The Department of Forest Products and Paper Science (DFPPS), formerly the Department of Wood Science and Technology, is one of the first departments organized when the then UPLB College of Forestry was departmentalized in the mid-1960s. DFPPS envisions modern, globally competitive, and productive forest-based and pulp and paper industries that depend on a sustainable supply of wood and other biomass. At present, the Department is actively engaged in the following research areas: bioenergy from forest biomass, biocomposites and bioplastics, wood protection and conservation, utilization of ITPS and other high-value forest crops, non-timber forest products, nanotechnology of forest products and innovative use of lignocellulosic fibers. These researches aim to help industries manufacture high-value, quality forest products to make the Filipino people more self-sufficient in housing, construction materials, and paper using efficient and environmentally sound processing technologies.
The Department offers courses embedded in the Certificate in Forestry and Bachelor of Science in Forestry curricula. It offers specialization courses in the area of Production and Industrial Forestry and Environmental Forestry. In addition, the Department offers courses under the Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering major in Pulp and Paper Technology program, which is a joint program with the College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (CEAT) designed to produce chemical engineers knowledgeable in wood and fiber anatomy, wood chemistry, pulp and paper engineering and plant design, instrumentation and environmental technology.
The Department is one of the first two departments organized when the UPLB College of Forestry was departmentalized in the mid 1960’s. Originally, the department was housed in the Forest Science Building until it transferred to its present location in 1972. In addition to the main building, the Department maintains a Wood Machining Shop, the FPPS Annex and two sawmills. Fifteen different individuals served as Department Chairperson from 1963 up to the present, from whose ranks, 2 became UPLB Vice-Chancellors, 2 FPRDI Directors, 1 FORI (now ERDB) Director, 4 UPLB-CFNR Deans and 2 UP Scientists.
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When the Department was initially established, its mandate was to provide instruction and carry out research and extension in the area of wood science and forest products utilization. It was primarily responsible for students majoring in Forest Utilization Engineering (FUE) under the BS Forestry Program. The FUE major was subsequently changed to the 5-year, BSF major in Wood Science and Technology (WST) along with the name of the Department. The Department’s faculty also fulfilled General Education Service functions by handling the physical sciences courses (which included Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry) of Forestry students. The faculty was relieved of this function when the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) was created within an autonomous UPLB in 1972. In 1974, the Bachelor of Science in Forest Products Engineering (BSFPE) curriculum was instituted to produce professionals equipped with technical and managerial skills appropriate to the needs of the Philippine wood-based industry. The curriculum was designed so that its graduates would have a strong foundation in wood science, mathematics, physics and chemistry, and a healthy attitude towards forestry and forest resources. Additionally, their education and training would equip them with the knowledge of basic engineering principles, management skills and wood industry processes and industrial practices. The curriculum was conceived in anticipation of expanded processing activities of the wood-based industry, purportedly to be brought about by a full ban on log export, one of the salient features of P.D. 705 (1973). A total of 160 BSFPE graduates were produced under the program.
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In 1997, the Department reverted to the BSF curriculum major in Forest Products and phased out the BSFPE degree program. This forms part of the effort to streamline the discipline-based degree program offering of UPLB. The phase out of the BS FPE curriculum was a contentious issue among the students and members of the faculty. The phase out was formally approved during the UPLB University Council meeting held on April 15, 1998. The last batch of BSFPE students was admitted in June 1999. In line with the reorganization of the College of Forestry into the College of Forestry and Natural Resources which was approved by the UP Board of Regents during its 1121st meeting on June 25, 1998, the Department of Wood Science and Technology was renamed the Department of Forest Products and Paper Science (DFPPS), along with the renaming of undergraduate courses offered by the Department, from WST to FPPS. The renaming of the Department was primarily due to the following reasons:
- Increasing attention given to non-timber forest products such as bamboo, rattan and resins, and
- To highlight the role of paper as a material that is essential in the modern world and for which the Department has the expertise and physical resources to implement instruction, research and public service programs.
Two new programs, namely, the Bachelor of Science in Forestry major in Forest Products and the BS in Chemical Engineering major in Pulp and Paper Technology, were designed and approved for the institution by the Board of Reagent that year. The latter is offered jointly with the College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (CEAT). The Pulp and Paper Technology as a major field in the existing BS Chemical Engineering degree program is designed to produce chemical engineers who are knowledgeable in pulp and paper manufacturing process, instrumentation and equipment required, design of pulp and paper machineries, and the various tests conducted to ensure good quality products and their compliance with environmental regulations set by the government.
- To educate forestry professionals with a strong foundation in basic wood science and forest products processing, mathematics, physics and chemistry, managerial skills and knowledge of forest products industrial processes and who value both the tangible and intangible benefits from the forests.
- To help educate chemical engineers, who are knowledgeable of the pulp and paper manufacturing process, instrumentation and equipment required, design of pulp and paper machineries, and the various tests conducted to ensure good quality products and compliance with environmental regulations set by the government.
- To contribute to the training of forestry professionals and technicians by providing them basic understanding of forest products properties and the technologies for their manufacture into finished products.
- To provide advanced education and training to professionals/practitioners/researchers and enhance their capabilities for critical analysis, problem solving, decision-making, systematic investigation and data gathering through graduate studies and independent research.
- To conduct researchers that improve understanding of the basic properties of forest products and generate technologies that maximizes utilization of forest resources and minimizes waste pollution.
- To effectively transfer technologies and other relevant information to both consumers and manufacturers of forest products.
- To demonstrate, through research and development, efficient, sound and gainful practices in utilizing forest resources.
The Department envisions modern, globally competitive and productive forest-based and pulp and paper industries that depend upon a sustainable supply of wood and other biomass. These industries will manufacture high value, quality forest products to make the Filipino people more self-sufficient in housing, construction materials and paper using efficient and environmentally-sound processing technologies. These will enable the industries to contribute to the conservation of forest resources and improve socio-economic well-being of people and communities.