Established in 2004, the Northern European Network for Wood Science and Engineering is dedicated to wood scientists and engineers, especially early stage researchers (students and PhD students). It currently involves 10 partner countries. Beginning in Honne (NO) in 2005, successful annual meetings have subsequently been held in Stockholm (SE), Helsinki (FI), Riga (LV), Copenhagen (DK), Tallin (EST), Oslo (NO), Kaunas (LIT), Hannover (DE) and Edinburgh (GB). During this period, the WSE platform has matured into an invaluable forum for researchers in all aspects of wood science and engineering to meet and share knowledge.
The 11th Annual Meeting of the Northern European Network for Wood Sciences and Engineering (WSE) was held on September 14-15, 2015 in Poznan, Poland and was hosted by the Faculty of Wood Technology, Poznań University of Life Sciences (PULS). 90 researchers from 13 countries gathered together in Biocenter auditorium to discuss many interesting topics connected with wood.
The conference was opened by His Magnificence Rector of Poznań University of Life Sciences, Prof. Dr Hab. Grzegorz Skrzypczak. Thereafter the host of the 11th WSE annual meeting, Dean of the Faculty of Wood Technology, Prof. Dr Hab. Bartłomiej Mazela, warmly welcomed all the participants, wishing them very fruitful discussions and interesting presentations. The WSE Network Coordinator, Dr Erik Larnøy, reminded the idea of the organisation.
The first speaker was Prof. Dr Hab. Wiesław Olek from the Department of Engineering Mechanics and Thermal Techniques, PULS. He gave a worthwhile keynote presentation on the effectiveness of diffusivity estimation for modelling transient bound water diffusion in wood. Afterwards, the honour guest, Prof. Dr. Zhao Guangjie from College of Material Science and Technology, Beijing Forestry University from P.R.China, gave a second keynote lecture on the structure and properties of activated carbon fibre preparation from wood liquefaction.
The 11th WSE Conference was divided into six sessions:
- Engineered Wood Products and Composites,
- Coatings,
- Special Session: Wood – Sustainable Future,
- Chemical/Physical Analysis,
- Wood Physics and Mechanics,
- Wood Protection,
plus two poster sessions. In summary, the participants were given the opportunity to listen to 28 15-minute presentations and 19 short poster presentations about the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of wood and wood-based products, modified wood, wood coatings or wood protection.
The conference was funded by EU funds and additionally sponsored by the Durawood project ("Superior bio-friendly systems for enhanced wood durability” (No. Pol-Nor/203119/32) supported by Norway Grants and the National Centre for Research and Development of Poland (NCRD) as a part of Polish-Norwegian Research Program) and two companies from the wood industry sector: Schattdecor and Tartak Tyble.
Like every year, the Best Student Presentation contest was announced during the meeting. The jury decided to award two prizes. The Best Student Presentation Award was won by Miroslav Nikolic from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and The Best Student Poster Presentation Award went to Joanna Siuda from the Institute of Chemical Wood Technology, Poznań University of Life Sciences.
As an evident tendency has recently been seen in the global economy to fully utilise the natural renewable resources, there is a need to research and develop all the aspects connected with wood science and technology as well as forest products engineering. Therefore, such a conference is a great opportunity to share new ideas in the field of wood science among young scientists who in the future can transform the acquired knowledge into modern, cost-effective and environmentally friendly technologies.
