People

TISCUT became the first international student chapter of TAPPI when it was founded in April 1995. Currently, there are more than thirty TISCUT members, all masters and doctoral candidates, whose interests cover a wide range, including kraft recovery boiler operations, forestry, waste water and air emissions treatment, closed-cycle technology, pulping, bleaching, paper and fibre science, recycling, and wet-end chemistry. TISCUT has been accepted as a member of TAPPI’s local Virginia-Carolina Section since its foundation, which has ensured TISCUT’s existence and continuous development.

TISCUT’s main objectives are to assist graduate students at the Pulp & Paper Centre in their professional development, to help them build networks with industries and other students, and to promote the scientific, professional, and social development of students preparing for careers in the pulp and paperindustry. The Pulp & Paper Centre at the University of Toronto is a multidisciplinary institution. Although the Centre is located within the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, there are also students conducting their research under its support who are formally enrolled in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, the Faculty of Forestry, the Department of Civil Engineering, the Department of Botany, and the Department of Chemistry. The Pulp & Paper Centre promotes professional and academic excellence by continually encouraging personal improvement, focussing on academic achievement but also incorporating extracurricular activities, which, together with the enhancement of leadership and communications skills, have become important components of TISCUT’s agenda. Ongoing TISCUT activities are supported and funded by the Pulp & Paper Centre. In addition, TISCUT receives financial support from TAPPI and TAPPI’s local Virginia- Carolina Section for attending TAPPI related conferences and meetings.

The 2004-05 TISCUT Council: Back Row (L to R): Christian Brown (Secretary), Teresa D’Souza (Vice President), Chris Goode (Social Chair), Claudia Gonçalves (Communications Director), Lateef Olayiwola (Web Master)
Front Row (L to R): Prof. Ramin Farnood (Faculty Student Advisor), Stella Xie (Treasurer), Arafat Aloqaily (President), Prof. Ning Yan (Faculty Student Advisor)

TISCUT is executed by a council, which is elected by all TISCUT members annually. The executive council for 2004-2005 is listed below, and can be contacted for further details. TISCUT’s main activities during the 2003-2004 session included: the 11th Graduate Student Research Conference; a local tour mill visit to the Abitibi-Consolidated Mill in Thorold, Ontario; the technology tour to Brazil; student seminars; alumni career talks; a dining etiquette seminar; and several social activities, such as a visit to the Toronto Zoo, and pub, cultural, and movie nights.

The executive council for 2004-2005:

• Arafat Aloqaily (President):
  arafat @ chem-eng.utoronto.ca
• Teresa D'Souza (Vice-President):
  teresa.dsouza @ utoronto.ca
• Christian Brown (Secretary):
  cabrown @ chem-eng.utoronto.ca
• Stelle Xie (Treasurer):
  stella.xie @ utoronto.ca
• Claudia Gonçalves (Communications Director):
  claudia @ chem-eng.utoronto.ca
• Chris Goode (Social Chair):
  chris.goode @ utoronto.ca
• Lateef Olayiwola (Web Master):
  latif @ chem-eng.utoronto.ca
• Faculty advisors:
  Prof. Ramin Farnood
  Prof. Ning Yan
  
  

The Graduate Student Technology Tour to Brazil

One of the recent activities organized by TISCUT was the biannual Pulp
& Paper Centre Graduate Student Technology Tour, which took place from May 15 to May 30, 2004. The objectives were to visit key industrial and academic sites in the emerging Brazilian pulp and paper industry, to present student research projects to facilitate discussion with researchers and engineers in industry, to increase the Pulp & Paper Centre’s network of international contacts, and to explore the vibrant landscape and culture of Brazil.

The tour group at Aracruz: Back Row (L to R): Chris Goode, Lateef Olayiwola, Ayan Chakraborty, Tayebeh Behzad, Mischa Theis, Claudia Gonçalves, Saulo Braz (Aracruz), Yuefeng Zhang, Alexandre Figueiredo (Aracruz)
Front Row (L to R): Professor Ramin Farnood, Sandeep Bharwaj, Teresa D’Souza, Mohammad Pouran

The tour was organized completely by students, from fundraising to logistics, and was coordinated by Claudia Gonçalves and Chris Goode. Ten students participated, representing all of the Pulp & Paper Centre consortia. Faculty who took part in the tour included Ramin Farnood and Pierre Sullivan (Associate Directors of the Pulp & Paper Centre).

Participants were given comprehensive tours of the sites visited. These included Voith Paper, Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP), International Paper do Brasil Ltda, Aker Kværner, Celulose Nipo-Brasileira S.A., Aracruz Celulose S.A., and Universidade Federal de Viçosa. Student presentations given at each of the sites led to interesting discussions and new avenues for future collaboration.

Due to the rapid expansion of the Brazilian pulp and paper industry over the past five years, the tour participants were able to view the most current technology in pulp and paper unit operations. Eucalyptus nursery and plantation tours provided insight into Brazil’s most important competitive advantage: trees which grow five to ten times faster than those in North America. Of course, the tour participants made sure to soak up the sun on the Rio de Janeiro beaches before flying home.

The experience was rewarding, enabling the students to increase their knowledge of pulp and paper processes and to test their teambuilding
and leadership skills. As with previous tours, the students will publish a technical analysis of their visit to Brazil for distribution to sponsoring companies.

TISCUT Contact:
Fax: 416 971 2106
E-mail: tiscut@chem-eng.utoronto.ca
Web: www.chem-eng.utoronto.ca/~tiscut

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