Mr. Yang’s MS. Thesis Title:
“Fundamentals, preparation, and characterization of superhydrophobic wood fiber products”

Mr. Hongta Yang entered the IPST- Georgia Tech PS&E Graduate Education Program in the fall of 2006.  Since then he has worked in a nanotechnology research area to produce superhydrophobic paper products, which is both fundamentally and practically important.  His major achievements from his thesis work include key roles in the:

1. Developing a technology to make superhydrophobic paper – where no water is absorbed.  A paper having this quality is of great importance in food and medical packaging, and is also of importance to IPST Members.
2. Filing an Invention Disclosure based on his research technique.   
3. Co-authoring a research paper describing his work which has been accepted for publication by Journal of Colloid and Interface Science; and 
4. Providing key contributions in development of a research proposal on this work - that has been funded for two years by IPST Members.

During his two years of study, Mr. Yang not only worked on this research, but also conducted other research projects for paper industry companies.  In order to complete these requests, he often worked overnight in lab.
Hongta helped many students with their research at IPST.  He is not only creative, self-motivated and hard working, but he is excellent team member getting along very well with other students and Georgia Tech research professionals.