In this lecture, associate professor Mariapaola Riggio introduces us to the sensor network in the George W. Peavy Forest Science Center.  This new building in OSU’s Oregon Forest Science Complex is a pioneer mass timber building showcasing innovative forest products and novel engineering solutions. Data are currently collected from a comprehensive sensor network in the building and investigated to cross-check assumptions made during the design phase. This truly makes it a living laboratory, and the monitoring data will provide many lessons for students, researchers and the mass timber industry.

Professor Riggio has been with the Department of Wood Science and Engineering since 2015. Her research interests include architecture, structural engineering, structural health, timber mechanics, and building design. Her work has led to important collaborations with the University of Oregon and the advancement of mass timber initiatives. Our undergraduate degree in renewable materials and graduate degree in wood science can lead to a career with innovative products and engineering solutions.

—This lecture was part of the College of Forestry’s Stay at Home lecture series, featuring presentations by College of Forestry professors, students, and researchers.

In “CLT industry enters 2020s (to face a different world than imagined),” professor Lech Muszyński looked into his crystal ball to see how the global pandemic is going to impact the future of this budding industry. Cross laminated timber (CLT) is an innovative wood panel product made from gluing layers of solid-sawn lumber together, and has been gaining in popularity.  Will that continue?

Lech Muszyński is professor of novel composite materials and advanced manufacturing in the Wood Science and Engineering department. His work has led to innovations across a number of mass timber products, including cross-laminated timber. Our undergraduate degree in renewable materials and graduate degree in wood science can lead to a career creating innovative products and building a sustainable economy.

—This lecture was part of the College of Forestry’s Stay at Home lecture series, featuring presentations by College of Forestry professors, students, and researchers.

Jim Ayorekire, a visiting Fulbright scholar at the College of Forestry, recently gave a presentation as part of our Stay at Home Lecture Series.  Dr. Ayorekire joined us in November 2019 from Makerere University in Uganda where he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Forestry, Biodiversity and Tourism.  He talked about his research and experiences at OSU.

During his time in the College of Forestry, Jim co-taught a course in the Tourism, Recreation and Adventure Leadership degree program.  In TRAL 354 (Communities, Natural Areas, and Sustainable Tourism), he was able to share Eastern African experiences, giving the students a global perspective. In his research, he studies human-gorilla conflict in the greater Virunga landscape of Rwanda and Uganda.  This was a valuable perspective for our students!  We welcome scholars and students from all over the world to collaborate with us in our classrooms, forests and labs.

–Dr. Jim Ayorekire holds a PhD in Sustainable Tourism Management from the University of Cape Town – South Africa and a Master’s degree in Land Use & Regional Development Planning from Makerere University. His research centers on the role of tourism as a driver for natural resource conservation, and enhancement of community livelihoods and inclusive development. He also has extensive experience in knowledge transfer and curriculum design and has been focusing on innovative program and curriculum development in Tourism, Forestry, and Resource Management.

The annual Western Forestry Graduate Research Symposium (WFGRS) showcases graduate and undergraduate student research. This year, the symposium partnered with the College of Forestry’s Stay at Home Lecture Series to share student’s research through a series of 5-to-12 minute online presentations. Over the course of four webinars, topics such as ecology, forest management, forest products, and human uses were explored.

In the first session, Interim Dean Anthony S. Davis kicked off the symposium with opening remarks, followed by seven presentations ranging from sustainable forest certification costs and benefits to early successional forests of the Klamath-Siskiyou region.

In the second session, students presented their research proposals on topics as broad as riparian restoration, wildfire effects on water quality, timber faller safety, and more.

For the third session, presentations included Tree Mortality in the McDonald-Dunn Research Forest and The Economic Consequence of a Log Export Tax in Oregon.

In the final session, student presentations ranged from the use of low-grade cross laminated timber to comparing the performance of Douglas-fir and western hemlock seedlings in different nursery containers.

-The Western Forestry Graduate Research Symposium is organized entirely by College of Forestry graduate students. The purpose of this symposium is to promote academic excellence by challenging students to present their work to and receive feedback from their academic and professional peers on their proposed and current research from a diverse audience, fostering student engagement, enthusiasm, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

If you are interested in learning more about our education and research programs, please visit our website.

Assistant professor Dr. Jim Rivers was a featured speaker in the College of Forestry’s Stay at Home Lecture Series.  In his talk “Uncovering the hidden world of a secretive seabird,” Jim shared findings from the Oregon Marbled Murrelet Project.  Listen in to hear about the life cycle of this amazing bird and the challenges researchers face in tracking them down.

Jim is the principal investigator of the Forest Animal Ecology lab at Oregon State University.  Members of his lab group work on a variety of organisms, including forest-nesting seabirds, woodpeckers, early-successional songbirds, and native insect pollinators, and much of the research they undertake has implications for applied management issues. If you’re interested in a career dedicated to improving our forest ecosystems, learn more about our undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

–Dr. Jim Rivers is assistant professor of wildlife ecology in the Forest Engineering, Resources & Management department.  His research is centered on understanding the behavioral, physiological and ecological mechanisms that are linked to animal vital rates.