Asi Ebeheakey
Though 6,000 miles from Accra, Ghana, doctoral student Asi Ebeheakey feels right at home in Mississippi State’s Department of Sustainable Bioproducts.
“The people I work with, and the warm, welcoming environment make me feel at home. Whether I’m discussing schoolwork or life, I know that I can confide in our team and get valuable advice and feedback,” she said.
A former timber inspector with Ghana’s Forestry Commission, Ebeheakey has firsthand experience identifying wood to prevent illegal logging. In her busiest months, she inspected up to 700 cubic meters of wood—the equivalent of approximately 85,000 two-by-fours.
Her journey to ϲʿ began in 2018 when she visited the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Lab in Madison, Wisconsin, as part of a Ghanaian delegation developing a timber identification manual for West African species.
“As timber inspectors, our core mandate was inspecting and certifying wood exports from Ghana. However, we were identifying wood solely based on experience, which wasn’t very reliable. As similar-looking species can vary greatly in value, we needed a more scientifically grounded method of identification,” she said.
She worked alongside ϲʿ adjunct professor Alex Wiedenhoeft at the USDA FPL in developing the manual and later returned to Ghana to train inspectors on how to use it. While at the lab, she also worked with ϲʿ Forest and Wildlife Research Center scientist Adriana Costa.
“After the training, I felt like I needed to do more with the knowledge I had gained. When I saw an opportunity to join ϲʿ’s wood identification team to focus on artificial intelligence and forensic wood identification, I reached out to Dr. Costa. That’s how I ended up at ϲʿ,” she said.
Now, Ebeheakey is working with her advisor Frank Owens, an associate professor in the department, on projects related to the XyloTron, a USDA FPL-developed computer vision system that revolutionizes wood identification.
“My research focuses on using computer vision to automatically detect growth rings in macroscopic images of North American woods. We are hoping to incorporate growth ring data into our computer vision models to improve wood identification,” she said.
Her expertise also helped inspire WhatWood?, an app created by ϲʿ master’s student Kyatt Spessert, based on the manual Ebeheakey helped develop.
“The app allows inspectors to navigate the wood identification key with one hand. It also features quizzes to reinforce the anatomical features inspectors learn during training. All these new functions help ensure quick and accurate species identification in the field,” she said.
Ebeheakey, who anticipates graduating next spring, values the opportunities her research provides.
“Engaging with industry professionals allows me to build meaningful connections, exchange ideas and apply what I learn in real-world contexts,” she said.
