The Paper Science and Engineering Faculty Committee is granting eight new PSE fellowship awards beginning this fall, in addition to the four announced previously. The committee reviewed a total of 27 applications. Proposals were required to align with the strategic priorities of the forest bioproducts industry. Of the 12 awards this year, two are in Chemistry, four in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, four in Material Sciences Engineering and two in Mechanical Engineering. All of this year’s awards are for doctorate work.

“I thank everyone who submitted a proposal and wish that we could support all of the excellent research projects submitted,” said IPST Director Norman Marsolan. “These fellowship awards represent a wide variety of topics, all of which are relevant to our forest bioproducts industry.”

The newly announced fellowships include:

• Direct Analysis and Tracking of Crystal Formation in Black Liquor Evaporators – Dr. Cyrus Aidun, ME
• Novel Liquid-Phase Plasma Technology for Fatty Acids and Microstickies Removal in Waste Water Treatment and Deinking of Inkjet Printed Paper – Dr. Jeff Hsieh, ChBE
• Optimal Resource Balancing and Factory Loading for Energy Cost Reduction in the Pulp and Paper Industry – Dr. Roger Jiao, ME
• Carbon Fibers from Lignin/Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Composites – Dr. Satish Kumar, MSE
• Enhancing Cellulose Reactivity for Dissolving Grade Pulps via Pulping – Dr. Art Ragauskas, Chem
• Mechanisms and Control of Erosion Corrosion in Evaporators and Concentrators – Dr. Preet Singh, MSE
• Low-Cost Carbide-Derived Carbons for Absorptive Removal of VOCs from Air Streams – Dr. Krista Walton, ChBE
• Near-dry Forming of Paper/Pulp Products with a Viscoelastic Aqueous Polymer Solution – Dr. Donggang Yao, MSE, Dr. Yulin Deng, ChBE.