Alex Wiedenhoeft
Alex Charles Wiedenhoeft is an American botanist and wood anatomist, who is a team leader at the Center for Wood Anatomy Research, housed within the Forest Products Laboratory of the USDA Forest Service in Madison, Wisconsin, and an elected fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science.
Research career
Wiedenhoeft earned his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in botany from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research work focuses on the anatomical structure and identification of wood, both for scientific classification and forensic investigation. He is considered as a leading expert in the field of forensic wood science, frequently working on cases involving illegal logging and timber trade violations.He co-developed the XyloTron, a portable, open-source imaging system that enables macroscopic wood identification in field conditions. The system uses machine learning models to assist law enforcement and customs agents in identifying wood species, helping to combat global timber trafficking.
He also holds an adjunct associate professor position at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Botany.
Additionally, he is presently an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Forest Ecology and Management at Purdue University, and a professor estrangeiro in the Botany Department in the State of São Paulo University – Botucatu, Brazil, where he teaches graduate short courses in forensic wood science.
He has authored several scientific publications, including a widely cited book chapter titled Structure and Function of Wood in the Handbook of Wood Chemistry and Wood Composites. In 2024, he received -along with other three fellows from MSU- the George Marra Award by the International Society of Wood Science and Technology.