2024 Paper and Paperboard Coating Course

From raw materials and printhead construction to formulated systems and press side applications, Susan Bailey has a wide angle view of high speed inkjet presses. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles and undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. Susan was introduced to the fundamentals of inkjet systems in imprint and specialty printing markets at Hewlett Packard. Through the development of semi-conductor processing at Brewer Science and raw material design at IGM Resins, Susan grew in appreciation of how the individual component level decisions were driving performance and market reach for inkjet application. Since joining Michelman in 2018, Susan has promoted primer and tailored aqueous overprint coatings with OEM and integration partners to provide inkjet press owners with robust system solutions that provide confidence to expand their press use and applications for inkjet in the print marketplace.

• 30 plus years of coated paper and board experience
• Worldwide responsibility providing technical support for paper and paperboard coatings to current and potential Kemira customers
• Responsibilities include site support, process development and troubleshooting, training, and new business development - Areas covered include papermaking, coating, and printing/converting
• Tappi Fellow
• Retired military - 30 years Reserves

• Earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Virginia Tech and Ph.D in Macromolecular Science and Engineering from Virginia Tech developing high temperature polymers for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.
• Prior to working at Dow, Brian worked at Henkel on novel adhesives and sealants as well as Los Alamos National Laboratory studying the degradation of cations under highly alkaline conditions for electrochemical applications.
• Developed many commercially successful latex products for markets ranging from thermal paper, coated paper and paperboard, and barrier coatings for packaging.
• Recipient of multiple external awards due to his project leadership and technical impact on the teams that won an EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, three R&D 100 Awards, a Business Intelligence Sustainability Award, and two Edison Awards for ROPAQUE™ NT-2900 Opaque polymer used in Koehler’s Blue4est® thermal paper technology and RHOBARR™ barrier coating technologies.
• Brian enjoys spending time with his two well behaved kids and one poorly behaved dog. He’s an avid tennis player and novice cyclist and guitarist.

• BS in Paper Science and Engineering, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
• 38 years of Industry experience in manufacturing, Coating R&D, Specialty Product Development, and Business Development.
• Specific experiences included multiple coater startups, Global coating support for International Paper, and Coating Barrier Development for the last 10 years.

• Over 25 years of experience in the paper/packaging and industrial starch industry Spent her first years as a process engineer, Team Development Manager, and Lab & Quality Manager for a Liquid Packaging Operation working on projects focused on improvements in safety, quality, reliability, and cost
• In 2006 began her work with Tate & Lyle (now Primient), a leading starch supplier to the paper industry, supporting the entire Industrial Starch business unit in the areas of paper (wet end, size press, coatings) and specialty (building materials, adhesives, other) applications
• Current team is responsible for technical support and development in areas such as lab studies and analyses (starch, wet end, coatings, adhesives, rheology modification, etc.), trial support, troubleshooting and problem resolution, as well as new product and applications development project pipeline for the Industrial business unit

Brad Fadden is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Paper Science. Brad spent 18 years in the paper industry working for Graphic Packaging at the Kalamazoo Board Mill before joining Ingredion as a Senior Applications Specialist and Product Development Manager. After four years, Brad returned to work at Graphic Packaging as a coating superintendent and project manager for K2 installation. Brad has worked as a Process Engineer, Supervisor and Department Superintendent, Research & Development Manager, and Coating Superintendent. Brad’s career highlights are installing curtain coaters in Kalamazoo and in West Monroe, LA, and the K2 paper machine installation and startup from 2019–2022.

Brad is married with three children and is an avid golfer and a self-proclaimed baseball nut.

• Dr. Li received his Ph.D. from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry and the Pulp and Paper Centre at the University of Toronto, Canada; Prior to joining WMU, Dr. Li was a Professor and University Research Scholar in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of New Brunswick, where his was a recipient of Merit Award (2008) and was appointed University Research Scholar by the UNB Board of Governors in 2011 and then 2016;
• Dr. Li has more than 20 years of R&D experience in pulp and paper manufacturing technologies including paper recycling and paper for packaging materials. His areas of research interests also include biorefining for biofuels, nanocellulose, biochemicals; enzyme technologies for wood and fiber processing and wastewater treatment; and state-of-the-art surface and nanoscale techniques;
• Dr. Li has co-authored with his students more than 100 refereed papers and book chapters, developed several proprietary technologies, and holds six US patents awarded.
• Dr. Li has been invited by universities and research institutes around the world to give seminars in e.g., Australia, Canada, China, Finland, Japan, Korea, and the USA, and by conferences and symposiums to deliver keynote speeches;
• Dr. Li is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) and has been appointed as an adjunct professor by the University of Waterloo and by the University of New Brunswick. He is also serving on the International Research Management Committee of Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI).

Scott McNutt has over 40 years of experience in the paper industry, with a focus on process and product knowledge in the disciplines of papermaking, quality, engineering, operations management, Lean/Six Sigma, product development, and innovation. He is also well-versed in the downstream converting processes and end-use requirements for cut sheets, QSR, flexible packaging, and many technical specialty grades.

He started his career in specialty paper at Dunn Paper, serving in roles in process engineering, quality management, and product development. He later transitioned to Fine Paper with Willamette in Hawesville, Kentucky, and was part of the effort to infuse state-of-the-art papermaking technology into the fine paper industry in the US. From there, he moved to Mosinee, Wisconsin to manage the production operations for Wausau Papers, returning to his specialty paper roots. To bring his career full circle, he returned to Dunn Paper in Port Huron to drive operations success and innovation.

Traveling through the years, he has toured a vast number of pulp and paper mills in the US and abroad, exploring new technology. Scott has been a member of TAPPI since 1985, attending numerous events at the local Chapters as well as annual Conferences. In addition, he has been active in the Smithers Specialty Papers Conferences in Europe and North America. He is active in the TAPPI Mentor program and recently joined the Tappi Nanotechnology subcommittee.

His primary focus now with Nextep Partners LLC Consulting is paper innovations for sustainable packaging applications.

• Holds a Ph.D. in Clay Mineralogy and Clay Chemistry from Rutgers University
• Appointed Post Doctoral Fellow/Research Associate at Materials Research Laboratory of Pennsylvania State University where he spent 5 years developing microporous desiccant materials for dehumidification and cooling system applications.
• Has 32 years of experience in mineral pigment development and processing as well as paper coating science and technology.
• Recently retired as a  director of the R&D at Thiele Kaolin Company where he and his team were involved in improving and developing kaolin products and processes for improved paper coating and filler applications.
• Additionally, holds a Certificate in Mid-Management Program from Georgia Tech and an Executive Certificate in Management & Leadership from MIT.
• Malla is active in the Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) and has served in a variety of leadership roles, including the chairman of Coating, Printing and Surface Enhancement Division. Dr. Malla received the 2014 Coating Division Leadership and Service Award and the Du Pont Soy Polymer Prize. He was also selected TAPPI Fellow in 2018 and Fellow of American Society of Nepalese Engineers in 2010.
• Malla was also elected President of The Clay Minerals Society (2015-2016). He currently serves on the editorial board of Journal of Porous Materials and Clays and Clay Minerals journal.
• Awarded the 2024 Dr. George W. Brindley Clay Science Lecture Award by The Clay Minerals Society.
• Malla has authored and co-authored around 50 technical papers/book chapters and holds 16 U.S. patents.

• Holds BS and MS degrees in Wood Technology from Penn State University
• His 45- year career is highlighted by 10 years with varous paper companies (Container Corporation of America, St. Regis Paper, Champion International), and 28 years in the synthetic latex business (Reichhold Latex, DRSL, Mallard Creek Polymers), and 7 years working with Omya, Inc., a supplier of ground calcium carbonate.  He recently returned to Mallard Creek Polymers, a leading supplier of specialty latex products, with a strong product line for aqueous barrier coating.
• Areas of expertise include: Paper coating raw materials, formulation, application testing and finishing, Synthetic latex development, manufacturing, and applications technology, calcium carbonate pigments for use in paper coating and filling, and aqueous barrier coating compounding, application, and role in creating a sustainable future for paper/paperboard packaging.
• 2020 recipient of TAPPI’s Coating and Graphic Arts Division Education and Mentoring Award for his years of mentoring our industry’s newcomers. Part of that mentoring has been participation in Western Michigan education programs, countless trials on the University’s pilot coater, and review of many technical works coming out of the University.
• A very active participant in TAPPI; an endeavor that’s given rise to excellent technical interactions, creative problem-solving, years of conference programming and most of all a lifetime of close industry friends. For a young person just coming into the industry, this kind of participation can offer a much more satisfying career experience.

• Received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. After a brief two years in the chemical industry, he found his way into the paper industry.
• In the 43 years since that time, Michael has had a wealth of technical and management experience in papermaking, coating of paper and board, tissue production and printing methods of various substrates.
• Active member of TAPPI and FTA and has written and presented many papers related to, paper and board coating, printing, and the manufacture of creped tissue.
• BTG and WMU have been important partners through the years with mutual support of our customers trial work. BTG has supplied countless coating blades and rods for these coating trials. 
• In Michaels spare time, he enjoys DIY projects such as home remodeling, auto and motorcycle maintenance.

Scott has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a certificate in management from the University of Wisconsin. His work experience includes operations management of a coated specialty paper machine, directing corporate sustainability and product regulatory and stewardship, continuous improvement, quality management, product management, product development, business development and specialty paper sales. During his Product Development time, Scott focused on replacement technologies for fluoro-chemistry in OGR applications, as well as lightweight, flexible packaging applications requiring moisture and oxygen barrier. Scott also retired from the Army National Guard with 20 years of service including 2 ½ years deployed to the Middle East in support Operation Iraqi Freedom. In his free time, Scott enjoys vacations with his wife and college aged boys, camping, fishing, hunting, wood cutting, diy workshop projects, forestry management on his forested property and health and fitness.

• Teaching courses in rotogravure, color management, printing inks, and printability analysis - research is focused on ink formulations, ink and substrate interactions, rotogravure and flexo printing, and printability
• Works in printed electronics and functional inks formulations, and is serving as Ph.D. and MS chair for graduate students
• Recently supervised MS and Ph.D. thesis in coating formulations
• Authored and co-authored over 150 papers, conference proceedings, and eight patents
• Has served as a vice president of research papers in TAGA, Technical Association of Graphic Arts TAGA board member for eight years