University of Toronto

Syed Abthagir

Ph.D – Materials Science (2003) Madurai Kamaraj University Tamil Nadu, India

Michael Drescher

M.Sc. in Tropical Forest Ecology and Production Ecology (Utrecht University, NL), Ph.D. in Production Ecology and Resource Conservation (Wageningen University, NL)

The two main areas of my research are (i) patterns and processes in vegetation dynamics and (ii) consumer-resource interactions, though my interests naturally cross between these two foci on many projects. I have practical experience in both areas of research, which has mainly been based on my field studies in the Bolivian Amazon, the Canadian boreal forest, and South African savannas. I enjoy employing my field skills for collecting empirical data that I then use in the study of mechanics and first order principles of resource use and species interactions. However, these results, found mainly for smaller scale processes, are just a starting point for my analyses. Advances in computing power and remote sensing make it increasingly possible to combine observations across scales. Thus, I like to use computational methods such as simulation and statistical modeling to explore larger scale patterns and processes such as the emerging properties of bottom-up controlled systems within the framework set by top-down controlling factors. Many of my study results are relevant to current issues in resource management and they parallel the inter-relation of local resource management activities with regional resource management planning.

Research interests
1. Comparative disturbance ecology among boreal, temperate, and tropical forests.
2. Low-density wildland development effects on ecosystem functions and services.
3. Spatially explicit patterns of vegetation dynamics after severe, large disturbances.
4. Factors driving landscape-scale patterns of distribution of species at risk.
5. Effects of mixed disturbance regimes on patterns of grassland-forest transition

Email: michael.drescher@utoronto.ca

Michael Fuller

Research Interests: theoretical and applied aspects of forest development and ecology; sustainable natural resource management; spatial ecology

Web Address: http://www.tiem.utk.edu/~mmfuller/

Email: mm.fuller@utoronto.ca

Zeen Huang

1. Elucidation and utilization of natural products from plants with various biological activities (e.g. antioxidant activity, tyrosinase inhibitory activity, melanin biosynthesis inhibitory activity, and antifungal activity).
2. Chemical change in wood biodeterioration and biodegradation.
3. Performance and durability of wood adhesives (PMDI, MUF, PF) and biocomposites.

1. Impacts of high alkalinity and acidity adhesives on long tern durability of adhesive bonds under exterior exposure.
2. Effects of wood preservative treatments on corrosion of metal fasteners.
3. Use of NIR to characterized wood species.

Dragica Jeremic

Research Interests:

My main research interests include comprehension of chemical movement into micro wood structures and their mode of immobilization for the purpose of preservative treatment and wood modification. My PhD work comprised studies of routes and rate of polyethylene glycol penetration into wood cell walls. During my graduate studies I got involved and developed interests for wood-related spectroscopy and chemometrics.

Alexis Baltazar y Jimenez

Current Research:
Development, characterisation and processing optimisation of (nano)hybrid fibre-reinforced composites produced from renewable sources for high performance applications. The use of low cost, yet efficient environmentally friendly methods to modify the surface of temperature-sensitive materials without mechanical and physical degradation is a key area of my research.  

Research Interests:
Industrial uses of forest and agro-based products into value-added materials, especially truly green composites for structural vehicular applications. The environmental impact of end-of-life vehicle waste on green material research is also one of my favourite areas of research.   

Martin Herbert Kijazi

Research Interests:

Current: Economics of Aboriginal Land Use Activities
Other: Stakeholder-Centered Forest Valuations; Social Choice in Forest Management; Welfare Functions of Forest Amenities; Institutional Rational Choice Rules in Forest Management
EMAIL: tini.herbert@utoronto.ca