Rutgers Aims to Build World-Class Packaging Program

Charles Chang with Rutgers faculty and students

Cosmetic industry executives collaborate on ideas and fundraising.

Written by Jamie Matusow, Editor

Packaging is the world’s largest industry so more young packaging engineers must be educated to move it forward. This is Rutgers University Engineering School’s plan as it joins with an influential Packaging Engineering Advisory Board comprised of industry members—including leaders of the cosmetic manufacturing and packaging world—to collaborate on educational programs that will teach and nurture the packaging engineers of tomorrow.

Diane Jones, Rutgers student; Jessica Lum, Topline; Melissa Linden, Rutgers student; Damien Dossin, Topline

One of the essential objectives of the mission of the Advisory Board is to raise funds for Rutgers’ Packaging Engineering program. This includes money for scholarships, faculty support, research projects, and industry seminars and workshops.

To this purpose, more than 100 beauty industry executives and students in Rutgers School of Engineering, including many enrolled in its packaging program, gathered at the school’s Piscataway, NJ, campus on October 28, for the 1st annual Rutgers Packaging Engineering Advisory Board Fundraising Banquet.

Charles Chang, founder and president of Topline Manufacturing—and chair of the Board—who has been instrumental in working with Rutgers School of Engineering to spearhead fundraising efforts to develop and secure Rutgers students’ future role in the industry, announced that donations in support of the program had reached $110,000 for the evening.

Thomas N. Farris, dean of Rutgers School of Engineering, Bernadette Farris, Charles Chang

Rutgers—which is Chang’s alma mater (he holds an MS in packaging science and engineering)—is the first school in the country to offer packaging within the School of Engineering rather than in traditional Arts & Sciences programs—and is the second oldest packaging engineering program in the country.

Goals for the program include becoming the largest and most premier in the U.S.—with plans to double the number of students in the undergraduate packaging program. Rutgers also plans to initiate a Master’s program in packaging engineering.


Collaboration with Industry

Another big announcement of the evening: An anonymous donor recently gifted $40 million to the university, with stipulations for 18 endowed chairs. Each matching donor now has the opportunity to name a chair for the half-price amount of $1.5 million. Chang strongly encouraged companies to band together to secure a seat in the packaging engineering program. “This will make the individual amount manageable,” said Chang. ”For instance, with five companies, each company could contribute $100,000 a year for three years total.”

Members of Rutgers Packaging Engineering Advisory Board: Philippe Bonningue, vice-president of corporate development & packaging—North America, L’Oréal, and Jamie Matusow

Thirty Rutgers students in attendance at Friday night’s dinner were presented with individual iPads from the Board to support them in their packaging engineering studies.

Thomas N. Farris, dean of Rutgers School of Engineering emphasized the importance of a partnership between Rutgers and the industry as far as revitalizing the school’s engineering program.

Echoing Farris’ thoughts, Michael J. Pazzani, vice president for research and economic development, Rutgers University, explained that it’s important for companies to bring their engineering/packaging problems to the school so students and professors have real-time problems to address.

As plans for the packaging engineering program move forward, sustainable packaging concerns continue to gain in importance. To address these needs and challenges, a number of the students attended a two-day packaging sustainability workshop at Rutgers on October 27-28, led by Todd Van Gordon from Colgate-Palmolive—and a Rutgers Packaging Engineering Advisory Board member.