Atlanta --Wednesday, April 21, 1999 -- Dr. Johannes Archibald Van den Akker, who passed away on February 2 in Appleton will be memorialized by the establishment of the Van den Akker Prize for Paper Physics. The Van den Akker prize will be awarded for contributions to the field of paper physics. A former senior research associate and chairman of the department of physics and mathematics at the Institute of Paper Chemistry (IPC), Van den Akker was known for his brilliant mind and demand for excellence. Dr. James L. Ferris, the president of what has become the Institute of Paper Science and Technology says, "Van taught at the Institute from 1935 to 1975, and continually moved forward the field of paper and fiber physics over that period. He taught hundreds of future industry leaders who benefitted tremendously from his mentoring."

To recognize the many contributions Dr. Van den Akker made to the field of Paper Physics and to the paper industry, the Institute has established an endowment fund to support the prize. It will be awarded annually through the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) Paper Physics Committee, of which Dr. Van den Akker was a member for many years. Dr. Ferris explains, "Van was a member of the TAPPI Paper Physics Committee for many years. Also, he was a TAPPI Gold Medalist, so it seemed fitting to combine both the Institute and TAPPI in this memorial."

A native of Los Angeles, California, Van den Akker received his bachelor's and doctorate degrees from the California Institute of Technology. His first teaching position was at Washington University in St. Louis, where he taught physics. While there, he conducted research in the field of atomic physics. In 1935, he joined IPC and earned his reputation as a pathfinding researcher in the optics of paper. Dr. Ferris, a former student of Van den Akker observed, "Van and others at the Institute, brought the Paper Industry from an art to a science by applying scientific reasoning to the problems that faced the Industry."

Dr. Van den Akker was a strong supporter of education and in 1986 said, "At all levels of education, our increasing failure to attract, motivate and properly educate our young people is in my opinion, our country's most serious problem. If this problem is not solved, our industry will not be able to meet the challenges of the new high technology with distinction, and the American lead in developing new technology will continue to fade. I fervently hope that the lure of computers, which obviously lessens our population of physicists and engineers, can be combated successfully through the development and presentation of better and more interesting courses in physics and related areas." "The problems of industrial research are often more interesting and difficult than those of pure science; to reveal to the student the fact that industrial research often requires the thinking of scientists who are more broadly based in their education than their brothers in the pure science laboratories; and to point out that scientific generalists have developed and flowered in industrial research."

Those interested in making a tax-deductible contribution to the Van den Akker Prize for Paper Physics may send their contribution to IPST Van den Akker Fund, Office of the President, Institute of Paper Science and Technology, 500 Tenth Street, NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30318-5794.

For more information contact David Bell at David.Bell@ipst.gatech.edu.