The 2011 John S. Bates Memorial Gold Medal, the highest honour offered by the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada, has been awarded to Dr. Reinhold (Ron) Crotogino. He has been associated with the forest products industry for more…
The 2011 John S. Bates Memorial Gold Medal, the highest honour offered by the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada, has been awarded to Dr. Reinhold (Ron) Crotogino. He has been associated with the forest products industry for more than 50 years, as a student, researcher, consultant, and teacher. Crotogino is currently the network director, president and CEO of ArboraNano, the Canadian Forest NanoProducts Network.
The award was presented during PaperWeek Canada in Montreal. Accepting the award, Crotogino said of his long career in pulp and paper: “Throughout my career, I kept getting hooked by incredibly interesting challenges, and the incredibly interesting people I’ve been able to work with.”
Crotogino is a graduate of the University of British Columbia (B.A.Sc. 1966) and McGill University (Ph.D. 1971), both in chemical engineering. He worked with Voith for a few years after graduating, but spent much of his career as a researcher and research manager with Paprican (now FPInnovations).
In 2008, he prepared the successful application for funding of ArboraNano, and took charge of the organization when it was incorporated in March 2008.
Crotogino joined the Technical Section of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association (now PAPTAC) as a student member in 1964. He has served as a member of various committees, and became involved in organizing several international conferences sponsored by PAPTAC and TAPPI. He is a Fellow of TAPPI and of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
Crotogino noted that PAPTAC and the CPPA were populated with people “who were always generous with their advice.”
“My one wish, is that when you reinvent this industry, don’t forget to reinvent this organization. It will serve you well.”
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