Michael P. Wolcott is Research Director and the Louisiana-Pacific Professor of Wood Materials and Engineering at Washington State University. He received a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering Science from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University in 1989. Before coming to WSU, Dr. Wolcott was an Associate Professor of Wood Science at West Virginia University. His research emphases include wood composites design, wood-plastic composites, wood-polymer interaction, viscoelasticity, and adhesion.

Dr. Wolcott has received numerous honors including two George Marra Awards for excellence in wood research, Wood Award for excellence in graduate research, and the Cahn Award for research in dynamic contact angle analysis. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Forest Product Society and the Society of Wood Science and Technology, Chair of the National Planning Committee for Forest Products Research, and Program Manager for the USDA National Research Initiative.

Dr. Wolcott's research is published in over 85 manuscripts appearing in journals, books, and proceedings, and he regularly presents his work internationally. He has served as principal investigator on over 40 academic research projects totalling more than $16.5 million (USD). He has managed over 75 industrial product research and development projects with more than 30 companies.

In addition to research, Dr. Wolcott teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. These courses include wood composites design and production, dynamics, remedial and advanced mechanics of materials.