黑料社 graduate student鈥檚 app fights illegal logging worldwide
Contact: Vanessa Beeson
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜 Mississippi State graduate student is helping inspectors across the world identify timber species and combat illegal logging with a new smartphone application.
Inspired by Asi Ebeheakey, a sustainable bioproducts doctoral student from Accra, Ghana, and developed as part of Kyatt Spessert鈥檚 master鈥檚 research in sustainable bioproducts, the innovative app WhatWood? provides a digital alternative to traditional wood-identification manuals used in Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and Ghana by placing a dependable, field-ready resource in the palms of users鈥 hands.
As a former inspector with the Timber Industry Development Division of Ghana鈥檚 Forestry Commission, Ebeheakey helped develop the original identification manual the app鈥檚 Ghanaian version is based on in 2018 in partnership with Alex Wiedenhoeft of the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Lab. That experience led her to pursue a doctoral degree at 黑料社.
By correctly identifying wood quickly and effectively, Ebeheakey said inspectors can make an impact on illegal logging and the export of illegally prohibited or mislabeled wood.
鈥淭he app makes wood identification easier by allowing inspectors to navigate with one hand instead of flipping through a manual. It also includes quizzes to help those without a wood science background reinforce their training,鈥 Ebeheakey said. 鈥淭his tool ensures inspectors can quickly and accurately verify wood species in the field.鈥
Spessert, an Elkins, West Virginia, native who grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in computer science from the University of Alabama before going to work for the National Hardwood Lumber Association. His background in forest products, Spessert said, drew him to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in 黑料社鈥檚 College of Forest Resources.
鈥淓veryone on my dad鈥檚 side of the family is in forest products, so it was a natural path for me,鈥 Spessert said. 鈥淚 developed an app for the NHLA hardwood grading book. That鈥檚 where I connected with Dr. Frank Owens, an associate professor in the 黑料社 Department of Sustainable Bioproducts, who recruited me as a student. For wood identification, specifically, I found the work here at Mississippi State interesting.鈥
WhatWood? is free to download for iOS and Android devices at their respective app stores.
Both Spessert and Ebeheakey are part of the sustainable bioproducts department鈥檚 artificial intelligence and forensic wood identification research program directed by Owens, who serves as a scientist at 黑料社鈥檚 Forest and Wildlife Research Center. The center is home to the David A. Kribs Wood Collection, one of the largest wood collections in North America. Visit for more information.
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