TAPPI has announced its 2012 TAPPI Fellows. Fellow is an honorary title bestowed upon a small percentage of TAPPI’s membership and is given to individuals who have made extraordinary technical or service contributions to the industry and/or the Association. The following 10 individuals have been named 2012 TAPPI Fellows:

• Davide R. Friedman, president, Fibre Tech Packaging Solutions LLC – A 30-year veteran of the packaging industry he began his career at American Pouch Foods and worked for Stone Container Corp. for several years before joining General Mills in 1985 where he served as senior packaging scientist. In 2010, he retired and formed Fibre Tech Packaging Solutions LLC. A 1977 Graduate of Michigan State University he holds a B.S. Degree in Secondary Education and did graduate studies at the MSU School of Packaging. Friedman has been an active member of TAPPI and has held numerous positions including serving on the Board of Directors Operating Committee and as Corrugated Division chairman. He holds three patents, has been published in Packaging Magazine, R&D Associates Magazine, and at the University of Wisconsin’s Forest Products Lab, and contributed to numerous technical information sheets. He specializes in the corrugated converting process and how it affects package performance in the real world including structural design, development of performance based specifications and distribution and supply chain damage.   

• Dr. Cyril Heitner, FPInnovations - He joined Paprican (now FPInnovations) as an Industrial Post-doctoral Fellow in 1970, became a member of the staff in 1972, and worked there until his retirement in 2006. He’s a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada and the International Academy of Wood Science and a member of PAPTAC, the American Chemical Society, and the Order of Chemists of Quebec. Dr. Heitner has won two Weldon Medals, the TAPPI Best Research Paper Award, and the PAPTAC Douglas Atack Award. He received his B.S. in chemistry from Sir George Williams University, M.S. in physical organic chemistry from Dalhousie University, and Ph.D. in organic photochemistry from McGill University. Dr. Heitner’s scientific achievements are in the area of lignin modification to produce high-quality, ultra high-yield pulps. He contributed to research on the effects of sulfonation on lignin softening, fiber length distribution and interfiber bonding. Working with R. Beatson, he was the first to determine the mechanism of lignin sulfonation in wood fiber. He also made significant contributions to the chromophore chemistry of lignin-containing pulp and paper.

• Ian A. Journeaux, manager, Process Technology, NewPage Corp., Wisconsin Rapids, WI – Prior to joining NewPage in 2000 he was technical manager, process engineering and diagnostics, Mead Corp., Chillicothe, OH, and held several positions with International Paper. He has served as TAPPI Process Control Division technical program chairman since 2005. He was also chairman, TAPPI Process Control Committee, and, in 2009, was awarded the TAPPI Process Control Division Leadership and Service Award. In 2010, with Dr Shih-Chin Chen, ABB, Columbus, OH, he received the Jasper Mardon Memorial Prize for Best Papermaking Technology Paper. He received his B.A.Sc. in chemical engineering from University of Waterloo, M.S. in paper science from the Institute of Paper Chemistry, and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from McGill University.

• S. Jerry Popson, chairman, Technidyne Corp., New Albany, IN - Before founding Technidyne Corp., Popson worked for The Martin Sweets Co. and Diano Corp. in the design, manufacturing, and marketing of optical properties testing instrumentation for the pulp and paper industry. Under his leadership, Technidyne grew from a small company to the world’s leading optical properties measurement company. He served as chairman of the TAPPI Optical Properties Committee for 20 years. His contributions to the industry also include authoring and maintaining numerous industry standards, technical paper presentations, and conducting numerous workshops. In addition, he served for several years as USA Expert on Optical Properties for ISO and was a paper industry representative for ASTM (American Society for Testing of Materials), ISCC (Inter-Society Color Council), and CIE (Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage). Popson holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Louisville.

• Dr. Melur K. Ramasubramanian, professor, North Carolina State University, and program director, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA - He began his career in the industry with James River Corp., working in Neenah, WI, and at the James River Corp. Packaging Technology Center in Milford, OH. He then joined NCSU as assistant professor of mechanical engineering and was associate professor of wood and paper science before becoming a full professor. In 2009 he was awarded the Fulbright Fellowship and named program director, Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program, National Science Foundation, where he currently serves. A renowned expert in low-density papers such as tissue and towel grades his notable achievements includes the design of a unique laboratory creping device at NCSU and development of an objective measurement of softness. He has three patents related to tissue manufacturing. He also conducted pioneering work in paperboard brim forming and converting machine design and developed a method for ultrasonic deinking of thermally fused inks from xerographic papers. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and has published more than 70 papers in journals, conferences, book chapters, and magazines. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and M.S. in Paper Science and Engineering from Miami University, Oxford, OH, and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Syracuse University.

•  Nancy Ross Sutherland, head, Paper Test Lab, Forest Products Laboratory – Sutherland earned a B.S. in Wood and Fiber Utilization from Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Washington State University, Pullman, WA. She has worked for the Forest Service since joining the Forest Products Laboratory in 1989 as a Forest Product Technologist for the Composites Unit. She has held leadership positions in the TAPPI Process and Product Quality Division, is currently a Member at Large on the P&PQ Division Steering Committee and is active in the Paper and Board Division as well. She’s served on the Fun Run committee at PaperCon for the last seven years and is currently Planning Committee Chair. Nancy is a member of American Society of Testing Materials Committee D06 on Paper and Paper Products, currently serving as vice-chair, and is also active in Technical Committee (TC 6) of the International Standards Organization (ISO).

• Dr. Gary M. Scott, professor and chair, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY - He has a B.S. in Paper Science and Engineering and Computer Information Systems from the University of Wisconsin--Stevens Point, and M.S. in Computer Sciences and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He began his career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture--Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory in 1993. He joined the faculty of the PBE Department at SUNY-ESF in 1998, where he rose to the rank of professor, served as associate chair of the department and then was appointed chair in 2007. In 2009 he was appointed director of engineering for SUNY-ESF. His research work involves biotechnological processing such as fungal pretreatment for the production of mechanical and chemical pulps and use of ligninolytic enzymes for bleaching. He’s currently involved in the extraction of hemicellulose from wood for the co-production of chemicals and biofuels. As a member of TAPPI he has worked with the Recycling Committee, International Research Management Committee, been chair of the Contaminants Subcommittee, and serves on the TAPPI Board of Directors. Gary is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE).

•  Paul M. Tucker, manager, energy and chemical recovery solutions, International Paper Co. - Paul has worked for International Paper for 30 years and in his current position is responsible for leadership of the company's energy consumption and cost reduction program, energy investment strategy development, and optimization of the company's chemical recovery systems. Tucker has long been an active participant in the TAPPI Engineering Division including serving as division chairman and chairman of the Steam and Power Committee. He worked on the Operations Council where he led a revenue improvement task force and is serving on the Leadership Council. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is a licensed professional engineer.

• Dr. Richard Venditti, professor, Department of Forest Biomaterials, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC – At NCSU he teaches Chemical Process Control, Unit Operations of Pulp and Paper, and Life Cycle Analysis and is director of the Hands-on Workshop for Pulp and Paper Basics co-sponsored by NCSU and TAPPI. His research group’s goal is to develop and understand systems for the effective utilization of renewable resources to produce sustainable products, including polymeric materials and biofuels. His research interests include novel bio-based product materials, biofuels, paper recycling, and life cycle analysis of renewable materials. He is a member of the American Chemical Society and American Center for Life Cycle Assessment. He was named The Investigator of the Year in 2001 by the AF&PA Containerboard Group Technical Division for his research in paper recycling. In 2009, he received a Fulbright Senior Specialist in Environmental Science for travel to South Africa and in 2010 was awarded the Association for the Concerns of African American Graduate Students Advocacy Award at NCSU. He received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University and B.S. degrees in Pulp and Paper Technology and in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University.  

• Dr. Peter W. Hart, senior research engineer and senior technical manager, MeadWestvaco, Raleigh, NC, and Chillicothe, OH - Since joining MeadWestvaco in 1993, he’s held a variety of senior roles at mills in Wickliffe, KY and Evadale, TX, in addition to working at the Packaging Innovation Center in Raleigh, NC. He has also been an Adjunct Professor at NCSU since 2006. Prior to working for his current company he was an instructor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Paducah Community College in Paducah, KY. He’s edited five books, published numerous technical papers, and made many industry conference presentations. He’s a member of the Editorial Boards of TAPPI Journal and Frontline Focus, served on the Future Leaders Task Force at TAPPI, and been a member of the Board of Directors and vice chair of Southeastern TAPPI. Hart received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Pulp and Paper Technology and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maine and holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The new TAPPI Fellows will be honored at the TAPPI Fellows Luncheon, Sunday, April 22, 2012 held in conjunction with the PaperCon 2012 meeting in New Orleans.

For more information, visit www.tappi.org.