This section brings the experiences and shows the hard work of volunteers of TAPPI who work with Standards, TIPs or ISO TC 6.

Please meet our first STAR Member, Nicholas Riggs

As a Lab Services and Quality Systems Manager, Nicholas (Nick) Riggs focuses on calibrations and quality management for Industrial Physics. Nick joined TAPPI in 2000 and is an active member of TAPPI’s Optical Properties Committee, is the Chair of the Process and Product Quality Scholarship Committee and participates in over 70 Standard-Specific Interest Groups.

“TAPPI Standards are important to our industry because, at the end of the end of the day, they allow us to answer the question, ‘How do you know?’”

How has your involvement in TAPPI impacted your professional life?

I’ve been able to get to know a lot of people in the same industries that I have worked with for years. It has been a great learning experience being able to listen to other opinions and gain information about how the industry works.

What sparked your interest in Standards?

The CEO of my company asked me to get involved with committee work because he felt it was vital to the health and growth of our company. Once on the committees, I saw the passion for the work from others, and it was just contagious.

Is there any particular review that has impacted you?

We recently published a Standard, T 452 om-23  Brightness of pulp, paper, and paperboard (directional reflectance at 457 nm) to support some technology that has been in use for several years. The updates to the Standard should improve the stability of that system that’s used across the industry, which showed me how big an impact working with TAPPI can have.

Why do you think Standards are important?

At the end of the day, TAPPI Standards allow us to answer the question, ‘How do you know?’

How have you used them in your field?

As a manufacturer of instruments and calibration standards used for daily quality control, it’s important to know exactly what it is I’m looking to accomplish on any given day. With Standards to back up my work, the work is somewhat unimportant. Knowing how to do a test or how to interpret a result is impossible without Standards.

Tell us a bit about yourself? (hobbies, education, and passion)

I grew up on a farm in southern Indiana and graduated from Indiana University with a BA in Biology and Minor in Botany. I received three research grants as an undergrad in the fields of genetics, plant hormone responses and searching for biomarkers in the oil and gas industries. My intent was to go to work in pharmaceuticals with a focus on genetic engineering, but my internship led me into ink manufacturing. From there I worked in R&D at Fint Ink, focusing on methods to produce pigments in a continuous process. Following that, I worked in plastics packaging, finally making my move to Technidyne to operate our calibrations laboratory.

My current hobbies are fishing and Dungeons & Dragons, which I play semi-professionally. Last month I hosted a D&D after-work session for my co-workers to great success.

What would you tell people that have never participated in Standards activities?

Just do it. Go find TAPPI on the internet and join. You won’t regret it. You will likely meet a mentor and find good friends to work with that have a similar mindset as you.

Does working with Standards give you a sense of fulfillment?

Absolutely!

If you could describe the value of TAPPI membership in one word, what would it be?

Access…to some of the most brilliant minds in the business.

If you would like to share your experience with Standards, TIPs or ISO TC 6, please write to standards@tappi.org and the TAPPI Standards team will be happy to interview you.