Keller receiving his award at TAPPI PaperConSteve Keller, professor in the chemical, paper, and biomedical engineering department, won the prestigious Harris O. Ware award, which was presented to him at the TAPPI PaperCon in Minneapolis, MN on April 25, 2017. The award is granted to those who provide remarkable advancements in paper technology. Past winners of the award include many “legends” in the paper industry, including Jasper Mardon, Michael Kocurek, and Derek H. Page, all Paper Industry International Hall of Fame inductees.

“I am humbled and pretty lucky to be lumped with this group,” Keller said.

Keller has been at Miami University since 2006 and prior to that spent a decade as faculty at SUNY College of ESF, where he had received his Ph.D in 1996. His research at Miami has been centered on the structural properties and mathematical analysis of paper towels. He describes his work as the “material science of paper” and as pre-competitive research, a neutral ground in industry where papermakers can use his research to see how changes in their processes affect the compression and wetting behaviors of their products. He is also a member of PSEF and the faculty advisor for Miami's chapter of TAPPI.

“Dr. Keller is an ardent supporter of the Paper Science and Engineering Foundation. Dr. Keller oversees all the paper students' summer internships and co-op work assignments, offering them untold hours of advice and support as they seek permanent entry level positions in the pulp, paper or affiliated industries. When Dr. Keller isn't teaching, traveling, publishing or doing research, he is tirelessly advocating for the value that the PS&E Foundation brings to the CPB Department and to Miami. He and Dr. Coffin are excellent partners and do an amazing job of preparing young engineers to enter the pulp and paper industry,” said Jon Kerr, the Executive Director of PSEF, on Keller and his contributions to the Miami University paper science program.

At the same conference, he also received the award for Best Paper from PaperCon 2016 for his “Characterization of Paperboard Formation using Soft X-radiography and Image Analysis” and the award for Best Presentation-New Developments Session for his “Analysis of Nonwoven Fabrics: Radiographic Imaging in Two- and Three-Dimensions". He shared these awards with his co-authors.

By Paige Smith