Special Symposium Issue of Lenzinger Berichte ,,advances in Wood Chemistry“ - Opening Address

The International Symposium ,,Advances in Wood Chemistry“ had been planned as a special opportunity to advance scientific efforts in the field of wood and cellulose chemistry, to present new research activities and discuss novel scientific ideas, but also, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, as a celebration of Prof. Dr. Josef S. Gratzl, a well-known and important figure in this field who has been influencing wood chemistry by his scientific contributions for a lang time. The Symposium was organized by the new Christian-Doppler Laboratory for “Pulp Reactivity” at the Institute of Chemistry of the University of Agricultural Sciences in Vienna as its introduction to the scientific world and was financially supported by the Austrian Ministry of Science and Transport (BMWV), the Lenzing AG and the österreichische Bundesforste AG, besides several minor industrial, commercial and private contributors. According to newsprint releases and the unanimous judgement of the participants, the Symposium ,,Advances in Wood Chemistry“ ranked among other top wood chemistry congresses with about 150 registered participants from 15 countries.