The general lecture on the wood cellulose and fungal degradation topics was held on March 23, 2019 at the Auditorium of Faculty of Forestry UGM. The lecture, attended by around 60 undergraduate and postgraduate students, presented two experts from the Tokyo University Agricultural and Technology (TUAT), Japan. Before the main presentation, Prof. Ryo Funada, as the Head of the Postgraduate Program (UGAS-TUAT) gave an introduction to the TUAT campus and the collaboration that has been built with the Faculty Forestry UGM. He also informed the  opportunities for student and staff exchanges. For general lectures, Dr. Yoshiki Horikawa presented the topic “Structure of cellulose microfibril with special attention to fiber direction”. In his research, the structure of cellulose microfibrils from various sources has been studied in terms of the properties after acid hydrolysis treatment. For the second presentation, Prof. Makoto Yoshida explored biochemistry on the topic “Plant biomass degradation by fungi: important of redox reaction”. The discussion focused on white rot fungi especially in enzymatic mechanisms and the transfer of ions. The general lecture moderated by Prof. Sri Nugroho Marsoem ended with a discussion session. read more

DFPT sent 5 lectures to attend visiting researcher activities at the Tokyo University Agricultural and Technology (TUAT), Japan. The five members (Prof. Sri Nugroho Marsoem, Dr. Joko Sulistyo, Dr. Widyanto Dwi Nugroho, Dr. Tomy Listyanto, and Dr. Denny Irawati) were at TUAT February 28-March 4 2019. In addition to strengthening the on-going research collaboration in the related lab, discussions were also held in the field of nano-cellulose technology and the program developments between the two institutions. Another activity was a discussion with TUAT faculty administrators headed by Prof. Ryo Funada (UGAS) with regard academic collaboration between TUAT and the Faculty of Forestry UGM such as continuation exchanges of staff and students as well as to discuss college credit systems. With the same purpose, DFPT lecturers also took a visit to FFPRI (Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute), Tsukuba. They studied on the established systems of collecting wood samples from various different locations and how to manage them. read more

For the second time, through Sakura Exchange Program, 9 students from student group of DFPT (FORESTECH), accompanied by 3 staffs, had the opportunity to visit Nagoya University, Japan. The activities, which took place from 28 January to 2 February 2019, were organized by Japan Science Technology (JST) with aim at increasing student exchanges between Asia and Japan in order to understand the important role of science and technology in the future. Accompanied by Prof. Sri Nugroho Marsoem, activities carried out at Nagoya University including visits to several wood biomaterial laboratories, general lectures in wood science and Japanese culture, spectroscopy practice, as well as visiting the Nobel museum. Other activities included visits to cultural objects and the local timber industry (flooring). The Dean of Faculty Agriculture Nagoya University,  Prof. Kazuhito Kawakita and his staffs hope that this activity will be beneficial for students and will continue in future research collaboration or postgraduate study. read more

Dept. FPT has been visited by two managers of wood processing companies, Setyo Budi Nugroho from CV Partawood (Probolinggo) and Jordi Ponjoan from the Spanish-based international company Gurit Balsa. The two companies previously has had a collaboration to produce balsa wood-based windmills to be exported to Europe. The purpose of the visit (January 15, 2019) was to discuss with regard the balsa properties of balsa wood wiht DFPT staffs. It covered the geographical variation of balsa wood properties as well as to share information concerning balsa wood harvesting. In the future, the two companies will open opportunities for  students in Dept. FPT to examine the variation of balsa wood properties and the quality control of its products. read more

Prof. Young Soo Bae from Kangwon National University, South Korea visited Dept. FPT on January 14-15 2019. During his visit, Prof. Bae discussed the prospect of research collaboration on extractive topics for pharmaceuticals. In addition, Prof. Bae also gave a general lecture with a topic “Wood Chemical Constituents and Utilization” to the  staffs of Dept. FPT. This 1,5 hours-lecture discussed the utilization of extractive plants with an emphasis on cosmetic products, foods, and pharmaceutical drugs, especially in South Korea. During discussion, some subjects have been also addressed  i.e bioactive component isolation techniques and their bioactivity tests. read more

Dept. FPT welcomed the assessor of the ASIIN international accreditation institution (Accreditation of the function of the Study of der der Ingenieurwissenschaften, der Informatik, der Naturwissenschaften und der Mathematik e. V.), Prof. Dr. Ute Seeling from Germany on December 18, 2018. The visit focused on the laboratory assesesment as the part of international accreditation proposed by the Master Program, Faculty of Forestry. The visited laboratories were the Klebengan Wood Processing Unit, the sub-lab. Wood Anatomy, and sub-lab. Composite Board Technology. In addition to assess the existing facilities, Prof. Seeling also discussed with staffs and master students from local and foreign countries who were conducting research in the related lab. The attention form the assessor was with regard to safety in the lab. read more