Dr. S. Nami KARTAL has worked as a member of Forestry Faculty, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Istanbul, Türkiye since 1990. He holds a BS from Istanbul University, Faculty of Forestry in Forest Industrial Engineering, an MS from Istanbul University in Wood Protection and a PhD in Forest Biology and Wood Protection Technology also from Istanbul University. He previously worked at USDA Forest Products Lab (FPL), Madison, WI, USA in the years between 1999-2001 as a Post-Doctoral Scientist and Research Institute for Sustainable Humansophere, Kyoto University, Japan between 2002-2004 as Associate Professor. Professor KARTAL headed the Department of Forest Biology & Wood Protection Technology, Forestry Faculty, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa in the years between 2012-2023. Previously he served as Vice Head and Head of Department of Forest Industrial Engineering at the Faculty of Forestry, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa.
Dr. S. Nami KARTAL has many years of experience in research and teaching in wood protection and preservation area. He has solid knowledge of wood science and a remarkable record of quality and productive research in the area of wood anatomy, wood modification, wood protection and wood-based composites. Over the years, he has formed solid and significance collaboration among both universities and research institutions worldwide and he has also managed research projects coming from the industry. He has experience working primarily in the area of developing new wood preservatives and their application to wood-based composites and solid wood. His research interests include improved wood treatments using new generation wood preservatives, boron and copper-based-remedial treatments for arresting decay and the environmental management of treated waste wood. He has also extensive experience working with boron as both an initial and remedial treatment. He has worked intensively on consultative projects from various companies from the industry developing new wood-protecting chemicals and their biological lab and field tests and involved in numerous consultative works, projects and reports and formed collaborations among the university, industry and other stakeholders to perform research.
Dr. KARTAL has a long history of collaboration with well-recognized research laboratories and industries in Germany, France, Finland, Norway, USA, Uruguay, China, and Japan. He has received a number of recognitions for contribution to wood science and technology. He is the recipient of multiple awards for his work, including the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA-GEBIP) award in 2006; Ron Cockroft Award (RCA) from IRG/WP in 2002; Popular Science Award in 2006 and several fellowships from TUBITAK (Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye), Kyoto University, Japan, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI, USA, University of Lorraine, France, and Beijing Forestry University, China which are reflective of his detailed and extensive understanding of forest biology and wood protection. He is member of IRG/WP and elected member of IAWS (International Academy of Wood Science). He previously served as Section Vice Chair and Chair (Section 4 – Process and Properties) at the IRG/WP in the years between 2008-2013. Professor KARTAL has also contributed to over 90 peer-reviewed papers published in reputable journals in the field and numerous conference proceedings along with book chapters. He has thought undergraduate and graduate courses related to mostly wood protection and wood degradation. He also performed additional teaching through thesis and project supervision. He was recently included in Stanford University’s World’s Top 2% of Scientists List in 2021 – a testament to his proficiency in the field.