K. M. Bhat (1950–2009)

IAWS members and the wood science community have been saddened to learn of the recent death of Fellow Kanthila Mahabala Bhat, who was Head of Wood Science Division and Programme Coordinator for Forest Utilisation at the Kerala Forest Research Institute in India. Dr. Bhat had a distinguished carrier as a wood scientist and made important contributions to Indian as well as global forestry. The world forestry community remains indebted to him, particularly for his key initiatives aimed at understanding and improving the quality of Teak wood. He developed and coordinated many research programmes in this area and was responsible for major conferences and workshops that attracted much international attention and respect. He served IUFRO as a member of the Executive Board and Deputy Coordinator of IUFRO Division 5 (Forest Products). He was elected a Fellow of Indian (1987) and International (1991) Academies of Wood Science, elected Vice-President of the Indian Academy of Wood Science (1999), received an Invitation Fellowship of the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (1997), and was granted ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organisation) (1997, 2000) and FAO (1997) fellowships. In 2000, IUFRO honoured him with the Scientific Achievement Award in Forest Products. Dr. Bhat was elected to the Academy Board in 2006.

A full obituary will appear in the next Academy Bulletin.

Honours

Fellow Fumiaki Nakatsubo

The 2008 Anselme Payen Award has been given to Fellow Nakatsubo. The award, which includes a bronze medal and $3,000 is given by the Cellulose and Materials Division of ACS to honour and encourage outstanding contributions to the science and chemical technology of cellulose and its allied products. Professor Nakatsubo is based in the School of Agriculture at Kyoto University. He has made numerous original contributions to the development of the chemistry of wood components and has published more than 150 papers. He received the Award of the Japan research Society in 1983 and the Award of the Cellulose Society of Japan in 1996. He was elected Fellow of IAWS in 1991 and was recently elected to the Academy Board.

Fellow Kim Yoon-Soo

Fellow Kim Yoon-Soo has been elected President of the Chonnam National University, Gwangju, South Korea. His inauguration took place on August 20, 2008. He is the eighteenth President of the University, which was named one of Asia’s best universities by Asia Week. Dr. Kim has published widely in the field of Wood Science and Technology, particularly in the areas of wood anatomy and fungal degradation of wood. He was elected as a Fellow of IAWS in 1998.

John Barnett

Past President of IAWS