Paper Science Students Visit NC Converting Facilities

Students within the Paper Science and Engineering Program in the Department of Forest Biomaterials  recently received the privilege to participate in a unique opportunity to attend a two-day visit of packaging converting facilities in North Carolina. Facilities that welcomed our students included Atlantic Packaging in Greensboro, Pratt Industries in Statesville, and Cascades in Wagram. This opportunity coincided with Dr. Nathalie Lavoine’s new course, Pulp and Paper Products and Markets.

This course is designed for students to experience an education-engineering integrated project. Students learn course material on campus, while simultaneously designing and implementing projects alongside industry-leading companies. The students are able to receive a behind the scenes look at the companies in the facilities tours to mitigate the gap between class and the real-world.

We were able to catch up with Wallace Layman, an undergraduate within the department, who shared about his experiences during the facilities tour. When discussing the educational benefits of this trip, Wallace stated, “This trip gave me a modern reference point to a converting facility that I will have in my memory bank and will be able to call upon.”

The STEM Education Initiative, who aided in funding this project, selected 13 projects to receive more than $100,000 in research funding to enhance the teaching and learning of STEM fields at the university. The majority of the students that were able to benefit from this opportunity were first year students who will be able to use their experiences to develop practical parallels between the memories of this trip and the teaching material they will receive over the course of the next 3 years.

The design of this course and facilities tour perfectly represents the forefront of education that our department is striving to develop. Using NC States’ “Think and Do” matra, we are providing our students the chance to practice what we are teaching in the classroom, in real-world situations, while also providing network connections between students and major employers. This among many other reasons is why we continue to see such growth and success within our department!