The PPFRS is an independent, charitable organisation registered in Great Britain for the promotion of research and education in the pulp and paper industry. The FRC (the Fundamental Research Committee) runs the PPFRS and has the same membership, with the separate titles being maintained for administrative and historical reasons.
The main task undertaken by the FRC is to run the Fundamental Research Symposia which have been taking place every four years since 1957, with the most recent occurring in 2017. The symposia are held alternately at Oxford University and Cambridge University colleges. The mission has always been to bring together the best scientists and engineers from around the world working in the pulp and paper areas and, for this reason, there is a rigorous refereeing process undertaken by FRC members making a Fundamental Research Symposium publication more valuable than those in most academic journals. Prior to each symposium, the FRC decides on a list of important current topics and invites those at the top in these areas to review recent work, often resulting in comprehensive documents of more than a hunderd pages and with several hundred references to the academic literature. To ensure that the pulp and paper community can take full advantage of the 4 yearly events, the discussion around each paper is recorded and transcribed and becomes part of the proceedings.
The Fundamental Research Symposia have four organisations as co-sponsors, each of which has representation on the FRC. The co-sponsors assist with publicising the symposia in their journals and at their conferences.
APPITA - the Australian Pulp and Paper Industry Technical Association
PAPTAC - the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada
PITA - the Paper Industry Technical Association
TAPPI - the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry
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