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Wood forensic science

A person using a magnifying loop to look at the end of a piece of wood.
From assisting with criminal cases and mid-air collisions to identifying wood species to combat illegal logging, the wood anatomy and forensic research done at the Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory draws upon one of the largest and oldest collections of wood and plant species from around the world. (Forest Service video)“We were recently consulted about a murder case,” Forest Service's…
#WoodProducts, #ForestProductsLaboratory, #ForestProducts, #ForensicScience, #Science, #Research

Safer wood for safer buildings

A person working with a test burn in the Forest Service Fire Lab.
Fire testing is expensive and complex, which is why industry leaders look to the Forest Service for expertise. The Fire Lab at the USDA Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory conducts research that influences building codes and furthers fire science knowledge to ensure the safety of buildings that include wood components. (Forest Service video)Wood is in most buildings you enter. But how do…
#ForestProducts, #ForestProductsLaboratory, #FireLab, #FireScience, #Science, #ResearchAndDevelopment, #Research

Making wood less tasty to pests

A person wearing sunglasses, holding a cut piece of wood, pointing to small white mushrooms growing on one end.
From wood walls to fence posts, we enjoy the benefits of wood products. But there are insects and fungi who enjoy it for another purpose – as dinner.The Forest Service’s Forest Products Laboratory scientists test wood products for resistance to fungal decay and insect damage.One of their big projects is testing chemical treatments for military wood packaging boxes. These boxes must withstand two…
#ForestProducts, #ForestProductsLaboratory, #Science, #ResearchAndDevelopment, #WoodInnovations, #Wood

Researchers study fire behavior for better mass timber buildings

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Setup for test three at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Fire Test Lab in Beltsville, Md., for the WOOWISE project to study fire behavior in mass timber structures. (USDA Forest Service photo by Dorothy Punderson) MARYLAND – The 60-square foot exhaust hood in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and…
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Wood innovation: Forest Products Lab celebrates Earth Day

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Earth Day Celebration attendee interacts with Forest Product Laboratory staff at the Forest Product Laboratory Earth Day event. (USDA Forest Service photo by Nate Sapp) WISCONSIN—On April 20, the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory hosted an Earth Day event in Madison, Wisconsin. This event…
#ForestProductsLaboratory, #NatureConnectsUs, #EarthDay, #Nature, #EarthDay, #ForestProducts

Wood is the new concrete: bridging carbon reduction and sustainable building materials

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Construction underway on the Moffett Creek Bridge in Yreka, California. USDA Forest Service photo by Robert Moon. WISCONSIN—“The Forest Products Laboratory is building a sustainable future by showing how wood and its components can reduce our dependence on greenhouse-gas-intensive materials…
#ForestProductsLaboratory, #NorthernResearchStation, #Research, #Carbon, #Climate