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Forest Products Laboratory


USDA Secretary Vilsack Tours the Forest Products Laboratory

October 09, 2012 James T. Spartz, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA Forest Products Laboratory

The Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) recently guided USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack through its unique set of research facilities. Basic and applied research at FPL supports a number of objectives, including forest management and restoration, the wise use of forest resources, job creation, and expanding...

Forestry

How the US Forest Service’s Forest Products Lab Helped Solve the “Crime of the Century”

September 19, 2012 Robert H. Westover, Office of Communication, U.S. Forest Service

In the early 1930’s, before the age of DNA and forensics, piecing together the evidence of a crime scene was a difficult task involving fingerprints (if you could get them), eyewitness accounts (if there were any), or a confession (not likely). Law enforcement had none of these as they tried to...

Health and Safety Research and Science

USDA Under Secretary Harris Sherman Promotes Public/Private Partnerships, Meets with Industry Leaders

August 28, 2012 U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory

A recent visit to the US Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory by USDA Under Secretary Harris Sherman was an eventful one. Sherman took the opportunity to visit with industry leaders who have collaborated with federal scientists to bring innovative new products to the market. Sherman was at the...

Technology

USDA Under Secretary Sherman Unveils Nanocellulose Production Facility

August 03, 2012 Rebecca Wallace, USDA Forest Products Laboratory

The U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory recently opened a $1.7 million production facility for renewable, forest-based nanomaterials. This facility is the first of its kind in the United States and one that positions the laboratory as the country’s leading producer of these materials...

Forestry

USDA Deputy Under Secretary Butch Blazer at Forest Products Lab for Important Wood-to-Energy Roundtable

July 12, 2012 James T. Spartz, US Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory

Arthur “Butch” Blazer, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, paid a visit to the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, Wis., recently to convene an important roundtable discussion on wood-to-energy concerns in Wisconsin and the Midwest. Among...

Forestry

Forest Products Lab Hosts Important Wood-to-Energy Roundtable with Deputy Under Secretary Butch Blazer

June 19, 2012 James T. Spartz, US Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory

Arthur “Butch” Blazer, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, paid a visit to the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, Wis., recently to convene an important roundtable discussion on wood-to-energy concerns in Wisconsin and the Midwest. Among...

Forestry

Under Pressure at the Forest Products Lab

March 30, 2012 James T. Spartz, US Forest Service

The largest wood beams ever tested are being studied at the US Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, Wis. If you’ve ever wondered what 80,000 pounds of load looks or sounds like when applied to a 72-foot-long, 3-ton wood beam, now’s your chance. Bam! View this short video to...

Forestry

US Forest Service Scientist Awarded High Honor by President Obama

September 29, 2011 Rebecca Wallace, U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Lab Office of Communication

President Obama has named Dr. Samuel L. Zelinka , a U.S. Forest Service scientist, as a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their...

Forestry

US Forest Service Helps Young Adults Bring Awareness to National Forests Though a Cross-Country Adventure

July 07, 2011 Robert Hudson Westover, U.S. Forest Service Office of Communication

The original slogan of the trekking group GreenXC read: Share a Ride, Tell a Story, Save a Park. Now they added and a National Forest (as in the U.S. Forest Service). This is because these young folks (all under 30), embarking on this bold transnational ride-share journey that departs July 27 th...

Forestry

Baseball bats are safer thanks to the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Lab

June 07, 2011 Robert Hudson Westover, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA Forest Service

Baseball fans thrill at the thought of hearing a bat crack. But seeing an actual bat shatter is not one of those thrills. That’s because this seemingly harmless wood breaking can be dangerous for the players and fans and is the reason that the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Lab has worked for...

Forestry
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