For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Spring is on its way. After a rather cold winter I know many of our members are ready to see it go. I know this guy is: This year is shaping up to be an exciting one for SWST as we continue to gain international members and prepare for the conference in Zvolen, Slovakia. It will be an outstanding opportunity to meet with wood scientists from all over the world and to see Slovakia. I look forward to seeing you all there. Dave
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Raw timber export is estimated to rise by 33 percent this year, in the lead-up to a nationwide ban on the commodity. Burma’s Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry announced mid-last year that the banning of raw timber export sales will go into effect on 1 April 2014. Bar Bar Cho, secretary of the Myanmar Timber Merchants Association (MTMA) said the steep rise in exports could be a result of the announcement. “On average, the annual value of timber export was between US$600 to 800 million, but we are likely to see a rise in the number – estimated between ...
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Company Overview Founded in 1926, we are a leading international forest products company structured as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), with three core businesses: Timber, Real Estate and Performance Fibers. We employ approximately 1,800 employees in five countries and own, lease or manage some 2.5 million acres of timber and land in the U.S. and New Zealand, including 200,000 acres of high value real estate located primarily along the S.E. U.S coast. Timber is the foundation of our business. We grow and sell timber for use by pulp, paper, lumber and other wood product manufacturers in the U.S. and ...
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Three members of the UBC Faculty of Forestry will be honoured with Scientific Achievement Awards from the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) in recognition of their distinguished achievements in forest science. Prof. Rob Kozak of Wood Science is one of them. http://www.forestry.ubc.ca/2014/02/three-forestry-professors-recognized-for-achievements/
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The claim making the rounds of environmental non-governmental organizations is that whole mature trees are being used to make wood pellets, and that this results in carbon emissions that are at least as bad as coal if not worse. This claim—erroneous though it is—has led to multiple negative stories in the press, resulting in public relations problems for wood pellet manufacturers in the US South and utilities in the UK and EU. A good deal of the misinformation reported in the media stems from a lack of understanding about the wood supply chain and how trees are used in manufacturing ...
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A new BioRenewable Systems (BRS) graduate program (abe.psu.edu/graduateprograms) in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State is now accepting applications for Fall 2014 or Spring 2015. The BRS research program integrates science and technology with business for bio-based products, materials, and systems. Opportunities are available to study forest and agricultural based systems, agricultural safety and health, and integrated biorefinery issues including: feedstock production, logistics, and machine systems; conversion technologies; and value stream outputs including energy, food, feed, fuel, chemicals and other products. Two and three-year assistantship support is available for high ...
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Happy Lunar New Year! (a little belated) Those of us in the Southern USA are finally thawing out some from our second polar vortex and working on plans for the coming year. One of those plans for me is to attend the 57th International Convention in Zvolen, Slovakia. It is going to be a great meeting that will give perspectives of wood utilization from around the world. Which brings up a interesting article that was passed on to me: The new retro: how Motorola brought wood back, literally. I would argue that wood hasn’t gone anywhere, but this is an ...
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SWST is currently planning for the 2015 International Convention (June 7-12) to be held at the Jackson Lake Lodge in the Grand Teton National Park. http://www.gtlc.com/lodging/jackson-lake-lodge-overview.aspx This is a phenomenal location and we anticipate a high level of participation. Accordingly, we are adding a new event and allocating a full day (June 12) for other organizations that may wish to organize a parallel session for our Parallel Organization Day. The idea is to offer members of other organizations to attend our SWST Convention, but also have the flexibility to host their own organizational business meeting or technical session. For example, ...
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Renewable Natural Resource Foundation (RNRF) Held Its Congress on Coastal Resilience and Risk on December 11-12, 2013, at the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in College Park, MD Over 160 delegates listened to 15 speakers, who examined national and local policy imperatives, the means to enhance structural and economic resilience, application of smart use and development to achieve a resilient coast, and how the exigencies of fiscal limitations are forcing federal, state and local agencies to adjust their roles. A lively discussion followed each speaker. [caption id="attachment_1266" align="alignnone" width="300"] Exterior of NOAA (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Center ...
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Chung Yun Hse, Qinglin Wu (not shown), and I represented SWST at the Annual Meeting of IAWS, held together with the Pacific Regional International Association of Wood Anatomists (IAWA) in Nanjing, China. The meeting was attended by over 230 people, 83 of which were from outside China. Over 100 oral presentations and 80 posters were presented on a wide range of wood anatomy and wood science topics. More information can be obtained on the conference website: http://8th-prwac.njfu.edu.cn I then attended the International Wood Culture Symposium on Taxodiaceae in Changsha with over 100 attendees. We had a pre-conference tour to Yueyang City, ...
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