Congratulations to Professor Alexis Achim for winning the title of «Forest Engineer of the Year 2022»
It is with great pride that we announce that the title of «Forest Engineer of the Year 2022» is attributed to Professor Alexis Achim, a regular member of the CRMR, of which he was director from 2017 to 2022, in appreciation of his exceptional contribution to the development and promotion of the forest engineering profession.
In recognition of his evidence of initiative, leadership or innovation and his exceptional work for the advancement of the forestry field, Alexis Achim is awarded the title of Forest Engineer of the Year 2022, by the Order of Forest Engineers of Quebec.
Alexis Achim, a member of the Order of Forest Engineers of Quebec, is a full professor in wood and forest sciences at Université Laval (UL), and Vice-Dean for Research in the Faculty of Forestry, Geography and Geomatics at UL. His work assesses and models the effects of silvicultural practices and environmental conditions on tree growth and wood quality and characterizing wood supplies. He played a key role in the creation and development of several research partnerships involving members of Quebec and Canadian universities and public and private organizations, including the Quebec Renewable Materials Innovation Network, funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT), and the Silva21 pan-Canadian initiative on the adaptation of silviculture to global changes, funded by the Alliance-NSERC program. He also specializes in the valorization of fibers from woody material for innovative products and new applications, including functional antimicrobial materials. Over the past two years, he has contributed to the publication of more than 15 scientific papers, including the open-access article « The changing culture of silviculture » which already has a very high impact on the scientific community. In May 2022, he was also responsible for the organization of the international Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation of Wood Symposium in conjunction with the Forest Product Society in the United States, which was held in Quebec City. His interdisciplinary expertise at the interface between forestry and wood science has contributed to forming a large team of highly qualified personnel and publishing numerous scientific papers and reports. The R package « lidR» , which is widely used in the international research community, was developed in his laboratory. Since 2020, he has received funding of over $13.5 million and several research prizes.
Responsible for the communication: Besma Bouslimi