Research Centres
Centre for Sustainable Futures
Hosted at the University of the Sunshine Coast, this research centre aims to lead applied research to enhance timber production, maximise forest value, and support the development of carbon-friendly building solutions. In collaboration with industry and research leaders, the Centre will focus on innovation, sustainability, and efficiency in forestry and wood product sectors.
Doing more with the wood basket through improved utilisation of current resources
- Tree improvement and matching genetics to site and climate
- Advanced silviculture, thinning, fertilisation, and weed control
- Maximising wood value recovery and processing efficiency
- Supply chain optimisation through digital tools and AI
- Forest health, fire, and risk management
Expanding the wood basket through new land management and afforestation strategies
- New plantation regions and investment models
- Carbon and biodiversity integration in production systems
- Indigenous-led forestry development
- Farm forestry and silvopastoral models
- Tree species selection for climate resilience and timber value
Developing innovative timber products for a carbon-friendly building sector
- Adding value through timber product development
- Structural systems for low-emission construction
- Circular economy strategies for wood products
- AI and digital systems in timber processing
Double the high-value recovered timber yield from existing forest resources within the next rotation, while enhancing resilience and additional asset values in carbon and biodiversity.
Reduce Australia’s timber import dependence by 50% within the next rotation, through the establishment of new, sustainably managed plantings.
Double the use of domestically sourced timber in the building industry by 2050 through adding value to the timber resource.
Key Personnel
Professor Mark Brown
Professor Mark Brown is the Director of the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Forest Research Institute and the AFWI research centre at UniSC.
Mark grew up in the forest industry and from the family sawmill went on to get his Bachelor of Science in Forest Engineering from the University of New Brunswick and become a researcher and later research lead with the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC) focussing on forest transportation efficiency and road maintenance management.
As part of the CRC for Forestry, Mark worked on building an extended collaborative research network in addition to managing the harvesting and operations program.
In his current role at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) played a key role in establishing the Australian Forest Operations Research Alliance (AFORA) and the Forest Industries Research Centre (FIRC) .
Mark is also leading the global development of the bioenergy industry as the newly appointed Chair of the International Energy Agency Bioenergy program.
Kelly Stewart
Kelly Stewart is the General Manager of the AFWI Centre for Sustainable Futures and the Forest Research Institute at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
She is a highly accomplished research and partnership manager with over two decades of experience in the tertiary sector, including more than 17 years supporting forestry research.
Kelly plays a key role in enabling innovation across the sector and serves as Secretary for IEA Bioenergy Task 43.
She holds a Master’s in Tertiary Education Management and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Centre Steering Committee
Member | Position | Role |
Steve Walker | Principal – Terrafolia Advisory | Chair |
Katie Fowden | General Manager – Corporate Affairs, Hyne Group | Industry Representative |
Jan Rombouts | Resources Manager, OneFortyOne | Industry Representative |
Dallas Anson | Forestry Group Leader, NT Government | Industry Representative |
Ben Bradshaw | R&D Manager, Australian Bluegum Plantations Pty Ltd | Industry Representative |
Tek Maraseni | Professor – Environmental Science and Management, University of Southern Queensland | Research Representative |
Keith Crews | Professor – School of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland | Research Representative |
Tim Smith | Director, Forestry and Biosciences RD&E, Agri-Science Queensland, Department of Primary Industries | Research Representative |
Contact: friadmin@usc.edu.au
Project Highlights
Centre for Climate-Smart Forestry
Hosted at the University of Melbourne, the Research Centre aims to advance climate-smart forestry and sustainable economic development through cutting-edge research, innovative practices, and strong community engagement.
Integrated landscape management
- Landscape-scale modelling and planning
- Better integration of growing and processing within local and regional landscapes
- Embedding carbon and natural capital valuation
- Policy and investment pathway analysis
Carbon for Green Industry
- Biomass planting feasibility and species selection
- Carbon market access and co-benefit modelling
- Landholder engagement and adoption barriers
- Policy analysis and incentive design
National forest monitoring platform
- Integration of remote sensing and forest inventory data
- Modelling forest structure and condition
- Tool development for managers and investors
- Monitoring ecosystem service trends
Traditional Owners
- Co-design of climate-smart cultural land management strategies
- Capacity building for Traditional Owner and research communities
- Knowledge exchange through Two Worlds frameworks
Silviculture for Climate change adaptation
- Experimental trials to identify and evaluate climate-resilient silvicultural strategies
- Genomic mapping for climate- and wood quality-related trait selection
- Integrated forecasting of climate risks to forests
Economics, policy and society
- Climate-informed forest policy and incentives
- Economic modelling and investment scenarios
- Governance innovation and social license
- Integration of data into planning and decision-making
Building capacity of Australia’s forest and wood products sector to adapt to climate change.
Increasing the capacity of Australian forests to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to Australia’s Paris Agreement targets.
Developing integrated and sustainable landscape management approaches that enhance the full range of forest-based benefits (e.g., water, biodiversity, cultural) in a changing climate.
Key Personnel
Professor Patrick Baker
Patrick Baker is a Professor of Silviculture and Forest Ecology at the University of Melbourne and the Director of the AFWI Centre for Climate-Smart Forestry.
His research focuses on understanding how and why forests change and how this knowledge can be applied to better manage forests in an uncertain world.
Patrick has a BA from Bowdoin College, a Masters of Forestry from Yale University, and a PhD from the University of Washington. From 2001-04 he was a post-doctoral research fellow on the Big Island of Hawaii working for the US Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii. He moved to Australia in 2004 as a Lecturer in Plant Ecology at Monash University. In 2012 he was awarded an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship and moved to the University of Melbourne.
Patrick was an adjunct scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory from 2009-2013 and a Charles Bullard Fellow in Forest Science at Harvard University from 2020-22.
Patrick has collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution’s Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) on a long-term forest monitoring project in western Thailand since 1994. He recently established the first ForestGEO plot in Australia in the Central Highlands of Victoria.
Ellie McSheedy
Ellie McSheedy is the Centre Manager for the AFWI Centre for Climate-Smart Forestry at the University of Melbourne.
She brings over 15 years’ experience in research management, specialising in post-award processes, governance, and multi-partner collaboration.
Ellie has led large-scale, multi-partner research initiatives at Monash University and RMIT, and has held research management roles at University College London and Imperial College London.
She has a strong track record in funding strategy, stakeholder engagement, and financial management.
Ellie takes a practical, solutions-focused approach, supporting research that delivers real-world impact and fostering collaboration at every level.
Centre Steering Committee
Member | Position | Role |
Tim Woods | Managing Director, Industry Edge | Chair |
David Brand | Chair, International Sustainable Forestry Coalition | Industry Representative |
| Michelle Freeman | President, Forestry Australia | Committee Member Industry Representative |
| Karina Coombes | Co-Chair, Tiwi Islands Training and Employment Board (TITEB) | Industry Representative |
| Andrew Hurford | Director, The Hurford Group; President, NE NSW Forestry Hub | Industry Representative |
Andrew Lyon | Director, Business Services, Forest Products Commission WA | Industry Representative |
Contact: CCSF-AFWI@unimelb.edu.au
Project Highlights
Centre for Sustainable Resource and Product Solutions
Hosted at the University of Tasmania, this research centre focuses primarily on the research and innovation needs of regional temperate areas across Australia, working with our consortium partners and industry in this zone.
Future Temperate Forest Resource
Ensures sustainable, healthy, and expanding temperate forests while maintaining commercial, social and environmental services.
- Production forest landscapes and biodiversity
- Forest resilience and climate.
- Digital technologies and modelling
- Advancing natural capital accounting (NCA),
Recovering Solid Wood Products and Timber Rich Housing
Enhances social and environmental benefits of timber construction and optimises wood product recovery and utilisation.
- Future timber low-rise buildings
- Recovering solid wood product
Transforming Wood Residues
Converts wood residue into renewable products and energy solutions, including solvents, plastics, fabrics, packaging, wood panels, and energy products.
- Building materials
- Bio-based chemical and products
- Residue-based energy solutions
Sustainable Supply Chains
Supports smart, resilient, and efficient supply chains from forest to product distribution.
Informed Policy
Informs policy and public perception through community engagement, highlighting social, environmental, and economic benefits.
People and Safety
Improves worker safety with new practices and tools across the industry supply chain.
Ensures sustainable, healthy, and expanding temperate forests while maintaining commercial, social and environmental services.
Enhances social and environmental benefits of timber construction and optimizes wood product recovery and utilisation.
Converts wood residue into renewable products and energy solutions, including solvents, plastics, fabrics, packaging, wood panels, and energy products.
Key Personnel
Associate Professor Dean Williams
Associate Professor Dean Williams is the Director of the Australian Forest and Wood Innovations University of Tasmania led research centre.
Prior to joining the University of Tasmania in 2023 to help establish AFWI, Dean was the leader of the Sustainable Timber Tasmania research program, delivering innovation in forest management.
Dean has 30 years of university and industry-based experience in applied forestry research across a broad scope of disciplines including propagation, genetics, silviculture, wood properties, harvesting and logistics, remote sensing, pest and disease management, threatened species management and fire management. This research has been done in collaboration with many universities, private companies and government agencies, locally, nationally and internationally, supported by competitive grants from the ARC, FWPA and NIFPI.
Whilst working in the forest industry, Dean has helped supervise around a dozen PhD students, providing linkages for students to industry.
Dr Sarah Hulme
Sarah oversees the operations of AFWI’s Centre for Sustainable Resource and Product Solutions at the University of Tasmania (UTAS). She was previously the Business Manager for the ARC Training Centre for Hyphenated Analytical Separation Technologies (HyTECH) in the UTAS School of Chemistry.
Sarah holds a PhD from the University of Otago and has extensive experience in Australia and internationally as both an academic and a research management professional. Her professional career has focused on research strategy, development, and management, with particular interests in facilitating impactful stakeholder relationships and supporting the next generation of researchers.
Centre Steering Committee
|
Member
|
Position
|
Role
|
|
Ian Telfer
|
CEO, WAPRES |
Chair
|
| Trevor Innes | Technical Chief and Sustainability Officer, Timberlink |
Industry Representative
|
| Michael Lee |
Owner, Lee Timber Tech
|
Industry Representative
|
|
Kathy Morris
|
General Manager, Wesbeam |
Industry Representative
|
| Ben Bradshaw | Manager R&D, Australian Bluegum Plantations |
Industry Representative
|
| Kelly Williamson | Tree Crop Manager (Penola), Timberlands Pacific |
Industry Representative
|
| Anne Shuter | Tasmanian Forest Practices Authority |
Industry Representative
|
| Prof Gil Garnier | Director of BioPRIA, Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University |
Research Representative
|
| Prof Richard Harper |
Associate Dean Research and Innovation, School of Agricultural Sciences, Murdoch University
|
Research Representative
|
| Dr Anthony O’Grady | Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO |
Research Representative
|
| Dr Jim O’Hehir |
General Manager, Forestry Centre of Excellence, University of South Australia
|
Research Representative
|
| Dr Georgia Lindsay | Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Design, University of Tasmania |
Research Representative
|
Contact: AFWI-CSRPS@utas.edu.au