A Chair for BC's future in wood

How does one go from being a passionate environmentalist to being a world-famous forest scientist? Ask Philip Evans, recently appointed BC Leadership Chair in Advanced Forest Products Manufacturing Technology at The University of British Columbia. Because he did it!

As a student in the United Kingdom in the 1970s, he took part in demonstrations spearheaded by organizations such as Greenpeace. He eventually became disillusioned. “From my perspective the environmental movement felt like a club, with social lives planned around the next demonstration. I shared the concerns of the protest movement, but I wanted to do more. So I chose a career in wood technology. This might seem like a strange choice, but wood is the only significant industrial material that can be produced sustainably. Furthermore, wood sequesters the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which isn’t released back into the atmosphere until the wood burns or decomposes. By removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere wood products are helping to mitigate climate change.”

In 1986, after completing his PhD in wood science at the University of Wales, and a post-doc in Scotland, Dr. Evans accepted a position at The Australian National University in Canberra. Strongly encouraged by the Australian government to strive for excellence in every academic area, the new university attracted top researchers and scholars from all over the world, including many who had previously left Australia. At 27, Dr. Evans was its youngest faculty member. For the next 17 years he taught wood science and wood processing, while developing an outreach program to assist the burgeoning Australian forest industry. In 2000 he was appointed Director of ANU’s Centre for Science and Engineering of Materials.

That was also the year UBC came calling. A larger institution, it boasts one of the world’s most prestigious university forestry programs. The offer was irresistible. Dr. Evans was named Director of UBC’s Centre for Advanced Wood Processing, and he and his family moved to Vancouver in 2001.

“My main research focus is on the durability of wood products,” he explains. “It’s about making changes to wood at the molecular level so that wood stays dry and can’t be broken down by organisms or the weather. Wood’s ‘Achilles heel’ as a material is that it burns and decomposes. So, for wood to compete with steel, aluminum, concrete or plastics, we have to make it more durable. If we can do that, I’m confident we can reverse the substitution of wood by these other materials whose production uses more energy, often in the form of fossil fuels. There is an environmental cost to whatever building materials we use. Wood from sustainably managed forests and plantations is a better option.”

It’s all very well to increase the use of wood in construction. But is there a future for a value-added wood products industry in BC, considering how our costs compare to those of Asia Pacific countries? “It’s a challenge,” he says. “Much will depend on what happens to the price of energy. With energy being relatively inexpensive, we can manufacture products in low-cost countries and ship them here more cheaply than doing it ourselves. But, if energy costs rise to 2008 levels or beyond, the advantage shifts back to BC. We would, of course, need a highly skilled workforce and use advanced manufacturing techniques like automation and robotics. I’m confident we can do that. In fact, there are already some very successful BC companies using the latest technologies.”

UBC’s Centre for Advanced Wood Processing is perfectly positioned, which is why it was able to attract a scientist and teacher of Dr. Evans’ stature. “UBC is the place to be with respect to global wood issues,” he says. Indeed, the Centre receives inquiries and requests for assistance from around the world. But it’s the local industry that concerns him the most. “If BC is to diversify its forest industry, it’s going to need people skilled in advanced wood processing. That’s where we at UBC come in. There are opportunities in pre-fabricated houses, house components, advanced wood coatings and adhesives, furniture and cabinets, as well as new wood composites. The Centre has funding from government and industry in support of our undergraduate program (now, with over 100 students, the largest in North America), outreach activities and research.”

Dr. Evans takes his BC Leadership Chair seriously. “One of my goals is to help BC’s industry. I’ve helped a BC company develop a new way of preventing its composite boards from swelling. Now it’s commercializing the technology, which will give it a competitive edge over companies in the USA. I’m also writing a guidebook on the finishing of Western Red Cedar used for decks and siding. The book will make it easier for people to use cedar rather than, say, plastic substitutes. Other technologies I’m working on also look promising, and I hope to transfer these to industry in the coming years.”

The BC government’s Leading Edge Endowment Fund has provided $2.25 million to endow Dr. Evans’ Chair. This was matched by funds from FPInnovations, UBC and forest sector supporters.

For more information, visit UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing: www.cawp.ubc.ca/ and http://farpoint.forestry.ubc.ca/FP/search/Faculty_View.aspx?FAC_ID=3095