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TUE 16 |
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WED 17 |
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THU 18 |
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Download Calendar of Events Flyer [PDF 658 KB]
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA - April 9, 2008. The department of Wood Science and Forest Products at Virginia Tech has announced dates for its annual Wood Week activities, including the largest University-sponsored career fair in North America for the wood and forest products sector. Wood Week 2008 will be held the week of September 15, 2008 on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va. The annual Wood Week Career Fair will be held on Thursday September 18th. The event is held in the central area of the campus in a location known as the Drill Field. 27,000 students cross the Drillfield each day going to and from dormitories to classes. The career fair is held under a ‘big top’ tent in this most visible location on the campus.
“Our vision is to put the North American forest products industry in front of 27,000 students on the Virginia Tech campus. Our industry needs engineers, chemists, architects, marketers, managers, wood scientists, foresters, and a host of other talents you will find in students on our campus. On the strength of our own department and the relationships we foster with the industry and the other academic programs at Virginia Tech, we vision to create a career fair venue that all industries in our sector will benefit from. We believe a ‘rising tide floats all boats’ and by doing this together we can bring tremendous visibility to opportunities in our industry” said Department head Dr. Paul Winistorfer. The career fair attracted nearly 50 industry representatives in 2007, the first year of the event in the middle of the campus.
The event is promoted well in advance through direct mailings to academic departments, news release on the department and VT websites, as well as full-page advertisements in the student newspaper leading up to the event. Registration is required, as well as a registration fee. Industry participation will be increased and capped at 75 participating firms this year. Registration is now open online at www.woodscience.vt.edu. Wood Week includes a keynote speaker addressing students in classes as well as an open public lecture, a student scholarship reception, the award-winning Wood Magic Show for 4th and 5th grade students and teachers, and the career fair. The keynote speaker for Wood Week 2008 is Patrick Calello, founder and designer of Automoblox (www.automoblox.com), a wooden toy company.
The department of Wood Science and Forest Products in the College of Natural Resources is the leading program in North America engaged in wood and renewable materials utilization. Faculty focus on the science and business of wood and renewable materials utilization through learning, discovery, and engagement. The department is home to the Center for Forest Products Marketing and Management, the Center for Unit Load Design, the Wood-Based Composites Center, the Sustainable Engineered Materials Institute and the award winning Wood Magic Show for 4th and 5th grade children and their teachers. Through cooperation with the department of marketing in the Pamplin College of Business, the department co-directs the Alfred P. Sloan Forest Industries Center. The department is an active participant in the renewable materials research initiative in the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS). Students learn from the leading wood and renewable materials scientists in the world, who bring the latest science and application of principles to the classroom.