Papers focusing on nonwovens and paperboard coating capture top honors including the Honghi Tran Prize
(ATLANTA) March 14, 2023– Each year, the TAPPI Journal (TJ) Editorial Board honors the best of TJ content by nominating and voting for the Best Research Paper. The award is ultimately selected based on scientific merit, innovation, creativity, and clarity. For 2022, two papers claimed this distinct honor.
The first paper, “Microbial load and proliferation associated with various face mask types and sources during the COVID-19 pandemic,” was authored by Srinivasan Narasimhan and co-authors Meenashree Balakrishnan, Olukayode James Ayodeji, and Seshadri S. Ramkumar. Narasimhan is Chairman of the Asthagiri Herbal Research Foundation in Chennai, India, while Balakrishnan is a senior scientist, also at the Foundation. Ayodeji is a Ph.D. candidate and Ramkumar is a professor in the Department of Environmental Toxicology at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. The nonwovens research appeared in the January 2022 issue and is now available as a free download.
“It is notable that a Nonwovens paper, for the very first time, has won the TAPPI Journal Best Research Paper Award. This speaks to the excellent caliber of their research and the tremendous contributions of all the co-authors,” said Doug Coffin, TAPPI Journal Editor-in-Chief. “TAPPI congratulates them for producing and submitting such an outstanding paper.”
The second paper, “Review of coating cracking and barrier integrity on paperboard substrates,” was authored by Joel C. Panek and Peter W. Hart. Panek is a senior principal R&D scientist at WestRock in Richmond, VA, while Hart is the director, Fiber Technology, also at WestRock. The paperboard coating research appeared in the November 2022 issue and is now available as a free download.
“This research paper is a comprehensive review of the literature around a common cause for failure in sustainable barrier coatings in packaging; fold cracking,” said Steve Ottone, the TJ Editorial Board member who facilitated the paper’s peer review. “It looks at the causes of cracking, both substrate and coating, and helps set a path forward for improving barrier integrity. It represents a great starting point for anyone looking to develop sustainable packaging solutions.”
In addition to receiving Best Research Paper honors as primary authors, Narasimhan and Panek will also share the Honghi Tran TAPPI Journal Best Research Paper award. The $2,000 cash prize is endowed by Professor Emeritus Honghi Tran, Ph.D., of the University of Toronto and author or co-author of more than 80 papers published in TJ. Tran established the award in 2019 to encourage and reward the publication of high-quality research in TJ.
The awards will be presented at TAPPICon, April 22-26, 2023, in Atlanta, GA, USA.
About TAPPI:
TAPPI is the leading association for the worldwide packaging, paper, pulp, tissue and converting industries and publisher of Paper360° Magazine, Tissue360° Magazine and TAPPI Journal. Through information exchange, events, trusted content and networking opportunities, TAPPI helps members elevate their performance by providing solutions that lead to better, faster and more cost-effective ways of doing business. It has provided management training and networking to the industry’s leaders for more than 105 years. For more information, visit tappi.org.
Source: TAPPI
