Extension 



faculty with collaboration from an 

 Oregon State University researcher 

 (Sederoff, personal 

 communication). 



Basic research in forest products is 

 also going forward. Clemson and 

 Mississippi State are involved in 

 studies for turning wood into liquid 

 form for coating wood products 

 and for making artificial skin for 

 burn victims (Box and 

 W. Thompson, personal 

 communications). Texas A. & M. 

 is working on developing liquid 

 fuels from wood cellulose (Lee, 

 personal communication). Stephen 

 F. Austin has developed a 

 4-minute, high cellulose yield, 

 continuous pulping process that is 

 ready for pilot plant testing (Adair 

 and Walker, personal 

 communications). Auburn has 

 developed a theoretical model for 

 predicting the durability and 

 reliability of wood composites used 

 in wooden I-beams, and is 

 conducting research on the effect 

 of intracellular wood preservatives 

 on strength properties (E. 

 Thompson, personal 

 communication). VPI and SU has 

 been nationally recognized for 

 quantitative microscopy 

 characterization of wood structure 

 as a basis for predicting strength 

 properties and performance (Ifju, 

 personal communication). 



These programs are keeping 

 forestry and forest-products 

 technology and research at the 

 cutting edge of modern science. 



The extension program has been 

 the least understood and 

 appreciated of land-grant university 

 forestry and forest-products 

 programs. The reasons are 

 several — its informal education 

 role, its unique underlying 

 philosophy and organizational 

 structure, the diversity and 

 complexity of its internal and 

 external relationships, the diversity 

 of educational methods it employs, 

 and the low level of staffing and 

 support it has been given until 

 quite recently. 



Role and Philosophy 



Cooperative Extension is the 

 offcampus arm of the land-grant 

 university. Its role has been to 

 help people help themselves 

 through 



• Informal yet designed 

 educational opportunities; 



• Problem-oriented education to 

 improve understanding, 

 motivation, and decisionmaking; 



• Serving as the interpretive link 

 to transfer to users new and useful 

 technology developed through 

 land-grant university and other 

 research; and 



• Providing factual and credible 

 information to the public to 

 improve public decisionmaking at 

 community and higher levels. 



Finally, extension provides 

 feedback to researchers regarding 

 results of application and new or 

 emerging research needs 

 developing in the field (Extension 



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