During the last summer, the scientific community in the fields of natural resources, and wood and paper science and technology suffered the loss of two distinguished scholars and respected authorities: Prof. Kazem Doosthoseini and Prof. Saeed Amiri. These two eminent professors played a pivotal role in educating and mentoring generations of students over many years. Today, many of their students are working as faculty members at universities and as professionals in industries across the country. Doosthoseini was born in Yazd in 1947. He began his university studies at the Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, in 1966; following the completion of his bachelor's degree, he undertook a one-year internship in Switzerland. He pursued his master's and doctoral studies at Université Laval, Canada, and was awarded his PhD on Self-bonding of Wood and Lignocellulosic Materials in 1980. He returned to Iran that same year, and joined the Department of Wood Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran. His teaching and research activities focused on wood-based composite products. One of his works, the book Wood Composites Materials: Manufacturing, Applications published by University of Tehran remains a reputable and widely cited scientific reference in both academia and industry. He attained the rank of full professor in 1998 and retired in March 2011 after years of academic service. A disciplined and diligent approach to work, and a strong sense of responsibility were among his most distinguished personal qualities. His five terms as head of the Department of Wood Science and Technology, two terms as vice dean for education and research affairs at the Faculty of Natural Resources, and membership in the supreme council of natural resources and faculty publications council, a member of the editorial board of Journal of Natural Resources and a five-year tenure as Editor-in-Chief of the journal, a member of The Academy of Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and head of the wood science division were only part of his academic and administrative contributions.
Prof. Saeed Amiri was born in Sabzevar in 1938. After completing his university studies in Forest Economics at the University of Göttingen in Germany, he began his academic career as a faculty member in the Department of Forestry and Forest Economics at the Faculty of Forestry in 1970, and subsequently joined the Department of Wood Science and Technology at the Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran. He pursued his doctoral studies at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU; Universität für Bodenkultur Wien), Austria, focusing on Timber Grading. His teaching and research activities focused on the economics and management of forestry and wood industry. Humility, modesty, and an unpretentious nature were among his outstanding personal qualities. For many years, he served as the Chair of the National Committee for Wood Standards and Grading at the Iran National Standards Organization. The development of the Iranian National Standard for hardwood timber grading, Acceptable Defects of Logs and Gradation (Standard No. 1275) remains one of his enduring contributions. He also served as the head of the Department of Wood Science and Technology at the University of Tehran for at least two terms. He retired in September 2004 after years of academic service.