In Memoriam: TAPPI Fellow, Dr. Thomas M. Grace
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A long time TAPPI member, colleague and mentor, Dr. Thomas M. Grace passed away peacefully Wednesday, February 3rd at his assisted living facility in Appleton, WI .
Dr. Grace was a faculty member at the Institute of Paper Chemistry in Appleton, WI (formally the IPST at Georgia Tech but is now the Renewable Bioproducts Institute in Atlanta) for 22 years.
He was a long-time champion and teacher of recovery boilers. Dr. Grace formed the T.M. Grace Company in 1988 to provide consulting on recovery boilers and chemical recovery and had extensive involvement with BLRBAC and the AF&PA Recovery Boiler Committee. He was also a program chair of the 1985 International Chemical Recovery Conference (ICRC) in New Orleans, and program chair of the 1989 ICRC in Ottawa.
Dr. Grace’s knowledge in recovery boilers also had huge impact on TAPPI. He served as an instructor of the Kraft Recovery Course since its beginning in 1986, a total of 26 times until his retirement in 2012. He also authored three chapters in the new “Kraft Recovery Boilers – 3rd ed”. Due to his numerous achievements and roles at TAPPI, he was inducted as a TAPPI Fellow in 1987. He was a recipient of the 2001 TAPPI Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal and was inducted to the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame in 2003.
His internationally recognized research, teachings and practical application of recovery boiler technology led him to author or co-author many papers, reports and book chapters on the subject. Dr. Grace was a pioneer who had taught many, either directly or through his numerous publications.
Dr. Thomas M. Grace will truly be missed but his prevalent legacy and achievements will continue to teach many in our industry for decades to come.
Read Full Obituary: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/postcrescent/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-m-grace&pid=197679459&fhid=14153
