Undergrads Published in TAPPI Journal

Dr. Martin Hubbe is proud to announce the publication of two papers in the TAPPI Journal in September 2024 featuring undergraduate students Kensley Hamm, Daniel Kozel, Lucy Jones as well as ’24 PSE alum, Varun Atree. All received author credit for two studies. “Effects of hydrodynamic shear during formation of paper sheets with the addition of nanofibrillated cellulose, cationic starch, and cationic retention aid.” and “Colloid chemical aspects of paper formation in the presence of nanofibrillated cellulose and cationic starch.” Two students share thoughts on the process and PSE.

Daniel Kozel— During my time as a student in PSE 322, I wasn’t thinking too much about the work that my group was doing in the lab except for it being a part of the course curriculum. However, I became much more invested once Dr. Hubbe reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in being a co-author that would help analyze the data collected by all the groups. It was very cool to be able to look at and consolidate the data provided by all the groups and draw our own conclusions with the help of Dr. Hubbe on what was happening in each system we analyzed. Another great aspect of the articles our group is publishing is that each article builds on the previous one. In the other articles, primarily written by my other co-authors, they analyze some specific aspects of the systems such as shear or cationic starch. Then, in the article I primarily worked on, it brings it all together to talk about the strength properties of the final sheet. For me it was also very interesting to see how the articles start as a draft and make their way through all of the editing and proofreading steps both by our team along with the TAPPI Journal’s team. Since these have been the first articles I have co-authored, I had not seen the process before.

I’ve had an interest in research because I find it awesome that when doing research, you have the opportunity to be the person or a part of a group that makes the next big breakthrough. For that reason, I thought about attending graduate school, but then decided to go straight into the workforce in the paper industry. However, this opportunity that Dr. Hubbe has given me to co-author these articles has helped to fill some of that research interest.

I have accepted a full time position at International Paper’s New Bern, NC mill. I will be returning as a REACH engineer after working there this past summer as a REACH intern.

Kensley Hamm–I am proud of the work done by myself, the team of authors, and my classmates from PSE 322 for this article. The results from this article are all from research done for the PSE 322: Wet End Chemistry lab in Fall 2023 and focus on the effects of hydrodynamic shear. This article in particular focuses on testing done on handsheets made using the Wet End Process Simulator (WEPS) device.  Working with this device was an interesting experience.  My lab group was the first group to use it, so there was some troubleshooting that had to be done. Working with new technology was a great learning experience and we were able to get meaningful results that are reflected in the article. While writing the article, I analyzed data from multiple different groups that used the WEPS device. This allowed me to develop a deeper understanding of the results and implications than I would have otherwise.

During my last internship, I conducted a refining energy optimization trial where I varied the energy setpoint of the refiners and measured key metrics such as freeness, fines creation and resulting tensile strength. My research experience with hydrodynamic shear helped me immensely when designing this trial, and many of the results from the article served as a basis for my hypotheses. It felt gratifying that an article I contributed to writing was able to be applied to a project in the industry to improve a process.

After graduation, I will be working for Georgia-Pacific as an engineer in their Engineering Development Program based out of the Savannah River mill. I am incredibly excited about this opportunity and can’t wait to gain more knowledge on many different areas of the tissue-making process. I am grateful to the paper science program at NCSU for opening the door to so many new experiences and connections. The program does an excellent job at providing students with connections to industry professionals, job opportunities, and support during the semester.