AC-PABE reaches future, current paper industry leaders through summer outreach programs
Published: Aug 7, 2025 7:00 AM
By Joe McAdory
Auburn University’s Alabama Center for Paper and Bioresource Engineering (AC-PABE) is shaping the future of the pulp and paper industry through summer outreach programs that engage high school students, interns/co-ops and early-career engineers.
This summer, AC-PABE hosted 13 high school students, 17 interns/co-ops and 15 industry professionals for its annual Paper & Bioresource Engineering Summer Camp and Pulp and Paper Fundamentals Workshop. Both programs featured hands-on, team-based activities designed to introduce participants to the field and deepen professionals’ understanding of core scientific and operational principles.
“We unravel the full spectrum of outreach in the pulp and paper industry,” said Zhihua Jiang, director of AC-PABE and the Auburn Pulp and Paper Foundation Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering. “We inspire tomorrow’s potential leaders and develop the skills of those already in practice.”
During the expanded, week-long high school camp held July 14–18 — proudly sponsored by Georgia-Pacific — students explored the entire lifecycle of papermaking, from wood chipping and pulping demonstrations to paper testing, printing and recycling.
“In one activity, they used wood from Christmas trees to produce pulp, then processed it to make their own paper sheets,” said Bill Josephson, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
“They also learned about fiber analysis, color testing, and tensile strength measurements, giving them a firsthand look at the science behind a common product most people take for granted.”
A tour of Georgia-Pacific’s plant in Brewton, Alabama, gave students real-world insight into the scale and complexity of modern pulp and paper operations.
“We want to make our pulp and paper program more visible to high school students—and to their parents,” Jiang said. “The paper industry is very important in the South, especially in Alabama.”
At the other end of the learning spectrum, AC-PABE welcomed young engineers from Georgia-Pacific and interns/co-ops from Smurfit WestRock to Auburn for its second and third Pulp & Paper Fundamentals Workshops, held July 15–18 and July 30–Aug. 1, respectively.
Tailored to align with participants’ facility roles, the workshops combined core lectures with hands-on lab sessions to reinforce industry fundamentals, helping attendees connect classroom learning with on-the-job realities.
“These are young engineers or interns/co-ops,” Jiang said. “They work day-to-day at the mill and have some operational experience, but they may not fully understand the fundamentals or why certain things work the way they do. We share industrial perspectives combined with foundational knowledge. We teach them the scientific ideas and operating principles behind each unit operation. Hopefully, they gain a deeper understanding and can contribute to improving the process.”
Jiang noted that the workshop is open exclusively to companies that are part of the Auburn Pulp and Paper Foundation, a collaborative consortium of regional mills and suppliers.
“It’s important that we continue to strengthen our relationships with industry partners,” Jiang said. “It’s also an opportunity to engage with future leaders. When they have questions later in their careers, they’ll remember something we discussed and come back to us.”
Jiang sees the program as a launching pad — an opportunity to introduce students to an industry they might not consider and to build early connections that could shape future decisions.
“Today’s students might become tomorrow’s engineers, and eventually they come back as professionals to give back, mentor, partner and help our program grow,” he said. “For example, our program’s enrollment has tripled over the past eight years, from 27 to around 100. We train our students; they go into industry and often return to support us. This attracts even more students and the cycle continues. It comes full circle — like a mill.”
Jiang credited the outstanding team that made both summer programs possible.
I really appreciate Naomi Gehling, our academic programs administrator, for orchestrating these activities,” he said. “Dr. Josephson led the educational components and made learning fun and enjoyable for the summer students. Dr. Ramsis Farag, senior research fellow; Dr. Phil Woodrow, postdoctoral fellow; Yasir Arafat Siddiki and Hunter Black, graduate students, were incredibly helpful throughout the entire experience.
“The Auburn University Alabama Center for Paper and Bioresource Engineering is doing more than delivering education. It’s cultivating a community that improves industry and strengthens its future.”
Media Contact: , jem0040@auburn.edu, 334.844.3447
Summer participants explored the entire lifecycle of papermaking, from wood chipping and pulping demonstrations to paper testing, printing and recycling.
