Tore E. Timell

Professor Emeritus
Director of the Cellulose Research Institute

Doctor of Chemical Technology, 1950, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm; L.T. Murray Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of Washington, 1967; Anselme Payen Award, American Chemical Society, 1971; Chairman, Division of Cellulose, Wood, and Fiber Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 1962-1963; President, International Academy of Wood Science, 1975-1978; Fulbright Fellow, University of Munich, 1977; Editor, Wood Science and Technology, 1977-; Editor, Springer Series in Wood Science.

The interests of Tore Timell center around trees and forestry, and especially the formation, chemistry, and ultrastructure of wood and bark. He has, for many years, studied the formation and properties of reaction wood, including cytological changes associated with the formation of this tissue, the deposition of the cell wall polysaccharides, and the final encrustation with lignin. In recent years he has also investigated the chemistry, cytology, and ultrastructure of the secondary phloem in conifers. Previously, associated research was largely concerned with the isolation and structural analysis of the hemicelluloses and pectin present in wood and bark of trees and the molecular weight and polydispersity of native cellulose.

Representative Publications

• Biodegradation of Compression Wood and Tension Wood by White and Brown Rot Fungi, R.A. Blanchette, R. Obst and T.E. Timell, Holzforschung 48(Suppl.): 34-42 (1994).
• Wood Chemical Composition, T.E. Timell, Encyclopedia of Materials Science Engineering, 5402-5408 (1986).
• Compression Wood in Gymnosperms, T.E. Timell, Springer-Verlag, New York, Vols. 1-3, 2150 pp. (1986).
• Origin and Evolution of Compression Wood, T.E. Timell, Holzforschung 37, 1-10 (1983).