Инженер General Motors Том Пикетт получил премию SPE за достижения в области композитных материалов

GM's Tom Pickett Wins 2026 SPE Lifetime Achievement Award Pickett, whose four-decade portfolio includes the development of fiberglass-reinforced composite automotive components, will be honored at the SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Gala on Nov. 4. Source | SPE Automotive Division Tom Pickett, lead materials engineer at General Motors Co. (Detroit, Mich., U.S.), has been named the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award winner by the Automotive Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE, Danbury, Conn., U.S.). Over more than 40 years at GM, Pickett’s work has spanned exterior, interior, powertrain and chassis applications, including long glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene running boards and a structural shifter housing made from 100% recycled glass-filled nylon 6/6, among several other projects credited with expanding composite and reinforced plastic material use on production vehicles. First given in 2001 by SPE’s Automotive Division, the Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals whose work in research, design or engineering has led to significant integration of polymeric materials on passenger vehicles. Pickett holds 11 patents, two trade secrets and four defensive publications spanning material processing, part assembly and design. His development work spans: - The long glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene running boards on the 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer and GMC Envoy. - A mechanical interlocking system designed to neutralize the coefficient of linear thermal expansion in elastomeric seals for electric vehicle battery box applications - A non-painted, slush-molded thermoplastic polyurethane skin for the 2003 Cadillac XLR that expanded the safe airbag deployment temperature range from -20-85°C to -40-107°C. He also introduced GM’s “first” use of recycled nylon in an engine port and what the company describes as the automotive industry’s first use of 100% recycled glass-filled nylon 6/6 in a structural shifter housing, deployed across the 2005 Saturn Ion, Vue, Chevrolet Equinox and Malibu. Pickett holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from College of the Holy Cross, a master’s in plastics engineering from University of Massachusetts Lowell and an MBA from University of Detroit Mercy. He has presented more than 60 technical papers on automotive plastics technology and has served more than 40 years with SPE’s Automotive Division and Detroit Section, including as chair and president. “His overall dedication, experience and contributions not only to GM, but to the industry as well, are remarkable,” says Frederick Deans, P.E., owner of Allied Composites Technology (Rochester Hills, Mich., U.S.) and the 2015 SPE Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, who nominated Pickett for the honor. Pickett will receive the award at the 55th annual SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Gala at Laurel Manor in Livonia, Mich., U.S., on Nov. 4, 2026, an event sponsored in part by Celanese Corp. (Irving, Texas, U.S.) that typically draws more than 600 OEM engineers, industry executives and media. Learn about the Lifetime Achievement Award, including 2024 and 2025 recipients, on CW. Related Content - Composites end markets: Automotive (2025)Composites manufacturing intelligence drives circular economy solutions as automotive industry balances technical demands with sustainability mandates. - Braided thermoplastic composite H2 tanks with co-consolidated molded boss areas to fit EV battery spaceBRYSON project demonstrates possible designs, automated manufacturing and low permeability concepts, including EVOH liner and novel PPA matrix. - Alef Aeronautics' composites-intensive flying car enters production phaseThe Model A Ultralight — a drive-and-fly eVTOL designed to lift off directly from public roads — marks the first step toward full-scale Model A manufacturing.