In 2019, Harry Mills, ARC Future Timber Hub funded PhD student at UQ, was awarded a Gottstein Fellowship. The fellowship enabled Harry to travel to leading areas of timber manufacturing and design in the Northern Hemisphere, where he was able to meet with professionals from forestry and manufacturing, design, research and education. "The people I met shared insights and expert knowledge that have assisted the development of my project," Harry explained. The grant was used on Harry's project 'The Potential for Underutilised Timber in the Built Environment' and enabled him to investigate and bring back new ideas, learnings and insights which he has developed into a report.
This Gottstein Fellowship Report by Harry Mills, 'Underutilised Timber (UUT) Acceptance through North America and Europe', covers the findings from this research project which explored the potential for sustainable design that incorporates underutilised timber (UUT). Harry travelled to North America and Europe from July to October 2019, where he was able to tour facilities, visit sites, interview and have informal discussions with leading professionals from the three categories: (i) forestry & manufacturing, (ii) designers, and (iii) educators & researchers. Harry said, "The main highlight was really being able to visit and interview a significant number of people from diverse backgrounds. I was able to learn of novel UUT products, alternative methods for responsible manufacturing and design of timber, and examples to potential opportunities here in Australia for UUT resource." Harry's findings from the investigation suggest that there is a strong support and acceptance to UUT products for use in the built environment.
The Joseph William Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund was established in 1971 as a national educational Trust for the benefit of Australia’s forest products industries. The purpose of the fund is to create opportunities for selected persons to acquire knowledge which will promote the interests of Australian industries which use forest products for the production of sawn timber, plywood, composite wood, pulp and paper and similar derived products. Harry advised,"The Gottstein Fellowship provides an incredible opportunity for those passionate in acquiring new knowledge and experience for all things wood. If you have an idea that can benefit Australian industries involved with wood resource, I will encourage you to apply. While COVID-19 may be a barrier for extensive travel abroad at this stage, perhaps a potential exists for exploration of an area of interest here in Australia or closer by."
In reflection Harry stated, "The unfortunate rise and ongoing development of COVID-19 make all the travel seem so surreal. I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity of being the 2019 Gottstein Fellow and would like to thank once again the Gottstein Trust and all the people who supported and participated in the research."
For more information please visit: https://gottsteintrust.org/reports/2344/
Photo (above right): Mount St. Helens National Reserve, Washington, US (MILLS, 2019)
