Mills and Woods: The Wood Technologist

They are the brains who can save our forests to an extent and satiate mankind’s appetite for wood and wood products at the same time. Wood technologists can minimise timber consumption by chipping in with viable alternatives. Technologists dealing with wood are required to ensure best utilisation of every bit of the green resource, and develop new products and processes.

In addition to wood-based industries, wood technologists have a number of employment avenues, which include:

Buying houses
Saw mill operation, includ ing mechanical wood processing
Marketing (timber and timber products, machinery, equipment etc)
Research institutes
State forest departments
Entrepreneurship
Product designing
Interior designing
Polytechnic colleges
National design institutes
Consultant in various organisations
Quality control

Not many woodbased and related industries in India employ technologists, though things seem to be changing. Students are fewer, the potential and possibilities in the field are greater.
Wood science and technology has not yet been explored efficently in India. Industries manage shortages by multitasking available persons, risking product output and even at points, bypassing the necessary technical inputs, resulting in short-life or defective products or outputs.

How to get there?

Opt for science at the plus-two level. For M.Sc, one requires a B.Sc in Physics, Chemistry and Maths or B.Sc in Forestry. Selection is through an all-India entrance test conducted at various centres. The eligibility requirement is a postgraduate degree in wood science and technology, physics, and chemistry. Candidates with degrees in chemical engineering, civil engineering and material science are also eligible.


Institutes:

FRI University, Dehradun MSc in WST http://fri.icfre.gov.in/
Kannur University, Kerala, MSc in WST kannuruniversity.ac.in

Diploma/short-term courses:

Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRITI), Bangalore, ipirti.gov.in
Government Polytechnic, Srinagar
Institute of Wood Science and Technology (IWST), Bangalore, iwst.icfre.gov.in
FRI, IWST, IPRITI (inservice candidates)
 

Rahat Bano
Source:hindustantimes.com