My main areas of research are markets and economics, particularly in their application to new product/market development for Canadian wood products, both in North America and internationally. This includes primary and secondary wood products, and end-uses spanning residential and non residential construction, repair and renovation, and industrial applications. Product and market focus also includes engagement with Aboriginal communities, small-medium enterprises, emerging engineered wood products / systems, and further value-adding products.
Projects
Vibrant Forest Landscapes (SSHRC)
Exploring the Power of Indigenous Art as a Catalyst for Linking Economic Growth to Sustainable Landscapes (SSHRC New Frontiers)
Modelling the Economic Impact of Resilient Planting Stocks and Wood Quality (ResFor / Genome Alberta)
Opening Doors—Indigenous Capacity Building on the BC Coast (FPI, UBC, ECUAD)
Achieving Aspirations of Canadian Indigenous Communities Through Participatory Cultural Mapping and Dynamic Decision Modelling (MITACS)
Matching Market Signals to the Canadian Wood Products Value Chain (NSERC-FIBRE)
Global Hardwood Trends and Impacts: a Focus on India (FII)
Architectural Element Trends in North American Non-residential Construction (FPI)
The main focus of my research is manufacturing of wood products in the secondary industry. Topics trained and researched in this field include: wood processing machinery, development and design of wood products, furniture and wood products production, plant layout and optimization, and the overall economic analysis of the wood products industry.
Projects
STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE OF VALUE-ADDED BUILDING COMPONENTS – MACHINING MDF IMPROVING SURFACE FINISH
Haibo received his PhD training in UBC Civil Engineering in the field of Sustainable Construction. He was an Assistant Professor for over 2 years at Northumbria University in the UK before joining the Department of Wood Science at UBC Forestry & Environmental Stewardship. He also worked in construction industry for over 6 years on construction management and sustainable building design.
Dr. Feng’s research area is in green building, building information modeling, life cycle assessment and building energy performance. He has extensive industrial and research experience on promoting sustainable building construction with the integration of advanced building systems and renewable energy supports. He has practical knowledge on various building rating systems including LEED, BREEAM, Passive house, BC Energy STEP Code, Zero Carbon Building, EnerGuide. His work focuses on integrating innovative technologies into sustainable building design to achieve low carbon buildings with the consideration of social and economic impacts. He is particularly interested in using mass timber products to promote zero-carbon timber frame buildings. He also has extensive local and global experience in sustainable building design and construction management. He will continue his research on the development of Sustainable Built Environment Centre.
I obtained a BSc (First Class, summa cum laude) and Ph.D from the University of Wales Bangor. I was a post doc at Abertay University, Scotland before taking a Lectureship at The Australian National University (ANU) Department of Forestry, and eventually becoming Professor and Director of ANU’s Centre for Science & Engineering of Materials. I hold the endowed British Columbia Leadership Chair in Advanced Forest Products Manufacturing Technology at UBC. I am also an Honourary Professor in the Department of Materials Physics at The Australian National University.
Research
My fundamental research currently focusses on molecular modification of wood by plasmas consisting of electromagnetic radiation and sub-atomic particles. My translational research seeks to develop novel wood materials that can compete with non-sustainable ones. This involves working with different partners to solve intractable technical problems. The combination of fundamental and translational research enriches my teaching and ability to mentor junior colleagues. My current portfolio of research projects reflects my diverse interests.
Light absorbing materials created by plasma modification of wood surfaces
X-ray micro-computed tomography and virtual reality systems as tools to aid understanding of the complex micro-structure of wood
Plantation-grown Fijian big leaf mahogany as a substitute for the old growth South American mahogany used to build electric guitars
Improving the properties of light-weight aerospace panels used in small fast jets
Development of analytical tools and AI to detect illegally logged and traded tropical timbers
Awards
DOW Chemical Company Distinguished Lecturer
Fellow of International Academy of Wood Science
Fellow of Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining
Inaugural winner of Commonwealth Forestry Association Medal (Americas) for Innovative and Successful International Forestry Research Initiatives
Japanese Ministry for Science & Technology Research Award For Foreign Specialists
Oxford Commonwealth Forestry Bureau Book Prize
Selected Publications
OpenClose
For the most recent list of publications, please visit:
My research focuses on the application and extension of statistical theory and methods to inventory, monitoring, and modelling of forest resources and ecosystem services at a variety of scales. I am interested in the fundamental problem of analyzing and modelling non-normally distributed data and ways to account for spatial dependence and hierarchical data structures. Most recently, I have been working on quantifying disturbance effects and post-disturbance dynamics from forest inventory data and on incorporating climate sensitivity into growth and yield models.
My primary interests lie in the educational leadership field. I am an active member of the Advisory Board for the UBC International Faculty Scholarship of Educational Leadership Program and serve as the Chair of the Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship Peer Review of Teaching Committee. I also have an ongoing interest in projects involving wood identification. I am committed to the development of teaching techniques and curriculum integration in wood science and technology and seek to improve my own abilities, the learning of our undergraduate students and the overall quality of our undergraduate programs in these areas.
Development of advanced generation seed orchard designs
In situ wood quality assessment
Seed orchard’s genetic efficiency
Seed dormancy
Association genetics of biofuel attributes
Genomic selection
Awards
International Union of Forest Research Organizations Scientific Achievement Award 2010 Professor Honoris Causa – The Czech University of Life Sciences Praue 2011 Canadian Forestry Scientific Achievement Award 2017
My teaching interests are in furniture and wood products design, product development, manufacturing of secondary wood products, computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), robotic manufacturing, and wood composites.
As a member of UBC’s Educational Leadership Stream I am committed to advance and improve my teaching techniques. My goal is to continuously contribute to the development of new techniques and strategies to improve the learning experience in our undergraduate program.
My research lies at the interface between ecology and evolution, making use of the information within phylogenetic trees to bridge between them. The integration of phylogenetic approaches in ecology has been transformative, and has given rise to new sub-disciplines in biodiversity science, invasion biology, infectious disease research and community ecology. In my work, I address questions on the distribution of biodiversity and the challenges posed to its conservation.
