Contact: Erin Buckley

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Frank Owens, an associate professor in the Mississippi State Department of Sustainable Bioproducts, is the new president of the Forest Products Society, a premier international wood products organization.

Established in 1947, the FPS is a global network for professionals and researchers in the forest products industry. A nonprofit association, it is dedicated to enhancing the development of forest resources in an environmentally responsible manner.

As president, Owens said he intends to increase FPS membership by working closer with other associations and provide new value to students, professionals, companies and universities.

“We have several new faces on the board this term, and I am excited and honored to be working with them. We look forward to increasing our regional, national and international impact,” he said.

Owens, the fourth MSU faculty member in 60 years to serve as FPS president, has been an integral part of the university for seven years. His research, conducted in MSU’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center, specializes in automated wood identifications with computer vision, statistical distributions of mechanical properties of lumber and lumber testing. Additionally, he teaches courses in lumber manufacturing, wood anatomy and forest products marketing. Prior to MSU, Owens spent more than 10 years trading lumber internationally.

“I’m continually humbled by the recognition that sustainable bioproducts faculty garner at the national and international levels. Dr. Owens becoming the president of the Forest Products Society is a testament to his great work and dedication to the profession,” said Rubin Shmulsky, head of the Department of Sustainable Bioproducts and Warren S. Thompson Professor of Wood Science and Technology. “The organization is going through a transition, and I’m confident that having a steady-handed leader like him at the wheel will help give this international society a great future.”

For information on the MSU Department of Sustainable Bioproducts, visit www.bioproducts.msstate.edu. For more on the Forest Products Society, visit www.forestprod.org.

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