CSIRO scientist Dr Rob Evans has been presented with the world's top forest products technology award, the Marcus Wallenberg Prize, by H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

The two million Swedish Crowns prize (A$380,000) was awarded to Dr Evans in Stockholm on Monday for his pioneering methods in characterizing wood samples.

"The method reveals the structure and properties of wood, from small samples taken from living trees," says Dr Evans."This makes it possible to choose the most appropriate type of trees for future planting so that the next generation of trees will have a greater economic value."

Dr. Evans' method makes it possible to determine the best type of end product for a particular forest: for example paper, board or building materials.

Dr. Evans has developed an instrument called SilviScan, which can analyse key characteristics of wood fibre up to 1,000 times more rapidly than alternative methods.

Dr Evans is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products at Clayton, Victoria.

Work on SilviScan was carried out in part in the Cooperative Research Centre for Hardwood Fibre and Paper Science.

The Marcus Wallenberg Prize has been awarded since 1981. The Prize was established to recognize, encourage and stimulate research and development of a pioneering nature that significantly increases knowledge and technological progress in areas affecting the forest products industry.

Examples of the topics covered by past prize-winners include research into the fire resistance and structural durability of wood, genetic research to maintain biological diversity in the world's forests, and process and production development within pulp and paper mills.

"The Marcus Wallenberg Prize underlines our long-term interest in supporting research that benefits both the development of the forest products industry and sustainable environmental development," says Björn Hägglund, Secretary of the Marcus Wallenberg Foundation.

"Maintaining the continuity of high-class research in the forest products industry is a major future challenge - and is an area that the entire sector is highly dependent upon," says Dr Hägglund.

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More information from:

Dr Rick Ede (until Dr Evans return to Australia)
CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products 03 9545 2210, mobile 0417 396 169

Dr Björn Hägglund, Secretary, Marcus Wallenberg Foundation + 46 8 613 66 00

More details available at www.mwp.org

Mr Mick Crowe, CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products 02 6281 8357, mobile 0419 696 184
Mick.Crowe@ffp.csiro.au