Mark Irle

Irle holds a BSc degree in wood science (1982). He got his doctorate degree in wood technology in 1986 from the University of Wales in Bangor. He has had a background in teaching and research in the United Kingdom (Biocomposite Centre at Bangor, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College), before relocating to ESB-France in 2002.^[5]

He is currently the director of research at the École supérieure du bois (ESB) in Nantes.^[6] He has served as the executive director of InnovaWood, a European network for innovation in the forest-based sector from 2017 to 2021.^[7] He also serves as a member at the editorial boards of scientific journals: International Wood Products Journal,^[8] Wood Material Science and Engineering,^[9] and European Journal of Wood and Wood Products.

His research is related to wood-based composites^[10] and has participated in European projects such as CaReWood, which aimed to enhance the recyclability of wood based materials.^[11] His work also includes the extraction and characterization of cellulose nanocrystals from post-consumer wood fiberboard waste.^[12]

Irle has supervised several doctoral theses at the École centrale de Nantes, focusing on topics like wood hygiene, recycling of solid wood and MDF, and the development of biosourced composites.^[13][14][15] He has also been involved in various European research initiatives, including the FLEXIBI project,^[16][17] and the EU-funded Horizon project EcoReFibre, which explores recycling methods for old, waste fiberboards.^[18]

Until August 2025, the research work of Irle has received more than 5,500 citations at Google Scholar.^[19]

• Google Scholar
• Scopus
• ResearchGate
• École supérieure du bois