First Bose Outstanding Researcher Lecture

Michael Wolcott, civil and environmental engineering professor, will discuss ‘The Evolution and Future of Renewable Composite Materials’ at the first annual Anjan Bose Outstanding Researcher Lecture at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27, in CUB 212-216.

Wolcott, on the WSU faculty since 1996, is an international leader in the area of wood-based composite research, where his work has led to the development of advanced materials to better withstand aging processes, reduce manufacturing costs and pollution, and provide better performance. He has received more than $17 million in funding from numerous federal agencies, including the Office of Naval Research, the Department of Energy, the USDA and the Federal Highway Administration.

He holds patents for a low-density cellular wood plastic composite and its formation process, for a portable bridge system, and for a method of forming paper and board products from a reed plant. Wolcott has been actively engaged with industry to commercialize his research and has participated in projects for more than 45 companies. He has also received numerous national awards for research excellence, including the prestigious Society of Wood Science and Technology’s George Marra Award (in 1991 and 1995), and he has been an invited keynote lecturer at renowned international conferences. He has 43 refereed publications in print or accepted in national and international journals and books and his work is highly cited.

Wolcott is the first winner of the Anjan Bose Outstanding Researcher Award, which was created by the Advisory Board for the College of Engineering and Architecture along with friends and alumni to honor Anjan Bose for his service to the college as dean. To acknowledge Bose’s support of faculty scholarship and to honor his internationally renowned reputation for research, the award will annually recognize and reward the top faculty researcher in the college.