Professor Gerry Ring, interim chair of the paper science department at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), has been elected to the national board of directors of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI).

His two-year term begins with TAPPI�s Feb. 23 annual meeting in Florida. In 2003 Ring was named to TAPPI�s operating committee.

A faculty member in the UWSP College of Natural Resources since 1986, Ring became a full professor in 1997.

He was named a Wisconsin Teaching Fellow in 1992 and has been listed three times in Who�s Who Among America�s Teachers. Author of the award-winning "Paper Quest" videotapes on various paper properties, he also has been awarded three patents on super absorbent technology. In 2003 he wrote the "forward" and was the lead editor for "Colloid Chemistry of Papermaking Materials," an in-depth study of the aspects of colloid chemistry that are key components in papermaking.

Founded in 1915, TAPPI is the world�s largest professional association serving the paper, pulp and converting industries. TAPPI�s Lakes States Local Section will meet at UWSP on April 12.

In addition to being a board member of TAPPI, Ring also is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Paper Industry Management Association. He spent five years with Kimberly-Clark prior to joining the faculty. He holds a bachelor�s degree from the State University of New York at Albany, and master�s and Ph.D. degrees from the Institute of Paper Chemistry, Appleton.

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tmiller/vc/ring TAPPI appointment