Atlanta, Georgia, -- February 5, 2002 As part of IPST's initiative to bring increased value to the industry and to increase collaboration with Georgia Tech, the Office of the President announced the winners of five $100,000 research grants to pursue new paper industry opportunities. These five projects bring new collaborations between the world-class faculty at IPST and Georgia Tech and build the IPST research program beyond traditional areas. Georgia Tech faculty adds a new dimension to our research program by providing capabilities in cutting-edge technology areas in which we do not have expertise.

As part of the Pathways Initiative, a strategic plan for the Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST), the Office of the President has awarded five new innovation grants. The Innovation Grant program offers opportunities for new products and new product platforms that lie at the interface between papermaking technologies and other cutting-edge technologies.

2002 Innovation Grant Recipients:

Dr. Yulin Deng and Dr. Zhong Lin Wang, "Feasibility Study of Nanotechnology in Filler-in-Fiber Engineering and Paper Coating"

Dr. John Cairney and Dr. William D. Hunt, "Nanoacoustic Biosensors for Loblolly Pine Cell Culture and Mill Process Chemistry Applications"

Dr. Jere Koskinen, Dr. Dennis Hess, and Dr. Stefan Zauscher, "Novel Thin-Film Fluorocarbon Coatings for Paper and Paperboard for Medical, Electronics, Packaging, and Printing Applications and Industrial-Scale Separation Processes"

Dr. Seppo Karrila and Dr. Andy Register, "Study of Electromagnetic and Physical Properties of Radio-Frequency Dipole Loaded Paper for On-Line Sensing and Smart Packaging Applications"

Dr. Hiroki Nanko, Dr. Kimberly Kurtis, "Investigation of Aligned Pulp Fiber Sheets as Reinforcement in Cement-Based Materials"

The awards were selected from 13 proposals that went through a rigorous evaluation process performed by IPST and Georgia Tech reviewers. The next round of applications for these grants will begin this summer.