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Concentration

Do you want to help others create a sustainable environment?
  • Do you like applied engineering and technology?
  • Do you love to create things?
  • Do you enjoy working with people?
  • Do you have initiative and organizational ability?
  • Do you look for variety and like a challenge?

If you find yourself saying “Yes!, add the  SUSTAINABLE BIOMATERIALS concentration.

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Career Opportunities

If you follow this path, by the time you graduate, you will understand material science and will have technical expertise in product development, production, and quality control – with an environmental perspective.

You might work in industries that manufacture hardwood lumber and veneer, wood furniture and cabinets, or other wood-based products. Your job title might be:

  • Production Manager
  • Product Designer or Developer
  • Marketer
  • Industrial Engineer or Technologist
  • Sustainability Manager

What does this type of experience offer?

  • Strong employment opportunities
  • Competitive wages
  • Growing sectors with global impact
  • Involvement in research
  • Connectivity with industry
  • Variety of careers to match your talent

Career preparation on campus

Employers value a combination of experience and education. So, your time with Purdue might include:

  • Summer industrial experience
  • Course-related laboratories
  • Seasonal work in your discipline
  • Study abroad programs
Students have opportunity to be involved in research and work in the Wood Research Laboratory:
  • Study product and process engineering of sustainable biomaterials
  • Research environmental applications
  • Develop novel, cost-effective test methods for structural wood-based products
  • Research the use, reuse, and care of wood-based products
  • Use small diameter logs and residue materials for school furniture and other innovative products.
  • Look inside the log and optimize yields

Additional extracurricular activities might include involvement with:

  • The Forest Products Society: At Purdue, join the student chapter of the industry’s professional organization, the Forest Products Society. Benefits include professional experience and exposure, networking opportunities, access to job postings, travel, and receipt of the professional publication Forest Products Journal.
  • The Wood Research Laboratory: This laboratory develops new knowledge about wood and wood-based materials. It emphasizes eastern hardwood tree species and applications to the lumber and veneer products industries manufacturing wood furniture, cabinets, and architectural applications. Undergraduate and graduate students learn from the laboratory through conventional academic programs and through outreach programs and activities that connect them with manufacturers and users of wood products in the region.

What are Sustainable Biomaterials?

  • Biological materials in a variety of scales and types.
  • WOOD is the most important sustainable biomaterial – RENEWABLE, RECYCLABLE and BIODEGRADABLE.
  • The promotion of appropriate utilization of sustainable biomaterials will contribute to sustainability.

For more information contact:
Office of Student Services
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources
(765) 494-3591
FNROSS@purdue.edu