As a professor of practice in industrial wood construction, Steven Collins is committed to developing scientific knowledge and fostering innovation, which benefit the wood construction industry. His research focuses on the mechanical behavior of structural timber and on characterizing material properties of underutilized wood resources. He is drawn to this field by the enduring appeal of wood, a natural material whose mechanical performance—refined over millennia—makes it uniquely suited for sustainable structural applications.

He has been deeply involved in hands-on laboratory work, conducting both destructive and non-destructive testing. By applying statistical analysis, he explores the relationships between material growth characteristics and mechanical properties to develop predictive models for wood materials, with an emphasis on quantifying uncertainty.

His research at Aalto University continues with the aim of improving the efficiency and reliability of wood construction and of finding value-added solutions that help make wood a crucial material in our transforming society.

Summary of Research Focus:

• Species-specific timber behavior (particularly birch): modelling, testing, and variance analysis
• Non-destructive testing techniques: laser scattering and grain orientation analysis, digital image correlation
• Statistical and Bayesian approaches: probabilistic modelling for material properties
• Timber finger joint mechanics: mechanical characterization of engineered connections
• Wood processing techniques: densification and chemical treatment to enhance timber performance