Some messages to Ted from colleagues who could not attend the meeting

IAWS 2007 Annual Meeting October 25-27, 2007 at Kyoto, Japan

Pieter Baas

I am terribly sorry that I won't be able to attend this important IAWS meeting in Melbourne, especially since it is dedicated to Ted Hillis, whom I consider a great friend and fellow wood scientist. Could you please apologise my absence to Ted, and perhaps note in your introduction that the IAWA joins IAWS in thanking Ted for all his services to the wood scientific community (which we recognised in 1981 when Ted was given an Honorary IAWA membership on the occasion of the 50th IAWA anniversary).

Joe Gardner

It must be about 50 years ago that Ted and I first met, probably when he was on his way to a meeting in northern climes. We were both interested in the chemistry of the extractives of woods and their influence on the wood use. Later in 1960, at his suggestion, the Forest Products Division(CSIRO) and the Australian Pulp and Paper Industry paid for me to come to Australia and help solve some utilization problems associated with extractives. It was a very successful two week trip and Ted and I have been good friends ever since.

Ted has made an extensive, outstanding, life-long contribution to our knowledge of wood extractives and their influence on utilization and deserves high honours for it. Please pass on my congratulations to him. Sorry I can't be there.

John Barnett

I will be particularly sorry to miss this one as I am very fond of Ted Hillis and would have liked to be at a meeting in his honour.

Kevin Harding

I was fortunate to first meet Ted in 1977 as an undergraduate student at ANU. The Forestry Department revised its curriculum for the Forestry degree in 1976 and for the first time offered a specialised course in wood science and technology for which they engaged Ted as and adjunct Professor to deliver about a third of the lectures - particularly covering wood ultrastructure, chemistry and pulping as I recall.

I've also been fortunate to have been taught by Prof. Lindsay Pryor (delivered Botany AO1 to first year ANU students in 1975 - his last year teaching before he retired and later took up an emeritus position in the Forestry Dept) and Prof. Bruce Zobel at North Carolina State Uni (1991-95) who as well as teaching several classes was on my PhD supervisory committee. My common experience with all three of these Forestry legends (description not used lightly) is that they were consummate and passionate teachers. They were all extremely generous with their time and encouragement for students and loved nothing better than to pass on their knowledge and experience.

I think they also were all frustrated by the fact that many young students were in awe of them and hesitated to interact with them because they placed them on a pedestal knowing their standing in their field/s - they truly preferred to be sought out for advice and assistance and were anything but unapproachable to the braver students who realised this...

They were true mentors and if « ye reap what you sow » I think most of today's researchers in Forestry and Wood Science internationally have been touched by these three.

Specifically I recall Ted's encouragement and valued advice when I took a position as a research Assistant in wood science at ANU from 1979 to early 1982. I recall a meeting at Yarralumla that Ted and Huntley Higgins convened in 1980 to attempt to get the Australian Forestry Council to support the establishment of a Research Working Group on wood science and technology as they foresaw a national lack of succession planning to provide some continuity in wood science research momentum given the impending conclusion of the full-time careers of Higgins, Hillis, Balodis, Wal Smith, and Ken Bamber ( and possibly a few others such as Frank Phillips whose names escape me now). Unfortunately they were unsuccessful, but this very green wood quality researcher met Jugo Ilic and Wal Smith (who employed me in Queensland in 1982) as well as the afore-mentioned 'giants' for the first time. I have regularly bumped in to Ted at Forest Products Conferences or on other visits to Melbourne, as well as at last year's IUFRO congress in Brisbane - he never failed to be very interested in what I was doing and always wanted to hear about the state of wood quality research in Queensland - what we were doing and where we were moving our priorities. He has been an inspirational mentor and source of encouragement to me and deserves all the accolades that we as a wood science and technology community can bestow on him.

Boris Ugolev

I had the pleasure of meeting with Professor Ted Hillis only once at the Vancouver IAWS Meeting in 1997. I would greatly appreciate if you could incorporation into the dedication my sincere respect to Ted Hillis as an outstanding scientist and a very nice person.

Bob and Averil Kennedy

Dear Ted, It's been nearly 40 years since we me first met in Vancouver. We have always enjoyed getting together with you, be it in Canada, Australia, or somewhere between, and we especially appreciated the hospitality of you and Marj during our time in Melbourne in 1991. It has been a privilege for us to know you personally so well, and we join in acclaiming your outstanding contributions to the science of wood. Not for the first time, may we extend our congratulations on a career characterized by leadership, scholarship and good example.

Walter Liese

I know him quite well, since 48 years, when I worked at the Forest Products Lab with Alan Wardrop, and also through our cooperation within IUFRO.

So I have given a congratulation notice to Fellow Uwe Schmitt, mentioning that on November 12 1958 I have given a lecture on "The fine structure of wood" to the Australian Pulp Mill Corp., Melbourne. Ted was certainly among the audience.

I certainly regret not to participate.. best wishes for a most successful meeting

Norman Lewis

I am delighted to learn that the Melbourne IAWS Meeting will be dedicated to Ted Hillis and that he will also be delivering the Academy Lecture. During his career, he carried out very important research on understanding how heartwood formation occurs. His work is of the very highest order, and he has almost single-handedly pointed the way to our understanding of the types of molecular/biochemical processes associated with this remarkable physiological process. I would like to express my warmest thanks and congratulations to him for a job very well done. He stands head and shoulders above many of the people in this field.