John M. Dinwoodie carried out research for the UK Building Research Establishment for 35 years, focusing on timber and wood-based panels with a special interest in their rhetological behaviour. Since his retirement from the BRE he has been employed as a consultant to represent the UK in the preparation of European standards for wood-based panels. He was awarded an OBE in 1994, and appointed Honorary Professor in the Department of Forest Sciences, University of Wales Bangor.
""This edition marks a major revision of the text, which explores the material and physical properties of a material so ubiquitious that it is often taken for granted by materials science researchers. Dinwoodie demonstrates the unique and often curious behaviours of this material and purs particular emphasis on the relationship between timber's structure and performance. Chapters cover structure, appearance, movement, flow, and deformations in timber along with numerous other topics. Materials Evaluation, August 2001, Volume 59 Number 8..""