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January-February 2017

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38 PalletCentral • January-February 2017 palletcentral.com ow do you make the NWCPA Pallet Design System™ (PDS), the world's most utilized and revolutionary pallet design software even better? You begin by hiring two consummate professionals with unique skillsets to help lead the charge. Starting in 1980, PDS is a result of the collaborative research and development efforts of NWPCA, the USDA Forest Service, Virginia Tech, Oregon State University and other allied organizations. Over 370 major pallet manufacturers in 16 countries around the world use PDS. Not an association content to sit on its laurels, NWPCA is already working on the next version of PDS through a recently announced expanded research partnership with Virginia Tech's Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design (CPULD) and Department of Sustainable Biomaterials. NWPCA has committed approximately $200,000 to Virginia Tech projects as part of a $1 million investment in advancing the unit load capabilities of PDS in 2017 and 2018. The new developments will specifically focus on state-of-the-art research on interactions and stresses between the pallet and supported containers (corrugated boxes, pails, drums and shipping sacks) at all phases of unit load handling, storage and transport, and the development of advanced structural analysis models of the entire unit load system (pallet, supported containers and load stabilizers). With an eye on the future and a goal of moving the software's design and functionality ever forward, enter professionals Kristen DeLack, PE and Farhad Shahabi, PHD, to the PDS team. Kristen DeLack, PE offers more than twenty years of diverse multi-disciplinary experience to future PDS development. Ms. DeLack possesses the highest education credentials with a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering, Virginia Tech, a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering (Summa Cum Laude), Virginia Tech, and a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering (Summa Cum Laude), Virginia Tech. She brings first person involvement throughout the entire design, engineering, manufacturing, construction and installation process for a wide range of innovative projects, which will make her a key contributor to the development of the engineering of PDS. Ms. DeLack also holds a patent on subsea oil pipelines (U.S. Patent # 7794177). Farhad Shahabi, PHD is a computational mechanics engineer with research and development experience in mechanics of materials and structures. His main focus is on developing multiscale finite element analysis software as a tool for a higher resolution material modeling for engineering applications through capturing the materials micro-structures physics in a computationally efficient H Ensuring That The Pallets Of Tomorrow Exceed The Pallets Of Today PDS Advancements and VT Partnership Research On March 9, 2017, an educational session on advancements in PDS and on how NWPCA and Virginia Tech are partnering for research will be presented during the NWPCA Annual Leadership Conference in Tucson, Arizona. Attend this session to discover what NWPCA is doing to ensure that the Pallet Design System™ (PDS) is the most used, cutting edge software in the USA and abroad. You will be introduced to NWPCA's two new talented structural engineers (read more about them on these pages), gain insight on new structural models that the PDS team is working on, and hear about strategic partnerships that are enhancing the reach and research capabilities of NWPCA. Researchers from Virginia Tech will join the session, and will present ongoing unit load design research and what it means for PDS. More information on the NWPCA Annual Leadership Conference (ALC) that includes the full conference schedule may be found at PalletCentral.com.

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