with Arun Majumdar, Ph.D. Raj collaborated with Dr. Majumdar and the members of the Nanotechnology Institute Advisory Board to expand the scope of the Institute to include Fuel Cells, Microchannels and Biomedical Devices.

Raj’s most recent role at ASME was Director, Business Development-Manufacturing and Robotics. Raj is a Fellow of ASME and a member of SAMPE, SME, MRS, IEEE and CESSE.  He holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Boston University and a MBA from the Zicklin School of Business at The City University of New York.