Hanjiang (John) Xu serves as director of the Multiphase Forming Lab at Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI), where he leads efforts to advance more efficient and sustainable approaches to paper formation. 

The Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI) has announced its newest cohort of 12 fellowship projects, an expansion that reflects both growing interest and a broader vision for bioproducts research at Georgia Tech.  

With a Ph.D. in Environmental and Resource Engineering from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and earlier degrees in pulping and paper engineering from the South China University of Technology, Yang brings decades of experience in wood chemistry, chemical analysis, analytical method development, and lab management. He joined Georgia Tech in 2000 and has since taken on increasing leadership roles across RBI’s lab operations.

Yang’s work sits at the intersection of research and industry. His team provides research, chemical testing and analysis for manufacturers working with biomass—everything from pulp and paper mills to research groups developing new bio-based products. The goal is straightforward: understand what’s in the material, how it behaves, and how to make processes more efficient and reliable.

Today, he oversees research and testing services that support both industry partners and academic communities. These services range from chemical composition analysis to process troubleshooting, helping companies better understand materials derived from biomass and optimize their operations.

In addition to leading lab operations, Yang also teaches the Pulp & Bleaching Lab course at Georgia Tech, giving students hands-on experience with the same analytical techniques used in industry. As industries continue to look for more efficient and environmentally responsible ways to use natural resources, Yang’s work and his labs play a critical role in making that transition possible.

Learn more about the Chemical Analysis Lab and Pulp Analysis Lab.

Jie Wu, an engineering graduate student, was studying a type of striking white beetle found in Southeast Asia and attempting to figure out how to mimic its brilliant color when an unexpected discovery upended the experiment.

Jie and I had been hoping to identify naturally occurring whitening pigments that could be used in paper and paints. The beetle’s white exoskeleton is made from a compound called chitin, which is a type of carbohydrate – one that is also commonly found in crab and lobster shells.

Read the full article in The Conversation here: https://bit.ly/4uBteYr

Georgia’s forest industry has long been a pillar of the state’s rural economy. But in recent years, mill closures and shifting markets have put pressure on landowners, workers, and entire communities, particularly in south Georgia. A recently approved $8.9 million Georgia Forestry Innovation Initiative will help chart a new path forward, creating more value from Georgia’s abundant forest resources and expanding opportunities for the people and regions depending on them. 

The Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI) has appointed two additional Strategic Initiative Leaders (SILs) to help shape the next phase of its research and engagement strategy: Joel Kostka and Titiksha Fernandes. 

Read more »

Read the Report here.

ATLANTA, Georgia (August 25, 2025) -- Legacies in Paper: Nancy Cohen, Sara Garden Armstrong, & Helen Hiebert is on view at the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking, September 4, 2025, through January 30, 2026. The exhibit brings together the work of three artists who have incorporated hand papermaking into their artistic practices for years. Nancy Cohen, Sara Garden Armstrong, and Helen Hiebert each describe a formative period of searching for versatile materials with the ability to take on the qualities required for two and three-dimensional work; could mimic textures of nature and the body; and could facilitate installation work of various scales. Individually, each artist found that the unique medium of hand papermaking could be transformed to encompass their visions, and it quickly became integral to their artwork. 

Armstrong, Cohen, and Hiebert build on the legacy of a community of artists pushing the craft of papermaking forward into contemporary forms. They bring unique voices to the medium: Hiebert’s luminous constructions explore the interplay of light and structure; Cohen’s sculptural works reflect ecological fragility and resilience; and Armstrong’s immersive environments blur the boundaries between the organic and the engineered. Together, their works speak to the transformative potential of paper—not only as a surface for expression but as a sculptural, spatial, and conceptual force. Through their hands, paper becomes a language of memory, a vessel of emotion, and a bridge between past and present. 

Join the museum staff and featured artists for a reception, 4-7 pm, Thursday, September 4, 2025 at 500 Tenth St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30332. This event is free and open to the public.

A full listing of associated programs can be found at https://paper.gatech.edu/program-listing 

Sara Garden Armstrong received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Alabama and a Master of Art Education from UAB. A past recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation CALL (Creating a Living Legacy) project, Armstrong’s national and international exhibition record extends over a period of more than 40 years. Her artist’s books can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, among others. Atrium commissions have focused on scientific phenomena and their interactions with the human condition. Armstrong currently lives and works in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Nancy Cohen has an M.F.A. from Columbia University and a B.F.A from Rochester Institute of Technology. Awards include a Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant, The Murry Reich Distinguished Artist Award and six fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Museum collections include the Asheville Art Museum, Memphis Brooks Museum, Montclair Museum, NJ State Museum, Smith College Museum, Tang Teaching Museum, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Yale University Art Gallery and the Zimmerli Museum. Cohen has completed large scale paper installations for the Noyes Museum, the Katonah Museum, the Power Point Gallery at Duke University and New Jersey City University, The CODA Museum in the Netherlands and the NTCRI Museum of Craft Design in Taiwan. She lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Helen Hiebert is a Colorado artist who constructs installations, sculptures, films, artists’ books and works in paper using handmade paper as her primary medium. She teaches, lectures and exhibits her work internationally and online, and is the author of several how-to books about papermaking and papercrafts. Helen has an extensive network of paper colleagues around the world and her interest in how things are made (from paper) keeps her up-to-date on current paper trends, which she writes about in her weekly blog called The Sunday Paper. She interviews papermakers and paper artists on her podcast Paper Talk, and she holds an annual paper retreat and papermaking master classes in her Red Cliff studio.

Tong’s current research interests include functional biomaterials for a high-efficiency circular economy, platform chemicals and hydrocarbon fuels from renewable resources, sustainable process control and modeling, nano-biomaterial synthesis and self-assembly, and polymer degradation and recycling.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Changsha University of Science and Technology in China and her doctoral degree in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research spans multiple disciplines, including materials, nanotechnology, energy, and sustainability.

Below is a brief Q&A with Tong, where she discusses her research focus areas and how they contribute to maximizing the waste valorization in the food-energy-water initiative at Georgia Tech.

• What is your field of expertise and at what point in your life did you first become interested in this area?

My expertise lies in sustainable materials and catalytical conversion, with a focus on transforming abundant and low-cost bioresources into functional biomaterials, biochemicals, and biofuels. Driven by a strong desire to conduct meaningful research, I aim to contribute to advancements in human health, food security, and environmental sustainability, addressing critical issues such as climate change, water scarcity, and the circular economy. 

• What questions or challenges sparked your current renewable bioproducts research? What are the big issues facing your research area right now?

The current economy faces significant challenges, including depleting resources, expensive raw materials, energy-intensive processes, and severe environmental impacts. Research in renewable bioproducts is crucial for addressing these issues. However, renewable bioproducts are still not competitive with petroleum-based products. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to minimize energy and material input during the processing and maximize product value without compromising environmental health.

• What interests you the most in leading the research initiative on waste valorization in food-energy-water? Why is your initiative important to the development of Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts research strategy?

I am interested in valorizing low-cost and underutilized biomass waste (lignocellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, etc.) into value-added functional products for applications in the food, water, and energy sectors, such as bio-based membranes for contaminant removal and detection. My initiative aims to build connections among multidisciplinary experts from chemical engineering, environmental engineering, agricultural engineering, industrial and systems engineering, and other fields. Polymer chemistry, nanotechnology, and data science all play roles in achieving our goal. My research topic aligns very well with RBI’s central strategic research areas, including the development of a bioeconomy, industrial decarbonization, and sustainable development goals.

• What are the broader global and social benefits of the research you and your team conduct on waste valorization in food-energy-water  initiative?

We work on increasing the value of bio-based waste for bioproducts to provide clean water, improve food security, and minimize energy input. First, this promotes the efficient use of biomass resources and minimizes waste generation to form a circular economy. Second, it contributes to industrial decarbonization by providing alternative, renewable sources of energy and materials. Third, the utilization of bio-based waste supports several aspects of sustainable development by simultaneously addressing challenges such as waste variability, technological limitations, and economic viability.

• What are your plans for engaging a wider Georgia Tech faculty pool with the broader renewable bioproducts community?

I plan to leverage symposia from RBI and other sources, as well as existing sustainable centers like the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, social events, and established networks. Additionally, I will reach out to other faculty through collaborations on integrated proposals from RBI and external sources.

• What are your hobbies?

In my leisure time, I enjoy baking and cooking. I also enjoy traveling with my family.

• Who has influenced you the most?

I have been influenced by several of my professors during my undergraduate and graduate studies and my first department chair at the University of Florida. Their continuous encouragement and support have been instrumental in shaping my academic career in sustainable chemistry and engineering.

These materials are the tiny building blocks powering modern life. From lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite in batteries to gallium in telecommunication systems that enable constant connectivity, critical minerals act as the essential vitamins of modern technology: small in volume but vital to function.

Yet the U.S. depends heavily on imports for most critical materials. In 2024 the U.S. imported 80% of rare earth elements it used, 100% of gallium and natural graphite, and 48% to 76% of lithium, nickel and cobalt, to name a few.

Read more »

Highlights included talks on membrane separations, electrochemical processing and low-carbon fuels, with contributions from experts such as Chris Luettgen, Jose Gonzalez, Sankar Nair, Marta Hatzell and Dave Beck.

Insights from the 2025 RBI Spring Workshop

• Revolutionizing Kraft Pulping with Graphene Oxide Membranes
  Georgia Tech’s rGO membrane technology is transforming the kraft pulping process. These membranes enable efficient black liquor dewatering, organic acid recovery and lignin fractionation—leading to significant energy savings, water recycling and new revenue streams from bioproducts.
• North America’s Dual Challenge: High Emissions, High Opportunity
  While North America remains a pulp and paper powerhouse (15% of global capacity), it also has one of the highest carbon intensities. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity to lead in emissions reduction through asset renewal and innovation.
• Biogenic CO₂: From Emission to Asset
  Kraft pulp mills emit large volumes of biogenic CO₂—an untapped resource. With carbon capture and utilization (CCUS), mills could generate up to $300 million annually in carbon removal credits, turning emissions into economic value.
• Integrated Biorefineries: The Future of Pulp Mills
  The vision for pulp mills is evolving—from single-product facilities to multi-product biorefineries. Innovations like lignin-based materials, organic acid conversion to biofuels and advanced nanofiltration are paving the way for circular use of carbon in manufacturing.
• Decarbonization Is a Strategic Imperative
  With increasing regulatory and consumer pressure, especially from global brands targeting Scope 3 emissions, pulp and paper producers must act. Embracing technologies like rGO membranes and CCUS is not just sustainable—it’s essential for competitiveness.
• Electrochemical Carbon Capture and Conversion for On-Site Fuel Production
  Hatzell’s lab is pioneering the use of bipolar membrane (BPM) electrolysis to convert captured carbon (from bicarbonate solutions) into valuable fuels like CO and H₂. This approach enables:
  • 100% carbon utilization with more than 70% Faradaic efficiency for CO production.
  • Integration with pulp and paper processes to valorize CO₂ emissions instead of storing them.
  • Use of acid-stable single-atom nickel catalysts to improve selectivity and efficiency.
• The PAPER-ZERO Initiative
  This initiative explores transformative pathways to decarbonize the pulp and paper industry by:
  • Evaluating scenarios that eliminate combustion of black liquor and waste wood.
  • Investigating renewable energy integration and alternative uses for black liquor.
  • Assessing the cost, energy and environmental trade-offs of emerging technologies.

The workshop also featured a student poster session, networking opportunities and updates on APPTI collaborative projects. The event concluded with a meeting of the RBI Industry Advisory Board, reinforcing the institute’s role as a hub for partnership and innovation in renewable bioproducts.

“We’re grateful to our industry member partners for sharing their time and expertise,” said Belinda Vogel, research engagement manager. “The advisory board meeting highlighted how essential collaboration is in advancing basic science and renewable bioproduct manufacturing.”

Georgia Institute of Technology has been ranked 7th in the world in the 2026 Times Higher Education Interdisciplinary Science Rankings, in association with Schmidt Science Fellows. This designation underscores Georgia Tech’s leadership in research that solves global challenges. 

Read more on the Georgia Tech Materials Science and Engineering Newspage

Workshops hosted by the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking and led by Georgia Tech Assistant Professor HyunJoo Oh will introduce about 60 students from Atlanta Public Schools to paper-based electronics through hands-on workshops.

The Williams Museum will open an exhibit titled “The Future of Paper” that displays designs created in the workshop alongside visionary examples of paper-based technologies from Georgia Tech researchers.

The exhibit, funded by the National Science Foundation, is slated to open to the public in 2027.

Oh is a researcher with joint appointments in the School of Interactive Computing and the School of Industrial Design. She leads the Computational Design and Craft (CoDe Craft) Group at Georgia Tech, where her team integrates everyday craft materials with computing to support creative exploration.

Oh believes paper could be widely used to support prototyping printed circuit boards (PCBs) as a sustainable alternative to silicon. While silicon is the most prominent material used by technology companies to build computer chips, it isn’t biodegradable. And it can be harmful to the environment and contribute to e-waste. 

Paper, however, provides an eco-friendly platform for printing conductive traces and mounting small electronic components. With the expansion of printed electronic tools and techniques, paper and similar materials have become more popular among technologists who develop sensing technologies and wearable devices.

“It’s widely available and accessible,” Oh said. “I can’t think of anything more affordable and approachable that young makers and the broader maker community can use for circuits than paper.

“Printed electronics traditionally required expensive equipment, but with recent innovation in materials science, conductive materials such as conductive pens and paint available in local arts and crafts stores can be used to build circuits on paper. We can also print circuits using a regular office inkjet printer with silver ink.”

Shared Vision

Shortly after arriving at Georgia Tech in 2019, Oh knew she had to develop a project that would let her partner with the Williams Museum. 

“I was captivated by the museum’s space and its celebration of paper,” she said. “I wanted a collaboration that would integrate technology in a way that complemented and respected the museum’s existing beauty.”

Museum director Virginia Howell said the project was a perfect match for the museum, which has documented the history of papermaking since it was founded in 1939 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Georgia Tech became the new home of the museum in 2003.

With more than 100,000 objects in its collection — some dating back as far as 2,000 years ago — the museum is unique, Howell said. Most papermaking museums are typically located at an historic mill, but the Williams Museum covers the history of papermaking.

Howell said that before she met Oh, she had been looking for an exhibit that would display the possible future of papermaking.

“We do the past of paper fantastically well, and we do the present of paper well through our changing exhibitions,” Howell said. “The future of paper is something we haven’t spent a lot of time interpreting.”

Crafting the Future

Oh and Howell agree that young people will shape that future. Oh said paper is commonly linked to art in the education sphere. As the material’s use in technology increases, however, it can funnel the interests of students toward engineering and computing. 

Incorporating paper and craft materials can invite more students to explore engineering and computing concepts. After all, a circuit board created on paper isn’t so different from one built on a silicon PCB, Oh said.

“This approach can excite the kind of students who usually feel disconnected from electronics and computing,” she said. “It gives those who only see themselves as creative or artistic a way to enjoy technology and resonate with it.

“Usually when I work with young students, especially girls, if I start with something technical, their interest wanes. But when I present those same ideas through art using familiar materials like paper, they become more engaged and confident. That’s when they start to flourish.”

Oh and Howell will hold three rounds of 10-week workshops for the students — spring 2026, fall 2026, and spring 2027. The best designs from those workshops will be displayed in the exhibit.

“They’ll feel more comfortable with computing and engineering as an introductory experience,” Howell said. “When they successfully build on it and realize they did this on a sheet of paper, it’s exciting to think what they’ll do when they get more sophisticated tools and access.”

The Multiphase Forming System, the only one of its kind in North America, dramatically reduces the amount of water needed in the paper production process. By using up to 70% less water, the system also significantly cuts down on the energy required for drying — traditionally one of the most energy-intensive steps in papermaking. This innovation, developed by principal investigator Cyrus Aidun, not only enhances efficiency but also supports broader sustainability goals by lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

The grand opening event featured remarks from Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera, Executive Vice President for Research Tim Lieuwen, and Carson Meredith, executive director of RBI, among others. Attendees included industry leaders, researchers, and students, all eager to witness the unveiling of a technology that has been five years in the making.

The Multiphase Forming project has garnered widespread interest from the paper and packaging industries. A recent extension of the research, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE-EERE), integrates this forming system with cutting-edge refining and drying technologies. Led by Meredith, this initiative aims to further reduce energy consumption and environmental impact in paper manufacturing. John Xu has been appointed to run the facility.

Meredith said, “Today is milestone in RBI’s history, as we continue to partner and innovate with the paper and pulp industry.  We’d like to share our gratitude with our researchers, students and industry sponsors International Paper, Kimberly Clark and Solenis.”

In particular, Aidun has focused on industrial competitiveness. His efforts to reduce energy and water consumption in fiber composite products have attracted significant attention and funding. This research is critical for developing sustainable and cost-effective manufacturing processes while reducing environmental impact.

As principal investigator, Aidun has received funding for major projects from the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE-EERE, with Devesh Ranjan as co-principal investigator), the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (with Art Rangauskas at the University of Tennessee). These projects are affiliated with Aidun’s development of the Multiphase Forming Lab at Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI).

The only one of its kind in North America, this innovative system significantly reduces the amount of water required to process paper. As a result, the heat and energy needed to dry the paper — typically an energy-intensive process — are also reduced. The Multiphase Former uses up to 70% less water, which substantially lowers the energy required for drying. This research, which began about five years ago, has drawn broad interest from industry. A more recent project, funded by DOE-EERE and led by Carson Meredith, combines Multiphase Forming with the latest technologies in refining and drying.

Aidun earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and completed his Ph.D. at Clarkson University in 1985. He joined the Woodruff School in 2003 after serving two years as a program director at the National Science Foundation. He began at Georgia Tech in 1988 as an assistant professor at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology. Previously, he was a research scientist at Battelle Research Laboratories, a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University, and a senior research consultant at the National Science Foundation’s Supercomputer Center at Cornell.

Aidun has received several national and international honors, including the National Science Foundation Presidential Investigator Award, the Gunnar Nicholson Fellowship, and the L.E. Scriven Award from the International Society of Coating Science and Technology.

The only one of its kind in North America, this innovative system significantly reduces the amount of water required to process paper. As a result, the heat and energy needed to dry the paper—typically an energy-intensive process—are also reduced. The Multiphase Forming Lab uses up to 70% less water, which substantially lowers the energy required for drying.

Xu brings over 20 years of experience in managing laboratory paper machines and pilot testing equipment, along with a robust background in fluid mechanics, material science, and instrumentation development. His professional experience includes significant roles at International Paper, AstenJohnson, and Georgia Tech’s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.

"We are thrilled to have John lead the establishment and operation of this new facility," said Carson Meredith, RBI executive director. "His extensive knowledge and industry experience make him the ideal leader to partner with both RBI members and non-members to drive reduced energy consumption and costs.”

Xu's career is marked by innovative research and successful commercialization of new products and processes. At AstenJohnson, he served as a senior research scientist, specializing in forming and press fabrics used in the paper industry. His work led to the commercialization of several new forming and press products, and he managed pilot press stand at AstenJohnson and participated in papermaking trials at different pilot facilities to evaluate the performance of these fabrics.

Prior to AstenJohnson, Xu held positions at International Paper's Corporate Technology Center, where he managed the Microfinishing Lab and Humidity Resistant Liner Lab. His research provided critical insights that influenced the company’s major business decisions. He also developed various unique instruments for different paper mills at International Paper.

Xu earned his Ph.D. in paper science and mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech’s Institute of Paper Science and Technology. His doctoral research focused on the measurement of fiber suspension flow and forming jet velocity profile using Pulsed Ultrasonic Doppler Velocimetry (PUDV). He also holds a B.S. in Material Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

For more information about the Multiphase Forming Lab, please contact: Hanjiang (John) Xu at hanjiang.xu@me.gatech.edu

To listen to the workshop: 
 
We’d like to share our thanks with our speakers for their insights:
Joseph Samac - Valorization of Forestry Side-stream

Ana Indes Torres - Biomass integration in Refineries with a Focus on System-Level Modeling and Optimization of Integration Strategies

Michael Reynolds - Advances in Catalysts for Feeds that Contain Blends of Seed and Tallow Oils

Nicholas Carlson Refinery Integration Anaysis: Pathways, Challenges, and Opportunities

Mike Griffin Producing Hydrocarbon Fuels from Woody Biomass via Catalytic Pyrolysis and Refinery Hydrotreating

Ryan Lively Separation of Bioderived Compounds Using Membrane Technology

RBI would love to hear from you on future topics you would like to hear us cover. Share your feedback with Executive Director Carson Meredith.
 

Over 40 participants from more than 20 organizations participated in the event aimed to educate the pulp, paper, and tissue manufacturing community on current decarbonization technologies ready for immediate deployment, while also exploring the investments needed for future breakthrough innovations. 

The workshop kicked off with an overview of APPTI by Chris Luettgen, managing director of APPTI and RBI's lead for process efficiency and intensification of pulp paper packaging & tissue manufacturing. Presentations and discussions revolved around three focus areas for decarbonization--Carbon Capture and Beneficial Use; Biogas Generation from Waste Streams; and Lime Kiln Alternatives to Fossil Fuels. Presenters and panelists consisted of members from the Department of Energy’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO), academia (North Carolina State University, Abo Academy, University of Toronto, University of Minnesota), and industry (Veolia, Valmet, Metso, FPInnovations, Nexight, Beck and Associates). 

RBI’s  Carson Meredith, Valerie Thomas, and Cyrus Aidun were among the presenters. Meredith presented his research on felt design to prevent re-wet, while Thomas’ talk was on the topic, life cycle assessment: meeting policy benchmarks for decarbonization, and Aidun presented his work on multi-phase forming.  

The workshop concluded with the net zero committee discussing key takeaways from the workshop and potential for a life cycle assessment on the paper industry.

“The outcome of this two-day workshop is a strong feeling about the work RBI and APPTI are doing for the industry. The feedback I received was all very positive,” said Luettgen.

“The TAPPI Student Chapter Career Fair was an incredible opportunity for students to engage directly with industry leaders, explore diverse career paths, and secure valuable internships and job offers. The enthusiasm and participation from both students and companies truly highlighted the strength and potential of our future workforce,” said Chris Luettgen, faculty advisor of the TAPPI Student Chapter and the initiative lead for process efficiency & intensification of pulp, paper packaging, and tissue manufacturing at the Renewable Bioproducts Institute. 

In the Summer 2024 issue, the magazine has featured the Georgia Tech Renewable Bioproducts Institute and its faculty researchers Anthony J. “Bo” Arduengo, professor of practice in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Matt McDowell, Carter N. Paden, Jr. Distinguished Chair and associate professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, and Meisha Shofner, professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering. The feature titled ‘The Green Gusher: How Wood-Based Innovations Are Revolutionizing Sustainability and Technology,’ was written by John Casey and discussed how wood-based innovations are revolutionizing sustainability and technology in the forestry industry and included Georgia Tech’s forestry in focus video that included interviews with the three researchers.

Meredith will receive the award at the Annual AIChE Meeting in San Diego California,  later this month.

The award recognizes Meredith’s research in nanocellulose chemical modification, composites, and cellulose-based renewable barrier coatings, which has resulted in seven patent applications, one commercial license, and ongoing research projects with six companies, reflecting the impact these advancements are making. His group recently reported the first successful recycling and reuse of nanocellulose gas barrier films and achieved one of the lowest water vapor barrier coatings derived from cellulose to date. 

Meredith, ChBE’s James Preston Harris Faculty Fellow,  is executive director of Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute, which aims for future where plant biomass will enable a carbon neutral society and manufacturing infrastructure through traditional and emerging products. 

Read Full Story on the ChBE Website

Jones will receive the award at the American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting in San Diego, in March 2025. The ACS National Awards encourage the advancement of chemistry in all its branches, support research endeavors, and promote the careers of chemists.

The Murphree Award (including $5,000) won by Jones recognizes fundamental research in industrial and engineering chemistry, the development of chemical engineering principles, and its application to industrial processes.

The ELATES program is a national leadership development program designed to promote women in academic STEM fields and faculty allies of all genders into institutional leadership roles.

“I am excited to be selected as an ELATES Fellow. I am grateful for the support from Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering that made this opportunity possible and especially support from Dean Raheem Beyah, Associate Dean Kim Kurtis, and MSE School Chair Natalie Stingelin. I am looking forward to learning from this amazing community of women leaders in higher education,” Shofner said.

“I was drawn to the ELATES program because of its focus on developing the skills needed to lead university initiatives with an operational focus, and I will be putting that knowledge into practice as I develop an institutional action project as part of the program.”

Read Full Story on the MSE Webpage

Tell us about yourself.

My name is William Berkey. I got my undergraduate degree in chemistry from Davidson College in North Carolina. I am getting my Ph.D. in chemistry at Georgia Tech. I am co-advised by Stefan France and Christopher Jones. I work on the upcycling of carbohydrates to yield furan-containing building blocks as platforms chemicals and precursors to value-added fuels, materials, and products. Specifically, I work with the Garcia Gonzalez reaction and the Achmatowicz reaction. 

The paper I just published as the second author with my mentor Caria Evans (first author) is about converting amino acids — a renewable feedstock — to functionalities pyrroles that can be used for drug molecule development or other bio-active compounds.

How was your experience at the RBI workshop?

I really enjoyed the RBI workshop. It was interesting to see other people’s research and talk with fellow researchers on solving problems and potentially collaborating. The diverse set of talks from industrial, government, and research collaborators shows the wide set of problems still to be solved and different viewpoints on how to solve them. My main takeaway is that through collaboration, solutions to a wide range of problems affecting the industry can be achieved. 

What was your main takeaway from the poster session? 

What stood out during the poster session was the wide variety of topics that my peers were researching and the interesting findings they discovered. I interacted with several industrial representatives and a fellow Davidson alumnus who works in forest management. I received great advice on how to advance my research as well as how to pursue potential next steps in application. 

What more would you like to see in future events at the Renewable Bioproducts Institute?

I would like to see more talks on biorefining. I am interested in interacting with potential collaborators. I would like to see new seminars on research problem-solving or project idea creation.

With a mission to collect, preserve, increase, and disseminate knowledge about papermaking - past, present and future, the museum, located in the Paper Tricentennial Building of Georgia Tech houses the most comprehensive collection of paper and paper-related artifacts in the world including over 100,000 artifacts of manuscripts, rare books, prints, hand and industrial paper making tools and equipment and paper samples. A variety of tours, workshops and artists’ lectures catering to audiences ranging from Pre-K-12 students to adults is offered by the museum.

Click here to read more about the exciting activities that happened at the Georgia Tech Science and Engineering Day.

The students got an opportunity to see Valmet’s vision for the Factory of the Future through automation and predictive control – Industry 4.0 in some vernacular, and were given an introduction to Valmet as a company and the multitude of career pathways available at the company. Valmet is headquartered in Espoo Finland and develops and supplies process technologies, automation, and services for the pulp, paper, and energy industries. The automation systems and flow control solutions offered by the company serve a wide base of process industries and was the focus area of the field trip.

The Emerging Technologies for Forest Bioproducts course is a required course for RBI Fellowship students and part of the Georgia Tech Pulp & Paper Foundation & Certificate Program. The course focuses on the future of the bioproducts industries so that students may see where the bioeconomy is headed. Case studies on the use of biomass in production of value-added products, including fluff pulp and dissolving pulps, alternative fibers, specialty papers, packaging and printed electronics, biorefining technologies, nanocellulose and bio composites, and renewable polymers are covered in the course.

Tell us about yourself

My name is Elyssa Ferguson. I earned my B.S. in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). I am pursuing my M.S. in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech. I am an RBI Fellow, GEM Fellow, and Women of Woodruff (WoW) Fellow, and I work in the Water-Energy Research (WERL) Lab, under the direction of Akanksha K. Menon, assistant professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering. My research focuses on developing sustainably sourced natural fibers for thermal insulation in buildings. My project is a part of the Carbon-Negative Building Materials based on Engineered Wood for Structural and Thermal Insulation Applications project. Menon and I collaborate with Kyriaki Kalaitzidou, Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering and Joe F. Bozeman III, assistant professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Public Policy. I also work with graduate students, Elnaz Jamshidi from the School of Materials Science and Engineering and Arjun Thangaraj Ramshankar from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering on this project. 

How was your experience at the RBI workshop? 

Attending the RBI workshop was a valuable learning experience. I learned about the variety of exciting work in the renewable packaging realm that is going on at Georgia Tech and other organizations. This work is driving sustainable innovation, yet there are challenges. The discussions regarding the barriers to innovation and areas for growth were very thought-provoking and motivating. 

What was your main takeaway from the poster session? 

During the poster session, I shared information about my research and had the privilege to talk to many people in the industry. There is much interest in thermally insulating natural fibers for building applications and for other applications like cold-chain packaging and textiles. Speaking with the workshop participants during the poster session broadened my mind to the potential myriad of applications for natural-fiber-based thermal insulation on a global scale. I also learned more about the existing challenges researchers and industrial peers are facing – one being the lack of standardization of nomenclature and methodology. Receiving positive feedback on the design of my poster was also helpful. I deliberately designed a poster that incorporated aesthetics to convey my ongoing research. I plan to apply the helpful information and feedback that I received during the RBI workshop to my future work. 

What more would you like to see in future events at the Renewable Bioproducts Institute?

I am very interested in seeing more seminars related to sustainable building materials, especially insulating materials, and textiles, as these topics are closely related to my research project. Fascinating work is happening at other universities and at companies in Georgia and around the world. It would be great if there is a seminar series including these organizations. 

Read Part 2 - Tanner Hickman

This story originally appeared in Waterline, News from Oldendorff Carrier. Issue 18, Summer 2023 and was written by Jan Kohzer, Patritsia Stathatou, & Scott Jones 

The Fellow status is AIChE's highest grade of membership and is achieved through election by the AIChE Board of Directors upon recommendation of the AIChE Admissions Committee.

Meredith is recognized for sustained contributions to the chemical engineering profession through research, education and service. For example, his research has made significant contributions to the field of sustainable materials for packaging and plastic alternatives.

In service, Meredith has contributed actively to planning AIChE and Materials Research Society meetings. He now serves on the executive leadership board of the Forest and Plant Bioproducts Division of AIChE.

Meredith has been a ChBE faculty member for 23 years.

This honor is reserved for roughly 1% of the membership of the society based on scientific contributions and service to the ACS community. Sievers is recognized for:

• Contributions introducing new catalytic pathways and concepts of energy input for converting renewable carbon resources guided by spectroscopic catalyst and process characterization.
• Establishing the technical program of the Catalysis Science and Technology Division as its first program chair and contributing to the growth of the division by mentoring his successors.

He will formally receive the recognition at the upcoming ACS meeting in San Francisco (August 13-17.

The Fellows program began in 2009 as a way to recognize and honor ACS members for outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession, and ACS.

The full list of 2023 Fellows is available here, while additional information about the program, including a list of Fellows named in prior years, is available at www.acs.org/fellows.

Luettgen has over 25 years of industry experience, with Scott Paper and Kimberly-Clark Corp., where he most recently served as senior research and engineering manager for the Kimberly-Clark Professional business sector. He has held positions in product development and innovation as well as in capital project management and manufacturing facility leadership.

For several years, Luettgen has served on the RBI Industry Board of Advisors, and he is the current Chairman of the Board of the Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry. He earned his bachelor's degree in Paper Engineering at Western Michigan University (’85), his master’s degree at the Institute of Paper Chemistry, Appleton, WI (’87), and his Ph.D. at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology - now the Renewable Bioproducts Institute at Georgia Tech (’91).

He rejoined Georgia Tech in November 2014 as a Professor of the Practice in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Associate Director of Pulp and Paper at RBI. He also serves as Director of Industry Strategic Partnerships in the Georgia Tech Professional Education Division.

His areas of interest include: Recycled fiber, renewable cellulosic feedstocks, tissue manufacturing and converting and manufacturing leadership / operations excellence.

Tell us about yourself.

I am Tanner Hickman and I completed my bachelor’s degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of South Alabama. Here at Georgia Tech, I am a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in chemical and biomolecular engineering, advised by Carson Meredith and Natalie Stingelin. My research focuses on exploring different ways to control the properties of natural polymers to make them useful for new applications.

How was your experience at the RBI workshop?

The RBI workshop provided incredibly valuable insights. I gained a comprehensive understanding of the persistent challenges within sustainable packaging, as well as the ongoing research endeavors aimed at tackling them. A key lesson I extracted from the workshop underscores the imperative of a circular economy within the packaging sector. However, it's crucial to note that our focus shouldn't solely revolve around product research; we must also direct attention toward addressing social concerns and broader issues.

What was your main takeaway from the poster session?

One of the best parts of RBI workshops is the opportunities to talk with people from different technical backgrounds, and poster sessions are one of the best ways to get the exchange of ideas flowing. I talked with several people from industry, who all had valuable advice on what it takes to bring benchtop research to application on a larger scale. At the same time, discussions with other researchers in academia are vital for brainstorming new projects, forming collaborations, etc.

What more would you like to see in future events at the Renewable Bioproducts Institute?

I would like to see a workshop that incorporates more interactive elements (in addition to the poster session) to engage participants. For instance, roundtable discussions or panel sessions where experts and attendees can openly exchange ideas and insights could enhance the learning experience.

The Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking houses hand papermaking artifacts from around the world. Dard Hunter, a renowned paper historian and founder of the museum, collected many of these objects throughout the early 1900s as he sought to gain more knowledge about this craft. Nearly 100 years later, the museum continues its mission to collect, preserve, increase, and disseminate knowledge about papermaking to the general public. By collaborating with Georgia Tech researchers, and the larger Atlanta community, by using scientific tools, we can unlock hidden information held within the objects, both from a historical and scientific perspective. Recently, two Georgia Tech Postdoctoral Fellows, Nasreen Khan (Paper Museum/RBI) and Daniel Vallejo (School of Chemistry and Biochemistry) sought to uncover more about a loom in the museum’s collection, connected with the history of the Indian subcontinent and Gandhi.

Dard Hunter and Background of the Loom

In the 1930s, Dard Hunter traveled to Asia and the Indian subcontinent (I.e., India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kashmir) to document hand papermaking techniques and collect tools and paper samples. At that time many people, including Mahatma Gandhi, aimed to revitalize the Indian hand papermaking tradition by supporting and creating schools to teach the craft [1-3]. Dard Hunter visited several papermaking villages and schools, including those helped founded by Gandhi. Hunter brought a loom back to America that was used to weave a chapri (paper-mold cover or screen), but the information of the specific origins of this loom was lost.

What’s Missing?

While Hunter and other researchers documented and studied hand papermaking tools and materials of this region and time, it was primarily from a historical and cultural perspective [1-5]. Much of their focus has been on the plant materials used to make the paper and molds [1-5]. However, some parts of the handmade molds in Asia were known to also use biological materials sourced from animals, such as silk and animal hair [1-4]. Since the exact origin of the loom and the fibers used to construct the paper mold was not known, the museum was interested in learning more about this object.

With scientific tools, the study aimed to understand more about the fibers commonly used in traditional handmade paper-mold covers in the 1930s Indian subcontinent by using scientific tools. With the availability of high-resolution microscopy technologies and historical documentation at Georgia Tech and the Museum, researchers aimed to either prove or disprove whether the origin of preserved fibers on the loom was from an animal and determine with historical context where the loom was acquired.

What we did and what we discovered

Are the Fibers Really Horsehair?

In forensic analysis, typically the first step to identify unknown fiber or hair samples is to conduct microscopy. Microscopy, or the science of using microscopes to view samples & objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye, is the gold standard for analyzing and identifying unknown fibers by comparison to a library of known reference materials. This is possible because hair from different sources or animals have different “morphologies”, or physical features, that help identify their origin. Thanks to the Materials Innovation and Learning Laboratory (MILL), a hub of scientific equipment for hands-on scientific training of undergraduates at Georgia Tech, the researchers were able to use two different microscope techniques: Light microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Thanks to Little Creek Farm Conservancy in Decatur and Kristine Parson, the researchers were able to obtain reference materials for tail and mane horsehair from two horses: Angus and Lightening.

Click the link below to continue reading the story.

The need to remove organic contaminants from surface waters continues to grow due to an increasing influx from industrial, municipal, and agricultural sources. But these contaminants are challenging to remove outside of thermally driven separation processes, such as distilling or drying, which consume significant amounts of energy.

However, researchers in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) have developed rigid, carbon membranes that effectively remove and concentrate small organic molecules (such as solvents) from water, based on the affinity between the organic species and carbon membrane.

Jones, the John F. Brock III School Chair of Georgia Tech's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE@GT), will receive the award at the AIChE meeting in Orlando, Florida, this November. 

This award recognizes his contributions to ultra-dilute CO2 separations, such as the extraction of CO2 from air, also referred to as “direct air capture” or DAC. The Jones group has played a foundational role in developing materials and processes for CO2 removal from air, and in conjunction with the Lively, Realff, Sholl, and other groups in ChBE@GT, no academic institution has authored more publications on DAC than Georgia Tech. 

Professors Jones, Matthew Realff, and Ryan Lively are founding members of the Georgia Tech Direct Air Capture Center, or DirACC.

The endowed position was established via the Southern Company Foundation by Southern Company, which has been regularly recognized for its efforts to promote an organizational culture that ensures representation of all groups. Fanning recently retired as chairman, president, and CEO.

Grover is a systems engineer whose work addresses the complexity of molecular organization and how it can solve complicated grand challenges. For instance, she has worked with the Department of Energy for 10 years to create processes for separation and immobilization of millions of gallons of liquid nuclear waste at the Hanford Site in Washington and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. She’s developed real-time process monitoring of nuclear waste slurries to increase throughput and enhance safety.

Grover’s research also focuses on the origins of life and understanding the essential role of diversity and cooperation. Her other work includes modeling and engineering the self-assembly of atoms and small molecules to create larger scale structures and complex functionality.

“Congratulations to all the exceptional nominees and to the individuals who were selected to receive this year's Institute Research Awards,” said Chaouki Abdallah, executive vice president for Research at Georgia Tech. “These outstanding researchers were nominated by their peers for their diligent research efforts, and we are proud to acknowledge them for their commitment to advance science and technology and to improve the human condition.”

Awardees were selected in nine areas, from achievements in innovation to engagement and outreach. Two of the awards were given to groups of researchers who are making an impact collectively. This year, more than 150 researchers were nominated for these prestigious awards.

• Outstanding Achievement in Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:Iris Tien, CEE, SEI
• Outstanding Achievement in Early Career Research:Marta Hatzell, ME, IMat, SEI  
• Outstanding Achievement in Research Enterprise Enhancement:Robert Knotts, Federal Relations 
• Outstanding Achievement in Research Innovation:Younan Xia, SoCB, IEN, Imat, IBB
• Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Advisor:John Reynolds, SoCB, IMat, RBI
• Outstanding Faculty Research Author:Wilbur Lam, BME, IEN, IBB 
• Outstanding Achievement in Research Engagement and Outreach:Pascal Van Hentenryck, ISyE, IDEaS, SEI
• Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development: The Spaceflight Project Group at GT: Glen Lightsey, AE, IRIM; Jud Ready, GTRI, IEN, IMat, SEI; Christopher Valenta, GTRI; Christopher Carr, AE; Brian Gunter, AE, BBISS, IRIM; Sterling Peet, AE; Ian Harrison, GTRI
• Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Impact:Partnership for Inclusive Innovation: Debra Lam, IDEaS, IPaT, SEI; Clarence Anthony Jr., Kayla Burns, Cody Cocchi, Jamal Lewis, Polly Sattler, all from EI2

Awardees will be recognized at the Faculty and Staff Honors Luncheon on Friday, April 21. 

Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering has been renewed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a third round of funding ($13.2 million over four years) for its Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) to study materials used in clean energy technologies.

Here is a video shared by the TAPPINano 2024 organizers on the highlights of the conference.  

With a degree in art education and a minor in art history, Doll began her career as an elementary school art teacher in Pinellas County, Florida. She then became the director of Museums for the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia and the Sautee Nacoochee Cultural Center History Museum and Heritage Site. 

In 2019, Doll joined the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking team as its education curator. At the museum, she creates and manages programs that include educational tours, private and public workshops on papermaking, specialized workshops through creative collaborations with artists, collaborations with other campus units for STEAM activities, and community events for kindergarten through senior adult audiences. 

"I didn't know a whole lot about papermaking when I first started here," admits Doll, "but I knew how to be an education curator." Her ability to swiftly absorb the history and concept of papermaking and translate it into engaging educational experiences has been instrumental in her success. Below are a few highlights of Doll’s projects.

Museum Tours 
Doll’s daily activities include educational tours of the papermaking museum for groups of all ages. The tours range from introducing the papermaking process to elementary and middle school students to sharing the history and heritage of papermaking with adults. In addition, she conducts virtual programs for groups interested in the history of paper and the technological advances of the papermaking process since its invention many centuries ago. 

Workshops
Doll is the point of contact for public and private workshop bookings. She also develops the concepts for these sessions, catering to groups with various interests (e.g., Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, people with disabilities, teachers, artists, college students, and public groups). This spring, Doll’s workshops included Suminagashi, Production Papermaking, Petal Fold Book, Paper Casting, and Magic Box: Jacob’s Ladder.

In addition to conceptualizing and conducting tours and workshops, she designs curricula and other resources involving paper art and science for K-12 teachers to integrate into their art classes. 

Big Paper Workshop – Convening Artists, Educators, and Community Members for a Transformative Experience in Papermaking
This spring, Doll and her colleague Jerushia Graham created a communal workshop called “Big Paper.” Offered on multiple days, this project included five college groups from Georgia and Alabama and community groups from metro Atlanta who got to create a large sheet of paper from pulp. Participants beat plant material by hand to prepare the fiber and worked with Tom Balbo, founding director of the Morgan Conservatory, to create a huge 4’x6’ sheet of paper that was mailed back to them once it was dry. 

Through her work at the museum, Doll has cultivated relationships with various artists, all of whom collaborate with the museum to conduct workshops and create and showcase art exhibits.

Additional Collaborations Across Campus
Doll partners with other units on campus to create programs. She collaborated with the Georgia Tech Library on a program called “Tech's Tactile Thursdays.” Hosted on the first Thursday of each month, it allows students, faculty, and staff to work on hands-on projects related to paper and provides an opportunity for the largely technology-focused participants to take a break from their routine, relax, and explore their creative side and enhance their well-being. 

Doll also has been an active educator at Georgia Tech Science and Engineering Day, which is part of the Atlanta Science Festival. This year, more than 3,000 K-12 students and parents visited Georgia Tech’s campus to engage in hands-on STEAM activities. Representing the museum, Doll worked with families to make prints on a clamshell printing press featuring a custom-designed Buzz image (designed by Doll) on a postcard for the kids to take home. The activity showcased the rich history of the printing press and modern technology with a photopolymer printing plate.

Through these diverse projects and initiatives at the museum, Doll continues to make a difference in the world of papermaking. Looking ahead, she hopes to expand the museum’s educational initiatives as well as the education team and its resources, and she envisions broadening the museum’s reach and impact by offering free programs to schools through grants. She is also working with Georgia Tech faculty and researchers on museum research into the art of nano cellulose and plans to establish a paper and natural dye garden for teaching.

Below is a brief Q&A with Gutekunst where he discusses his research focus areas and how they influence the interface of polymer science and wood-based materials initiative at Georgia Tech.

• What is your field of expertise and at what point in your life did you first become interested in this area?

My graduate training is in synthetic organic chemistry, and I focused on basic science problems at that time. Toward the end of my Ph.D., I became interested in applying my skill set to new research directions that could have a more direct impact on society. This led me to pursue postdoctoral research in polymer chemistry, which has been a source of inspiration ever since.

• What questions or challenges sparked your current renewable bioproducts research? What are the big issues facing your research area right now?

My first project in this space was initiated shortly after I arrived at Georgia Tech through RBI funding opportunities, and it has continued to be a theme ever since. One of the critical problems in my research is identifying monomers that can polymerize and depolymerize on command. This involves balancing the driving force of polymerization (enthalpy) with the unfavorable process of confining multiple monomers to a single chain (entropy). While we are making considerable progress in engineering appropriate polymerization enthalpies into monomers, the entropic side of the problem remains a significant challenge.

• What interests you the most in leading the research initiative on the interface of polymer science and wood-based materials? Why is your initiative important to the development of Georgia Tech’s renewable bioproducts research strategy?

The most exciting aspect of the initiative is the ability to bring together multiple strengths of Georgia Tech to work on a central goal. Solving problems at this interface involves the collaborative efforts of researchers in chemistry, processing, separations, and even data science. Identifying and gathering synergistic teams is critical to address this problem and additional goals in renewable bioproducts.

• What are the broader global and social benefits of the research you and your team conduct on the interface of polymer science and wood-based materials?

The goal of this research is to develop materials that are more recyclable and are derived from abundant feedstocks, which are two big problems rolled into one. The eventual product of this research will be access to materials that are more compatible with the environment while also drastically reducing the waste output of society.

• What are your plans for engaging a wider Georgia Tech faculty pool with the broader renewable bioproducts community?

Through the merger of the Georgia Tech Polymer Network with RBI, we can start to forge collaborations across a broader swath of the Georgia Tech community. This includes the organization of workshops, making connections between different student groups, and the development of center grants to tackle grand challenges in the field.

• What are your hobbies? 

In my free time, I enjoy reading (non-science), pottery, and hiking.

• Who has influenced you the most?

My Ph.D. advisor (Phil Baran) and my postdoctoral advisor (Craig Hawker) both stand out in their impact on my scientific career. Through their guidance, I learned how to properly think about science and to always look ahead for the next big problem.

by Isabella Tallman-Jones

This thoughtfully curated exhibition was brought to life by curators Jill Powers and Lisa Miles of the North American Hand Papermakers for the organization’s Guest Curated Exhibition Triennial. With collaboration between the guest curators and the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking, the resulting deep dive has produced an insightful perspective on an often-forgotten ancient practice. Bark paper has existed within a centuries-long genealogy of craft in places like Uganda, Indonesia, Mexico, Hawaii, and a variety of Polynesian and Pacific-Islander cultures. Somewhat attributed to the Global South, it is no wonder why this alternative production of natural matrix does not exist within the Western hegemonic history of writing and visual culture at large.

The exhibit’s contemporary innovations utilize the signifiers of civilizations’ papermaking pasts. Through timeless pattern-making practices and the further development of a shared semiotic language, both representational and abstract; the artists transcend temporal obstacles through artistic creation. Repetition and the meditative beating of pulp and cellulose are central to the ancestral language of symbols and techniques of meaning-making.

Some of the topics broached by these contemporary interpretations include immigration, tradition, community, and issues of belonging in a post-colonial present. These themes bubble to the surface of Enrique Chagoy’s Illegal Alien’s Meditations on el Ser y la Nada. The accordion-style artist's book unfolds into a colorful comic-like narrative throughout its ten lithographic prints on handmade Amate (Nahuatl for “bark paper”). The illustrations are stylized, suggesting its inspiration from pre-colonial Nahuatl codices. This reference informs the viewer’s reading, meant to be traditionally read from right to left. The dots and slashes at the corner of each page share the number/date system used by civilizations under the Aztec empire. The title page pictures the protagonist as an Aztec sculpture head attached to a classicized female body. The head reoccurs in the corner of another page with the subtitled “Hernán Cortés” after the man behind the atrocities of the Spanish Conquest of New Spain. Other similar sculptural elements are littered throughout the book, often written over and struck through by other symbols in a red wash. Additional scenes are composited from comic and mass cultural depictions of white people interacting, often derogatorily, with a cast of unnamed indigenous and stereotyped characters. These interactions are especially evident on a page with a series of 12 comic vignettes. Some of these vignettes have been altered with superimposed images. The overall effect is reminiscent of the Spanish casta paintings, which promoted a newly invented racial hierarchy to scientifically and culturally justify the systematic extermination of the New World’s inhabitants. The original ephemera from which Chagoya takes inspiration is virtually nonexistent today, though its practices and techniques have miraculously survived generations and centuries after the Spanish Inquisition. Bark paper production and Nahuatl writing practices were effectively banned by the conquistadors– burned, denigrated, and rewritten histories. The title of the work refers to its contemporary take on the Mexican-American experience and how it might comically parallel a seemingly distant colonial past. Further, the title evokes Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being and Nothingness as an acknowledgment of the existentialist center of the

Mexican-American ontological experience. The meditative processes associated with the making of the artist's book itself are an active forging of a connection to the past and an upholding of that legacy, but also a history lesson that might allow the viewer to make space for a new reality long silenced.

Several works in the exhibition are spiritually oriented such as the Otomí “Spirit Figures” or the Hawaiian lananu ‘u mamao or “Oracle Tower” entitled Pa ‘aikalani (Grounded to the Heavens) by Dalani Tanahy. The wispy and ethereal materiality of bark paper lends itself well to the art and expression of fleeting and translucent light that of a specter. The resulting exhibit is a diverse spectrum of these innumerable qualities: delicate and hardened, narrative-driven or abstract, and encaustic, coptic, or chemically treated.

Ecologically, the mutuality of bark paper’s production is clear to see. UNESCO’s 2005 decree of bark cloth as a “Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage” is a testament to its reemergence in contemporary artistic practices. Artists across time are called to action, creating a renewed awareness of the need for emphatic preservation of marginalized cultural practices previously destroyed. Artists are reclaiming and preserving marginalized cultural traditions, using sustainable methods to transform terrestrial resources into mediums for memory and ritual. Bark paper isn’t just historical; it’s social, cultural, and political. It has endured colonization, intellectual suppression, and mass re-education efforts throughout history, making its preservation crucial for understanding our collective past.

Bark Rhythms: Contemporary Innovations & Ancestral Traditions serves as a profound testament to the enduring significance of bark paper within global cultural heritage. By bridging past and present, the artists not only showcase the beauty and versatility of this ancient practice but also provoke reflection on its ecological, social, and political implications. As we marvel at the intricate works on display, we are reminded of the resilience of marginalized traditions and the imperative of their preservation in shaping a more inclusive and enlightened future. Through the medium of bark paper, we glimpse not only history but also the potential for transformative dialogue and mutual understanding across cultures and generations.

At the Sweetwater Mill, one of Greif’s three paper mills in Austell, students saw the pressure cylinder machine, a pre-coater that smoothens the board for printability, and a curtain coater that makes value-added products such as one-sided chipboard packaging for retail displays. The mill runs 100% recycled fiber into stock cores, gypsum board liners, and chipboard packaging. The tour included converting the machine roll (called a parent roll) into smaller rolls that will be further converted at downstream customers’ locations. 

At the GranBio’s facility in Thomaston, Tech students were able to see a biorefinery at work where a wide variety of lignocellulosic feedstocks, including wood chips, were getting converted into multiple bioproducts. They had a firsthand look at the SEW (sulfur dioxide, ethanol, and water) process, which was quite different from the traditional kraft pulping process. It creates a highly acidic mush, with a high pH, instead of fiber, which could then be used to make biofuels and other value-added products. In addition, they were able to discuss the recent DOE award to scale their process to a 100 ton/day biomass to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).  The company explained that they were still in site selection and would be hiring engineers in the near future.

About the Pulp and Paper Certification

The College of Engineering at Georgia Tech offers a certificate program in pulp and paper. The certificate consists of 12 credit hours focused on forest bioproduct topics, including lecture- and laboratory-based courses. Since its inception in 1990, more than 100 students have completed their certification.

The foundational course in the program introduces students to the history of pulp and paper manufacturing from its origins and covers the forest bioeconomy, wood structure, chemistry, and fiber morphology, and goes through the unit operations utilized to transform lignocellulosic feedstocks into value-added products, including chemical and mechanical pulping, recycled fiber operations, chemical recovery, bleaching, stock preparation, and papermaking.

The emerging technologies course focuses on the future of bioproducts industries. Case studies on the use of biomass in the production of value-added products are covered. Included are fluff pulp and dissolving pulps, alternative fibers, specialty papers, packaging, and printed electronics, biorefining technologies, nanocellulose and bio composites, and renewable polymers.

The pulp and paper laboratory course introduces students to pulping operations, bleaching, hand sheet formation, pulp and paper physical properties, and recycled fiber. The final course allows students to pursue research on special problems under supervision from an RBI-affiliated faculty.

Brettmann’s current research focuses on developing technologies that enable multicomponent, rapidly customizable product design, with a specific focus on polymer systems. 

Brettmann received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at MIT in 2012 working with the Novartis-MIT Center for Continuous Manufacturing under Bernhardt Trout. Later, she worked on polymer-based wet coatings and dispersions for various applications at Saint-Gobain Ceramics and Plastics. She went on to serve as a postdoctoral researcher in the Institute for Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago with Matthew Tirrell. Below is a brief Q&A with Brettmann in which she discusses her research focus areas and how they influence the interface of polymer science and wood-based materials research at Georgia Tech.

• What is your field of expertise and at what point in your life did you first become interested in this area?

My expertise is in polymer science and materials design for manufacturability. I got excited about this area after my Ph.D. when I worked for Saint-Gobain and saw firsthand the challenges of bringing new products to market, especially those made of complex mixtures of materials. 

• What questions or challenges sparked your current renewable bioproducts research? What are the big issues facing your research area right now?

Sustainability of materials and process is a top priority right now across many industries, and renewable bioproducts research is helping to improve this. But it is still tough to design and scale up products made with these materials because of the heterogeneity of the raw bio-based materials and recycled materials that now serve as the raw materials. Engineers are essential to design systems that can be robust despite the heterogeneities and still produce consistent, high-quality products.

• What interests you the most in leading the research initiative on the interface of polymer science and wood-based materials? Why is your initiative important to the development of Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts research strategy?

One of the most promising directions to decrease the impact of plastics on the environment is to replace some of the synthetic plastic materials with natural products, such as cellulose from wood. My initiative aims to build better connections between polymer scientists working to design improved plastics and experts in bio-based materials to seed research that can work toward this goal. Polymers also serve as important tools to improve the properties of cellulose and wood-based products and can enable new materials with increased functionality that still have sustainable materials at their core.

• What are the broader global and social benefits of the research you and your team conduct on the interface of polymer science and wood-based materials?

We work to improve the sustainability of material products while addressing specific challenges related to manufacturing and scale-up, which can speed up the adoption of these more sustainable products in industry. We take a wide view of the problem and have even worked on a project to understand consumer choices in recycling: If people don’t recycle the material, our efforts to make recyclable products will not have an impact!

• What are your plans for engaging a wider Georgia Tech faculty pool with the broader renewable bioproducts community?

Using symposia, social events, and student-centered networking, I will bring the broad Georgia Tech Polymer Network community together with the RBI community.

• What are your hobbies?

Water polo and swimming. I train with the Atlanta Rainbow Trout, who practice at the Georgia Tech pool.

• Who has influenced you the most?

 I’m constantly learning from people around me!

The Paper Museum worked with Jill Powers and Lisa Miles to produce Bark Rhythms. The goal was to create an exhibit that showcased the ongoing practices of barkcloth and bark papers. Powers and Miles connected with artists around the world to develop an exhibit that is interesting and engaging, especially for people who have no experience with these materials. “One of the aspects emphasized by Bark Rhythms is that these practices are living— that the people who make bark paper and barkcloth are producing something that is important and relevant to the communities they are part of. That element really spoke to us as important to emphasize in an exhibit. Lisa and Jill wanted to ensure Bark Rhythms was as comprehensive as our space allowed,” says museum director Virginia Howell. The exhibit features contemporary artwork, but there are historic examples included throughout. In addition to artwork, the tools –beaters—used in production are prominently featured. This includes about a dozen wood beaters acquired by Dard Hunter in the first quarter of the 20th century. 

In the world of handmade paper, the definition of paper has long venerated European and Asian traditions, which employ moulds to form sheets with macerated pulp. Bark paper and bark cloth are created by hand-beating the cooked or fermented inner bark of certain trees with a shaped stone, wood, or metal beating implement. Bark Rhythms seeks to elevate and honor Indigenous beaten bark fiber traditions that have been undervalued or excluded from exhibitions and scholarship within the field of papermaking and beyond. Highlighting the manifestation of ancient traditions into distinctive, contemporary art practices, this exhibition connects the dots between bark paper and barkcloth, and it shines a light on makers who maintain a deep respect for their materials, techniques, tools, and cultural origins. Although not comprehensive worldwide, Bark Rhythms focuses on bark paper and bark cloth traditions from Mexico, Hawaii, the Polynesian Islands, Indonesia, and Uganda, and marks the first time many of these artists have exhibited work in the United States.

Bark Rhythms opened at the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 6, 2024. A celebratory reception will be held on Thursday, July 11 from 4-7pm. Sponsored by North American Hand Papermakers and the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking, Bark Rhythms is curated by papermakers Jill Powers and Lisa Miles as part of NAHP's second Guest Curated Exhibition Triennial.

Events

Wednesday, May 29 • Virtual talk: Sheila Nakitende & Tedi Permadi: Ugandan barkcloth, Indonesian Duluang bark paper

Tuesday, June 18 • Virtual talk:  James Ojascastro & Cekouat Elim León Peralta :  Bast fibers for bark paper & cloth, Papel amate from Mexico

Thursday, July 11 • Exhibit Reception 4-7pm

Wednesday, Aug 7 • Virtual talk:  Lehuauakea, Dalani Tanahy, & Cora-Allan Lafaiki Twiss: Kapa bark cloth from Hawai‘i, Hiapo bark cloth from Niue

All events are free and open to the public. The virutal talks are held on Zoom. To register, visit the museum website (www.paper.gatech.edu) or email Anna.Doll@rbi.gatech.edu

Exhibiting Artists

Adnan Rusdi, Bobby Britnell, Cekouat Peralta, Cora-Allan Twiss, Dalani Tanahy, Enrique Chagoya, Faris Wibisono, Fred Mubuti, Gaal Cohen, Jennie Frederick, Lehuauakea, Maria Montaño Guerrero, Maribel Portela, Mufid Sururi, Sheila Nakitende, Tedi Permadi

About the Curators

Jill Powers is a paper and book artist, primarily working with hand cast and beaten bark fiber. Her art takes the form of sculpture, installation art, and book arts, and focuses on environmental themes. Powers has a graduate degree from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. She lives in Boulder Colorado, where she taught at Naropa University for 20 years, founding courses in 3D Ephemeral Media and Eco Art. Her work is in the Lieberman Collection and the RCW Museum of Papermaking, and many private and public collections. She has taught bark fiber courses at many places, including the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology in Oregon, the Honolulu Museum of Art in Hawaii, the Denver Botanical Gardens, and the Museo de las Americas. 

Lisa Miles is a papermaker and book artist who creates one-of-a-kind, hand-beaten bark paperworks. Originally from New England, Miles is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She holds an MFA in Book Arts from the University of Iowa Center for the Book, a BFA in Graphic Design from the New England School of Art & Design, and an AA in Printmaking from the Santa Fe Community College. In 2016, she researched  papel amate in Mexico, with the support of a University of Iowa Stanley Graduate Award for International Research. In 2017–2018, she received a Fulbright Arts Research grant for her project, “Bark Paper, Plant Dyes, and the Book Arts in Indonesia,” where she studied daluang bark paper in Java and fuya bark cloth in Sulawesi. In 2018, Miles was awarded the Holle Award for Excellence in Book Arts from the University of Alabama. Her work is held in public and private collections.

The inaugural fellows include 24 Georgia Tech faculty from five Colleges, as well as a faculty colleague from Georgia Gwinnett College and a partner from the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, who are building relationships with each other and with community partners in the areas of energy equity and environmental justice. Since the launch, they have engaged in a wide array of events, including community benefit and development workshops, site visits to community-based organizations across the Atlanta region, and university-community gatherings and symposia.

The program is expected to result in both collective and individual deliverables. Collective deliverables include the development of network mapping tools to facilitate collaborations inside and outside Georgia Tech, a set of principles for conducting community-engaged research, a reflective essay on faculty training for community-engaged research, and ideas for future activities to facilitate university-community and interdisciplinary team formation. Fellows individually determine their deliverables, which run the gamut from exploring partnerships for a specific research project to writing a societal impact statement for a tenure package.

More broadly, the program aims to grow Georgia Tech’s collaborative expertise in community-engaged research by forming a supportive network of faculty interested in community-engaged sustainability research and education.  

Faculty Affiliate: Patritsia Stathatou, Research Scientist, Renewable Bioproducts Institute, Georgia Tech

Sustainable energy sources and environmental justice go hand in hand. Although such technologies aim to minimize environmental impacts of modern societies, without considering issues of environmental justice and energy equity, these solutions can inadvertently perpetuate disparities by disproportionately benefiting certain communities while harming others. Bridging the gap between technological advancements and community benefits is paramount to creating an equitable energy future for all.

This program provides a unique opportunity to explore these interconnections, enhancing my knowledge in integrating community values and concerns into my research on alternative fuels and renewable energy sources. I am particularly excited about the hands-on approach of the program, which emphasizes listening sessions and workshops, allowing fellows to gain direct insights from various stakeholders. I hope that, through active participation in these sessions, I can further my understanding of the challenges faced by local communities and incorporate these insights into actionable solutions in my research.

In my project, I'm in a group crafting a reflective essay about our experiences with Community Engaged Research training. Our goal is to translate the insights gained from this pilot program into a publishable piece. Additionally, I'm acquiring valuable insights into the development of Broader Impact Statements and Community Benefits Plans, crucial parts of proposals for securing federal funding from NSF and DoE, respectively.

Faculty Affiliate: Sofia Perez-Guzman, Assistant Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Tech

The fellowship program has been a fantastic experience. I never imagined how much I would learn from this program about properly engaging with communities. As researchers, we might think we want to hear the needs that communities face to provide them with solutions. That is different than the way community-driven research should work. I’ve learned that researchers need to gain the communities’ trust, be present and participate in their events, and, more importantly, work at their pace and for their interests rather than push our research agendas for our professional benefit. I know there is still a lot more I must continue learning, but what I’ve learned so far has been an eye-opener that is making me rethink how to approach my research and its social aspect.

My project focuses on the social performance of supply chains, and I am seeking to put more emphasis on the “social” part of my research by making it more community-driven. That is why I applied for the fellowship. I am advancing two current projects as part of the fellowship. One relates to increasing food accessibility to vulnerable populations via community-driven freight transportation solutions. I want to bring food closer to people and do it by co-designing solutions with the communities. The second project relates to forming a team to pursue research on enhancing community resilience to extreme weather events for the mobility of people and goods. The fellowship and a Sustainability Next seed grant from BBISS are helping me move forward with this project.

The Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI) at Georgia Tech recently hosted a workshop on the Emerging Bioeconomy and the Future of Biorefining. The event cultivated new partnerships as more than 75 attendees from academia, national laboratories, and industry shared and learned about the cutting-edge developments in the emerging field.

Carson Meredith, executive director of RBI, said, “The workshop provided an immersive experience for the attendees with access to knowledge, opportunities to network, and a platform for collaboration to positively impact their understanding and involvement in this rapidly evolving field. I saw a lot of human connections being made, a lot of people shaking hands, and having conversations off to the side. That’s exactly why we hold such workshops — to exchange ideas within the Institute as well as between researchers in universities, industry, and national labs.”

The program started with a keynote by B. Frank Gupton, professor of chemical and life science engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University, on creating resilient national supply chains for essential medicines and the need for waste reduction through process chemistry improvements to reduce the carbon footprint in the pharmaceutical industry.

Various presentations from RBI’s research faculty demonstrated the depth of research in the field of bioeconomy and biorefineries. Topics included integrated biorefining processes by multicomponent separations and catalytic conversion, lignin-derived phenol as the new platform of biorefineries, catalytic conversion of organic acids, data-driven biorefinery process control, hot topics in lifecycle assessment, and more.

A highlight of the annual workshop was the student poster session that showcased the diversity of research happening in the renewable bioproducts field. Over 25 RBI Fellows, spanning chemical and biomolecular engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science and engineering, civil and environmental engineering, and chemistry and biochemistry presented their research to a highly engaged audience.

Andreas Villegas, president of the Georgia Forestry Association and the dinner keynote speaker, addressed the need for educating the community about working forests and their potential to create carbon-neutral products and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Working forests in the state of Georgia are managed with a growth-over-harvest-rate of 50% and are a natural solution to the major challenges in sustainable forests and communities.

Blake Simmons, keynote speaker from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, discussed the importance of intellectual property models and licensing technology models that will allow companies to access new processes emerging in the field.

Mi Li, assistant professor of biorefinery and sustainable materials from the University of Tennessee, presented his research on the modification of plant cell walls, while Bronson P. Bollock, professor of forest biometrics and quantitative timber management at the University of Georgia, presented the current issues and factors in the quantification of forest biomass feedstocks.

Kim Nelson, the chief technology officer of GranBio, addressed the opportunities and challenges in meeting the global demand for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and low-carbon bioproducts. Nelson presented GranBio’s patented AVAP technology that uses woody biomass to produce SAF, renewable diesel, electricity, and other byproducts like BioPlus nanocellulose for tires in the process.

“At this moment, there is a tremendous federal, state, and industrial focus on developing the U.S. bioeconomy,” Meredith said. “RBI's vision is that pulp producers and users of wood extractives and byproducts have an opportunity to develop higher margin products from woody biomass residues, including plastics, pharmaceuticals, and fuels, without disrupting current paper and lumber markets. Traditional petrochemical producers of these products have an opportunity to substitute more carbon-neutral sources as feedstocks. Our workshop sought a conversation around the opportunities and challenges from feedstock to the marketplace.

The Georgia Tech funding includes a project, in the topic area of Decarbonizing Forest Products, on innovative refining, paper forming, and drying to eliminate CO2 emissions from paper machines. Funded at $3.1 million, the project is led by Carson Meredith, professor and James Harris Faculty Fellow in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and executive director of the Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI). Collaborators include co-PI Cyrus Aidun, professor of mechanical engineering; Patritsia Stathatou, research scientist at RBI; and Aruna Weerasakura, senior research engineer. External collaborators include Fort Valley State University, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and several RBI member companies.

Meredith’s project focuses on decarbonization in energy-intensive drying, paper forming, and pulping processes and will combine recent deflocculation breakthroughs in fiber refining with low-water, multiphase paper forming. The innovations will facilitate the cost-effective implementation of advanced electrical drying technologies in the paper industry. By taking advantage of the increasing fraction of non-fossil electricity in the U.S., electrified drying, if implemented partially (50%), has the potential to reduce the generation of non-biogenic emissions by over 10 million metric tons of CO2e annually.

"I am excited because the new project will utilize the multiphase forming laboratory that is under construction in the Paper Tricentennial Building, representing the first major expansion in lab space there since the 1990s,” said Meredith.

Valerie Thomas, the Anderson-Interface Chair of Natural Systems and professor of industrial and systems engineering and public policy, is a co-PI in a $1.45 million project titled “Mild Co-Solvent Pulping to Decarbonize the Paper and Forest Products Sector,“ led by the University of California, Riverside.

Thomas’ project, also under the topic area of Decarbonizing Forest Products, aims to enhance Co-solvent Enhanced Lignocellulosic Fractionation (CELF) technology into a more environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional kraft pulping. CELF technology will be applied to optimize the production of dissolving pulp used in the manufacturing of extruded textile fibers and will also produce dissolving lignin as a by-product that can serve as a natural resin binder or a renewable ingredient for producing industrial adhesives and binders. This technology has the potential to reduce carbon intensity by 50 – 75% and operating costs by 10 – 20%.

Tim Lieuwen, David S. Lewis Jr. Chair and professor in aerospace engineering and executive director of the Strategic Energy Institute, is co-PI along with Vishal Acharya, principal research engineer and Benjamin Emerson, principal research engineer at Georgia Tech in a $3.25 million project titled “Omnivore Combustion System,” led by GTI Energy, an Illinois-based technology company.

Lieuwen’s project, under the topic area of Low-Carbon Fuels Utilization R&D, will design and demonstrate a scaled, adaptable omnivore combustion system (OCS) that can accommodate a continuously varying blend of low-carbon fuels with ultra-low nitrous oxide emissions, including natural gas-hydrogen blends, syngas, and biogas. The project will demonstrate a full-scale OCS for at least 100 hours and will focus on three aspects — improving performance, operation stability and safety, and fuel flexibility — and can potentially be used for industrial furnace applications in high carbon-emitting industries.

“The industrial sector is large in both its significance for our economy and its negative climate impacts, and each of these projects addresses significant challenges for the decarbonization of this critical sector,” Lieuwen said.

The projects are part of DOE’s Technologies for Industrial Emissions Reduction Development (TIEReD) Program, which invests in fundamental science, research, development, and initial pilot-scale demonstrations projects to decarbonize the industrial sector — currently responsible for a third of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

This year the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking was presented the Special Project (under $1,000) award by GAM President Marcy Breffle and Award Committee Co-Chairs Melissa Swindell and Karin Dalton for the project “Big Paper.”   “We are very pleased to present this award to a very deserving recipient,” said GAM President Breffle.  “Our members represent a good cross section of museums and cultural organizations in Georgia’s communities, large and small,” she added.  “We are happy to honor institutions, staff members, volunteers, patrons, exhibits, and special projects that have excelled in providing inspiring programs and leadership,” she concluded. 

Under the guidance of museum staff Jerushia Graham and Anna Doll, “Big Paper” is a project in which groups from nearby colleges and universities experience making large sheets of paper – 4’ x 6’—in a communal setting. From preparing fiber by hand beating plant material to working together to fill a papermaking mold, students worked together to create something huge! The inaugural event was in April, 2023, and had participants from the University of Georgia, Spelman College, Kennesaw State University, and the Georgia State University Art Club. The event returns in 2024 with noted papermaker Tom Balbo, founding director of the Morgan Conservatory, leading the communal event.

Museum Director Virginia Howell says, “The Paper Museum is honored to receive this award. It is a testament to the hard work of the museum team, and the project has allowed us to build on relationships with so many people who are interested in learning more about the papermaking process and how it can be an incredibly fun yet challenging experience.”

Big Paper returns on April 13, 2024.

• What is your field of expertise and at what point in your life did you first become interested in this area?

My background is in chemical engineering with a focus on process design and simulation, which is part of the field of process systems engineering. I have been interested in this general topic since first setting foot on the campus of Imperial College London in 1982, and subsequently pursued it as my Ph.D. topic. I first started thinking about direct air capture of CO2 in 2011 and about circular carbon from CO2 in 2016.

• What questions or challenges sparked your current energy research? What are the big issues facing your research area right now?

I believe that managing CO2 emissions will be the biggest challenge of the next 50 to 100 years. We will need to have negative emissions, as we are emitting too much, and pulling CO2 directly out of the atmosphere will be required because we are going to continue to emit. Creating technological solutions to provide negative emissions is one of the biggest challenges, as they need to be cost-effective and environmentally and socially less damaging than the emissions they capture. The biggest issue facing my research is understanding the phenomena that are involved in direct air capture and translating that understanding into engineered systems that are low-cost, have low environmental impact, and are socially beneficial.

• What interests you the most leading the research initiative on circular carbon economy? Why is your initiative important to the development of Georgia Tech’s energy research strategy?

The circular carbon economy is a systems problem in the broadest sense. This means that we must embrace a multidisciplinary approach to synthesize effective solutions. I want to emphasize the word “effective” here — we must embrace a wide range of measures of performance from energy efficiency to social justice because without improving along many dimensions we will be unlikely to be successful. It is this multidimensional, multidisciplinary research effort that interests me, as I love to find ways to bring people together to synthesize different knowledge into effective solutions. Georgia Tech is a world leader in direct air capture technology — as demonstrated by our new Direct Air Capture Center (DirACC). Our advances in this topic area can provide a base from which to develop approaches to carbon utilization, and other research efforts in electro, bio, and thermo chemical technologies can enable closed pathways using carbon as an energy carrier.

• What are the broader global and social benefits of the research you and your team conduct on circular carbon economy?

One vision for our energy and material systems is to have a much greater local production and consumption of energy using renewable resources. A circular carbon economy based on CO2 from the air; water from local sources including the air; and solar, wind, or biomass-based energy could be local and would have many transactions between local parties. This could serve to not only reduce global emissions but also to provide more opportunities for communities to benefit from the production of energy as opposed to having many transactions that transfer money outside of the community.

• What are your plans for engaging a wider Georgia Tech faculty pool with the broader energy community?

DirACC is one way we hope to connect faculty to the ecosystem of companies that are developing and deploying DAC technology. We hope that the challenges that these companies are articulating can be translated into research topics for the faculty affiliated with the center. The Department of Energy’s efforts to establish the DAC Hubs provides us with other opportunities to engage faculty around social and environmental justice issues associated with deploying energy technologies such as direct air capture. I hope that faculty will see themselves participating in these efforts and reach out to be included in the network of researchers on these topics.

• What are your hobbies?

My main hobby is playing a card game called Magic: The Gathering. I have played this since 1994 and have enjoyed many friendships formed as a dueling wizard. I also enjoy reading, particularly science fiction and steampunk literature, as well as history.

• Who has influenced you the most?

Professor Roger Sargent at Imperial College was one of the founders of the field of process systems engineering. His speech on elevation to the position of professor at Imperial in 1963 has had a profound impact on the direction of my research and educational activities.

The principal mission of RBI is to incubate and develop interdisciplinary teams of researchers that can establish thought leadership through new bioproduct research directions. Our focus is on pre-competitive, use-inspired research with a technical, economic, or policy focus. All supported work needs to address an aspect of bioproducts and the developing bioeconomy. The RBI Fellowship supports this mission by promoting two objectives:  

(1)  Helping teams of faculty to establish new concepts, publish early results, and develop competitive federal, industry, or foundation proposals in the future.  

(2) Training a diverse group of graduate-level professionals who can support the evolving bioproducts R&D workforce. 

                       ***NEW PROGRAM CHANGES*** 

• Along with Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) stipend and tuition support, RBI will provide $1,000 of materials and supplies funding or a $1,000 credit toward the use of RBI’s analytical facilities. 
• The fellowship was formerly called the PSE (Paper Science and Engineering Fellowship). It has been renamed as the RBI Fellowship. 
• The fellowship minor requirement has been changed from 12 hours to nine hours. The minor will consist of two core courses and one elective, described here. For students outside of the College of Sciences or College of Engineering, an alternative set of courses can be considered. 
• Awards can support GRAs from any school within Georgia Tech and can be advised by teams consisting of faculty from any Georgia Tech school, although the relevance of the disciplines included must be clear. 

The workshop started off with an introduction by Carson Meredith, executive director of RBI, who gave a perspective on the institute’s goals in promoting bioeconomy technology and innovation. Dr. Meredith emphasized RBI’s role in “catalyzing a community of researchers who focus on solving challenges in packaging by investing in team building across interdisciplinary boundaries.”

Research talks began with a presentation from Tequila Harris, professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. Harris shared her team’s research on a continuous coating process of cellulose- and chitin-derived materials to create enhanced packaging barrier films. Meisha Shofner, associate professor and Faculty Fellow in the School of Material Science and Engineering shared her work on mechanical and thermal properties of single use packaging materials and paths to improving circularity.

Carson Meredith, professor in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and executive director of RBI informed on renewable barriers from carbohydrates as viable alternatives to plastics and the research methods involved to get more promising results for circular functional barrier packaging materials. Joe Bozeman, assistant professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech presented the Systemic Equity framework as it relates to circularity.

Mehdi Tajvidi, professor from the University of Maine, discussed his team’s research to produce particle board and other packaging materials using nanocellulose and the audience got an opportunity to look and get a feel for his research team’s samples.

Discussions from industry experts included material innovations to replace plastics, packaging requirements in the European Union and the United States and how brands drive innovation more than regulations, methods to optimize package size and packing speed for sustainability, paper-based packaging equipment and systems to replace plastics including plastic water bottles, dye choices and the influence of defect detection in waterborne barrier coated papers, and innovations in fiber-based cold chain packaging.

Ken Zwick from the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory discussed managing forests using methods like forest thinning such that the biomass prevents wildfires and what success looks like for his team – less plastic in packaging and less burning of wood. Their Madison building also houses the largest wood library in Wisconsin.

Participants had a chance to interact with Georgia Tech students and get to know their research at the student poster presentation. The dinner keynote was presented by researchers Bo Arduengo and Stefan France from the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech. The keynote provided an overview of RBI’s newly created ReWOOD research center. Abbreviated from “Renewables-based Economy from WOOD,” research at the center focuses on using sustainable plant-based raw materials to develop industrial products ranging from jet fuel to solvents to generic pharmaceutical additives and more. The presentation provided a glimpse on the expansion of ReWOOD since its launch through research affiliations from universities across the world. ReWOOD’s partnership list continues to grow as the center focuses on targeted research areas and funding proposals to develop technology and commercial opportunities.

“The workshop turned out to be a huge success with a highly engaged audience of faculty, students, national lab, and industry experts,“ said Carson Meredith, executive director of the Renewable Bioproducts Institute. “RBI will continue to host such events as we are committed to providing thought leadership and be a catalyst of cutting-edge research in the areas of circular materials; bioindustrial manufacturing; and paper, packaging, and tissue.”

Sustainable polymers are an important component of RBI's Circular Materials research theme. The workshop was planned by Blair Brettmann, assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Natalie Stingelin, professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Will Gutekunst, associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Carson Meredith, executive director of Renewable Bioproducts Institute and professor and James Harris Faculty Fellow in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and was funded through a Moving Teams Forward seed grant from the EVPR office. The purpose of this seed grant is to develop a community of researchers on campus who focus on the development of new, more sustainable types of plastics and new ways to recycle or upcycle them at the end of life.

The workshop was the culminating event in the Moving Teams Forward seed grant program and involved invited speakers from inside and outside Georgia Tech. Industrial speakers and attendees (Dow, BASF), National Labs (NIST), and faculty from universities across the country participated in the symposium. The speakers represented key thought leaders to connect with and build stronger teams for advancing this field. 

The Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI) at the Georgia Institute of Technology has launched a new science and technology research center called ReWOOD. The ReWOOD launch included a 2-day workshop involving faculty research partners from universities across the Southeast, as well as former Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black.

ReWOOD, abbreviated from “Renewables-based Economy from WOOD” will focus on a burgeoning field of science called Xylochemistry. Xylochemistry makes use of sustainable plant-based raw materials to develop industrial products ranging from jet fuel to industrial solvents to generic pharmaceutical additives and more. Right now, most of the world production of such materials comes from non-renewable fossil resources or petroleum products. Moving to a renewable source will not only aid in reducing the dependence on fossil fuels but will also help with reducing the overall carbon footprint. ReWOOD is sponsored by RBI through its endowment-funded fellowships and is developing a corporate affiliate program.

“The formation of this internal research center will drive regional momentum for producing carbon neutral chemicals and fuels from wood wastes deriving from the abundant and fast-growing wood in the Southeast,” said Carson Meredith, executive director of RBI. “In fact, the Southeast has a larger percentage of sustainably grown working forests than any other area in the U.S., and Georgia is the number one exporter of forest products in the nation.”

Research on chemical renewables via Xylochemistry has been ongoing at Georgia Tech under a consortium called GT-STANCE (Science & Technology for a Neutral Chemical Economy). GT-STANCE’s researchers have developed seed technologies that aid in the production of wood-based chemical intermediates with potential uses in consumer commodities like pharmaceuticals and plastics. In addition, RBI has made a significant investment of nearly $3 million in building research teams in the related area of lignin conversion in the last five years. The formation of a research center that will coalesce regional thought leadership is the logical next step, as a renewables-based economy has become a national priority with the bioeconomy, climate, and clean energy goals set by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  

Raw materials for Xylochemistry could also be sourced from any kind of non-treated wood. For example, wood from demolished construction sites like old homes and wooden buildings provide an excellent opportunity for a circular economy, since this wooden construction waste ends up in landfills now.

Currently ReWOOD has 11 university affiliates that are joining Georgia Tech. In January 2023, faculty from Georgia Tech, the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, and Alabama A&M University convened to discuss the plans for a research center on a renewables-based economy from wood to develop renewable biofuels, industrial solvents, pharmaceutical additives, and many other products that culminated in the formation of ReWOOD. Since then, the center has gained the interest of multiple other researchers from the University of Florida, Kennesaw State University, and Clark Atlanta University. In addition, the Mississippi State and Forestry Office and Sandia National Laboratory have become key collaborators within ReWOOD. This collection of expertise includes chemists, engineers, economists, and forest experts, covering a broad range of activities that will include technology, economic, and workforce development, as well as lifecycle and socio-economic analysis. This partnership list will continue to evolve and grow as ReWOOD focuses on specific target research areas and proposals for funding to develop technology and processes in the business sector.

About the Renewable Bioproducts Institute at Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute is one of ten campus interdisciplinary research institutes. RBI champions innovation in converting biomass into value-added products, developing advanced chemical and bio-based refining technologies, and advancing excellence in manufacturing processes. Our three strategic thrusts are circular materials, bio industrial manufacturing, and paper, packaging, and tissue.

RBI serves as a campus conduit for industry-university partnerships and provides a portal to Georgia Tech core laboratories, faculty and students whose work and expertise is focused on biomass and bioproducts.

This multi-institution EFRC, known as the Center for Understanding & Controlling Accelerated and Gradual Evolution of Materials for Energy (UNCAGE-ME), has advanced understanding of how acid gases interact with energy-related materials since its inception in 2014. The Center, with Georgia Tech as the lead participating institution, was first renewed for four years of funding in 2018.

“The selection for a third phase of funding is unusual, and speaks to the impact of the research already reported by the center in its first two phases,” said Christopher Jones, the John F. Brock III School Chair in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. “I believe this is attributable to the strong leadership provided by our current and former directors, Ryan Lively and Krista Walton. An additional constant throughout all three phases of the center has been strong collaboration between Georgia Tech, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lehigh University, and the University of Alabama.”   

In the next four-year phase, UNCAGE-ME will leverage capabilities developed over the last eight years to address basic science questions associated with the evolution of materials to be used in clean energy technologies, including systems designed to capture and convert CO2 from the air into useful chemicals.

“Two of the most basic commodity chemicals in the clean energy economy will be H2 and CO2. A special emphasis has been given to these two molecules with DOE’s Energy Earthshots that were announced in November 2021 – the Hydrogen Shot and the Carbon Negative Shot” said Ryan Lively, a professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the director of UNCAGE-ME.

“These are all-hands-on-deck calls for innovations in technologies and approaches that will reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80% to $1 per 1 kg in one decade and remove CO2 from the atmosphere and durably store it at meaningful scales for less than $100/net metric ton of CO2-equivalent,” said Krista Walton, professor in ChBE as well as the inaugural director of UNCAGE-ME. Walton is also a faculty member in the Renewable Bioproducts Institute at Georgia Tech.

To help reach these goals, UNCAGE-ME will employ an interdisciplinary, matrixed research structure that combines novel materials synthesis, in situ characterization techniques, molecular modeling, and data science approaches to achieve an unprecedented level of design, prediction, and control over (electro)catalysts, sorbents, and membranes.

From 2014 to 2022, the UNCAGE-ME’s research accomplishments (appearing in more than 200 publications) provided detailed descriptions of the impact of acid gas exposure on metal-oxides, metal-organic frameworks, carbons, supported amines, porous organic cages, and other materials. This fundamental knowledge base directly supports the mission of the DOE’s Basic Energy Sciences program to provide the foundational science to guide the development of new energy technologies under realistic process environments.

“The College of Engineering is proud to continue leading this important initiative for an additional four years,” said Raheem Beyah, dean of the College of Engineering and Southern Company Chair. “This second renewal from DOE is a testament to Krista and Ryan’s leadership, as well as the vision and innovation of a science team comprised of Georgia Tech researchers and our collaborators around the nation.”

In addition to Georgia Tech, the partner institutions for UNCAGE-ME include Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Alabama, University of Florida, University of California Riverside, Lehigh University, Sandia National Laboratory, and the University of Michigan.

Julia Kubanek, professor and vice president for interdisciplinary research at Georgia tech, said it takes partnership across the Institute to support faculty in developing complex centers such as UNCAGE-ME.

“Research centers like this one benefit from collaborations among faculty experts and grants administrator staff in our schools and colleges, contracting officials in Research Administration, plus two other sets of critical partners: the Office of Research Development, which supports complex proposal preparation, and the interdisciplinary research institutes IRIs,” Kubanek said.

“The IRIs gather information from our Office of Federal Relations and host workshops to help faculty prepare and form teams. In this case, the Strategic Energy Institute, Institute for Materials, and Renewable Bioproducts Institute were all involved in ensuring that faculty had advance notice of this competition and could make the most of expert advice,” she said.

In an interview for the 75^th Anniversary of the Institute, Mead said, “I’ve enjoyed my relationship with the Institute tremendously. I’m proud of it and I hope to see it continue to thrive in its own way. It’s been a huge contributor to the industry and a huge contributor to my own success and, as such, I feel obligated to continue my support.” He went on to say, “Our industry was pretty technologically inept when the Institute was first formed. While I don’t think the Institute or its graduates can take the credit for having created the technolical upsurge that has taken place since 1928 or so, the fact is that it couldn’t have taken place without the Institute graduates out there to implement it, to help put it into place. The Institute’s influence on the industry is probably as great as any institution could have possibly had.” He served as Board Chair of the Institute in 1989 – 1990, when the Institute moved to Atlanta from Appleton, Wisconsin. Mead received an honorary doctorate from the Institute of Paper Science and Technology in 2004.

Mead was born October 11, 1927 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His great-grandfather, J. D. Witter was a cofounder of Consolidated Water Power  and Paper Co. His grandfather, George W. Mead I, and father, Stanton Mead, both served as president of the company. In 1966, George Mead II became president of the company. Mead was named Man of the Year in 1986 by the Paper Industry Management Association, and in 1998 he was inducted into the Papermakers International Hall of Fame. He served as the director of the American Forest and Paper Association, director and chairman for the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, and was a director of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry.

Mead’s philanthropy included the Mead Witter Foundation, which has given over $100 million in support of education, environmental causes, civic organizations, and local scholarships. He also supported the Mead Wildlife Area, a 33,000 acre preserve in Wisconsin. He was active in his community, from the library to the hospital association to the Rotary Club.

Mead is survived by his wife, Susan Feith, three children, two stepchildren, four grandchildren, four step-grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

The Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking extends condolences to the family and to his community on his passing.

She is part of international teams working to define terminology and plan nomenclature recommendations in polymer science. These recommendations enable cross-culture communication, clarity in scientific publications and collaborations and specific language for use in policy, intellectual property, and other drivers in science. 

Blair Brettman is an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech.