Barry Goodell, the new head of the department of Wood Science and Forest Products, stepped into his new position in January. “Dr. Goodell brings a wealth of experience to the department,” said dean Paul Winistorfer. “His knowledge of programs in the U.S. and abroad will clearly help us position the department for the future. He brings an open, inclusive leadership style with a keen sense of vision for the future.”

“I am excited to be joining Virginia Tech to lead one of the most dynamic faculties in the field of wood science and forest products in the world,” Goodell remarked. “I look forward to continuing the fine work of my predecessors, Paul Winistorfer and Audrey Zink-Sharp, in helping to build the reputation of the department.”

Goodell has been a faculty member in the university of Maine’s Wood Science and Technology program in the School of Forest Resources since 1983. during his tenure as program director from 2003 to 2007, the program quadrupled its enrollment and added an undergraduate elective sequence in wood design and craftsmanship, one of the only of its type in the country.

His accomplishments at the university of Maine include co-founding the Advanced Engineering Wood Composites Center, a world-class accredited facility for research on composites and bio-based composites, and serving as project director of the university’s Wood utilization Research Center and national coordinator for the federally funded 13-state Wood utilization Research national Centers Program. He also served as head of the university’s Forest Products Laboratory, director of its Wood Sciences and Engineering Institute, and scientific coordinator for two Hatch-Multistate Research Programs.

Goodell is current president of the Forest Products Society, an international organization representing all facets of the forest products industry. He has also served as an executive board member for both the Forest Products Society and the Society of Wood Science and Technology. He received his bachelor’s degree from the university of new Hampshire and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Oregon State university. Goodell and his wife, Jody Jellison, who is joining Virginia Tech as associate director of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, have two grown sons.