The InnoRenew CoE researchers win awards at 50th IRG conference in Canada

The 50th annual meeting of the International Research Group on Wood Protection (IRG) took place last week in Quebec City, Canada. Organizers prepared a rich programme with several topics and aspects regarding the impact of climate change on wood construction, wood protection and better integration of wood protection in the forestry-wood-industry chain.

Dr Anna Sandak, the InnoRenew CoE Wood Modification research group leader, was among the conveners of the session “Chemical/physical analysis”, which was part of the section “Test Methodology and Assessment”. The session was dedicated to prediction of service life, and Dr Sandak presented an alternative approach for analysis of the degradation process of wood based on data fusion and its multi-way analysis. In addition, she was nominated to be a member of the IRG Communication Committee, which supports the secretariat and membership with advice and guidance concerning questions on communication matters.

Dean Lipovac, assistant researcher at the InnoRenew CoE, was among this year’s awardees for the IRG Ron Cockcroft Awards, which enabled him to join the conference in Canada. This award aims to promote international awareness of developments in wood protection research and is mainly for younger active scientists. The awardees receive assistance towards travel and accommodation costs.

Awardees for the RCA Award 2019. Image: IRG

“I am grateful for this unique experience at the IRG conference,” said Mr Lipovac. “I would like to thank my co-worker Dr Anna Sandak for all the support and help. This was my first time at this conference, and I felt very welcomed. I had the chance to listen to many interesting presentations and join useful discussions. The atmosphere was great. I strongly hope that I will have a chance to join some IRG conferences in the future.”

Mr Lipovac was also awarded the Gareth Williams Scholarship Award as the best presentation among PhD students for his presentation about the impact of wood protection techniques and natural weathering on aesthetics and people’s preferences.