Author: Kelly Rischmiller

Six Australian engineers will receive a full pass to the World Conference on Timber Engineering (WCTE), hosted in Brisbane June 22-26, 2025, thanks to the Gottstein Trust—Australia’s national education trust for wood products—which has secured the passes for timber engineers. For more information see Wood Central article below, or click here.

Professor Keith Crews, ARC Advance Timber Hub Director and Chair of the 2025 World Conference on Timber Engineering is featured in this Wood Central article on how Queensland has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver a Games that offers a lasting legacy not just for Brisbane but all parts of Australia with the use of better timber and smarter design.

WoodSolutions has launched the Australian Timber Design Competition 2025. This national competition challenges the next generation of architects, engineers, and timber specialists to design a hypothetical, sustainable Athletes Village for the Brisbane 2032 Games. 

Who can enter:

• Open to 3rd-year and 4th-year university students in:
  • Engineering
  • Wood science
  • Other timber-focused programs
• Open to Master’s students in:
  • Architecture
  • Related disciplines
• Open to Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students in a related field
• Recent graduates may be considered on a case-by-case basis

Finalists
All the applicants will be judged according to the judging rubric. Up to three finalist teams of four applicants will receive a $1,500 cash bursary to cover travel and accommodation as well as sponsorship for attendance at the World Conference on Timber Engineering 2025 in Brisbane (Including welcome, conference, Gala dinner).

Submission Deadline: 12pm noon (AEST), Friday 2 May 2025 

For more information please see: Australian timber design competition 2025 now open for entries

A unique opportunity has been unveiled with The Gottstein Trust offering six fully paid conference places at the upcoming World Conference on Timber Engineering (WCTE), being held in Brisbane from the 22nd to 26th June 2025.

These conference scholarships are made available for Australian engineers in the early stage of their professional career.

Further details and the application form are found on the website. Applications will close at midnight on March 30th and can be lodged anytime before then, through the online form.

The Gottstein Trust is delighted to support the significant global conference as it comes to Australia, and expects that competition for the six WCTE Gottstein scholarships will be strong.

 

Great to see more media coverage of the research that Mahmoud Abu-Saleem and ARC Advance Timber Hub Chief Investigator, Associate Professor Joe Gattas are leading. The publication the media coverage is referring to is titled “Timber-Cardboard Web-Core Sandwich Panels for Lightweight Housing Applications” (TCWS) and has been published in the Q1-ranked “Structures” journal. This open-access article can be accessed at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352012425001298?via%3Dihub

The QLD Government announced a $200m Queensland Sustainable Timber Industry Framework on the 26 June 2024 including release of the terms of reference.

The Framework will be developed in partnership with stakeholders by mid-2025. It will present a 30-year plan to grow jobs, protect forest values and balance the many ways Queensland’s forest estate is used.

Development of the Framework will be supported by a Timber Stakeholder Advisory Group with representation from the timber industry, forestry experts, conservation sector, First Nations peoples, the Australian Workers’ Union, construction sector and outdoor recreational groups.

The ARC Advance Timber Hub is mentioned on page 6 of the Terms of Reference as part of the QLD Government’s work with stakeholders to determine key areas for supply chain development and optimisation to respond to Queensland’s priorities in housing and infrastructure, including establishing a Timber Supply Chain 2035 Strategy.

• Miles Doing What Matters: A strong, sustainable future for Queensland timber – Ministerial Media Statements
• Terms of Reference: https://www.premiers.qld.gov.au/publications/categories/plans/assets/sustainable-timber-tor-doc.pdf

WoodCentral has published an article highlighting the importance of the Gottstein Trust in their focus on Professor Keith Crews, ARC Advance Timber Hub Director, who was awarded a Gottstein Trust Fellowship 30 years ago.

The Gottstein Trust is a national educational trust of Australia’s ultimate renewable industry – wood products grown in forests and plantations.  Through its annual granting of Scholarships, Fellowship and Skills Development grants, the Trust provides financial assistance for individuals right across the breadth of the forest products industry. This is specifically for the purpose of supporting them to gain knowledge and build their skills and networks in ways that also advance the industry.

 

 

ARC Advance Timber Hub Theme & Node Leader, Associate Professor Joe Gattas, at The University of Queensland’s School of Civil Engineering, was part of a recent episode of Pryda Pod.  Joe was interviewed about his research regarding improving timber production efficiencies by just 5% could unlock supply for an extra 8,000 homes to be built in Australia each year.

 

Professor Keith Crews, Director of the ARC Advance Timber Hub along with Hub Chief Investigators, Associate Professor Joe Gattas and Kim Baber visited Chile in April, Santiago and Concepción, to learn about wood and bio-product construction lines.  This delegation from The University of Queensland was supported by UQ PhD Candidate, Tomas Bravo. Chile’s National Centre of Excellence for the Wood Industry (CENAMAD) presented its actions regarding the value chain of wood and opened the door to future collaborations.