Francesco Negro: "Wood and sports - a sustainable combination !"

12/03/22 • 28 min

Francesco Negro is a Professor at the Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, University of Torino, Italy. His main research interests is related to innovative wood-based products, timber grading, regulations and standards, and the effects of wood on the environmental. He recently edited the open access book "Wood in Sport Equipment — Heritage, Present, Perspective", freely available from the SWST Website (https://www.swst.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Wood-in-sport-equipment_Heritage-present-perspective.pdf), which describes the changing uses of wood as a material for sport items such as bats, boats, bows and arrows, etc. but also of wood in sport facilities such as sporting halls, basketball, courts, cycling tracks, and horse stables. The book holds 35 chapters, writtern by 39 authors, coming from Italy, Austria, Chile, Italy, Madagascar, Norway, Poland, and the USA. Prof. Negro is talking about what has brought him into wood, his research interests, carreer paths, and his overall fascination about wood.

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Anne Wekesa: “Young people need an awareness about wood !”

Anne Wekesa is from Kenya, and she has been selected as one among 16 "Woman Ambassadors of Wood Science", a SWST-sponsored traveling exhibition designed to celebrate women ambassadors over time. In this Wood Science Talk Anne is talking on how she got enrolled into a wood science program in Kenya, how passionate she is about teaching young people, and about the importance of wood in her home country. She is dreaming about having once a wood technology lab at her home university in Kenya, with the hope that she might get help here from the wood science community. She is also explaining her research around bioenergy, carbon and wood products, and the link to climate change. Anne is happy that SWST got her, and she sees SWST as a truly global association.

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Ulrich Mueller: "To generate something new with wood, we need first understand the cell wall !"

Ulrich Müller is Professor at BOKU Vienna, and it would not be incorrect to say that he is currently one of the brightest minds in wood science. As a trained carpenter he has worked in industry for years, before starting an academic career. He has pursued numerous industry- focused developments, and all his projects are strongly rooted in a basic wood science understanding ("we need to start with the cell wall!"). He runs projects with e.g. the major German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen, to develop wooden components for automotives. Beside wood science, Ulrich is a fictional novelist and has written several books (in German), and runs also a Youtube channel that includes wood science teaching videos. His personal philosophy is fostered by two complementary words: curiosity and creativity.