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Washington Pulp and Paper Foundation
 Paper Science & Engineering
College of Forest Resources
University of Washington

April 2009

 

2009 Annual Conference

We invite you to the Washington Pulp & Paper Foundation’s Annual Conference on May 28, at which time we will continue the tradition of creating a forum for students, faculty, alumni and paper industry members to re-connect and dialogue on issues shaping the industry’s future.  This year will be particularly informative as we discuss the formation of the College of the Environment. We begin at noon with our luncheon and a brief business meeting, including a reflection by College of Forest Resources Dean Bruce Bare on his association with the Foundation and its members.

At our afternoon program, join us for the poster session and research seminars featuring our students and their projects.

 At our banquet, we are spicing up the evening by inter-mixing fund raising auction items with the program.  The auction items have been donated by our faculty, alumni, and friends of the Foundation.   We are pleased that Bruce McIntyre, Partner and Canadian Leader, Forest and Packaging Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, has volunteered to give the keynote speech on the topic of sustainability for the pulp, paper and allied industry.


For more details and registration information, click here

 

 

Highlights from the 2008-09 Academic Year

 

RECRUITING

PSE 202 field trip to Tacoma Kraft Mill - Autumn 2008

We are very happy to report that 20 PSE freshmen enrolled in fall 2008, eighteen of whom are receiving WPPF scholarships! That brings us to a total undergraduate level of over 74 as we make steady progress toward our five-year goal of eighty undergrads with fifteen graduates per year.

The recruiting effort has been aided by the use of our recruiting DVD. Thanks to our Recruiting Committee, high school and community college recruiting for autumn term 2009 was strong as recruiting teams conducted regional information nights in Moses Lake, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Longview, Chehalispan Campus Day on December 6 connected several students and parents with our faculty, staff and facilities.

Recruiting has been aided with a growing interest in bio-refining and other pulp mill-based energy research being conducted at the University by the PSE faculty and the capstone senior design projects.

   

To view the PSE recruiting DVD, click here

 

CURRICULUM

The concepts of bio-fuels and bio-refining are being introduced to the PSE curriculum to provide our graduates knowledge of these important emerging technologies. Topics such as fuel grade ethanol from cellulose are introduced in the freshmen year (PSE201/202), then covered in more detail in the natural products chemistry class (PSE 406) and Topics in Bioenergy, Bioprocessing & Biofuels (PSE 490B). Last year’s senior design (PSE 487) included design concepts of ultrafiltration, hydrolysis and fermentation, and fuel grade ethanol production in addition to pulping, pulp properties and lignin recovery of wheat straw. The purpose of these modifications to the curriculum is to insure that our graduates are well-prepared to meet future industry needs.

 BUDGET CONCERNS & ACTIONS

 As the number of students on scholarship increases, so does the demand for contributions to the scholarship fund by our member companies.  In fact, the FY2009 budget calls for scholarship spending to increase to outpace our income.  In addition the earning from investment is projected to lower than expected.  To help offset the deficit and to encourage new membership and existing members to increase their level of contribution, Dean Bruce Bare and the College of Forest Resources have agreed to a new Matching Fund Agreement which will extend to June of 2011 with a maximum match of $25,000.  Thus, the Foundation will receive a 50% match for new membership donations and any increased level of donation from existing members.  Thank you Dean Bare!

In September 2008, the Awareness Committee held its third annual membership telethon.  The committee was awarded with $6,500 of a new membership from Nippon Paper industries USA, Ferguson and Northwest Procurement Solutions LLC.  

 

To balance the budget, several outreach projects are underway such as the auction at the Annual Banquet and alumni giving.  We held the first alumni outreach at the Kimberly-Clark Everett Mill in February and plan additional meetings with our alumni in Longview.  Alumni donations also receive a 50% match from Dean Bare’s agreement and provide the unique opportunity to multiply any new donation.  For example, if your company matches your contribution and the dean will match at 50% of both, then your gift has a $3 for $1 opportunity.

 

 

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS

 

Congratulations to PSE senior, Melissa Kaplan, who was awarded the 2008 Couch Pit University (CPU) Scholarship! Melissa is an honor student and has enjoyed summer internships at the Boise mill in International Falls, Minnesota last summer and the International Paper mill in Albany, Oregon in her summer 2007. She is planning on getting a Chemical Engineering degree in addition to her Paper Science and Engineering degree and has been active in the Women in Science and Engineering program. 


Prof. Rick Gustafson (left) and Tom Wolford (right) award Melissa Kaplan the CPU Scholarship

 CPU is a unique organization of papermakers who have attained the rank of paper machine superintendent (or higher) and have joined forces to contribute to the papermaking industry the knowledge and experience they have accumulated during their years of service. CPU is comprised of premier papermakers who have been nominated and elected by their peers, including active and retired papermakers and those who have moved to the supplier field. Their goals are to carry out the theme of “Perpetuate the art of Papermaking” and give back to the industry they love. CPU members represent nearly every paper company in the U.S. and many of the supplier firms. While CPU maintains its own board of officers, elects its members, and establishes its own rules, it also functions as a PIMA Professional Specialists Group, and all CPU members are PIMA members. The $1500 CPU scholarship is awarded to a deserving student at one of the paper schools chosen on a rotating basis.

The Washington Pulp and Paper Foundation is a vigorous and enterprising organization of member companies, alumni and friends centered at the University of Washington. Our mission is to provide the paper and allied industries with outstanding graduates who have breadth and depth of knowledge, make immediate contributions and are future leaders.

  Thank you for your support of the Washington Pulp & Paper Foundation and the Paper Science & Engineering program.
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