Two McMaster graduate students and an alumna from chemical engineering took top honours from the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada (PAPTAC) at their annual meeting on Feb. 9.

Lucy Ye won the first place Bolker prize for her presentation and the Karnis award for best poster, while Chuanwei Miao won second place for his presentation. McMaster alumna Yaling Xu, received the Journal of Pulp and Paper Science Award for her paper, “A New Look at How Fines Influence The Strength of Filled Papers”. Both PhD students work with professor Robert Pelton in chemical engineering. Xu now works for the Nalco Chemical Company in China.

Pelton is the director of the McMaster Centre for Pulp and Paper Research, holds the Canada Research Chair in Interfacial Technologies and is internationally known for his innovative work on temperature responsive microgels and polymer applications in paper technology.