Post Doctoral Researcher
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Postdoc, 2026-present
Manuja Pabasara Bandara Aparekke Jayasundara Mudiyanselage
Dr. Manuja Jayasundara is a Postdoctoral Researcher focusing on forest sector competitiveness, stakeholder engagement, market analysis, and policy evaluation. His work examines the social and economic dynamics shaping the forest sector. He has a multidisciplinary background in environmental science, ecology, forestry, and sociology. A qualitative researcher by training, he also incorporates quantitative methods in his research.
Graduate Research Assistant (GRA)
PhD student, 2025 - 2029
Galit Gatut Prakosa
Galit is a GTA PhD student investigating wood residue market strategies. Prior coming to Virginia Tech, Galit is an Assistant Professor of Forest Products and a former Head of the Department of Forestry at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), Indonesia. He has published his work on mass timber market in Sustainability.
MS student, 2025 - 2027
Sumaya Mim
Sumaya is a GRA MS student in the Sustainable Biomaterials Department at Virginia Tech. Originally from Bangladesh, she is working on developing innovative adhesive durability tests. Her research focuses on creating new methods to improve the bonding performance of wood-based panels such as mass timber.
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PhD student, 2024 - 2029
Esra Satir
Esra is a GRA Ph.D. student in the Sustainable Biomaterials Department at Virginia Tech, originally from Türkiye. Her research aims to advance testing techniques to improve the structural performance and sustainability of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT).
PhD student, 2024 - 2029
Vera Sitanggang
Working as an Assistant Professor in IPB University - Indonesia, Vera is pursuing a PhD in Wood Science at Oregon State University. With her interdisciplinary background and international education experience, she will be researching about mass timber business ecosystem.
MS student, 2023 - 2026
Nikolaus Christiawan
Niko is a fast-track MS student in IPB University, Indonesia, investigating wood utilization in construction. After co-advising Niko's BS thesis, I continue to serve as his MS committee member. A part of his thesis has been published on ULIN Jurnal Hutan Tropis (Tropical Forest Journal).
MS, class 2026
Arati Paudel
Arati, originally from Nepal, holds an MS in Forest Resources from University of Arkansas at Monticello.. She was working on a study aimed at testing the varied message of mass timber buildings to the public. Her literature review part of her thesis has been published on Buildings.
MS, class 2026
Mandie Flint
Mandie graduated with an MS in Forest Resources from University of Arkansas at Monticello. She was working on a research project funded by the USDA Forest Service's Wood Innovations Grant, with a title “A mass timber awareness and opportunities campaign supporting rural Mississippi Delta health and emergency services infrastructure”.
MS, class 2025
Kamana Chamlagain
Originally from Nepal, Kamana holds a MS in Forest Resources and Graduate Certificate in Forest Business from University of Arkansas at Monticello. She was working in a research project granted by US Endowment for Forestry and Communities and published the results on Forest Policy and Economics and Journal of Forestry. Kamana is currently a doctoral student at Louisiana Tech.
MS, class 2024
Eden Rozing
Eden graduated with an MS in Forest Resources at University of Arkansas at Monticello. Eden's research in trophy hunting has resulted in multiple articles, published by Human Dimensions of Wildlife and PLOS One. Eden is currently a doctoral student at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
BS, class 2027
Shannon Fisher
Shannon was a Junior studying Environmental Resources Management with minors in Forestry and Environmental Economics in Virginia Tech when she started to work with me. She is currently working on a paper on women and minority involvement in forestry and natural resources.
BS, class 2026
Andrew Goben
Andrew was a Senior going for his undergraduate for Sustainable Biomaterials in Virginia Tech when we worked together. He contributed to a research paper published in Sustainability that focuses on mass timber in terms of economy, cost, and market. Andrew is going to pursue his graduate study at Georgetown University.
BS, class 2027
Jacob Moorman
Jacob was a freshman in University of Arkansas at Monticello when he joined a research project granted by US Endowment for Forestry and Communities: Strategy for an Inclusive Workplace in Forest and Wood Products Sector.
BS, class 2023
Kathy Young
Originally from Indonesia, Kathy holds a B.S in Forest Engineering with a minor in Forestry from Oregon State University. Kathy and I worked on two projects: (1) evaluating undergraduate research experiences, and (2) wood vs concrete construction materials. We had joint publications on both projects, published by Wood and Fiber Science and International Wood Products Journal.
BS, class 2022
Emily Jones
Emily holds a B.S in Natural Resources with a specialization in forest ecosystems from Oregon State University. Emily and I had a joint publication on a forest higher education systematic literature review, published by Environmental Science and Policy.
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BS, class 2020
Taylor Barnett
Taylor holds a B.S in Natural Resources and a minor in Psychology from Oregon State University. Taylor and I worked on Women's Leadership project and published 3 peer-reviewed articles on Trends in Higher Education, Forests, and Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research.
