Gerald Koch

Gerald Koch is a Privatdozent (PD) and habilitated senior researcher at the Institute for Wood Research, part of the Thünen Institute in Hamburg-Bergedorf, Germany. His work bridges academic research with practical applications in wood science and conservation.

His core research focuses on:

• Anatomical wood species identification and database development
• Impact of climate change on wood formation and properties
• Trade regulation for CITES-protected timber species
• Genetic reference data for origin determination of wood
• Durability analysis of wood products and alternatives to endangered timbers

Dr. Koch leads critical projects including automated image recognition systems for wood identification, digitization of the scientific wood collection (xylothek), and climate adaptation studies for future wood use. His completed work spans tropical wood identification in paper products, nanotomography for wood structure analysis, and sustainability frameworks for small private forests in Vietnam.