February 2009
Mysterious Rack Behind Richardson Hall: Wonder what’s up with the large wooden rack supporting pentachlorophenol-treated posts in the gated compound behind Richardson Hall? Connie Love, Wood Protection FRA and Wil Roberts, WSE undergraduate student, are investigating the movement of chemicals from preservative pastes that are used to provide supplemental protection to wood poles.
The tests include posts with and without extra wraps designed to limit water movement down the poles. The data will help utilities assess the potential environmental impacts of using these pastes on poles in their systems. The research is being performed under the OSU Utility Pole Research Cooperative, group that currently has 10 public and investor owned utilities as well as 9 chemical companies, wood treaters or inspection agencies who work together to address issues related to wood poles and cross arms.
Oregon Wood Innovation Center Update: The OWIC Advisory Council met in February to help guide the activities and focus of OWIC and ensure that the Center is meeting the needs of a broad cross-section of Oregon's value-added wood industry. Members include: Roy Anderson - The Beck Group; Blake Holton - States Industries; Lee Jimerson - Collins Companies; David Schmidt - Upstream 21 and David Stallcop - Vanport International. Scott Leavengood is working with a group of wood industry quality control workers that are interested in forming an association to "promote effective real world quality management principles and practices to the wood products industry through the facilitation of ideas, promotion of ongoing education for quality professionals, and keeping members up-to-date on emerging technologies in the industry." Scott is working with John Poore (Swanson Group) to gauge interest and willingness to participate.
Revised Process Control Class: David Smith has made some major changes to the WSE452 course this winter, especially in the lab component. The students, with the invaluable assistance of Milo Clauson, successfully installed and operated a new lab-scale flash tube dryer. They installed sensors to monitor and control the dryer's temperature, pressure, air flow, and wood feed rate, and wrote a computer program to control its operation and store performance data. This hand's-on experience helped the students understand the full scope of designing and implementing a new process control system..
Conference: John Nairn will chair the Fifth Annual Workshop on the Material Point Method here in Corvallis Oregon, April 2-3, 2009 at the Hilton Garden Hotel. Those with interest in numerical model methods with some applications in wood science and wood products are invited to attend and should contact John The current list of talks is at: http://woodscience.oregonstate.edu/faculty/Nairn/mpm/index.htm.
New Online Course: Fred Kamke and a cast of many are opening registration for a new training and professional enrichment online course series for wood-based composite industry employees. Courses begin in May and registration opens March 11, 2009. The new online Wood-Based Composite Science Short Course Series will provide career professionals with a fundamental knowledge of wood as an engineering material in the manufacture of wood-based composites.
WSE International:
DEPARTMENT OF WOOD SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
What is this? A monthly capsule summary of selected project updates, new ventures, new grants/ contracts/ testing programs, major papers, accomplishments, awards and kudos, other stuff you are proud of, or activities that your colleagues (and DH) might find interesting. The goal is better awareness of the professional activities of faculty, staff and students in Wood Science & Engineering.
Last updated: March 5, 2009