FPL in the News - Recent
Publication year: 2012
February 2012 - http://www.bluetoad.com - Fastener Technology International -
FPL invention recently named one of the Top Products of 2011
A FPL invention has recently been named one of the Top Products of 2011 by Fastener Technology International.
Titled "System for evaluation of the surface area of a threaded fastener", the system allows for more accurate determination
of corrosion rates for threaded fasteners that are in contact with treated wood...
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Note: Once the web page loads, double click in the lower right hand blue box to enlarge the article.
01/25/2012 - www.wpr.org - Wisconsin Public Radio -
Forest Products and Bioenergy
Listen to the Larry Meiller Show on Wisconsin Public Radio where FPL's Carl Houtman discusses forest products and bioenergy along with John Greenler from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center...
listen »
01/17/2012 - blogs.usda.gov - USDA Blog -
Ring Profiler Gives Scientists a Luminous Look at Tree Rings
The Ring Profiler may sound like the title of fantasy novel but in fact it's an innovative tool U.S. Forest Service scientists are using to better determine how much a tree grows annually. Developed by the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wis., the Ring Profiler may have significant implications in forest management and climate-change studies... view »
01/16/2012 - www.forestindustry.com - Forest Industry Network
Don't Judge a Tree by Its Size
A new tool developed by the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) provides a more accurate look at how trees grow, and may have significant implications in forest management and climate-change studies...
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01/12/2012 - - www.forestbusinessnetwork.com - Forest Business Network
Don't Judge a Tree by Its Size
A new tool developed by the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) provides a more accurate look at how trees grow, and may have significant implications in forest management and climate-change studies... view news article »
Publication year: 2011
11/10/2011 - - www.bhpioneer.com - Black Hills Pioneer
Tough market for bluestain wood
Millions of trees are infested by the mountain pine beetle each year in the United States. Lumber industry specialists and foresters are seeking out the best way to utilize the bluestain wood left behind. A Forest Products Laboratory report, "Economic Use of Beetle-Killed Trees," outlines strategies...
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11/2011 - www.hdrinc.com -
Centennial Research Facility wins architectural design award
HDR Engineering, Inc. of Omaha, Neb., has won a design citation award for their work on the FPL's unique Centennial Research Facility (CRF). Touted as a 'living laboratory,' the CRF not only houses research, it is research. We are proud to have this award winning building on our campus and congratulate HDR Engineering in gaining recognition for their fine work. ... view news article »
10/2011 - www.tappi.org -
FPL's Wegner assumes key role in TAPPI's International Nano Division
TAPPI's International Nanotechnology Division announces the appointment of the following new division officers: Sean Ireland, Verso Paper, Chairman; Phil Jones, IMERYS, Vice Chairman; and Ted Wegner, USDA Forest Service-Forest Products Laboratory, Secretary... view news article »
10/17/2011 - www.WhiteHouse.gov - Office of Science and Technology Policy -
President Obama Meets the Nation's Cutting-Edge Researchers
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) awards are bestowed each year upon outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent research careers, show exceptional potential for leadership, and have demonstrated a commitment to community service and the advancement of science, technology, engineering and math education... view news article »
10/08/2011 - Missoulian -
Forest Service study promotes wood as a 'green building material,' but not all agree
Calling wood a "green building material" seems redundant. Nevertheless, the U.S. Forest Service has published a study arguing the American building industry has overlooked that fact. Its authors want more recognition of how wood takes less energy to fabricate, releases less carbon into the atmosphere...
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10/05/2011 -
A New Century of Forest Planning -
How the Forest Service Saved Baseball
In April 2008, a jagged projectile of maple wood hurtled into the stands at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and struck Susan Rhodes in the face. She left the ballpark with a concussion and a broken jaw. By June, Major League Baseball (MLB) had commissioned a $500,000 investigation into the alarming number of bats that had shattered that season, including more than 750 in just three months....
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10/02/2011 - WJFW.com - Newswatch 12 -
White House Gives High Honor to Three Wisconsinites
Madison - The White House is giving three Wisconsinites the highest honor the government can give to science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers...
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10/01/2011 - Discover Magazine -
How the Forest Service Saved Baseball
In April 2008, a jagged projectile of maple wood hurtled into the stands at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and struck Susan Rhodes in the face. She left the ballpark with a concussion and a broken jaw. By June, Major League Baseball (MLB) had commissioned a $500,000 investigation into the alarming number of bats that had shattered that season, including more than 750 in just three months...
view news article »
09/30/2011 - A New Century of Forest Planning -
Green Building with Wood: USDA Report
Forest Service Report Documents Environmental Benefits of Wood as a Green Building Material Agriculture Secretary Vilsack urges US builders to prioritize wood in green buildings...
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09/29/2011 - R&D Magazine -
FPL research supports USDA's $80 million biofuels investment
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that Washington State University and University of Washington each will receive a five-year, $40 million grant to help develop alternatives to petroleum-based fuels and chemicals. As a partner in the Washington State University-led Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA), the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) will receive $1.1 million to pretreat woody biomass for conversion to aviation fuel...
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09/29/2011 - USDA Blog -
US Forest Service Scientist Awarded High Honor by President Obama
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 honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages ...
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08/20/2011 - WISC-TV and Channel3000.com -
'Dusting' Termites Breakthrough For Wisconsin Village - Termites Annually Cause $11 Billion In Damage
Madison, August 20, 2011 -- Most people don't purposefully go digging for termites, but researchers at Forest Products Laboratory in Madison may have uncovered a breakthrough way to get those underground dwellers from taking up residence in your home...
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09/01/2011 - Products Finishing Magazine - Online -
Measuring the Surface Area of Fasteners
How do you measure the surface area of a threaded fastener? How much coating would you put on it? How thick of a coating? What about non-threaded fasteners? The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, of all people, may have come up with the solution for those pondering how to coat sometimes-difficult small pieces using computer imaging and software to compute the area.
view »
08/28/2011 - Wisconsin State Journal -
Town successfully rids itself of termites
ENDEAVOR - For most of us, the communities that dot the east and west sides of Interstate 39 are mere pit stops, if stops at all.
We know of places like Coloma, Oxford, Hancock, Plainfield and Plover largely from the green road signs along this north-south route that is a year-round thoroughfare for vehicles, campers, boats and snowmobiles destined for somewhere Up North.
Endeavor is also on that list but is now known for what is no more.
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08/21/2011 - Portage Daily Register -
Experiment puts bite on termites; Endeavor approach likely to be used elsewhere
Ding-dong, the wood-eating insects are gone. The U.S. Forest Service last week declared that an experimental communitywide approach to termite eradication, conducted over several years in the Marquette County village of Endeavor, appears to have been a resounding success. The approach that worked in Endeavor is likely to be applied in other small communities with widespread termite infestation...
view »
08/19/2011 - USDA Blog -
Forest Service Employees Join Forces to Feed Families
With just over two weeks left in the 2011 Feds Feed Families campaign, Forest Service employees are joining forces all over the country in an extraordinary show of commitment and compassion as its summer food drive moves to full gear in helping reach the USDA's goal of 500,000 pounds of donated food. Across the country, Forest Service employees have stepped up to the plate to help feed the hungry in their region...
view »
06/13/2011 - SYS-CON Media -
Developer of ECOR® Advanced Environmental Composites Announces Joint Patent ApplicationsNew Environmental Material Technology Developed in Collaboration with the USDA
SAN DIEGO "PRNewswire" -- San Diego-based Noble Environmental Technologies Corporation (NET), a leading sustainable materials developer and manufacturer, announces its submittal for two US and Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patents jointly with the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, Wisconsin, detailing new eco-composite panel technology advancements ...
view »
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08/10/2011 - Energy.gov -
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Download the "Billion-Ton" Study . |
08/09/2011 - WSJ -
Solving the Broken-Bat Epidemic
Anyone who has seen a Major League Baseball game the past few years has seen the absurdity: wooden bats constantly splintering, shattering and breaking, their shards fluttering across the field and occasionally into the stands. But where the rest of us saw an annoyance and potentially a danger, two fans saw a business opportunity. Jim Cortez, an entrepreneur in Chicago, and Greg Kendra, who is a real-estate agent in Denver, came up with a process by which bats are cryogenically frozen ...
view »
08/01/2011 - MSN -
Don't demolish that old house; recycle it
You can recycle your pop can. You can recycle your cellphone. You can even buy a fleece jacket made of recycled plastic bottles. But can you recycle your house?ncreasingly, the answer is yes... view »
07/15/2011 - ScienceDaily -
Wood Products Part of Winning Carbon-Emissions Equation, Researchers Say
Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to grow, so forests have long been proposed as a way to offset climate change. But rather than just letting the forest sit there for a hundred or more years, the amount of carbon dioxide taken out of the atmosphere could be quadrupled in 100 years by harvesting regularly and using the wood in place of steel and concrete that devour fossil fuels during manufacturing, producing carbon dioxide... view »
07/11/2011 - Fox News (TV) -
Heads Up
Fox News interviews FPL's Research Scientist David Kretschmann about cutting major league baseball broken bat incidents by half... view »
07/09/2011 -
NPR and 90.9 WBUR (Boston) - MLB Cracks The Case Of The Broken Bats
In 2008, fans attending Major League Baseball games could have yelled "timber!" instead of "charge!" That's because baseball bats started shattering at a record pace. With dangerous shards flying at players on the field and into dugouts and stands, MLB officials started looking for solutions. Milwaukee Public Radio's Mitch Teich reports how the US Forest Service is helping baseball build a better bat...
view »
07/01/2011 - Pallet Enterprise -
Woody Biomass Facts: A Look at the Myths Regarding a Sustainable Energy Source
Woody Biomass Facts: Biomass has the capability to play a significant role in the future of the nation's energy security. Unfortunately, many misunderstandings prevent it from being viewed as the renewable and sustainable energy source that it is... view »
06/28/2011 - Tulsa World -
It's usually best to keep crawl-space vents closed
Here in the humid South it has become evident that warm-humid air getting under the house actually worsens the moisture problem. As air conditioning is the norm, more so in this decade than ever, the floor over the crawl space is cold... view »
06/24/2011 - Hardwood Review express -
Want More Forests? Buy More Wood Products!
Credit the USDA Forest Service for recently becoming more public and proactive in promoting the wood industry. For the second time in three months, agency personnel have extolled the virtues of using more wood... view »
06/22/2011 - The Missoulian -
3 regional biomass projects to share $650K federal grant
A trio of biomass projects in western Montana will share almost $650,000 in federal grants to get their plants ready for construction. view »
06/22/2011 - Western Farm Press -
Forest Service awards nearly $3 million for renewable energy projects
A trio of biomass projects in western Montana will share almost $650,000 in federal grants to get their plants ready for construction. view »
06/20/2011 - European Plastics News -
Looking good at the iFDesign Awards
Out of five gold category winners at iFDesign's 2011 materials awards, injection moulder Klaus Kunststofftechnik was the only one whose item was made of plastic... view »
06/17/2011 - Metro News - West Virginia Outdoors -
Broken Bats Start in the Forest
Anybody who ever played baseball years ago knows the term "label up." It was usually the second instruction given to youngsters just behind, "eye on the ball." The phrase isn't as common today because few, if any, young ball players use wooden bats. Batting with the label up, in theory, reduced the chances the bat would be broken on a solid ...
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06/16/2011 - Ethanol Producer Magazine -
EdeniQ obtains key yeast technology from USDA
California-based EdeniQ Inc. moved one step closer to making cellulosic ethanol a commercial reality when it licensed yeast technology, which can ferment C5 sugars such as xylose derived from lignocellulosic materials like corn stover, switchgrass and woodchips into ethanol, from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.... view »
06/14/2011 - CBS8.com -
EdeniQ Licenses Yeast Technology from USDA
EdeniQ, Inc., a California-based clean technology company serving the global biofuels industry, announced today that it has licensed yeast technology from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) associated with the fermentation of C5 sugars, such as xylose, to ethanol. .... view »
06/14/2011 - Associated Press (AP) -
MLB taps Forest Service to solve broken-bat danger
When it comes to baseball, Dave Kretschmann always keeps his eye on the bat. A casual fan whose loyalties are split between the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, Kretschmann watches games much differently than he did...
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06/10/2011 - Baseball Think Factory (web newsblog) -
Good Wood, Broken Bats Down 50%
There has been a 50% reduction in what is called multiple-piece failure rates in baseball bats in the last three seasons...thanks to the extensive efforts of the scientists from the Forest Products Laboratory, especially Dave Kretschmann... view »
06/10/2011 - Milwaukee - Wisconsin Journal Sentinel -
Breaking down the broken bats in MLB
"Since Major League Baseball's partnership with the USDA Forest Service began in 2008, we have witnessed a dramatic decrease in the number of broken bats thanks to the extensive efforts of the scientists from the Forest Products Laboratory, especially Dave Kretschmann," Dan Halem, MLB's senior... view »
06/09/2011 - Fine Wood Working.com -
Baseball is Safer
Thanks to a partnership with Major League Baseball and the USDA Forest Service that began three years ago, there has been a 50 % reduction in multiple-piece failure (MPF) rates. Research engineer, Dave Kretschmann, at the Forest Products Laboratory has studied video of every shattered bat since 2009 ... view »
05/15/2011 - Wisconsin State Journal -
Curiosities: Is there a limit to how many times paper can be recycled?
Experiments show that paper fibers can be recycled about five times, says Carl Houtman, a chemical engineer at the Forest Products Lab run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Madison... view »
04/26/2011 - Odyssey Magazine -
Whole-Tree Architecture: Cutting the Forest to Save It
If all of the trees on Earth were divided equally among all of the planet's people, we would each have a piece of forest about the size of a football field. But your personal patch of trees is shrinking. Many trees are harvested for building materials. But architect Roald Gunderson has found a way to build homes from what many people would call weed trees...
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04/21/2011 - Hardwood Floors -
Forest Products Lab Chronicle Published
The body of scientists who have toiled at the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, Wis., is the wood products industry's workhorse... view »
04/20/2011 - Wisconsin State Journal -
Forest Products Lab has had its share of interesting stories
Many people in Madison, when they think of Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) - if they think of it at all - can't see the forest for the trees.... view »
04/20/2011 - Wisconsin Public Radio -
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service's Forest Products Lab has been contributing to the study and advancement of wood product use for over a century
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service's Forest Products Lab has been contributing to the study and advancement of wood product use for over a century. After eleven, Judith Siers-Poisson ("SEARS-pwah-SOHn") talks with the author of a history of the Lab's first hundred years. WPR interviews John Koning, Jr., who conducted research in paperboard packaging for the Forest Products Lab. After retiring, he joined the Engineering Professional Development Department in the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of "Forest Products Laboratory 1910-2010: Celebrating a Century of Accomplishments"... view »
04/16/2011- GazetteXtra.com /JANESVILLE, Wisconsin -
Termites are nothing new for Janesville residents
Now playing! The Beasts That Ate Janesville! Watch as a brave scientist races against time to discover the biological mechanism to stop the swarm of insects bent on destruction... view »
04/14/2011 - National Hog Farmer -
Manure-Based Materials Find New Uses
Engineers with the USDA Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, WI, are investigating ways to create building and packing materials out of recycled manure... view »
Winter 2011 - Utah Forest News -
Wood Pellets: A Growing Industry?
A Salt Lake manufacturing company creatively manipulates and recycles woody biomass into wood pellets, which can be used as fuel for heating homes and other buildings, as fuel for producing electricity, and also as animal bedding... ...view »