Agenda 2020’s fall meeting, held last week at Western Michigan University’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences in Kalamazoo, Michigan, highlighted progress in implementing the organization's research roadmaps into funded road trips.

 

"We are very pleased at the traction our roadmaps are gaining," commented executive director David Turpin. "Member and company partner investment commitments in Agenda 2020-sponsored research projects in this three-year period total $1.8 million, with about half of the amount coming from industry and about half from federal funding.  Already, some of the results from proof-of-concept projects are showing promise."

 

Agenda 2020 Board Chair Fritz Paulsen,(photo on right), research and development manager of KapStone Paper and Packaging, reviewed the Agenda 2020 vision and progress in achieving it.

 

Paulsen announced that the organization would be undertaking a strategic evaluation of its structure and current member interests. "We’ll be looking for your involvement and comments," he told the group, "as we examine whether each of our teams should continue as they are or refocus in more immediate areas—and perhaps we need to form new teams in areas where we have not been active to date."

 

The  staff will conduct a survey of members in preparation for a workshop tentatively planned for December 2017. Non-members who want to volunteer their perspectives are invited to contact Turpin. 

 

Dean Houssam Toutanji, dean of the College, welcomed the group to campus, and thanked students, faculty, and industry for their participation. Professor and Department Chair Kecheng LI, chemical and paper engineering, moderated a series of presentations by faculty on topics such as lignocellulosics for fuels, flexible sensors and electronics, water removal in forming and wet-press at a fiber level, and coating and printing topics. The participants also toured the pulp and paper pilot plant and the coating and printing centers.

 

 

 

In the photo above, students, faculty, and member company representatives hear portfolio updates at WMU's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. 

 

"We appreciate the hospitality of Western Michigan University and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences," said Turpin. "Our members value such opportunities to learn about these capabilities and hear about the research and innovation coming from them. We especially appreciate the chance to meet the promising students we encounter."

 

The next all-members’ meeting and tours are being scheduled for December 11 and 12, 2017, at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

 

 

 

In the photo above, Chemical and Paper Engineering Department Chair Kecheng Li addressed opportunities in lignocellulosics for fuels, nanomaterials, and pulp  and paper.

 

The Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance is an industry-led consortium that promotes development of advanced technologies for the pulp and paper industry. For further information, please visit the website at www.Agenda2020.org.