The Academy Lecture

Antonio Pizzi

LERMaB/ENSTIB,
University of Nancy 1,
Epinal, France

Tannery Row — The Story of Some Natural and Synthetic Wood Adhesives

This lecture could have been entitled « Semper Novi Ex Africa Â» — there is always something new coming out of Africa - to paraphrase one of my better known Rome connationals. It appealed to me as my career in wood science did indeed start and mature in that most beloved continent. It has not because the ancient roman quote has a somewhat negative, sarcastic undertone that would not agree neither with what has been achieved there, nor with my. The present title was rather chosen, « Tannery Row Â» , as most in theme for a lecture taking place in California, the country of John Steinbeck's « Cannery row Â». His characters lovingly remind me of some of the similar, « salt of the earth Â» characters which peppered my early career in tannin and tannin adhesives.

Tannin adhesives are a relatively old but limited speciality which has become again topical with the very marked environment-friendly outlook of wood science at the beginning of the new century. Although the lecture started by intermingling the technical experience of the author in this field mainly with some humorous stories on the early and not so early beginnings of this speciality, this will only be a brief introduction to more recent scientific/technical developments on synthetic and natural thermosetting wood adhesives. The lecture will also relate in a very brief form and without being limiting some of the author's developments in synthetic (and some natural) resins wood adhesives, and in other fields of wood science and wood technology such as in the chemistry of wood preservation which might have or have had an impact on the advancement of these fields.