News Release
For Immediate Release — June 22, 2011
International Forest Products Society Taps UT Researcher as Vice President
Timothy M. Young, a professor in the University of Tennessee College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resource’s Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries and a researcherer affiliated with the UT Institute of Agriculture’s Center for Renewable Carbon, is the new vice president of the Forest Products Society.
Members of the international Forest Products Society have elected a University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture researcher as vice president of their 1,100-member organization.
Timothy M. Young is a professor in UT’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources' Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries and is directly affiliated with the UT Institute of Agriculture’s Center for Renewable Carbon. His election as an officer of the Forest Products Society represents a three-year commitment that will see him transition to president-elect and president by 2013.
“I’m honored that members chose me to provide leadership to the Forest Products Society,” Young says. “It’s an exciting time to be a member. The society has recently renewed its mission and vision and we are invigorated by the dynamics of the industries and multitude of constituents we serve.”
The society is an international not-for-profit technical association founded in 1947 to provide an information network for all segments of the bio-based and forest products industries. The society’s mission is to foster innovation and research in the environmentally sound processing and use of wood and fiber resources by disseminating information and providing forums for networking and the exchange of knowledge. The organization has held 65 annual international conventions since its inception and sponsors a variety of technical meetings throughout the year.
Young will work to facilitate the growth of the professional society and serve on the society’s executive board. He has been a member since 1992 and has served as the regional mid-south president of the society in 2006 and was chair of the international annual convention held in Knoxville in 2006. Young was chair of Quality Control, Process Control and Production Management Group from 2002 to 2009.
Young holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from the University of Tennessee and also has M.S. and B.S. degrees from the University of Wisconsin. He has 164 scientific publications, of which 44 are refereed journal citations. He has given numerous professional presentations and has served as keynote speaker at seven professional meetings. He has been an invited speaker at professional meetings in Austria, Canada, China, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In addition to his research in academia, Young has four years of wood composite manufacturing experience with Georgia-Pacific Corporation.
The University of Tennessee views the Center for Renewable Carbon, in which Young conducts research, as the next step in the advancement of a biobased economy. The CRC coordinates existing bioenergy and biomaterials research programs at the university and among its industrial partners. The UT Biofuels Initiative works to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of cellulosic fuels. This effort involves a well-known collaboration between UT and Genera Energy, the State of Tennessee, and DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol (DDCE). The SunGrant Initiative, a federal effort that predates the Biofuels Initiative, coordinates research into the development of alternative energy from renewable carbon resources.
Through a Wood Utilization Program, the CRC continues the work of the former UT Forest Products Center in support of wood and related materials systems to enhance the competitiveness of the forest products industry. The CRC’s Bioenergy Production and Carbon Cycling Program researches environmental topics including the relationships between land use, bioenergy crops and carbon sequestration.
The UT Institute of Agriculture provides instruction, research and public service through the UT College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch, including its system of 10 research and education centers, and UT Extension offices in every county in the state.
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Contacts:
Dr. Tim Young, UT Center for Renewable Carbon, 865-946-1119, tmyoung1@tennessee.edu
Margot Emery, 865-974-7141, UTIA Marketing and Communications Services, memery@tennessee.edu
UT Center for Renewable Carbon