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

12/22/22 • 32 min

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.

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

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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Mike Wolcott: "I never met a problem I did not love!"

Mike Wolcott is a Regents Professor for Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA. Grown up in the mountains he first got into forestry, before entering wood science and engineering. His curiosity and interdisciplinary attitude, which he sees genuine to wood science, brought him to wood quality, adhesives, polymer processing and composites, biomass and biofuels. Learning from students is a great priviledge: "I never had a student that didn't bring in a different viewpoint to a project!", he says. This is the value of research, bringing in different perspectives, also to industry. Mike talks about the todays grant societal challenges, such as climate change, carbon management, or the entire shift of society towards circular economy.