TAPPI’s 2018 Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award

President of JDMcD Consulting Inc. and Adjunct Professor at McMaster University Named Recipient of TAPPI’s 2018 Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award

TAPPI is pleased to announce that David McDonald has been named winner of the prestigious Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award. He is President of JDMcD Consulting Inc. and an adjunct professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University.

McDonald began his career in the industry with the Abitibi Paper Company in 1978.  In 1984, he joined Paprican as a research scientist. During his active research career, he produced outstanding advances in the science and technology of wet pressing, web handling, winding and several other fields. These are described in 70 peer reviewed publications and conference presentations, about a quarter of which are in TAPPI publications.

McDonald rose to the position of Vice-President Research and Education in Paprican responsible for the entire research and university programs of the organization with line responsibility for about 310 people.  Among his many accomplishments was his vision to create a world-class program in nanotechnology and forest biorefinery. Upon the creation of FPInnovations, he was appointed Vice President of University Programs and Strategic Partnerships. In this capacity, he was the architect of eight university networks supported by Industry and the Government of Canada to create the forest industry of the future.  He later served as the Senior Advisor to the umbrella organization of the networks, FIBRE, which was comprised of 27 universities with over 100 professors and 400 students.

McDonald has been a member of TAPPI since 1982, serving on the Water Removal and Finishing and Converting Committees, as well as the International Research Management Committee.  He is a TAPPI Fellow and recipient of the TAPPI Engineering Division Technical Award and Beloit Prize. David is an Associate Editor of J-FOR and a Senior Advisor to the Marcus Wallenberg Prize Committee in Sweden. He has received many other awards, including the John Bates Gold Medal, PAPTAC’s highest technical award.

The award will officially be presented April 16 at TAPPI’s annual PaperCon conference in Charlotte, NC, USA.

About the Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award:

First presented in 1985, the prestigious Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award is TAPPI’s highest technical honor in recognition of an individual’s exceptional industry contributions. It is presented annually only if the individual has made preeminent scientific and engineering achievements of proven commercial benefit to the world’s pulp, paper, board, and forest products industries including forestry, derived products, their process technologies, and their applications.

About TAPPI:

TAPPI is the leading association for the worldwide pulp, paper, packaging, tissue and converting industries and publisher of Paper360°, Tissue360° and TAPPI Journal. Through information exchange, events, trusted content and networking opportunities, TAPPI helps members elevate their performance by providing solutions that lead to better, faster and more cost-effective ways of doing business. It has provided management training and networking to the industry’s leaders for more than 100 years.