Research News
Comments by Delegates from China following the IRG57 Scientific Conference in Beijing during May 25-28, 2026
Following IRG57 Dr Dennis Jones reached out to various IRG57 Attendees using the WeChat platform to elicit comments regarding their experiences in attending IRG57. We thank each for their participation and comments. Here are comments received:
Dr Shaodi ZHANG
Research Institute of Wood Industry, CAF
I think it's great to gather a bunch of people who have same scientific interests every year. Feels like a family! And the meetings will be held in different countries, the participants can experience various cultural and scientific atmosphere, that's more exciting.
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Dr Wang Wang
Beijing Forestry University
Hosting IRG57 in Beijing was a great honour and a very rewarding experience. As organisers, we were especially pleased to see such active international exchange, the strong involvement of young researchers, and the family sense of community throughout the meeting. The conference also gave us a valuable opportunity to introduce colleagues to wood science research, education and wood culture in China. We are sincerely grateful to everyone who came to Beijing and helped make IRG57 such a memorable event.
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Mr Lei Yu
Beijing Forestry University
As a student volunteer, the conference's presentation and volunteer work were an unforgettable experience for me. Over the past few days, my spoken English has improved significantly, and I have also listened to many academic presentations that have been very helpful to me. Everyone I met was extremely friendly and during the communication process, I gained a lot of inspiration. In summary, these few days were truly unforgettable. I am very proud to have participated in this academic conference, whether it was the academic discussions or the logistical services. I sincerely hope to have the opportunity to participate in the subsequent IRG again.
Please Click the images above to view enlarged.
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Field test study of CLT susceptibility to termites, with and without treatment
Gerald Presley, Jeff Morrell
March 2026
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Field test assessments in Hilo, HI 2026
Gerald Presley, Jeff Morrell, Barry Goodell, Jody Jellison, Xinfeng Xie
February 2026
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Project: WoodOutDoor (WOD): Wood durability and recommendations for use in tropical overseas territories
Kevin CANDELIER (BioWooEB, Cirad, Montpellier, France)
Julie BOSSU (EcoFoG, CNRS, Kourou, French Guiana);
Christian BRISCHKE (Thünen Institute of Wood Research, Germany)
January 2026
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Unique fire chamber reveals the inner secrets of wood
Researchers at Luleå University of Technology, in collaboration with the state research institute RISE, have developed a unique fire chamber that, for the first time, makes it possible to study how wood changes on the inside during an ongoing fire. The technology opens new opportunities for both fire research and the development of wood-based construction materials.
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Why use Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to inspect Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)?
John Williams (RSK)
November 2025
Checking CLT for trapped construction moisture is difficult and time consuming due to its layered structure, where internal layers are concealed by the outer ones. GPR relies on transmitting an electromagnetic pulse through a transmitting antenna which is reflected back through the target material and the response captured by the receiving antenna. The speed of the reflection, displayed as a distortion in the electromagnetic pulse can be related to changes in moisture in materials.
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