2001 HONOREE
Woodam Chung is doing graduate research in the Department of Forest Engineering at Oregon State University. His paper, “Designing a Forest Road Network using Heuristic Optimization Techniques,” was authored by Woodam and John Sessions
2002 HONOREE
Matthew Veal is a graduate research assistant in the Biosystems Engineering Department at Auburn University. His paper, “Evaluation of Site Preparation Plow Energy Requirements,” was authored by Matthew W. Veal, Steven E. Taylor, Robert B. Rummer, and Randy L. Raper.
2003 HONOREE
Derek Solmie is a graduate research assistant within the Forest Engineering Department at Oregon State University. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Forest Engineering from University of New Brunswick. His paper, “Comparing Strategies for Skyline Corridor Layout,” was coauthored with Loren Kellogg, Jim Kiser, and Michael Wing.
2004 HONOREE
Joel Hartter is a graduate research assistant in the Forest Engineering Department at Oregon State University. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan. His paper, “Using Synthetic Rope in Forest Operations: End Connector Concepts,” was coauthored with John Garland and Steve Pilkerton.
2005 HONOREE
Marco Contreras is a graduate research assistant in the Department of Forest Management, University of Montana. He holds a Bachelor of Forest Sciences in Forest Harvesting and Management from the Universidad de Talca, Chile, and a Master of Sciences in Forestry Transportation Planning from the University of Montana. His winning paper, “A Computerized Method to Find the Optimal Location of a Centralized Log Landing for an Irregular Shaped Stand Considering Uneven Timber Volume and Skidding Obstacles,” was coauthored with Woodam Chung.
2006 HONOREE
Jürg Stückelberger is a research assistant with the Forest Engineering Group, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and is currently working on his Ph.D. in Environmental Science. His paper, “Automatic Road-Network Planning for Multiple Objectives,” was coauthored with Hans R. Heinimann, Woodam Chung, and Marcus Ulber.
2007 HONOREE
Jean-François Audy is enrolled in a PhD program in mechanical engineering at Laval University with the FOR@C consortium. The title of his presentation was: Virtual Transportation Manager: a Web-Based System for Transportation Optimization in a network of business units. He also holds a Bachelor in mechanical engineering and a Masters in forest management and environment from Laval University.
2008 HONOREE
Juliana Lorensi do Canto is currently working as a Visiting PhD Student with the USDA Forest Service at the Southern Research Station, Auburn, Alabama. She is a PhD candidate in Forest Science at the Universidade Federal de Vicosa in Brazil. She received her Master’s degree from the same university and has a Forest Engineering degree from the University of Santa Maria in Brazil. Juliana’s paper was titled: “Evaluation of two baling systems for harvesting biomass on the Osceloa National Forest, Florida, United States.”
2009 HONOREE
Hunter Harrill was awarded the 2009 Student Communication Award for presenting the paper titled, “Application of Hook-Lift Trucks in Centralized Slash Grinding Operations.” Hunter is currently a Graduate Research Assistant in Forest Operations and Engineering at the Department of Forestry and Wild Land Resources, Humboldt State University. He is studying woody biomass harvesting systems for the collection and transportation of wood waste (i.e. logging slash) for electrical energy production. Hunter’s educational background is in forest production and resource management (BS Humboldt State University). From 2004-2008, he worked as a forest technician in the layout and preparation of timber harvest plans for Green Diamond Resource Company in Klamath, California.
2010 HONOREE
Charlie Wade was awarded the 2010 Student Communication Award for writing and presenting the paper entitled, “Evaluation of Bladed Skid Trail Closure and Cover BMPs for Erosion Control.” Charlie is currently a Graduate Research Assistant pursuing an MS in Forest Operations and Business at the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech. Studying under Mike Aust and Chad Bolding, Charlie is investigating operational approaches to skid trail closure BMPs for preventing soil erosion. His treatments include: 1) waterbar only, 2) waterbar and grass seed, 3) waterbar, grass seed, and straw mulch, 4) waterbar and hardwood slash, and 5) waterbar and pine slash. Charlie holds a BS in Forestry from Virginia Tech and has won several awards for his research including the best poster award at the SAF National Convention and the John F. Hosner Graduate Scholarship.
2011 HONOREE
Eric R. Labell, a PhD candidate at the University of New Brunswick, received the 2011 Student Communication Award for his paper entitled, “The Impact of Brush Mats on Forwarder Surface Contact Pressure.” His study quantified the impact of different brush mat amounts on machine surface contact pressure by placing these mats over a testing device and driving a forwarder on top of it. The testing device (load test platform) recorded the loading below the mats using high capacity load cells. In total, 20 test scenarios were performed with an 8-wheel forwarder to analyze differences in peak pressures recorded underneath brush mats of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 kg m-2 each subjected to two, six, and 12 forwarding cycles. Results indicated a 24% lower average peak surface contact pressure underneath the 30 kg m-2 brush mat compared to when the machine was driven in direct contact with the load test platform.
2012 HONOREE
Storm Beck, a dual major MS candidate in Sustainable Forest Management and Civil Engineering at Oregon State University, received the 2012 Student Communication Award for his paper entitled, “Ant Colony Optimization for Road Modifications.” His study developed a decision framework for identifying efficient road investments to improve value recovery for non-conventional products such as poles and biomass. Storm’s thesis research concentrates on collecting road network information using LiDAR. He is a teaching assistant for several classes including Forest Route Surveying and GIS for Forest Engineering Applications. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Forest Engineering and Civil Engineering and has passed the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination in Oregon and the Fundamentals of Land Surveying in California.