Making a Difference

2017 TAPPI/PIMA Awards

JAN BOTTIGLIERI

     There may be no feeling more satisfying than knowing our efforts have improved the professional lives of our peers and colleagues. Once again, Paper360° is pleased to showcase members of our industry who have done exactly that.

The individuals featured here include the winners of the TAPPI/PIMA national-level awards—the association’ s highest honors—as well as those receiving awards from several TAPPI Divisions. All of these awards were presented at a gala ceremony during this year’ s PaperCon in Minneapolis. (Other division awards are presented at events and conferences throughout the year.)

Recognizing scientific achievement, exemplary leadership, professional excellence, and service to the industry and community, these awards do more than honor the achievements of those receiving them; they remind us of the qualities that TAPPI members value. They also encourage us to consider those who have made a differ ence in our own pro-fessional lives—and to appreciate those whose efforts continue to strengthen our industry and benefit others. For many TAPPI Awards, nominations are open until August 1. Several national-level awards include generous honorariums funded by private donation. Visit www.tappi.org and choose the “ Get Involved” tab for more information on TAPPI Awards & Honors.

FOR SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT:

GUNNAR NICHOLSON

GOLD MEDAL AWARD

DR. HONGHI TRAN,

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

Whether mentoring students or publishing critical research, Dr. Honghi Tran’ s passion for knowledge-sharing shines through. His dedication has earned him one of TAPPI’ s highest honors: the 2017 Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal. Estab-lished in 1928, the GNGM 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.

Tran is a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto in Canada; he is the university’ s Frank Dottori Chair in Pulp and Paper Engineering and director of its Pulp & Paper Centre. He has been a member of TAPPI since 1980 and a TAPPI Fellow since 2000.

Tran is one of the world’ s leading experts on kraft chemical recovery processes and an authority on recovery boiler plugging and fouling. His research work, publications, and consulting activities have played a major role in advancingrecovery technology and the debottlenecking of pulp mills. Tran served as inaugural editor-in-chief of the Journal of Science and Technology for Forest Products and Processes(J-FOR). He has been an instructor of the TAPPI Kraft Recovery Course since 1986 and has chaired it since 2006. Tran has supervised/co-supervised more than 100 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and authored/co-authored more than 270 refereed papers; he holds eight patents.

Tran previously received the 2003 TAPPI Research & Development Technical Award and William H. Aiken Prize, the 2006 TAPPI Engineering Beloit Award, the 2013 PAPTAC John S. Bates Gold Medal, the 2014 International Chemical Recovery Conference (ICRC)’ s Lifetime Achievements and Contributions Award, and nearly 20 Best Conference Paper Awards.

He is vitally interested in seeing his research reach application. For instance, Tran’ s research group was responsible for the development of high-intensity sootblowing nozzles that greatly enhance cleaning ability in recovery boilers—technology that is now used in more than 95 percent of recovery boilers around the world.

FOR SERVICE LEADERSHIP:

HERMAN L. JOACHIM

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

TOM RODENCAL,

TOM RODENCAL & ASSOC.

As a volunteer leader, Tom Rodencal has shown a talent for program planning that truly benefits participants and the industry. In recognition of his tireless contributions, Rodencal has been named winner of the Herman L. Joachim Distin-guished Service Award. The HLJDSA was established to recognize an individual for voluntary leadership and support, in-cluding contributions that have significantly and demonstrably advanced the mission and vision of the association.

“ Tom’ s dedication and service to TAPPI have made him an invaluable asset,” said Larry N. Montague, TAPPI president and CEO. “ His contributions to the association have resulted in significant improvements to conferences, divisions, and committees that will last for generations to come.”

Rodencal is president of Tom Rodencal & Associates, an industry consulting firm. He began his participation with TAPPI in 1980 as a speaker at the Papermakers Conference. He has been a part of organizing TAPPI conference committees for more than 20 years and has served as conference chair for several high-level events. In 2001, Rodencal proposed a union between individual conferences that led to the formation of PaperCon, the world’ s largest technical conference for the paper and packaging industry. His idea became reality in 2008, and in that year he was conference chairman.

Rodencal also serves as an historian, and spearheaded the effort to reinstate the TAPPI Information Resource Library, which was officially reestablished in 2016. Among his many prizes and contributions, Rodencal has been awarded the Paper and Board Leadership and Service Award and Oscar May Prize, and the Technical Award and Harris O. Ware Prize. He has been a TAPPI Fellow since 2009 and served as a member of the TAPPI Board of Directors from 2009-2011.

For Local Section Service:

Paul Magnabosco

Outstanding Local

Section Member Award

GLENN HANSON,

INDUSTRIAL KILN & DRYER GROUP

Created to recognize those whose exceptional service has resulted in significant and measurable benefits to TAPPI Local Sections, the Paul W. Magnabosco Outstanding Local Section Member Award recognizes remarkable leadership and service to “ one or more” TAPPI Local Sections. This year’ s recipient, Glenn Hanson, has given new meaning to the phrase “ or more.”

Hanson has been a member of 10 different TAPPI Local Sections since 1997, serving in a number of capacities such as executive member, secretary, treasurer, vice chair, chair, past chair, and Local Section Officers Team. An active mem-bership advocate for more than two decades, Hanson’ s recent leadership of the 2015 Gulf Coast TAPPI meeting drew attendees from the southern US, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the UK and Australia—the largest number of attendees in several years.

Hanson works in technical sales for the Industrial Kiln & Dryer Group, providing aftermarket services on rotary equipment in pyro and grinding applications across North America. He has worked more than 20 years with a focus on lime recovery kiln systems in kraft pulp mills, is co-holder of a US Patent, and continues R&D work on lime recovery kiln applications.

In addition to his Local Section service, Hanson has developed and presented more than 50 Lime Recovery Kiln Process and Operations Seminars. He has also authored and co-authored numerous papers and presentations for TAPPI technical meetings and conferences, including the International Chemical Recovery Conference. Hanson has been a TAPPI member since 1991

FOR BUSINESS LEADERSHIP:

TAPPI/PIMA

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

MARK KOWLZAN, PACKAGING CORPORATION OF AMERICA

This honor is presented to senior-level executives in the pulp, paper, or converting industries for excellence in man-agement and outstanding contributions to the industry as a whole. Under the leadership of 2017 Executive of the Year Mark Kowlzan, PCA has grown larger and stronger, noted the 2017 Nominating Committee. The committee also recog-nized PCA’ s valuable support of industry student activities (such as Maine Paper Days and the TAPPI Student Summit), which has increased during Kowlzan’ s time as CEO.

Kowlzan has served as PCA’ s chairman since January 2016, and as chief executive officer and director since July 2010. From 1998-2010, Kowlzan led the company’ s containerboard mill system; from 1996-1998, he served in various senior mill-related operating positions with PCA and Tenneco Packaging, including as manager of the Counce linerboard mill. Prior to joining Tenneco Packaging, Kowlzan spent 15 years at International Paper, where he held a series of op-erational and managerial positions.

Key to PCA’ s recent growth have been the 2013 acquisition of Boise Inc. and the 2016 acquisition of independent corrugated products producer TimBar Corporation; both were successfully accomplished during Kowlzan’ s tenure as CEO.

WELCOME NEW TAPPI FELLOWS

Only a select group of members receive the distinguished title of TAPPI Fellow. The honor is conferred in recognition of meritorious service to the association and the industry. The TAPPI Fellow designation is also conferred upon recipients of the Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award and those who have served on TAPPI’ s Board of Directors upon completion of their term. TAPPI Fellows represent every area of TAPPI and hail from countries around the world, creating a truly global fellowship of men and women whose dedication, professionalism and high personal standards define the best of our industry. Eight new Fellows will join this elite group in 2017: