Faculty and students within the Department of Wood & Paper Science at NC State (WPS) participate in international research projects and academic partnerships covering a range of global industry issues.  Through their efforts, WPS helps meet the global demand for paper and packaging innovations, new bioprocessing technologies and sustainable raw materials plus advances in the production and uses of wood products.

On-Going Initiatives

Several on-going initiatives that involve WPS emphasize international concerns, including:

• Forest Biotechnology, an international research partnership headquartered at NC State that works with partners around the world to promote innovation in basic science in order to advance the application of molecular genetics to forest trees. This mission is implemented through research, scientist training and technology transfer worldwide. 
• Camcore, a non-profit, international program that works for the conservation of tropical and subtropical forest tree species. Camcore works around the world with industry partners to identify threatened species and collect seeds from them for use in conservation and growth studies, assess genetic diversity to improve methods of conservation, evaluate the adaptability of trees to new locations and develop long-term improvement programs for ensuring the sustainability of resources. Its effort are proving crucial to the viability of the wood products industry in many countries around the world.
• Advanced Materials for Sustainable Packaging Consortium, seeks to be an international consortium investigating issues related to the research, development, and business practices of sustainable packaging materials. The consortium is based at North Carolina State University in the Department of Wood and Paper Science. 

Academic Partnerships

NC State has established academic partnerships with universities round the world, enhancing the breadth and quality of our research capabilities. These institutions include including Nanjing Forestry University, home to one of the larger paper science and engineering programs in China; the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), which operates main campuses in Alnarp, Skara, Uppsala and Umeå, Sweden; the University of the Sunshine Coast, located in Queensland, Australia; the Universidad de Concepcion in Chile; and five universities in China.

Industry & Government Partnerships

Current industry and government partnerships include:

Finland
The department has formal links with various academic institutions in Finland and as well as via The Finland Distinguished professorship program. The department is participating in this
Funding program for top researchers in science and technology via Professor Argyropoulos. Under the auspice of this program academic partnerships with the Helsinki University of Technology Department of Forest Products Technology and the Department of Chemistry at University of Helsinki have been created. These formal relations allow for undergraduate and graduate student mobility and exchanges between the two countries aimed at enriching the international experience.

For More Information

WPS often works closely with the College of Natural Resources (CNR) and the Department of Forestry & Environmental Sciences (FER) on international projects and partnerships. For an overview of FER’s global activities, please visit their international section. For more on the College’s global mission and activities, please visit CNR’s international page.  

International

• International Study
• International Organizations
• Projects & Partnerships

Key Contacts