Integrated Forest Management Lab

Sabbaticals are about change, rest, renewal, and discovery. In my case, sabbatical was about returning home, back to my alma mater and back to my childhood home. Tom Wolfe says You cant go home again. In many respects Tom is indeed correct; however, it largely depends on why you are returning home and what you expect to discover once you arrive. After a 20 year absence, I found myself working on an oak regeneration project I started before I left, searching for 60 years of error corrected data I left on a magnetic tape, immersed in political bloodletting, surrounded by gene-jockeys and seedling specialists, working with politically savvy environmentalists, and back in nose-bleed seats at Mackey Arena. So, what did I learn and discover? Well, you will have to attend my seminar to find that out.

Dr. Gero Becker obtained the degree of MSc in Forestry from the University of Göttingen and an MBA in Economy from the University of Freiburg. He received his PhD in Forestry and his ha-bilitation in Forest Utilization, Forest Ergonomics and Forest Engineering from the University of Freiburg. As a forestry officer, Dr. Becker was head of a forest planning and management unit of the State Forest Service of Baden-Württemberg. Subsequently, he became Professor for Forest Utilization and Forest Engineering at the University of Göttingen. Since 1995, he has been a professor in and the Director of the Institute for Forest Utilization, Forest Ergonomics and Forest Engineer-ing. At Freiburg, he also served as the Dean of the Faculty of Forestry from 2000-2002, and since then, Dr. Becker has acted as the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Sciences. In 1999, he received an honorary doctorate from the Agricultural University of Tirana, Albania. Dr. Becker has a wide range of research interests, which include Forest Utilization, Wood Sci-ence, Forest Products, and Forest Industries. He is an expert in Forest Engineering, Forest Ac-cess, Logistics, Forest Certification, Organisation and Management. Besides his research and teaching, Dr. Becker manages a scientific consulting company. Additionally, he has completed teaching, research and consulting projects in Albania, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, and the United States.

Prof. Militz is the director of the Institute of Wood Biology and Wood Technology of the Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany. From 1991 to 2000 he served as director of SHR Timber Research, in Wageningen, Netherlands. From 1987-1991 he was head of the department of wood technology at TNO Center for Timber Research, Delft, Netherlands. His research areas include wood modification and preservation; wood coating, and wood technology. Prof. Militz is the director of the Institute of Wood Biology and Wood Technology of the Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany. From 1991 to 2000 he served as director of SHR Timber Research, in Wageningen, Netherlands. From 1987-1991 he was head of the department of wood technology at TNO Center for Timber Research, Delft, Netherlands. His research areas include wood modification and preservation; wood coating, and wood technology. Prof. Militz is the director of the Institute of Wood Biology and Wood Technology of the Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany. From 1991 to 2000 he served as director of SHR Timber Research, in Wageningen, Netherlands. From 1987-1991 he was head of the department of wood technology at TNO Center for Timber Research, Delft, Netherlands. His research areas include wood modification and preservation; wood coating, and wood technology.