Keynote Speaker

Thomas Purfürst is since September 2025 full Professor and the Head of the Chair of Digitized Forest Systems and Processes at the Dresden University of Technology (TUD). This move follows his previous role as full Professor and Head of the Chair of Forest Operations at the University of Freiburg, Germany. He holds a B.Sc., M.Sc., PhD and Habilitation in Forest Science, in addition to an M.Sc. in Geographical Information System and Science. The primary focus of his research endeavours pertains to the digital transformation of forestry and precision forestry, encompassing forest work and technology, timber harvesting systems, and the environmental impact of forest management. Furthermore, he possesses a specialism in augmented reality in forestry, as well as the optimisation and data exchange of forest-wood supply chain logistics, production and distribution logistics for wood products.

Thomas Purfürst has accumulated a substantial amount of experience in both business and research projects. He was employed in state forest enterprises for a period of seven years, initially as a forest GIS expert and subsequently as head of the GIS department. He has held numerous senior scientific positions, including Principal Investigator, Working Group (WG) leader, and project leader for a significant number of national and international scientific projects. He is the Action Chair for the EU COST Action ARiF (CA23135), the remit of which is the focus on augmented reality applications in forestry. In addition to his other roles, he was instrumental in the establishment of the XR Future Forest Lab at the University of Freiburg. He is now the leader of the XR Forest Lab at TUD, a research facility specialising in the fields of virtual and augmented reality. He is actively involved in various committees and professional associations and maintains strong connections with forest stakeholders.