The team at the Sustainable and Renewable Forest Products Group has been creating sustainable forest practices for 15 years - we boast an impressive range of academics, graduate researchers and professional and honorary staff.
Academics
Dr Benoit Belleville
Dr Benoit Belleville is a wood engineer whose research focuses on timber engineering, engineered wood products, wood adhesion, and mechanical properties of timber.
benoit.belleville@unimelb.edu.au +61390356923Prof Barbara Ozarska
Barbara Ozarska is a timber engineer whose research focuses on value-added utilization of plantation timber for high-value wood products based on solid wood, veneers and engineered wood.
bo@unimelb.edu.auDr Johannes Fehrmann
Johannes Fehrmann is assessing the potential for Australian hemp hurd residue (Cannabis sativa L.) for the production of environmentally friendly light-weight biocomposites.
johannes.fehrmann@unimelb.edu.auGraduate researchers
Esther Oluwatosin Falade
Esther Oluwatosin Falade will be developing options for wood processing methods and product development to offer guidance for plantation improvement strategies in Northern Australia.
Peter Edwin
Peter Edwin is currently developing a multi-criterion optimisation framework for reducing the greenhouse (GHG) emissions associated with hardwood processing in Papua New Guinea.
Sebastian Klein
Sebastian Klein is exploring commercial avenues for veneer based engineered wood products produced from Australian plantation hardwoods.
Joanne Lewis
Joanne Lewis will be characterising the suitability of some of the Victorian timber resources that may be targeted as prospective feedstocks for processing using spindleless lathe technology for engineered wood products manufacture.
Phouthavanh Bounyasane
Phouthavanh Bounyasane is conducting a case study in Laos to evaluate the durability and structural performance of Engineered Wood Products (EWPs) under tropical hygrothermal conditions.
Kilva Lancelot
Kilva Lancelot is investigating the creep behaviour of Australian structural glulam to support the development of improved safety margins, enhance the resilience of timber structures, and inform more accurate predictive maintenance models.
Isuri Amarasinghe
Isuri Amarasinghe is investigating the feasibility of producing engineered wood panels from recycled timber waste, with a focus on optimising the manufacturing process, evaluating mechanical performance, and assessing environmental impact.
Jiabao Wang
Jiabao Wang is advancing understanding of the sustainable utilisation of architectural waste wood and its role in the circular economy. The research also introduces methodological innovation by applying advanced technologies such as machine learning and geographic information systems to improve the accuracy of life cycle inventory data, with particular attention to temporal and geographical variations.
Listya Mustika Dewi
Listya Mustika Dewi is evaluating wood quality traits of commercially grown Eucalyptus pellita populations in the Tiwi Islands, with a focus on understanding within-tree variation in wood properties and their interrelationships as a foundation for developing predictive models of wood quality. The research also investigates the influence of molecular and genetic factors on these traits.
Honorary staff
A/Prof Jugo Ilic
Martin Strandgard
Peter Vinden
Prof Voytek Gutowski
Alumni
Bernard Gibson
Bernard Gibson developed a system to attenuate low-frequency structure-borne sound in multi-storey timber buildings.
Jamaludin Malik
Jamaludin Malik enhanced timber quality of jabon wood (Anthocepalus cadamba) for high-quality products by treatment through densification and impregnation with merbau extractives.
Khamtan Phonetip
Khamtan Phonetip investigated optimised drying methods for Eucalyptus delegatensis and simulated solar kiln conditions using intermittent drying schedules in a conventional kiln to develop a model for gaining a better understanding of solar drying characteristics and to identify suitable locations for solar kilns. Download PhD thesis
Lilik Astari
Lilik Astari investigated the potential of corn stalks, a lignocellulosic agricultural by-product, as a substitute for wood residues in particleboard. Citric acid, an organic acid, served as a natural adhesive. The study evaluated the effect of citric acid and fire-retardant addition on the panels’ physical, mechanical and fire resistance properties. A cost-effective and inorganic salt, calcium carbonate, was tested to enhance the fire retardancy. Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate was also considered as a comparative control. Finally, a life cycle assessment was performed to determine the fabrication steps that contribute the most to the environmental impact of the fabricated panels.
Ngoc Bao Nguyen
Ngoc Bao Nguyen analysed the potential production of multilaminar (reconstructed) veneer from low-quality eucalyptus and acacia plantations grown in Vietnam.
Phongxiong Wanneng
Phongxiong Wanneng investigated the impact of selected wood characteristics and properties on the market price of plantation-grown teak logs (Tectona grandis Linn.F) in Lao People Democratic Republic.
Vendy Eko Prasetyo
Vendy Eko Prasetyo conducted research to improve the production efficiency of medium-size Indonesian wood furniture companies.