The Institute of Paper Chemistry Foundation (IPCF) has awarded Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute a grant of $300,000 for its Professional Master’s in Manufacturing Leadership (PMML) program, IPCF President Jim Ferris recently announced.

“We have supported both the concept and the development of the PMML program for several years and are pleased to provide this gift for second-year course development,” Ferris said.

The PMML program, designed for working engineers, is a four-quadrant course of study providing advanced education in manufacturing best practices, business acumen, leadership, and forest bioproducts technology.  The offerings are a result of a collaborative effort by the colleges of engineering and business. Georgia Tech plans to offer additional industry concentrations in future years, beginning with chemical processing in fall of 2016.

PMML director Christopher Luettgen said Foundation’s support has been critical since the inception of the program.

“Industries are continuing to benefit from the tremendous generosity of the Foundation,” he said. “This kind of support ensures the exponential growth we anticipate in the coming years and enables Georgia Tech to meet the growing need for online advanced education for working professionals.”

The support is a fitting legacy for the Foundation, according to Norman Marsolan, RBI executive director, who agrees that Foundation support has been a critical success factor throughout the development of the program.

“The PMML program represents innovation in pursuit of the Institute’s mission of developing leaders for the industry. It is a unique hybrid program reflecting today’s needs for bench strength in manufacturing leadership,” he said.

“IPCF’s early seed money in 2012 provided the financial assurance that enabled the development of the concept, including course development, the funding of professors and the financial backbone of the content production. Without that seed money, the program could not have gotten off the ground.”

The Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI) at Georgia Tech builds on nearly a century of lignocellulosics research at Georgia Tech—one of the nation's premier science, engineering and public research schools. RBI is advancing science and engineering for the transformation of biomaterials into new products, including traditional and new forest products, renewable energy, chemicals, advanced materials and pharmaceuticals.