Cece Grubb, A PhD student in the Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) department was part of a team that presented research at the Society of Plastic Engineering (SPE) Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) in Novi, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit) in September, 2023. This work was performed in collaboration with Dr. Marton Kardos, a research scientist at Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA), Dr. Hendrik Mainka, Head of Volkswagen Innovation Hub Knoxville, and Prof. David Harper in the Center for Renewable Carbon (CRC) at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. The paper composites research project was awarded the SPE ACCE 2023 Materials Innovation Award in the prototype part category. Entries in the competition are judged on the impact and trendsetting nature of the application, including materials of construction, processing method, assembly methods, and other enabling technologies that made the application possible. The selected part was an automotive interior decorative trim piece made from recycled paper and polypropylene using manufacturing techniques developed in collaboration by VWGoA and the University of Tennessee. Cece’s doctoral research is co-advised by Prof. Harper and Prof. David Keffer in the MSE department. Pictured (left to right): Dr. Hendrik, Dr. Marton & Cecile Grubb.