2021 International Convention Flagstaff
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The 64th SWST International Convention will be held August 1-6, at Little America Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona USA . The overall theme is “Value from Wood Resources through Innovation“.
Convention Chair: Rupert Wimmer, BOKU Vienna, Austria
Venue: Little America Hotel, 2515 East Butler Avenue, Flagstaff, Arizona USA, Phone: +1-800-352-4386
Contact: Victoria L. Herian, SWST Executive Director, P.O. Box 6155, Monona, WI 53716 USA, PH: +1-608-577-1342, email: vicki@dev.swst.org
Final Proceedings
Summary of the 2021 Convention:
The 2021 Convention was held at Little America Hotel, Flagstaff, Arizona, August 1-6 (1 hour from Grand Canyon National Park). The theme of the Convention was “Value from Wood Resources through Innovation”.
We had 56 oral presentations and 25 posters (17 were student competition posters). We had 66 people registered for the Convention (26 student and 40 regular). With the continued closure of the US borders to Europe and beyond, many international people had to cancel from the program.
We began the Convention with a Welcome Reception on August 1 on the Little America Hotel East Lawn from19:00 to 21:00 (Drinks and Potato Bar), even after a very heavy rain late in the afternoon.
Monday, August 2 was kicked off by Keynote speaker Andrew Sánchez Meador from Northern Arizona University, speaking about “Clearing Hurdles to Forest Restoration in the Southwestern United States”. He gave us a great overview of what was happening in Arizona and states nearby regarding the forests and land.
This was followed by an invited session entitled “Approaches to Combatting Illegal Logging in Timber Trade”. Cady Lancaster from Oregon State University and Kristen Finch from USFS International Programs put together a unique program with recorded speeches from Jason Grant from World Wildlife Fund and Charlie Watkinson from Agroisolab in the U.K. They weren’t able to be there in person because of COVID. Others filling out the session were Cady Lancaster, Adam Wade, and Kristin Finch. The topic area was something we have not normally had in our conventions but an amazing line of work using wood anatomy and wood forensics to determine illegal timber trade.
Other sessions on Monday were “Forest and Tree Values: Adequate Land Use, Products, and Environmental Threats”, and “International Trends in Innovation and Education”.
The day ended with an evening session for students called “Student Trivia Night” where students submitted photos of their work or other wood-related items and other students randomly picked a picture and had to explain what it was. They received prizes for best understanding and description. 26 students were there to participate. Food and drinks were provided.
The next day, August 3, Sessions included “Business Market Developments and Regulations”, “Sustainable Living and Housing”, and “Valuable Composites and Adhesives Session” (we even got to listen once again to Rupert Wimmer singing “The SWST Blues” song). The day ended with a 3-hour poster session and student poster competition.
Wednesday, August 4 was a free day to explore Grand Canyon and Flagstaff area. There are so many national parks, forests, monuments, and great hiking around the area. The difficulty was to find time to do what people wanted.
Thursday, August 5, we again had a session on “Valuable Composites and Adhesives Session” as well as one on “Resilient Wood Resources (Revisiting Wood Quality)”, and “Wood Physics and Properties”. The night culminated with the Banquet which was held in the Ballrooms at the Little America Hotel with a South of the Border buffet that was enjoyed by all. AND we had music provided by our very own Doug Gardner and Tammi França. Unfortunately, Rupert Wimmer couldn’t join them as he couldn’t travel to the US, but there is always next year!
The Convention ended on Friday with a continuation of the session on “Wood Physics and Properties” as well as a “Workshop Review on Wood Education”. There was a closing ceremony where all were thanked, especially those who stepped in and filled speaking slots when so many international people had to cancel. A positive side of the pandemic was that all of our students were given the opportunity to give a full 15-minute presentation instead of a 3-minute Early Stage Researcher presentation which helps build their presence and ease of giving `
Sponsors for the 2021 Convention were: Gold – Surface Measurement Systems; Silver – West Virginia University; Copper – InnoRenew CoE, North Carolina State University, Oregon State University, Virginia Tech; Bronze – Auburn University, Hoover Treated Wood Products Inc, and University of Maine.
Three new events we had this year:
- Young Researcher/Mentor outing on Sunday, August 1 where young researchers can choose to go hiking, biking, or do an extreme adventure with a Mentor. There were 10 people signed up and they all went hiking to Fatman’s Loop. Mentors for the outing were Gloria Oporto and Ilona Peszlen.
- Student Presentation Award – 20 students giving 22 oral presentations were judged based on criteria for an award of $600, $250, or $150. The generous donation of the money for the award was received from this year’s First Place Marra Award winners, Fred Kamke and Balkis Bakar. This is an award SWST should continue to present each year.
- Student Trivia Night – Monday night from 19:00 to 21:00. We hosted a student trivia night with drinks, food, and prizes. There were 26 students attending.
2021 Convention Final Program (updated after Convention)
(PDF)
Sessions
- Forest Value and Environmental Threats
- Business, Market Developments and Regulations
- Tree Values: from Adequate Land Use to Products
- Valuable Composites and Adhesives
- Sustainable Living and Housing
- Resilient Wood Resources (revisiting wood quality)
- Understanding Cambium and Wood Formation
- Approaches in Combating Illegal Logging and Timber Trade
- Wood Physics and Properties
- International Trends in Innovation and Education
- Early-Stage Researcher
- Poster Session
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Abstract submission is closed – https://swst2021convention.exordo.com/
Daily Schedule:
Sunday, August 1 – Young Researcher/Mentor Activity, Welcome Reception
Monday, August 2 – Early Stage Researcher Session, Technical Sessions, Student Trivia Night
Tuesday, August 3 – Technical Sessions, Poster Session
Wednesday, August 4 – Open day for tours of area
Thursday, August 5 – Technical Sessions, SWST Business Meeting and Awards Ceremony, Banquet
Friday, August 6 – Technical Sessions, Closing
Registration closed
Early Pricing – December 1, 2020 until July 15, 2021 – Student $400; Regular $650
Onsite (or after July 15, 2021) – Student $450; Regular $700
Regular and Student registrations include the Welcome Reception, Banquet, lunches, coffee breaks, and 1 year membership in SWST. You can add any accompanying person(s) and their tickets to your registration.
https://swst2021convention.exordo.com
Important Dates
1st September 2020: Call for abstracts out, as well as call for Student travel grants and Student Poster Competition participants
1st December 2020: Early registration opens
28th February 2021: Abstract submission closes
15th March 2021: Authors chosen by session chairs and notified
1st April 2021: Authors responses back to SWST for inclusion in program
1st April 2021: Student Poster Competition Abstracts, and Student Travel Grant applications submission closes
15th April 2021: Program will be settled
15th April 2021: Travel grant awardees notified
15th June 2021: Full papers due for proceedings – All oral and poster presentations may submit a 4-8 page technical paper via Ex Ordo system to be published by SWST in a Proceedings (USB) given to all International Convention attendees, and then electronically published via the internet on the SWST webpage. See guidelines for preparation and formatting of proceedings papers above.
15th June 2021: Biographical information and .jpg format photo for oral and poster presenters due to https://swst2021convention.exordo.com
15th July 2021 Room block is released, and rates not guaranteed
15th July 2021: Online registration closes – Prices increased for onsite registration
15th July 2021: PowerPoint presentations for oral presenters and PDFs of posters uploaded to https://swst2021convention.exordo.com
Refund Policy
Cancellation Policy – No refund after July 15, 2021; 50% May 1, 2021 – July 15, 2021; 75% before May 1, 2021.
Awards
Awards were presented at the Business Meeting. Awards presented were: George Marra Awards for Excellence in Writing, Distinguished Service Award, Fellow Award, Distinguished Educator Award, and Student Poster Competition Awards. Past recipients can be found at /awards/
Registration Desk
Desk was open Sunday, August 1, from 14:00 to 17:00 at Little America Hotel, outside Grand Ballrooms, to pick up your registration materials and badges. It was also be open each day before sessions begin.
Young Researcher/Mentor Outdoor Activity Day – Sunday, August 1, 2021, 12:00 to 17:00 – Sign up by google doc by July 25, 2021 (small cost for some activities)
Welcome Reception – Sunday, August 1, 2021
The Welcome Reception was held at Little America Hotel East Lawn, from 19:00 to 21:00.
Banquet – Thursday, August 5, 2021
The Convention Banquet was held at Little America Hotel Grand Ballroom, from 19:00 to 22:00.