ATLANTA, Ga. – TAPPI is pleased to announce the winner of the Pulp Manufacture Division Leadership and Service award and Joseph K. Perkins prize is Peter Hart, Director: Fiber Technology and Innovation at WestRock.  The award is given in recognition of Peter’s outstanding contributions.

“It is wonderful to be recognized for all of the volunteer work performed for TAPPI,” said Hart. “I have been in Leadership Positions starting with the Alkaline Pulping and Bleaching Committee and working through the Chairs of the Pulp Manufacturing Division for several years. I have put a tremendous amount of time and effort into the Division and want TAPPI to succeed and thrive in the future.”

In addition to the award, Hart has selected the University of Main Hart Endowment Scholarship Fund to receive a $1000 gift.

Hart is the Director of Fiber Technology and Innovation at WestRock Co. He received a BS in Chemical Engineering and Pulp and Paper Technology as well as a MS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maine. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1992.

Hart began his career with Westvaco Corp. in 1993 as a Research Chemical Engineer. He currently holds three patents, has edited six books, co-authored six book chapters, written a multitude of publications and has been invited to speak at numerous conferences as well as instruct courses.

Hart has been a TAPPI member since 1982, is a TAPPI Fellow and is also Executive Board Member-at- Large, University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation. He has received numerous awards, including six time recipient of TAPPI’s David Wetherhorn Award and High Impact Paper Award, Research and Development Award and William H. Aiken Prize, William Fuller Fiber Supply Award, and AF&PA’s 2012 Leadership in Sustainability Award. He has been an active volunteer in the Pulp Manufacture Division, serving as chair of the division for several years. He is currently the Editor-in-chief of the TAPPI Journal Editorial Board.

TAPPI congratulates Hart and will honor him during the 2015 PEERS (Pulping, Engineering, Environmental, Recycling, Sustainability) Conference Opening Session on Oct. 26 in Atlanta.