March/April 2009

Invited Presentations: John Simonsen spoke on “Frontiers of Nanotechnology in Bio-based Materials” to U Minn Dept of Bioproducts and Biosystems Eng. and to the Mechanical Engineering Dept at Michigan Tech, Houghton, MI. John also presented the Colley Hartford Lecture on applications of nanotechnology in wood protection at the American Wood Protection Association meeting in San Antonio Texas. Chris Knowles spoke on “Global Wood Products Trade: What Role Does FSC Play?” to 32 workers at Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects in Portland.

KUDOS: Kaichang Li received the first annual OSU Entrepreneurs and Innovators Award for his adhesive discovery. He is one of the first five recipients of this new award and the only current OSU employee to be honored!.

Teaching Innovation: Barb Lachenbruch is trying a new activity in WSE470 Forests, Wood, and Civilization this spring. She is dividing the class of 40 undergraduates (representing 14 majors) into 6 Special Interest Groups, plus a group of student facilitators. Four students (in their special interest roles) and a facilitator are assigned to work on a Citizens Advisory Panel to develop a joint position on a potentially controversial issue. The 8 Citizens Advisory Panels will report their position to the class on issues not dealt with in class, such as thinning for forest health, steel vs. wood for construction, carbon credits for planting trees, and logging old-growth domestically and abroad. This activity evolved from a suggestion from Ed Jensen sparked by Starker Lecture touting the usefulness of Citizens Advisory Groups. We’ll see how it works out!

New Technology: Fred Kamke is collaborating with John Holbert, owner of Corvallis Tool Company (CTC), to design a unique continuous device to manufacture VTC wood. The equipment mimics the successful small scale processing conditions for producing the high strength and stiffness material. CTC is one of the world leaders in the manufacture of veneer handling equipment. The continuous VTC device would be used to assist with the commercial development of VTC technology.

OWIC Update: Chris Knowles worked with an Oregon bark distributor to help them develop an inventory management system. The company has followed-up and wants to hire a WSE student as a summer intern. Scott Leavengood and a group of faculty from OSU, 4 other universities, and USDA research labs, developed a large USDA proposal to assess the feasibility of using woody biomass as a component of growing medium ('soil') for nurseries. If successful, this project will address pressing needs for two of Oregon's most important industries. Chris Knowles and colleagues at the Softwood Export Council and the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department are planning a new CE course – “Entering International Markets”--to provide basic education to companies who are interested in exploring international forest products trade. Scott Leavengood and UG student Ashlee Tibbets are contacting every firm listed in the Oregon Forest Industry Directory to get updated information. The directory is one of the most popular online tools used by many stakeholders and a critical source of information for OWIC programs.

New Projects: Rakesh Gupta and Milo Clauson (with Dan Cox, Civil Eng.) will soon start testing wood-frame walls under wave loading in the Hinsdale Wave Lab. The tests will run for about three weeks with a goal of quantifying hurricane/tsunami forces on wood frame walls. John Simonsen, WSE and Mike Lerner, Chemistry, received a grant from the ONAMI to investigate innovative cellulose-based separator systems for lithium ion batteries. Kenny Martin, MS student and Rakesh Gupta, are developing a new Advanced Timber Design course to be offered to Civil Engineering students and area practicing structural engineers next year.

TRAVELS: JELD-WEN hosted Fred Kamke for a tour of their R&D laboratory in Klamath Falls. Steve Hojnowski, Randy Clark, Joe Carter, Cheryl Carbone, and Tyler Congleton demonstrated the materials and component testing facilities at the recently constructed laboratory and discussed potential collaborative projects. Chris Knowles attended the Portland Wholesale Lumber Association (PWLA) Executive Meeting in Portland to discuss the planning of the 2nd Annual PWLA Innovation Summit. The summit will be hosted by OWIC on June 11.

MEXICO TIES: As part of WSE’s project in Mexico, Enhancing the Economic and Environmental Sustainability of Mexico’s Forest Sector, Eric Hansen and MS student Valeria Villavicencio teamed with a faculty member Sandra Rosas from the University of Guadalajara to teach a business planning course in Oaxaca. In addition, three visiting scientists from Guadalajara were in Corvallis for two weeks working with Robin Rose with the purpose of developing a course in forest regeneration.

Miscellaneous: Mike Karas, USDA National Needs Fellow presented a poster on using sustainable bio-composites for public infrastructure at 43rd International Wood Composites Symposium and Technical Workshop, Seattle, WA. Lech Muszyński participated in the Bio-based Products for Rural Economic Development Workshop in Tillamook facilitated by the Oregon BEST initiative. Ms. Hayedeh Rahmati, a visiting scientist from the Gorgan University in Iran, has joined Lech’s research team to work on a morphological description of particulate composites. Graduate students Natalie Macias and Valeria Villavicencio, undergraduate students John Williamson, Jonathon Gates, and Denny Echols along with Chris Knowles attended the North American Wholesale Lumber Association Regional Meeting in Portland. The meeting was attended by approximately 80 professionals from the forest products industry and gave students the opportunity to meet potential future employers.

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.