The FWPA-supported Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life has established itself as a globally recognised hub for world-leading timber durability research attracting global audiences to major events.
Three events supported by the centre over the past few months attracted hundreds of visitors from the Australian and international forest and wood products industry.
“These highly successful, well-received events demonstrated how respected Australia and in particular Queensland has become in recent years amongst the international timber durability research community,” FWPA RD&E Manager Dr Chris Lafferty said.
“The events allowed us to demonstrate the outcomes of important work happening domestically to a global audience, and in return allowed us to learn from what is happening in this space overseas. Equally important were the opportunities presented for international networking and collaboration, which can only strengthen the industry going forward.”
Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life Research Symposium
The centre’s third annual research showcase was held on Wednesday 19 April at the EcoSciences Precinct in Brisbane.
More than 60 people attended the event, which included 20 presentations on a diverse array of topics ranging from moisture management in buildings to fire behaviour in copper-treated timber. Attendees also had the opportunity to meet with the centre’s PhD students from the University of Queensland and the University of the Sunshine Coast.
In addition, attendees met members of the internationally recognised Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) team that is collaborating with the centre on field trials that will help improve service-life prediction models for various timber materials used for outdoor applications. The DAF team is led by Dr Maryam Shirmohammadi, who presented the latest findings from its research.
International Research Group (IRG) on Wood Protection annual meeting
For the first time in 20 years, the International Research Group on Wood Protection (IRG) hosted its annual meeting in Australia. FWPA was delighted to welcome organisers and delegates to Queensland for the event, which was supported by the centre and DAF.
The IRG54 meeting took place from Sunday 28 May to Thursday 1 June 2023 at the Pullman Hotel in Cairns, with more than 190 delegates from 28 countries gathering to discuss and share the latest updates on significant global research in the field of biosecurity as it relates to wood.
Those in attendance spanned the entire forest and wood products supply chain, as well as academia, and more than 100 papers were presented on various aspects of wood protection.
Abstracts for all papers presented during the meeting can be found at the IRG website.
Attendees could also take a pre-meeting tour of the DAF South Johnstone Research Station, where much of the timber durability testing in Australia is conducted, as well as visit several termite testing sites. Dubbed ‘the Terminatour’, these visits were hosted by Michael Powell, Principal Consultant/Director at Biotica EC, and Scott Kleinschmidt, Director at ATP Research.
Next year’s IRG annual meeting will take place in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Award presentations
Congratulations to Scott Kleinschmidt, Director at ATP Research, who was presented with the coveted Viance Innovation Award (VIA) during the event.
Kleinschmidt shared details on his work in collaboration with Dr Rob McGavin, Research Facility & Project Manager at DAF, to assess a new technique that will allow more precise assessment of heartwood durability in plantation-grown species.
The VIA is awarded for the most innovative poster or oral presentation at each IRG meeting.
In addition, Mr Jack Norton, formerly of DAF, and Professor Holger Militz of The University of Göttingen each received Honorary Life-Long Memberships during the conference.
Honorary Life-Long Members are scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the aims, functions, organisation or standing of the IRG.
Embracing the circular economy
One of the research projects highlighted during the meeting was the Timber Circularity Project focusing on end-of-life opportunities for preservative treated timber (PTT) and Engineered Wood Products (EWPs) within the circular economy.
Preservative treatment of timber for durability and longevity currently limits opportunities for further use beyond initial application.
The Timber Circularity Project aims to identify solutions to improve environmental profiles of forest and wood products within a bio-circular economy and identify alternative pathways for PTT and EWP’s.
The project is a collaboration between the centre, the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) and FWPA, with support from a consortium of timber producers, chemical suppliers and timber users including:
- Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA)
- Wine Australia
- Engineered Wood Products Association of Australia (EWPAA)
- Frame and Truss Manufacturers Association of Australia (FTMA Australia)
- Koppers Performance Chemicals
- Hexion
- Azelis
Dr Pene Mitchell recently joined UniSC as a Research Fellow to lead this program under the direction of Professor Mark Brown, Director of the Forest Research Institute and Professor of Forestry Operations at UniSC. The team will work to model collection, sorting and transport logistics for PTT/EWP at end-of-life and identifying effective repurposing processes.
Above, left to right: Harrison Brooke, Technical Manager at EWPAA; Claudia Roder, Structural Engineer and Wood Scientist at EWPAA; Dr Lone Ross, current IRG president; and Dr Rod Stirling, incoming IRG president, inspecting the research poster outlining the circular economy project
International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO) Division 5 Conference
Many delegates already in Queensland for IRG54 took the opportunity to access more forest and wood science updates and information by staying on to attend the International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO) Division 5 Conference. This event took place from Sunday 4 to Thursday 8 June at the Cairns Convention Centre.
The theme was ‘The Forest Treasure Chest: Delivering outcomes for everyone’, and the conference offered attendees a broader perspective on forest management in relation to certification, maximising recovery, and ensuring continued timber supply.
Through its role as part of the IUFRO committee, the Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life offered its support, and the event was attended by FWPA RD&E Manager Chris Lafferty and FWPA Forest Research Manager Jodie Mason, as well as delegates from more than 30 countries.
