TAPPI Selects Fellows and Outstanding Young Professionals for 2023

Recognizing extraordinary contributors and emerging leaders during TAPPICon

The Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry is pleased to announce it will bestow the title of Fellow on seven members and name five individuals as this year’s recipients of the Young Professional of the Year awards.

Fellow is an honorary title bestowed upon a small percentage of TAPPI’s membership and is given to individuals who have made extraordinary technical or service contributions to the industry and/or the Association.

The following individuals have been named 2023 TAPPI Fellows:

  • Mark Keaten, Senior Director Operations, GAF
  • Kecheng Li, Ph.D.,Paper Technology Foundation Inc. Endowed Professor; Chair of the Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering, Western Michigan University                                  
  • Dave Maddux, Regional Sales Manager, Valmet
  • Robert J. Moon, Ph.D., Materials Research Engineer, USDA Forest Service
  • Jeff Peters,Tissue Applications Manager, BTG Americas, Inc.
  • Danny S. Tandra, Ph.D., President, Clyde Industries
  • Rory A. Wolf,Chief Executive Officer, PackEdge Global

In addition to those who are being recognized for meritorious service, the title Fellow may also conferred upon TAPPI Board chairs, vice chairs, and directors at the end of their terms of office, and upon Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Awardees and Herman L. Joachim Distinguished Service Recipients.

This prestigious group will be honored Sunday, April 23, 2023 at the Fellows Luncheon during TAPPICon, April 22-26 in Atlanta, GA, USA.

The Young Professional of the Year is an annual honor that identifies aspiring young leaders in the global forest products, pulp, paper, tissue, packaging and associated industries. Eligible nominees are age 35 or younger with less than 10 years of industry experience.

The recipients of the 2023 TAPPI Young Professional of the Year award are:

  • Brennan Augst,Technical Expert, Voith Paper
  • Sage Duguay,Business Intelligence Consultant, Fisher International Inc.    
  • Garrett Fisher,Technical Sales Engineer, Kemira Chemicals    
  • Landon Kirkland,Process Engineer, Wood PLC              
  • Harrison Talton,R&D Researcher, Fiber Technology, WestRock 

The award recognizes young professionals who have made significant contributions to the forest products industries in the following areas: leadership, community service, and problem-solving contributions to scientific or engineering projects.

Winners are granted one full year of TAPPI membership and are invited to attend their division-specific TAPPI conference during 2023 to receive their award.

For more information, visit TAPPI’s website.

2024 Events

April 9-11 | Pulp & Beyond Conference, Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre, Helsinki, Finland (www.pulpandbeyond.com)

April 14-17 | TAPPI FlexPack PLACE Conference, San Diego, CA, (https://events.tappiflexible.org/)

April 17-18 | Converters Expo, Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI (https://www.packagingstrategies.com/converters-expo)

April 17-19 Paperboard Packaging Council 2024 Spring Outlook and Strategies Conference, Omni Frisco Hotel, Frisco, Texas (https://paperbox.org/event/2024-spring-meeting/)

April 23-25 | Power Packs Live, Green Bay, Wisconsin, (https://www.bwconvertingsolutions.com/power-packs-live)

April 30-May 2 | American Coatings Show 2024, Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana (https://american-coatings-show.com/)

May 5-8 | FORUM/Infoflex 2024, Kansas City, MO (https://forum.flexography.org/ and https://infoflex.flexography.org/)

May 6-10 | NPE, Orlando, FL (https://npe.org/)

May 26-June 7 | Print & Digital Convention/drupa, Dusseldorf, Germany (https://www.printdigitalconvention.de/de)

May 29- 31 | Global Pouch Forum, Sheraton Sand Key Resort, Clearwater, Fl (https://www.packagingstrategies.com/global-pouch-forum)

June 17-21 | IAPRI World Packaging Conference, Novi, Michigan (https://iapri2024.itene.com/registration)

June 25-27 | Adhesives & Bonding Expo, Novi, Michigan (https://www.adhesivesandbondingexpo.com/)

July 17-20| World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference, Minneapolis, MN (worldofwipes.org)

September 8-12 | SuperCorrExpo, Orlando, FL, (https://supercorrexpo.org/?_SuperCorrExpo_)

September 10-12 |  Printing United Expo, Las Vegas, NV (https://www.printingunited.com/)

September 10-12 | Labelexpo Americas, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Chicago (https://www.labelexpo-americas.com/)

September 11-13 | IMFA Annual Conference, Carlsbad, California (https://www.imfa.org/26th-annual-conference/)

September 12-13 | LiftEx Gold Coast, Australia (https://events.leeaint.com/liftex-gold-coast)

September 17-19 | FlexForward Conference, Charlotte, NC (https://www.flexpack.org/events/fall-conference-2024)

September 24-26 | R2R USA Conference, Charlotte, NC (https://www.rolltoroll.org/2024-r2r-usa)

October 7-10 | The Battery Show North America, Huntington Place, Detroit, MI, (https://www.thebatteryshow.com/en/home.html)

October 28-31 | All In Print China, Shanghai New International Expo Center, (https://www.allinprint.com/en/)

November 3-6 | Pack Expo, Chicago, IL (https://www.packexpointernational.com/)

November 18-20 | Shanghai World of Packaging, Shanghai New International Expo Centre (www.swop-online.com)

2025 Events

April 1-3 |  Label Expo Mexico, Guadalajara, Mexico (https://www.labelexpo-mexico.com/)

April 29-May 1 |  Fit Expo, Miami Beach, FLA (https://www.filtxpo.com/)

September 29-October 1 | Pack Expo Las Vegas, NV (https://www.packexpolasvegas.com/)

October 1-2, 2024 | RISE® (Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics), Raleigh, NC (riseconf.net)

Oct 8-15 | K 2025, Messe Düsseldorf (www.k-online.com)

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