History

The Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP) was established by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) to enhance research and commercialisation programmes and activities of the university. INTROP was first known as Biocomposite Technology Centre (BTC) under the Institute of Bioscience (IBS) in 1998. 

In January 2002, Biocomposite programme was accepted as one of the programmes under Laboratory of Bio-Engineering at the Institute of Advanced Technology (ITMA).

The significance of biocomposite research in agriculture sector was acknowledged by the government with the establishment of Institute of Tropical Biocomposite (INTROB) in June 2005 under the 12 AgroBio initiatives proposed by UPM.

In January 2007, following the Research University (RU) status awarded to UPM, INTROB and Rain Forest Academy were merged to become the Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products or INTROP, as it is officially known today.         

Research activities at INTROP focus on various aspects of the environment such as carbon sequestration, forest canopy, planted forest etc; screening of bioresources for biocomposite and pulp and paper industries; fibre processing technology; products development from natural fibres; effective design and techno economics.

INTROP is well represented by multidiscipline researchers from various backgrounds such as forestry, material science, engineering, biotechnology and economy to ensure an integrated and holistic studies being conducted in order to give meaningful and commonsensical recommendations.

INTROP has grown into a leading research centre in UPM and in the region, consistently contributing towards innovation of new technologies for wealth creation for the benefit of society. Through research work, INTROP continues to harness the benefits of biocomposite and natural fiber and coonsistently focused on building new ideas and technology, and developing knowledge that contribute to technological advancement of Malaysia. The institute’s achievement and development are results from the commitment and hard work of its members and support by UPM

Moving forward, INTROP will continue its excellence in research and innovation by collaborating with universities, research centres and industries in meeting the ever changing needs of the nation and the world.

Updated:: 06/10/2016 [aidawati]