Making a Difference: Meet our 2024 Award Winners

Recognizing exemplary leadership, scientific achievement, professional excellence, and service to their industry and community, TAPPI National- and Division-level awards honor our industry’s best and remind us of the qualities that TAPPI members value. Not content with “business as usual,” these professionals have gone above and beyond to make a difference for our industry.

These awards were presented during this year’s TAPPICon in Cleveland, OH. Visit tappi.org and choose the “Get Involved” tab to learn more about TAPPI Awards & Honors—consider nominating someone who has made a difference for you or your company!

For Scientific Achievement: GUNNAR NICHOLSON GOLD MEDAL AWARD

Dr. Seyhan Nuyan, Ph.D.

Valmet (retired)

Dr. Nuyan is a pioneer of developing advanced paper quality measurement and control solutions and holds several control system patents. With notable contributions in quality measurement and control solutions for moving sheet processes, he is a well-respected speaker at conferences worldwide and a prolific author.

A TAPPI member since 1987, Dr. Nuyan was named a TAPPI Fellow in 2015, won the Process Control Division’s Leadership and Service Award in 2018, and was Steering Committee chair for PaperCon 2018. He received the 2008 Jasper Mardon Memorial Prize and the Division’s Best Paper Awards for 2008 and 2018. He is also a PAPTAC member and contributed to its “Theory & Practice of Papermaking” courses over a 15-year period. In 2005, at the end of his residency in Finland, Dr. Nuyan received a presidential medal of honor: Knight, First Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland.

Established in 1928, the Gold Medal is granted to those who have made preeminent scientific and engineering achievements of proven applied benefit to the world’s pulp, paper, board, and forest product industries.

For Service Leadership: HERMAN L. JOACHIM DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

Paula Hajakian

Principal Technical Specialist in Paper

United States Gypsum Company

Hajakian has been a paper industry professional for more than 38 years—including 18 with USG. Previous experiences include stints with WestRock (Rock-Tenn Company), Simkins Industries, Newark Atlantic Paperboard, and Kemira Oyj (Akzo Chemicals).

The Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual for voluntary leadership and support, including contributions that have significantly and demonstrably advanced the mission and vision of the association.

A TAPPI Fellow, Hajakian is the recipient of the Women in Industry (WIN) Division’s 2021 “Woman of the Year” Award and 2022 Leadership and Service Award. She currently serves as Steering Committee chair for TAPPICon and has advanced through the chair positions for several Divisions and Committees. She is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, has authored or coauthored nine patents, and presented papers at numerous conferences.

For Business Leadership: TAPPI/PIMA EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

Ken Liu

Chief Executive Officer

ND Paper

Presented to seniorlevel executives in the pulp, paper, or converting industries for excellence in management and outstanding contributions to the industry, this is TAPPI’s highest honor for industry executives. Liu leads the daily operations for the US division of Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited, the largest containerboard producer in China and Asia with US$10 billion annual sales.

Under Liu’s leadership, ND Paper recently launched a state-of-the-art, 1,400 metric tpd OCC pulping facility in Biron, WI. Prior to his position as CEO of ND Paper, Liu served as vice chairman at America Chung Nam (ACN), Nine Dragons’ sister company and primary supplier.

Liu graduated cum laude when he earned his Artium Baccalaureus (Bachelor of Arts) in government from Harvard University.

TJ Honors Best Research Papers for 2023

Each year, the TAPPI Journal (TJ) Editorial Board honors the best of TJ content by nominating and voting for the TAPPI Journal Best Research Paper, selected based on scientific merit, innovation, creativity, and clarity. This year’s honored paper is titled “Pilot scale black liquor concentration using pressure driven membrane separation.” Authored by Sam Rae (pictured) and co-authored by Ella V. Richards, Max Kleiman-Lynch, Brent D. Keller, and Brandon I. MacDonald, the paper appeared in the April, 2023 issue. Rae is a chemical engineer, Richards is Materials and Testing team lead, Kleiman-Lynch is a process engineer, Keller is CTO and co-founder, and MacDonald is director of product, all for Via Separations in Watertown, MA.

In addition to receiving Best Research Paper honors as primary author, Rae will also receive TJ’s Honghi Tran award. The US$2,000 cash prize is endowed by Professor Emeritus Honghi Tran, Ph.D., of the University of Toronto, the author and co-author of more than 80 papers published in TJ. All industry researchers are invited to submit research for consideration. Visit tappi.org/tjsubmit for details. All papers appearing in TJ are available for download at tappi.org.

Welcome New TAPPI Fellows

TAPPI 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. We welcome 11 new Fellows in the Class of 2024:

TAPPI Young Professionals of the Year

This annual honor identifies aspiring young leaders in the global forest products, pulp, paper, tissue, packaging, and associated industries. These early-career professionals have made significant contributions to the forest products industries in the following areas: leadership, community service, and problem-solving contributions to scientific or engineering projects. TAPPI has selected three recipients for 2024:

Özlem Akdoğan

Principal Scientist – ESG

Sustainable Packaging R&D

The Kraft Heinz Company

Stephen Bussa

Area Sales Manager

Axchem USA

Seth Gulledge

Paper Machine Optimization

Lead Domtar