Who We Are

Principal investigator

Dr. Dominik Roeser

Dominik Roeser is an Associate Professor in Forest Operations at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Over the past years, he has built a forest operations research program at UBC focusing on supply chain design, forest technology implementation, steep slope harvesting and biomass operations and their impacts on communities. Before starting at UBC in April 2018, Dominik was working at FPInnovations where he, as Senior Director, managed a multidisciplinary team focused on improving the competitiveness of the forest sector and developing practical solutions to improve the efficiency of forest operations and reduce the impact of wildfires in Western Canada. Dominik has more than 21 years of experience in forest research and innovation and has been working with the industry to develop solutions that support the emerging bioeconomy both in Europe and in Canada. Dominik has an extensive background in building and leading strong national and international networks and projects focused on academic excellence, innovation delivery and implementation.

Website: forestaction.ca
Google Scholar ID: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=JgiabEsAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Keywords: forest operations, forest technology, forestry, biomass, bioenergy, supply chain design

Post doctoral fellows

Dr. Omar Mologni

Dr. Omar Mologni is a Research Associate at the University of British Columbia. Born and raised in Northern Italy, he started his academic journey at the University of Padova, where he earned a BSc and an MSc in Forestry, and a Ph.D. in Forest Engineering. Since 2014, his research focused on various aspects of Forest Operations and Forest Engineering, with a particular lens on steep slope logging operations. His active role with the local forest industry and extensive publications at the national level led to his appointment as Director of the National Association of (Italian) Logging Companies (CONAIBO) in 2017. By 2019, he moved to Canada for his post-doctoral studies, continuing his extensive research on winch-assist harvesting and cable yarding operations. Over the last couple of years, his research has been focusing on innovative processes for optimized and automatic production analyses of various harvesting solutions, supporting the digitalization process of the Canadian forest industry.

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omar-mologni/

Keywords: Forest Operations, Forest Engineering, Steep Slope Logging, Production Performance Analysis, Safety Analysis

Ph.D Students

Steffen Lahrsen 

Steffen Lahrsen joined the Forest Action Hub 2020 as a Ph.D. student. During his bachelor’s degree in forestry at the HAWK in Göttingen, he was able to gain manifold experiences in community forests. He completed his master’s degree in wood sciences at the University of Hamburg, during which he worked with Skogsstyrelsen (The Swedish Forest Agency) for four months in Sweden. As a part of the Forest Machine Connectivity project, his research focuses on measuring the productivity of commonly used forest machines in British Columbia. During his program, he will work closely with the local forest industry to develop new technologies to address current forestry challenges in the province. When Steffen is not working he can usually be found outside, as he is enthusiastic about any outdoor activity. 

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steffen-lahrsen-0a414814b/

Keywords: Operations, Productivity, Whole-Tree Harvesting

Camilla Moioli

Camilla, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of British Columbia’s ERDE (Energy Resources, Development, and Environment) Lab and Forest Action Lab, is conducting multidisciplinary research on forest policies for climate change mitigation. Utilizing various methods including household surveys, integrated assessment models, and the environmental justice framework, she investigates the empirical and conceptual socio-economic implications of forestry-related initiatives. Particularly, her focus lies on understanding how economic benefits from forest interventions are distributed at the micro (within communities) and the macro (across countries) levels. For her work, she has established connections with local organizations in Ecuador (Loja), and with research centers in Europe (EIEE in Milan, and IIASA in Vienna). Beyond her research, she co-teaches Forest Economics for an online Certificate Program and assists in teaching other economics courses related to carbon and energy economics and policy. She holds a BSc in Business from the University of Milano-Bicocca and an MSc in Economics from the Catholic University of Milan.

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilla-moioli-61899a141/

Keywords: IAM, applied economics, forest policy, justice, climate change mitigation

Adelin Nicorescu

Adelin Nicorescu joined the Forest Action Lab as a PhD student in 2024. His journey in forestry began in high school, where he earned a Forest Technician diploma. He then completed his BSc at Transilvania University of Brasov in Romania, actively engaging in research projects as a volunteer and research assistant during this period. Adelin was accepted into the prestigious European Forestry Erasmus Mundus program, from which he graduated with an MSc in European Forestry from the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and another MSc from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU). He completed his master’s thesis while working as a project assistant at the Austrian Research Center for Forests (BFW). As a member of the lab, Adelin will work on methods to estimate forest biomass destined to become post-harvest slash, utilizing LiDAR technology. He will validate this data to enhance the accuracy of slash pile quantification. Subsequently, he will investigate the productivity and emissions of air curtain burners as an alternative to conventional slash pile burning. When not working, he can be found in nature or swimming, biking, or running.

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelin-nicorescu/-07a57b1ab/ 

Keywords: Biomass estimation, Productivity, Emissions

 

MSc students

Zexi Liu

Zexi Liu is a master’s student in the Forest Action Lab at the University of British Columbia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in forest operations from UBC. Zexi had a chance to work on the slash pile burning project in the Forest Action Lab during his undergraduate career. The experience inspired his interest in harvest residues management in British Columbia and he decided to pursue a master’s degree of science in forestry at UBC. His current research aims to improve forest primary residues utilization in British Columbia by validating the harvest residues measurement and determining the moisture content of residues with advanced technologies.

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zexi-liu-7687b8215/

Keywords: Bioeconomy, Operations, Harvest Utilization

Mario Stolz

Mario is a master’s student at the Forest Action Lab at the University of British Columbia. His research interests include timber harvest in difficult terrain, mechanized harvest methods, and commercial thinnings.
Mario attained a technical diploma as a Forest Manager in Germany and used to work as a hand faller in the beautiful Black Forest, where he gained valuable experience in the forestry industry. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry degree from UBC, where he studied Forest Operations.
In his free time, Mario likes backcountry hiking and is an outdoor enthusiast in general. He also enjoys riding his motorcycle and woodworking.

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mario-stolz/

Keywords: Operations, Steep Slope, Tethered Logging, Cable Yarding, Cut To Length

Sabrina St. Onge

Sabrina St-Onge is a master’s student in the Forest Action Lab at the University of British Columbia. She went to a technical school in Quebec to become a forest technician. She also holds a BSc in Forest Management from Laval University. Previously, Sabrina worked for three years, on and off during studies, as a forest technician for Natural Resources Canada in Quebec in the forest productivity research lab and the entomological research lab. She is thrilled to be in Beautiful British Columbia since January 2020. Sabrina recently joined the Lions MMA Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team located in downtown Vancouver and she really enjoys it!
Sabrina’s research project intersects social sciences and forestry. The aim of her research is to understand the unique perspectives and experiences of First Nations representatives and forest practitioners within forestry consultation processes in British Columbia. Sabrina is working in collaboration with the spatial intelligence company LlamaZOO, based in Victoria (BC), to investigate the use of 3D visualization in forestry.

Website: https://ovou.me/sabrinastonge_en 

Keywords: Social Sciences, Forest Operations, Forest Management, First Nations, Digital Visualization

Research associates

Jocelyne Laflamme

Jocelyne is a Research Geographer for the PICs Wildfire & Carbon project. She works closely with Paul Hessburg’s lab at the US Forest Service to adapt their wildfire simulation model to British Columbia’s forests. Jocelyne’s previous research has focused on interactions between fire and harvesting in the boreal forest. She holds a Master of Forest Conservation degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from the University of Guelph.

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjlaflamme/

Keywords: Forest Ecology, Forest Carbon, Fire Ecology

Alumni

Jimmy Ke

Jimmy Ke is a master’s student pursuing a thesis-based degree in Forest Resource Management at the University of British Columbia. His research interests include harvest modeling for Haida Gwaii people, forest salvage harvesting, and life cycle analysis. His current research is focused on the Patchwork simulation for First Nation people. Jimmy graduated from UBC with a major in Forest Resource Management. He also worked in the bioinformatics field and published two papers as a co-author (diversity hah).

Website: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-ke

Keywords: Patchwork, Life cycle analysis

Mingrui Liu

Mingrui, who goes by Rover by his friends, is a master’s student in the Forest Action Hub at the University of British Columbia. Mingrui holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry degree from UBC, with a major in Forest Resources Management. His interests include silviculture, sustainable forest management and forest operations. His current research aims to enhance forest resilience against natural disturbance via exploring and implementing silviculture methods. Outside of work, you can find him driving and hiking all around the beautiful British Columbia, or getting dizzy with friends in the pubs. He is also the right person to bug for a restaurant recommendation that you will never regret taking!

Website: www.linkedin.com/in/mingrui-liu-5800a0226

Keywords: Silviculture, Commercial Thinning, Forest Resilience

Dr. Juliana Magalhaes

Juliana Magalhaes is an adventurous and enthusiastic postdoc researcher interested in stand dynamics, modelling and forest sustainability. She completed her BSc and MSc in Forestry in Brazil and decided to apply for the UBC Forestry Ph.D. program to contribute to the understanding of Silviculture. Her Ph.D. thesis provides insight into tree species interactions, specifically competition, influence individual tree growth responses to climate change. To tackle that problem, she tested the concept of artificial intelligence by designing software that predicts individual tree growth in a similar way that e-mail services predict sentences in a message. This tool can help with upcoming challenges regarding land use, energy, and climate change. At the Forest Action Lab, she is currently involved in the Commercial Thinning project and the online certificate in Sustainable Forest Management. 

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliana-magalhaes-sustainability/

Keywords: Operations, Harvest Utilization, Carbon

Eric Nance

Eric Nance is a first-year master’s student pursuing a thesis-based degree in Forest Operations and Management at the University of British Columbia. His research interests include harvest residue management, wood fiber utilization, and the GHG implications of forest management practices in BC’s forest sector. His current research is aimed at updating estimates of GHG emissions resulting from slash-pile burning in BC. Eric has an undergraduate degree in Forest Operations from UBC where he specialized in Harvest Planning and Engineering and has spent three years working as a Forestry Technician for Canadian forest companies.

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-nance-33ba36197/

Keywords: Operations, Harvest Utilization, Carbon

Dr. Sheng Xie

Dr. Sheng Xie has joined Natural Resources Canada, Government of Canada as a Research Scientist. He worked as a Postdoc in the Forest Action Lab on the Wildfire and Carbon Project funded by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions. In the new role, he continues to collaborate with members of the lab on projects related to bioeconomy.
His current research focuses on modeling the fate of carbon in harvested wood products and developing climate change mitigation strategies for the forest-based bioeconomy. His previous work includes the quantification of the greenhouse gas impacts of an inward-focused versus an export-oriented bioeconomy in British Columbia, as well as a comparison of the carbon storage and substitution effects of various woody biomass end-use applications. He holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of British Columbia.

Website: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sheng-Xie-8

https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=8jbj42UAAAAJ&hl=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheng-h-xie/ 

Keywords: Climate Change Mitigation; Carbon Modelling; Bioeconomy; Harvested Wood Products.

Brandon Bung

Brandon was raised in Vancouver, where from an early age he developed a passion for snowboarding which led to an interest in forestry. While pursuing his BSc in Forest Resources Management at UBC, he worked in Poland for Lasy Państwowe (Polish State Forests). Brandon graduated in 2016 with a specialization in International Forestry and is currently working towards completing his MSc in Forestry. His project is focused on examining the market impacts of bioheat and implications on existing silvicultural systems. He hopes that the result of this project may contribute in a small way towards Canada’s decarbonization goals. 

When he is not at work, Brandon can be either found walking around town trying to hit his daily step count or sitting at his favourite bar with a boulevardier in hand.

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-bung-52b08230

Keywords: District energy systems, bioenergy, operations

Carolina Rodriguez

Carolina started her thesis-based master’s in 2021. She holds a BSc. in Natural Resources Conservation major in Global Perspectives from UBC. As part of her undergrad, she had the opportunity to visit Beijing Forest University in China and the University of Sydney in Australia. Both experiences broadened her views on the complex dynamics that exist in creating a sustainable future. With her research, she aims to tackle waste management in the forestry industry as an opportunity for climate change mitigation and the development of resilient living centers. She admires the diversity of interests in the Forest Action Hub and her hope is to be part of collaborations and mutual learning opportunities from her teammates. Her other passions include drawing, photography, and learning new languages.

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolina-rodriguez-b75518101/

Keywords: rural development, bioenergy, carbon market