Events and members news

Peter Axegård

The Ekman Medal is one of the most prestigious prizes in the Swedish forestry industry. It is awarded annually for “Meritorious technical or scientific efforts in the Swedish forestry industry” by the The Swedish Association of Pulp and Paper Engineers (SPCI). This year’s award ceremony took place during the conference “Ekmandagarna” in Stockholm on the 26th January, 2010.

Associate Professor Peter Axegård, Director at Innventia, is a renowned expert in the field of cellulose technology and is regarded as one of the world’s leading pioneers in the development of the pulp mill biorefinery. He was, among other things, deeply involved in the work of replacing chlorine with chlorine dioxide in the bleaching process, which then became the dominant technique in the industrial world. In recent years, Peter Axegård has been working on the development of  biorefining technologies. The research has been very productive and today, this technically and scientifically interesting field employs more than 30 scientists at Innventia.

Peter Axegård’s extraordinary scientific expertise in areas of interest and relevance, together with his skilled industrial experiences, have been decisive factors when it comes to bringing ideas from research to industrial applications.

 Peter Axegård tillsammans med SPCIs ordförande Ingela Ekebro http://www.innventia.com/upload/15375/ekmanmedalj-1.jpg                                          

Graeme Berlyn

The Botanical Society of America had a symposium in honor of Fellow Berlyn
at their summer meeting: The Stress of Life and Light: Spectral Reflectance Measurements over a wide variety of ecosystems.  Professor Berlyn presented two lectures during the symposium: (1) From tree to leaf to canopy, and (2) Using spectral reflectance to measure the drought response of two Mexican oak species,/Quercus laceyi, and Quercus sideroxyla
(Fagaceae), in relation to elevational position.

Walter Liese

Professor Dr. Walter Liese has been elected to Honorary Membership of the Bamboo Network of the Philippines for his outstanding accomplishments in bamboo science, technology and education.

Valentin Popa

Prof. Valentin Popa has been appointed Editor in chief of Cellulose Chemistry and Technology. Fellow Popa reports that The National Council for Scientific Research in Higher Education recently awarded a special prize to *Cellulose Chemistry and Technology* published by Romanian Academy Publishing House for its highest impact factor among
Romanian journals. The journal was founded 40 years ago by Cristofor 
Simionescu  following a proposal by renowned scientists in the field .

Frank Shawn Mansfield

Frank Shawn Mansfield from Canada received the prestigious Scientific Achievement Award at the 2010 XXIII IUFRO World Congress in Seoul, Korea, August 23-28. 2010. He is one of eleven winners from around the world and the only one who is a Fellow of IAWS.

Shawn Mansfield is currently Associate Professor in the Wood Sciences Department, Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia (UBC),Canada. He graduated from Mount Allison University (B.Sc.), Dalhousie

University (M.Sc.) and holds a Ph.D. degree from UBC. His teaching interests are: tree/plant physiology; forest practices as they relate to, and affect wood quality; wood ultrastructure and chemistry; forest products; forest products biotechnology and tree biotechnology. Dr. Mansfield has been continuously commended for his exceptional clarity and phenomenal interplay with students, being equally acknowledged by students and peers. His research is directed at understanding the innate differences in fibre composition and morphological characteristics existing in tree lines within species, and elucidating what impact these phenotypic traits have on wood processing and product quality. Dr. Mansfield has been very

productive, with more than 109 papers (incl. co-authorship), 14 non-refereed publications and reports, 30 invited presentations, 45 international conference presentations and is equally

appreciated by students, peers and colleagues from the global research community. He has established several collaborative projects with a number of international researchers on a wide

range of interdisciplinary projects and currently supervises 8 fully funded graduate students, 4 post doctoral fellows, several undergraduate co-op students. His long-term goal as a faculty

member in Forestry at UBC is to contribute to establishing and maintaining the Faculty’s reputation as a world leader in the field of forest biotechnology.

H. Michael Barnes

H. Michael Barnes has received the 2010 SWST Distinguished Service Award

H. Michael Barnes

Professor Barnes is the WS Thompson Professor of Wood Science & Technology in the Department of Forest Products, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS. He was elected to a Fellowship of IAWS in 2006.  He has served on the SWST Board of Directors (1993-95), and was Vice-President, President Elect, President, and Past President (1999-2003). He has also served as FPS: South Central Regional  Vice-President, President Elect, President, and Past President (2005-2009).

Gerd Wegener

On the 6th of October 2010 there was the retirement symposium for fellow Professor Dr. Gerd Wegener as Director of the Institute of Wood Research in Munich. 400 important academic, industrial and political guests including the Minister of Industry of Bavaria and fellow Wegener’s successor, Prof. Klaus Richter (formerly of EMPA Switzerland), attended the one day symposium, which was a resounding success. Fellows Pizzi, Holmbom and Frühwald gave the main lectures on the occasion, after presentations by the minister and the rector of TUM (Technische Universität München). Fellow Wegener received many warm accolades. He will remain as Editor in chief of the journal of IAWS, Wood Science and Technology.

Philip Evans

This 'letter' from Fellow Philip Evans (an edited version of it) appeared in the popular magazine 'New Scientist'. New Scientist produced a nice cartoon of astronauts plucking apples from a wooden branch to accompany the letter.

Wood in Space
The Royal Society made an inspired rather than an odd choice in deciding to celebrate its 350th anniversary by sending a piece of wood into space on the shuttle Atlantis (New Scientist 15-21 May 2010). Not only did the piece of wood come from the apple tree that inspired Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity, but wood is also a proven performer in space! White oak tiles performed admirably as a heat shield on the Chinese RRS FSW re-entry vehicle. These wooden tiles developed a layer of insulating char which impeded heat flow into the vehicle when it entered the earth’s atmosphere. Balsa wood was also used as a crushable impact attenuator to protect vital components such as transmitters when space craft were deliberately crash-landed on the moon. However, apple wood still has to find a practical application in space.
Phil Evans, Vancouver, Canada

Valentin Popa

Professor Popa was President of the Organizing Committee of 14th International Symposium on Cellulose Chemistry and Technology, Iasi, Romania, September, 8-10, 2010. This symposium was dedicated to the memory of Cristofor I. Simionescu, who was Fellow of IAWS and founder of Cellulose Chemistry and Technology journal)

Frank Beall

Outgoing Academy President Frank Beall has been presented with the Gold Medal Award.of the Acoustic Emission Working Group on 18 May 2011 at the 53rd meeting of AEWG in Denver, Colorado. This was “in recognition of his extensive contributions to the field of AE through his pioneering work in the development and application of acoustic emission and acousto-ultrasonic techniques in the forest products industry, advancing these technologies through his teaching, research, and publications; his distinguished service and leadership to the Acoustic Emission Working Group as a member and officer; and his many years as Associate Editor of the Journal of Acoustic Emission.” Frank was previously honored with the Fellow Award (1994) and the Achievement Award (1997).

The Acoustic Emission Working Group is a world-wide body that was founded in 1967 as a non-profit organization to promote discussion and discourse in the field of acoustic emission.

Alexander Alexeev

Professor Alexeev has been elected as a Foreign Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry. The task of The Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry is, with the support of science and practical experience and in the interest of society, to promote agriculture and forestry and associated activities. The Academy was founded in 1811 and is an impartial organisation, economically independent of the authorities, business and interest groups. Its free and independent position in society and its good name create unique opportunities for meetings and constructive discussions.

Professor Alexeev (third from left) at his investiture as a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry.