Environmental Aspects of Wood Processing and Use

As part of the Charm of Wood 2025 exhibition, which will be on display at Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana from the afternoon of 5 May through 11 May 2025, Prof. Dr. Franc Pohleven will deliver a lecture titled Environmental Aspects of Wood Processing and Use. Following the lecture, he will personally guide attendees through the exhibition.

The lecture is part of a series organized by the Natural Sciences and Technology Section of the Slovenian Matica. It is financially supported by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS).

About Prof. Dr. Franc Pohleven

Prof. Dr. Franc Pohleven is an emeritus full professor at the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana. He began his scientific career researching mycorrhiza and, since the 1990s, has focused on wood pests (wood-decaying fungi and insects) and the development of environmentally friendly wood protection methods and products, particularly for objects and structures of cultural heritage. His research also includes the biotechnology of higher fungi. He has organized four international scientific congresses in Slovenia in these fields.

He served as head of the Slovenian Forest-Based Technology Platform (SGLTP) and was a board member of the EU Forest-Based Sector Technology Platform. He has also contributed to public policy as chair of the Forest-Wood Chain Council at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, and as a member of the Forest-Wood Working Group at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology. Prof. Pohleven is a corresponding member of the Slovenian Academy of Engineering (IAS).

His extensive scientific collaborations include national and international research institutions such as the Jožef Stefan Institute, the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, the University of Maribor, Imperial College London, TU Vienna, and the Federal Research Institute for Forest and Wood in Hamburg. In the fields of conservation and biotechnology, he has worked with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In the area of edible and medicinal mushroom cultivation, he has cooperated with the Edible Mushroom Institute in Shanghai through bilateral research projects. He is the author of numerous scientific and professional articles and co-author of several patents, two of which have been brought into industrial production.

Prof. Pohleven has long been dedicated to promoting the use of wood for products and construction through voluntary efforts. Since 2009, he has organized the Charm of Wood exhibitions and events at Cankarjev dom and across Slovenia, raising public awareness of the importance of wood in mitigating climate change, protecting the environment, and safeguarding human health. He is also the initiator of the proposal to declare 13 May as International Wood Day.