College of Agriculture & Natural Resources School of Packaging

Active Packaging Course Fall
This is a 2-day intensive course on active packaging. It includes lectures, discussions, and hands-on laboratory sessions on different types of active packaging including antimicrobial packaging, oxygen-removing packaging, antioxidant packaging, modified water packaging, ethylene-removing packaging.

Food Packaging Basics Course Fall
This hands-on workshop is designed for those who have a role in managing packaging for food and related operations within their organizations.  The workshop will offer full insight in all aspects of food packaging including function, materials, systems and processes, shelf life estimation, active packaging, modified atmosphere packaging, distribution, food security and more!  You will leave this course better prepared to implement functional design elements and sustainability practices to your company’s packaging and related operations.

Health Care Packaging Immersion Experience Fall (every 2 or 3 years)
The Healthcare Packaging Immersion Experience is a unique educational event which brings together medical device packaging professionals and healthcare practitioners in a state-of-the-art healthcare simulation facility at Michigan State University.

MSU is the only university in the world that brings together the Colleges of Human Medicine, Nursing, Osteopathic Medicine and Veterinary Medicine on one campus. The new Learning and Assessment Center (LAC) at MSU is a result of the collaborative vision of these colleges. This unique multi-college organization allows for better efficiency, new cross-college collaborations and the opportunity to model aspects of team care so important to achieving optimal patient outcomes and improving our healthcare system. The Healthcare Packaging Immersion Experience is a collaboration between the LAC (Human Medicine, Nursing, Osteopathic Medicine, Veterinary Medicine), MSU's world renowned School of Packaging, and a distinguished panel of experts from across the medical packaging industry.

You will witness a simulated surgery, including the preparation of the operating room and medical device, an emergency department trauma event and (new this year) an obstetrics event that occurs in the back of an ambulance. Following the simulations, you and the other senior level packaging professionals will have a facilitated round-table discussion with the doctors, nurses and paramedics to analyze the performance of the packaging in these contrasting environments.

Packaging Basics Spring
This hands-on workshop is designed for all levels of industry professionals that have a role in managing packaging and related operations within their organizations seeking a formal background in packaging concepts. The workshop will offer full insight in all aspects of packaging including function, materials, systems and processes, distribution, and more! You will leave this course better prepared to implement virtual design and sustainability practices to your company’s packaging and related operations.  This course is taught by School of Packaging Professors and Instructors and is reflective of the same core content instilled in our Undergraduate curriculum. The workshop is a total of 32 hours of content, including many networking opportunities with course participants.  Class size is limited so sign up today!

Packaging Logistics and Supply Chain Management Spring
This is a 2-day intensive course on packaging logistics. The course addresses both concepts as well as methodology for practitioners in packaging consulting and industry. The course teaches how to formulate effective supply chain strategy and solve any resulting supply chain problems using available analytical tools. The class aims to develop an understanding of the following key areas and their interrelationships: the strategic role of a supply chain, the key strategic drivers of supply chain performance, and analytical methodologies for supply chain analysis. The course mainly focuses on building a strategic framework to analyze supply chain, designing the supply chain network, planning and coordinating demand and supply in a supply chain, and planning and managing inventories in a supply chain.

Lectures & Seminars

Annual Aaron Brody Distinguished Lecture in Food Packaging Spring or Fall
This endowment was created by family and friends of Aaron L. Brody, Ph.D. and Carolyn Brody in recognition of Aaron’s lifelong achievements in Food Packaging.  The expendable portion of the funds will be used to establish and fund the “Aaron Brody Distinguished Lecture in Food Packaging”, which will be an annual event hosted by the School of Packaging.  Aaron Brody has been a pioneer in the development of new technologies in food packaging, disseminator of information to both technical and non-technical audiences and a teacher as well.  While Aaron is not an alumnus of MSU, he is a friend of the program and a colleague to many of the School’s faculty. Notifications on this seminar will be posted on the School's Facebook and Linked In groups.  As long as the presenter agrees, the seminar will be broadcast via ZOOM to a global audience (registration will be required.)

Packaging Executive Forum  Fall or Spring
With fluctuating topics each year, the Packaging Executive Forum consists of the dissemination of the latest research portfolio from the Center of Packaging Innovation and Sustainability. Attendees are able to hear from the researchers about the topic and progress of each project. In addition, the Forum also includes a networking reception and a home football game! 

Seminar Series Fall and Spring
The School of Packaging Seminar Series was initiated in 2010 to encourage the exchange of ideas across different disciplines as they apply to packaging.  The goal is to provide a forum for faculty researchers and students to discuss advances in packaging science and specific research needs that will strengthen the packaging discipline. Each year we also invite distinguished professionals from Michigan and across the United States to the School to give presentations on topics of current interest. The variety of the seminars presented is crucial to the success of our Seminar Series. Attendance to the seminars is complimentary and no reservations are required.

For more information, please contact Cimberly Weir at cimberly@msu.edu or 517-353-6797.