Academic Partnership: Univille Welcomes Professor from an American University

Professor is conducting research at the Joinvillea Xylotheque, among other activities.

Internationalization is one of the most important strategic areas of action for universities, encompassing teaching and extension activities, academic mobility, and the development of collaborative research. In this context, Univille maintains agreements with more than 50 institutions in 22 countries, expanding exchange and educational opportunities for students, professors, and researchers.

Through its Graduate Program in Health and Environment (PPGSMA), the University of the Joinville Region (Univille) is welcoming visiting professor Dr. Frank Owens from Mississippi State University. Until November, he will conduct teaching and research activities at the Joinvillea Xylotheque (JOIw).

The activities planned during Owens’s stay include a course on temperate woods of commercial and cultural interest, a keynote lecture for PPGSMA, meetings with faculty members, excursions to showcase the natural beauty of Joinville and the surrounding region, and collaborative research with the Joinvillea Xylotheque team.

According to the professor from the American university, he intends to conduct research in partnership with Professor Dr. João Carlos Ferreira de Melo Júnior, curator of the Joinvillea Xylotheque. The project aims to develop a computer vision model capable of identifying wood species found in historical and cultural artifacts in southern Brazil. “My model could be used in a portable device, assisting in wood identification and helping to address the shortage of technical expertise in wood identification within the field of cultural heritage preservation,” he adds.

For the curator of the Joinvillea Xylotheque, the “academic partnership promotes the exchange of knowledge and experiences, fostering dialogue between the Global North and Global South, while enhancing cultural and scientific perspectives by integrating science and technological innovation,” João Carlos concludes.

About the Joinvillea Xylotheque (JOIw):

Considered the largest wood collection in southern Brazil, the Joinvillea Xylotheque houses more than 3,500 wood samples from Brazilian biomes, with a particular focus on the Atlantic Forest. With 20 years of operation, the collection provides data that contribute to national and international biodiversity databases, in addition to serving as a space for teaching, research, and community outreach for the academic community.