Would-be MBA students getting ready to take the GMAT might be in for a little surprise when they show up at the testing center. In addition to all the usual security measures—including video monitoring and the computer adaptive test itself—test takers will soon be asked to submit to a new one: a biometric device that uses an infared light to capture the test-taker’s unique “palm vein pattern.”

Pearson VUE, the company that administers the GMAT for the Graduate Management Admission Council, plans to announce the new security effort tomorrow, but BusinessWeek got a sneak peak at it today.

The Fujitsu “PalmSecure” device will be rolled out next month at 16 testing centers in India and Korea for GMAT candidates. It goes live in the U.S. this fall, and when fully deployed will be used in 400 facilities in 107 countries by May 2009.

The announcement comes as the b-school world is embroiled in a cheating scandal involving the GMAT–users of a now-defunct test prep Web site, Scoretop.com, have been accused by GMAC of using it to post and access live test questions, and GMAC has said it will cancel the test scores of anyone who violated its rules.

But the new security measure is designed to stop a different kind of cheating–the use of professional test takers, or proxies, to take the exam on behalf of someone else. GMAC’s been burned by this type of cheater before. Back in 2003, it busted a half dozen people who took the GMAT for others for about $5,000 a pop. GMAC canceled 166 scores as a result, and five of the six imposters ended up at Rikers.

More : businessweek.com

The society of Plastics Engineers honored 15 SPE Senior Members during the 2001 ANTEC by designating them Fellows of the Society. Last month, we profiled eight of the honorees; here are the remaining seven.

Dr. Shau-Tarng Lee, director, Research & Development, Sealed Air Corporation, Saddle Brook, New Jersey, received this honor for his effort to make foam more environmentally sound. Dr. Lee developed carbon dioxide as the sole blowing agent for thick and special application PE foam products. He developed a carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon foaming agent mixture to improve the safety status of hydrocarbon foam extrusion operations, and to reduce hydrocarbon emissions. His development of HCFC-22 to replace CFC-12 for PE foam extrusion and thus reduce ozone depletion allowed Sealed Air to remain a producer of environmentally friendly foams. He introduced volatile ethane as the blowing agent to replace butane and propane for low-density PE foam sheets. Dr. Lee observed shear effects on nucleation for foam-enhanced devolatilization in batch experiments. From this, foam die design technology was greatly improved by the balanced consideration of rheology and foaming. A member of the Society since 1983, Dr. Lee is affilia ted with the Palisades Section and the Thermoplastic Materials & Foams Division of SPE. Costas Gogos and Elliott L. Weinberg sponsored him. He holds seven patents and has several pending, edited Foam Extrusion: Principles and Practices, has contributed nearly 70 technical articles on foam, and has presented seminars both in the U.S. and in Taipei. He received a bachelor of engineering degree in industrial chemistry from National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan, and a master’s degree in engineering and PhD from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Peter G. Pape, retired associate industry scientist, Dow Coming Corporation, Midland, Michigan, was recognized for using the chemistry of silane coupling agents and the unique properties of silicone polymers to make improvements in plastics materials. Since fiberglass-reinforced plastics are neither very strong nor durable without coupling agents, it has been Mr. Pape’s work to optimize silane technology for each specific application to give improved physical properties, increased environmental resistance, high temperature resistance, and improved electrical properties. In applications to glass-reinforced epoxy printed circuit boards, which affect calculators, cell phones, and computers, his work solved the industry’s concern with interfacial failure in making defect-free components. He introduced new ultrahigh-molecular weight silicone additives to thermoplastics, which improve lubrication, abrasion resistance, surface appearance, and processing. He is responsible for the commercialization of the Sioplas[R] process, which uses the moisturereactivity of silanes to crosslink thermoplastics with water. This allows the use of simple and low-cost extrusion lines, and has led to more versatile formulations of wire and cable, heat-resistant pipe, film, foam and other crosslinked products. A member of the Society since 1983, Mr. Pape is affiliated with the Mid-Michigan Section and the Polymer Modifiers & Additives Division of SPE. Ernest A. Coleman and David Riley were his sponsors. He has presented or published 70 technical papers, book chapters, and encyclopedia articles, and lectured at short courses on adhesion and coupling agents. He holds a BS in chemistry and mathematics from Alma College, an MS in organic chemistry from The Ohio State University, with additional graduate studies at Michigan State University and Saginaw Valley State University.