Day 2 – Aalto University and Valmet Järvenpää Pilot Plant

Day 2 – by Gracelynn Woods

Our second full day in Finland started off once again with an amazing breakfast in our hotel. After we finished breakfast, and some technical issues with the bus were fixed, we quickly made our way over to Aalto University, just a short drive from the hotel. At the university, our group split into two teams. Team A began with a tour of Aalto University’s chemical engineering department.  Led by Prof. Jouni Paltakari, we learned about the various degree paths available to students studying at Aalto, and then we proceeded to a tour of their labs. While the downstairs of their lab space resembled a typical paper science lab, the upstairs was their CHEMARTS space. CHEMARTS was a really interesting facet of the university! A long term collaboration between the chemical engineering school and the school of arts, design, and architecture, the CHEMARTS project works with bio-based materials in innovative ways to find new creative uses.  Simultaneously, the second team of students embarked on a campus tour led by a professor from Aalto University’s mechanical engineering program. After his tour, we learned about various projects related to paper science happening with the department. All in all, Aalto University was an eye-opening experience. It was really cool to see how their programs differ from ours at NCSU, and it made me even more proud of this industry we’re a part of. 

After rejoining with the other team, the group had an hour drive ahead of them to our next Valmet facility of the week, the Järvenpää Finishing Technology Center.  After lunch at their cafeteria, we were again split into groups and given a tour of their coating and surface sizing facilities. We were able to see some customer trials taking place while on our tour, and it was great to see the technology in motion. For the seniors who had just finished Dr. Pal’s PSE 472, it was really cool to see the technology we learned about all semester in real life.

After driving back to Helsinki, we were excited to have a free evening. Students went out in groups for dinner and city exploring. We also celebrated a student’s 21st birthday – happy birthday Tom Z!