FIBRE Western Canada Workshop

The FIBRE Cross-Country/Cross-Linking Workshops were held over the last several months with a goal of bringing together regional members of FIBRE from all eight networks to enhance FIBRE’s mission to further develop the synergies between networks, which have been fostered over the past year. The Pulp and Paper Centre was lucky enough to help organize the FIBRE Western Canada Workshop that was held at UBC on February 20th.

Frank Ko , AFML Director, Theo van de Ven, Chair of FIBRE Networks, Dave Peterson, Chief Forester & Asistant Deputy Minister, and PPC Faculty Associate James Olson

Frank Ko , AFML Director, Theo van de Ven, Chair of FIBRE Networks, Dave Peterson, Chief Forester & Asistant Deputy Minister, and PPC Faculty Associate James Olson


The Western Canada Workshop was attended by over 110 participants. The day started off with guest speakers Dave Peterson, Chief Forester & Assistant Deputy Minister; Michael Rushton, COO at Lignol Innovations; and Theodorus G.M. van de Ven, Chair of FIBRE Networks. In this special session, the “future trends of the Canadian forest industry” were discussed from their varying perspectives: government, industry and academia. Over 20 Network PI’s presented an overview of their research – potentially garnering links between networks that could lead to future research, new ideas and funding.

Student Poster Session

Student Poster Session


Over 30 posters were presented during the student poster session. PPC researcher Ata Sina, member of the Green Fibre Network, presented a poster on creating complex 3D paper folds (Origami) out of 2D sheets of paper. You can read more about his research here.

Break-out session group

Break-out session group


The afternoon included a break-out session where groups made up of various FIBRE network members discussed various issues in small groups. The workshop ended with a tour of the Bioenergy Research & Demonstration Facility (BRDF) including Nexterra. The BRDF is a community-scale heat and power system fuelled by biomass, the first of its kind in the world. “The system provides heat and power to The University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus. It facilitates research to develop feedstock (fuel) and process innovations, set new global standards for performance and emissions and lowers the campus’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and fossil fuel consumption”.

Missed out on the Western Canada Workshop? Not to worry! The 2nd FIBRE Conference is scheduled on May 12-15, 2014 and will take place at UBC, Vancouver. To learn more about FIBRE networks and the upcoming conference, visit www.fibrenetwork.org

Contact:
Anna Jamroz
Communications Coordinator
Pulp and Paper Centre, UBC
Tel: 604-827-2117
E-mail: anna.jamroz@ubc.ca

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