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![]() Bob Ross | Robert J. RossEngineering Properties of Wood, Wood Based Materials and StructuresUnit: FPL-4714 Supervisory Research Gen. Engineer One Gifford Pinchot Drive Madison, WI United States 53726-2398 Phone: 608-231-9221 robert.j.ross@usda.gov |
- Research
Narratives - Education &
Experiences - Organizations &
Awards - Products &
Publications - Research
Highlights - Lab Notes
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Research Interest
- Nondestructive evaluation
- Structural condition assessment
Education
- Washington State University, Pullman, WA, Ph.D. Engineering Science ,
- Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, M.S. Engineering Mechanics ,
- Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, B.S. Wood and Fiber Utilization ,
Professional Experience
- Supervisory Research General Engineer, USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory 1988 - Current
- Research Engineer, TrusJoist Corp. 1987 - 1988
- Wood Engineer, Metriguard, Inc. 1984 - 1987
- Engineer, Weyerhaeuser Company and Masonite Corporation 1978 - 1981
Professional Organizations
- Forest Products Society (FPS), Member
Awards
- Society of Wood Science and Technology, George Marra Award for Excellence in Writing, 2014
- Forest Products Society, Fred W. Gottschalk Memorial Award, 2013
- President's Volunteer Service Award, 2013
- Chief's Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer, 2001
- Society for Experimental Mechanics Outstanding Paper Award, 1996
- Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer, 1993
- USDA Superior Service Award, 1992
Below are the 272 US Forest Service publications sorted by year. You may re-sort the list by: Title, Date Posted, Category, Publication or Year.
Publication Year: 2019 | |
![]() Highlight ID: 1326 | Nondestructive Assessment of Wood Members in a Viewing Tower in Potawatomi State Park, Door County, Wisconsin, USA The condition of a historic observation tower was assessed to determine if it could be enjoyed safely. ... |
Publication Year: 2018 | |
![]() Highlight ID: 1308 | Bonding Mixed Species for Advanced Biomaterials Massive composite timbers, such as cross laminated timber (CLT), are essential for tall timber buildings that require use of locally available wood resources to reduce manufacturing costs and minimize environmental impacts. This opens a potential sus ... |
![]() Highlight ID: 1310 | Effects of Silviculture Practices on the Engineering Properties of Northern Hardwood Species of the Lake States Wood quality is an important determinant of its end use and therefore its value. Recent proliferation of novel engineered wood products has created new potential uses for hardwood. However, a greater understanding of wood quality is needed to allow c ... |
![]() Highlight ID: 1303 | International Research Institute Formed to Address Utilization of Plantation Grown Biomaterials Leading wood scientists and engineers from around the globe formed an international group to address conservation issues surrounding historic trees and structures. ... |
Publication Year: 2016 | |
![]() Highlight ID: 655 | Scientists Develop New Tool to Detect Internal Decay in Trees Through collaboration with an industrial partner, the Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory helped develop a handheld tool to assist tree inspectors with detecting internal decay in standing trees. ... |
Publication Year: 2014 | |
![]() Highlight ID: 583 | Assessment Manual for Timber Structures Helps Building Inspectors The Wood and Timber Condition Assessment Manual is an extremely valuable resource for wood design professionals. Forest Service scientists are leading experts in this field and are the "go-to source" for information regarding condition assessment. T ... |
![]() Highlight ID: 586 | Inspection Protocols Help Preserve Ancient Chinese Structures Forest Service scientists worked with Chinese scientists and engineers to develop inspection procedures to aid in the preservation and restoration of historically significant wood structures. ... |
Publication Year: 2013 | |
![]() Highlight ID: 436 | New Acoustic Technology Evaluates Wood Quality of Standing Trees Lack of techniques to assess the quality of standing trees results in inefficient allocation of timber resources and also limits the ability of forest managers to grow high-quality wood with appropriate silvicultural treatments. To address the proble ... |
Publication Year: 2012 | |
![]() Highlight ID: 25 | America's Iconic Covered Bridges Documented With As Built Records Laser scanning technology provides details of historic covered timber bridges ... |
![]() Highlight ID: 23 | Making the Most of Beetle-Killed Trees New manual gives land managers a variety of options for beetle-killed trees ... |
Publication Year: 2011 | |
![]() Highlight ID: 282 | Heat treating wooden ammunition pallets for invasive species Wood pallets serve as support for munitions loads and other military supplies transported within the continental U.S. and internationally. Despite this integral transport function, wood pallets have been identified as a major pathway for the introduc ... |
Publication Year: 2010 | |
![]() Highlight ID: 170 | Centennial Edition, Wood Handbook—Wood as an Engineering Material The Wood Handbook—Wood as an Engineering Material serves as a primary reference document for a wide variety of users-from the general public through architects and design engineers who use wood in highly engineered structures. ... |
Title | Date Posted |
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Dr. Christopher Risbrudt FPL Station Director, September 2001 to April 2011 USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory
Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) says good-bye to esteemed station director, Dr. Christopher Risbrudt, and dearly regarded community member.
From September 2001 to April ... | 01-26-2022 |
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On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, the U.S. Capitol building was the target of an attack that left it ransacked and vandalized. The destruction of many irreplaceable historical wooden artifacts and objects, including doors, intricate millwork... | 03-12-2021 |
![]() Dr. Robert J. (Bob) Ross of the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) was awarded the 2014 Felix Ponder Award of Excellence today by FPL and Northern Research Station Director Michael T. Rains. Ross is a Supervisory Research General Engineer and the Project Leader of FPL's Engineering Properties of Wood,... | 01-20-2015 |
![]() A new FPL publication explores a little-known topic of interest to those in seaside environments: Development of a Nondestructive Testing Technique to Quantify Deterioration from Marine Borer Attack in Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock Logs: Observations from a Pilot Test... | 01-16-2015 |
![]() With the recent compilation of 50 years of the NDT International Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation of Wood Symposium Series, the recently published Ultrasonic Based Nondestructive Evaluation Methods for Wood: A Primer and Historical Review examines how the nondestructive testing of wood in all o... | 12-19-2014 |
![]() Deterioration of an in-service wood member may result from a variety of causes during the life of a structure. Periodic inspection of wood used in structures is important for determining the extent of deterioration so that degraded members may be replaced or repaired to avoid structural failure... | 12-12-2014 |
![]() Wooden sign posts have been around about as long as roads. While most people take such roadside attractions for granted, researchers at the Forest Products Laboratory - as usual - take the time to investigate potential improvements... | 08-01-2014 |
![]() Throughout the United States, hundreds of tornadoes and several hurricanes affect people’s livelihoods each year. Nearly every state east of the Rocky Mountains faces the possibility of devastating tornadoes, with the Midwest being particularly at risk. Living along the gulf and east coasts offers... | 12-23-2013 |
![]() Which do you think requires more energy to make, a wood door or a steel door? | 08-27-2013 |
![]() Robert (Bob) J. Ross, FPL supervisory research general engineer, has been selected as the recipient of the Forest Products Society’s 2013 Fred W. Gottschalk Memorial Award... | 05-14-2013 |
![]() Led by Acting Director Michael Rains, the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) recently welcomed USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack for a tour through its unique and growing set of research facilities. Basic and applied research at FPL supports a number of USDA and Forest Service objectives, including forest ma... | 08-21-2012 |