The use of wood for construction and energy in the natural city: The case of Canada

Abstract

The author received a Ph. D in physical chemistry from the University of Washington, Seattle, USA in 1962. At present he is Professor for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at the Division Geo Sciences and Geography, Institute for the Atmosphere and the Environment, Goethe University of Frankfurt, Germany. His work ranges from the quantum mechanical description of molecules to the dynamics of global systems. In 1973 he introduced the first interdisciplinary course on "chemistry and environment; an ecological approach to chemical processes in nature and technology" at the University of Frankfurt. Later his emphasis focused on biogeochemical cycles, in particular, the "global carbon cycle, biosphere and climate." In cooperation with his co-workers he developed a world model for the CO2 exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere, the "Frankfurt Biosphere Model, FBM." He was visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as Los Angeles and San Diego (Scripps Institution of Oceanography), University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, Tropical Science Center of Costa Rica, University of Paris, Orsay, the National Australian University, Canberra, and most recently Stanford University, USA. He was director of the Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry and of the former Center for Environmental Studies (Zentrum für Umweltforschung ZUF) of the University of Frankfurt. In 1991 he was awarded the Philip Morris Research Prize "Challenge Future" for his work on the carbon cycle connected with the development of the Frankfurt Biosphere Model. In 1998, following a workshop in Freising, Germany, he, together with his colleagues M. Weber and R.A. Houghton, published the Springer Book: Carbon Dioxide Mitigation in Forestry and Wood Industry. Professor Kohlmaier became a member of the World Society of Ekistics in 2001, returning to his roots as his father was an architect.