Dr. World Nieh is the Forest Products National Program Lead in the R&D Deputy Area of the U.S. Forest Service. As part of his duties as the Forest Products National Program Lead, Dr. Nieh represents the Forest Service in the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), co-chairs the interagency Sustainable Nanomanufacturing Signature Initiative, and co-chairs the Biomass R&D Board interagency Conversions Workgroup. He is also active in international standards development of cellulose nanomaterials. His efforts in international standard development includes chair of the Nanocellulose Task Group of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO TC229 Nanotechnologies, chair of the TAPPI standards development SSIG for cellulose nanomaterials terminology and co-chair of the TAPPI International Nanocellulose Standards Coordination Committee.
Prior to joining the Forest Service in 2006, Dr. Nieh held positions in research, technical support and marketing in forest products companies and chemical supplier companies to the forest products industry. His industry experience included wood adhesives, wood treatment, building materials and pulp and paper products. Dr. Nieh received his Ph.D. from Mississippi State University, M.S. from Virginia Tech and studied at the Polymer Science Department of the University of Southern Mississippi as part of his Ph.D. curriculum. He is a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Forest Products Society (FPS), the Society of Wood Science and Technology (SWST) and the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI).