In total, there were five keynote speakers providing lectures and 242 session presenters giving their oral presentations on the topics of wood properties and solid wood utilisation, wood modification and functionalization, wood-based panels and surface decoration (including adhesives), wood green processing, biomass resource utilisation, and wood/bamboo-based composites, etc.
Keynote speeches given by Yafang Yin (left) and Yoon Soo Kim (right)
Professor Yafang Yin of the Chinese Academy of Forestry was invited for a keynote speech titled “Promoting xylarium resources development in China”. Professor Emeritus Yoon Soo Kim, the Past President of the International Academy of Wood Science (IAWS), was invited to give an academic report titled as “Brief excursion to IAWS and wood science education in South Korea”.
In this conference, the basic knowledge and techniques of quantitative wood anatomy are widely applied in the field of wood science and technology. In particular, it is reflected in the identification and origin traceability of wood, the relationship between wood properties and environmental changes, and wood modification and functionalization.
In addition, there are a few innovative studies that cross wood anatomy with spectroscopic technology, artificial intelligence, and historical heritage, thus expanding and forming new research directions, such as the identification of endangered wood based on deep learning technique, the high-throughput identification of ten poplar varieties by near-infrared spectroscopy combined with convolutional neural network, the concept of materials selection for the ancient chariots, and the study on the deterioration mechanism of archaeological wood of China.
The conference especially highlighted the history of wood science research in China, retracing the scientific and educational footprints of the older generation of scientists and the evolution of wood science and technology from plant anatomy and wood anatomy in China, which is of great significance.
Jiangtao Shi, China
