Professor Honghi Tran (ChemE), Director of the Pulp & Paper Centre, has been awarded the John S. Bates Memorial Gold Medal by the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada (PAPTAC).

The Bates Medal is PAPTAC’s most prestigious award, instituted in 1989 to recognize the organization’s founder and first chairman, John S. Bates. The engraved gold medal is awarded annually to a single member in recognition of his or her long-term scientific and technological contributions to the pulp and paper industry.

Professor Tran is an internationally renowned expert in the field of pulp and paper research. He holds the Frank Dottori Chair in Pulp and Paper Engineering and has served as Director of the Pulp and Paper Centre since 2003. Professor Tran is known for applying his research to develop technologies and strategies for mills to increase their energy and chemical recovery efficiencies. As a result, he has attracted significant support from the pulp and paper industry not only in Canada, but worldwide, successfully creating and directing 10 large industrial research consortia to date. He is a Fellow of the Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry and has won several of their most prestigious awards.

“We are delighted that Professor Tran has been recognized for his innovative research and exceptional leadership in the pulp and paper field,” said Cristina Amon, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “On behalf of the Faculty I offer my warmest congratulations for this well-deserved honour.”

Professor Tran will receive the award on February 6, during PaperWeek Canada’s Awards Business Luncheon in Montreal.