Jim L. Bowyer

Dr. Bowyer is Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering and current Senior Contributor with the Dovetail Partners consulting group..

Bowyer has an undergraduate degree in forest management and has worked as a forest aide, wildland firefighter, timber cruiser, and wilderness area trail patrol in national forests of Wyoming and Colorado. Subsequent graduate degrees in wood science led to over 36 years in academic teaching and research at the University of Minnesota focused on wood and biomaterials science, life cycle assessment, and global raw material trends. Upon retirement from the University Bowyer formed his own environmental consulting company and shortly thereafter also joined Dovetail Partners, Inc., a Minneapolis-based environmental consulting firm that provides authoritative information about the impacts and trade-offs of environmental management, including consumption choices, land use decisions, and policy alternatives.

He has served as President of the Forest Products Society (1993–94) and of the Society of Wood Science and Technology (1987–88), Vice President of the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (1992–2003) – an association of fourteen major North American Universities organized for the purpose of conducting life cycle assessments of renewable materials and products, and Board Member (1994–2008) and Chairman (2006–2008) of the Tropical Forest Foundation – an organization with major operations in Brazil, Guyana, Indonesia, and Gabon. He is an Elected Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science.

Bowyer is co-author of "Forest Products and Wood Science", 1st through 5th editions, author of six book chapters and over 400 scientific articles, and author of 1st and 2nd editions of "The Irresponsible Pursuit of Paradise" (Levins Publishing). He has published widely on the topics of wood science, life cycle assessment, carbon tracking and reporting, bioenergy, green building standards, and environmental policy.