62nd SWST International Convention

The Society of Wood Science and Technology (SWST) held its 62nd International Convention, “Renewable Materials and the Wood-based Bioeconomy”, 20-25 October 2019 in Yosemite National Park (California, USA).

Several InnoRenew CoE researchers attended. Dr Andreja Kutnar, director of the InnoRenew CoE and president-elect of the SWST executive board, presented “Selective extraction of high value molecules from forest products processing residues in the speciality chemicals sector”, a newly acquired project exploring uses for wood residues in the chemical sector.

Dr Michael Burnard, InnoRenew CoE deputy director, talked about the WoodCircus project and the wood industry’s role in the circular bioeconomy. He also presented a poster about the Data Science study programme at UP FAMNIT and chaired the “International Innovation, Trends and Education in Wood Science” session, where Amy Simmons, InnoRenew CoE assistant researcher, presented the experience of successful women in academia and pointed out that, still today, there are big gender inequalities in research and academic environments.

Amy Simmons at the SWST. Image: InnoRenew CoE

Dr David DeVallance, InnoRenew CoE research group leader for Renewable Materials Composites, chaired the “Timber Engineering and Mass Timber” session and presented “Development of nano-cellulose based thermal insulating and encapsulated phase change materials for energy efficient buildings”. On the last convention day, he spoke about opportunities, issues and barriers for using hardwoods in cross-laminated timbers.

In the “Composites and Adhesives” session, Dr Matthew Schwarzkopf, InnoRenew CoE researcher, presented “Synchrotron-based analysis of densified wood impregnated with curing resins”, a project aiming to fully understand the mechanisms behind dimensional stability and mechanical performance of impregnated, densified wood.

Dr Matthew Schwarzkopf at the SWST: Image: Amy Simmons

The InnoRenew CoE and University of Primorska will host the 63rd SWST International Convention, which will be held 12-17 July 2020 in Portorož (Slovenia).

Videos of the InnoRenew CoE presentations at the 62^nd SWST International Convention can be found at the following links: