The 2023 Fall Seminar Series will feature Christopher G. Hunt, Research Chemist in the Forest Products Laboratory at USDA Forest Service. Dr. Hunt will give a talk about protein adhesives for wood products on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 3:30 p.m. in Room 2217 of the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment Building located at 602 Duncan Drive, Auburn, AL.  

Dr. Soledad Peresin, associate professor and leader of the Sustainable Bio-based Materials Lab in the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, hosts Dr. Hunt. Bio-based proteins are making inroads into the wood adhesive market, but we have very little understanding of their structure, properties, or bonding mechanisms. This talk will provide an overview of bio-based wood adhesives, discuss the potential of manipulating a protein’s aggregation state to improve performance, and finally look at the interesting material properties of soy protein adhesives.  

Dr. Hunt is a research chemist at the Federal Laboratory devoted to better use of bio-based forest materials. He has a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Currently there is intense interest from industry in replacing petrochemical adhesives for wood products with bio-based alternatives. Dr. Hunt’s lab works with soy protein adhesives for wood bonding, as soy proteins can deliver much higher strength than they currently do in commercial formulations. Dr. Hunt’s research is focused on determining which proteins are responsible for improving protein adhesive performance, with an ultimate goal of improving the performance, price, and carbon footprint of protein adhesives. Other areas of research include wood-water interactions, diffusion through wood cell walls, wood adhesives in general, fungal mycelia as binders for wood products, and improving our understanding of why wood behaves the way it does. 

Faculty, students, and the public are invited to attend this program. Advanced registration is not required.  Refreshments will be available after the seminar, and CFEs are available upon request. Parking is available on the third and fourth floors in the South Quad Parking Deck across from the CFWE Building on Duncan Drive. To receive announcements about future seminars, download the 2023 Fall Seminar Calendar or request to join our email list at cfwecom@auburn.edu.