North Carolina State University’s Professor and Buckman Distinguished Scientist Named Recipient of TAPPI’s 2023 Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award

(ATLANTA) February 20, 2023 – TAPPI is pleased to announce that Martin Hubbe, Ph.D., Professor, and Buckman Distinguished Scientist, North Carolina State University, has been named winner of the prestigious Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award.

Dr. Hubbe, a TAPPI Fellow, has edited three books for TAPPI Press and served as chair of TAPPI’s Introduction to Wet-End Chemistry course for several years.

A TAPPI member since 1978, he was an active member of the Virginia-Carolina and Delaware Valley TAPPI Local Sections. He served as conference track manager for several TAPPI conferences and as Chair for TAPPI’s Cost Saving Strategies course. He is also active in the Papermaking Additives Committee, having served as the committee’s Task Group Leader for the Analysis of Used Felts Project.

His research has involved the broad area of papermaking additives focusing on the charge-related properties of fiber furnish (how to measure, interpret, and optimize), the development of paper's dry-strength, optimal usage of retention aids, and chemical programs to promote dewatering. Hubbe achieved international recognition as an innovative researcher and an important contributor to the development of science and technology. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers.

Dr. Hubbe is the co-founder and editor or the peer-reviewed scientific journal BioResources, which currently publishes about 600 research articles and scholarly reviews per year.  The journal’s scope includes the materials science of paper and wood.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Colby College in Maine and a Masters from the Institute in Paper Chemistry in Appleton, WI. He earned a Ph.D. from Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY and wrote his thesis on the hydrodynamic shear forces required to remove tiny mineral particles from cellulose surfaces.

Upon completion of his Ph.D., Hubbe joined American Cyanamid Co., where he conducted research related to alkaline sizing systems.  In 1986, he joined International Paper’s central research facility, leading product development projects. Since joining NC State University in 1998, he has conducted research and published dozens of articles related to paper strength, electrokinetic tests, flocculation, and dewatering.        

The award will be presented at TAPPICon, April 22-26, 2023 in Atlanta, GA, USA.

About the Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award:

First presented in 1985, the prestigious Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award is TAPPI’s highest technical honor in recognition of an individual’s exceptional industry contributions. It is presented annually only if the individual has made preeminent scientific and engineering achievements of proven commercial benefit to the world’s pulp, paper, board, and forest products industries including forestry, derived products, their process technologies, and their applications.

About TAPPI:

TAPPI is the leading association for the worldwide pulp, paper, packaging, tissue and converting industries and publisher of Paper360°, Tissue360° and TAPPI Journal. Through information exchange, events, trusted content and networking opportunities, TAPPI helps members elevate their performance by providing solutions that lead to better, faster and more cost-effective ways of doing business. It has provided management training and networking to the industry’s leaders for more than 107 years. For more information, visit TAPPI’s website.