
Professor Ivan Eastin is a research professor in SEAS and serves as the Associate Dean for Research and Engagement. Prior to coming to UM in 2017, he served as a professor and the Director of the Center for International Trade in Forest Products (CINTRAFOR) in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington. He also served as the Associate Dean for Research in the College of the Environment at UW, was the faculty leader for the Peace Corps Masters International Program in Forestry and Sustainable Resource Management and was named a UW CoMotion Presidential Innovation Fellow.
Internationally, his research focuses on understanding how trade policies, including timber legality regulations, affect the international trade of wood products in general and the competitiveness of US wood products in particular. Domestically, Eastin's research focuses on the process of innovation and evaluating the factors that influence the introduction and adoption of new wood products, including mass timber products such as thermally modified wood and cross-laminated timber. He also works with Native American communities to improve their capacity to more effectively market tribal wood products in the US and internationally.
Ivan received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in wood science and technology from Michigan Technological University (1983, 1985) and his doctorate degree in forest products marketing from the University of Washington (1992). He was a Fulbright Fellow in Ghana (1989-90), a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia (1985-87) and served in the US Army (1976-79).