NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing forest ecosystem management and forest product innovations (NH, ME, VT)

NSF 引擎发展奖：推进森林生态系统管理和林产品创新（新罕布什尔州、缅因州、佛蒙特州）

• 批准号: 2303493
• 负责人: Joseph Short
• 金额: $ 99.81万
• 依托单位: Northern Forest Center
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-05-15 至 2025-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2303493&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Engines; Development; Award; Advancing

This Regional Innovation Engines Development Award is focused on a future where advanced forest ecosystem management and forest product innovation unlock new opportunities in a circular bioeconomy for northern New England. Through a strategic regional partnership, this Development Award will enable the team to leverage knowledge in precision forest management, traditional wood products, and bio-based materials to complement past successes and infrastructure investments with emerging forest-based sustainable products and technologies. The Development Award will unify capacities within the industry, institutions of higher education, workforce development, and the public sector into a regional innovation ecosystem that matches the multi-state scale and diversity of the Northern Forest ecosystem. Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont are three of the most forested states in the US, with economies and communities tightly linked to their natural resource base. Globalization has wrought fundamental changes in the forest sector. The impacts of climate change are stressing the forest and highlighting the critical role that a healthy Northern Forest and the wood-based products that come from it play in storing and sequestering carbon. From these complex challenges comes a critical opportunity: to re-tool and reinvigorate a forest-based economy to contribute to US competitiveness while building rural community equity and strengthening economic development. Three specific objectives will be addressed during the Development Award: (1) accelerate advances in forest resource management, wood products manufacturing, and emerging forest-based technologies; (2) implement best practices for intelligent utilization of Northern Forest resources for economic, ecological, and climate benefit; and (3) improve workforce skills and participation in forest-based careers, including expanded participation by historically underrepresented populations. Three focus areas include (1) precision forestry for climate-smart sustainable management and operations (e.g., advanced forest inventory, carbon accounting, geospatial assessment); (2) conventional forest products (e.g., dimensional and pattern solid sawn lumber, wood composite panels, pulp and paper, bioenergy); and (3) emerging forest bioproducts (e.g., nanocellulose, forest biochemicals, mass timber, additive manufacturing). Outcomes will include a strategic roadmap that provides: (1) identification of the existing and needed research & development processes, infrastructure, and practices for building a thriving regional innovation engine; (2) facilitated collaboration to create a commercialization and innovation strategy based on Northern Forest assets and capabilities; (3) development of networks, resources, and pathways for integration of commercialization and innovation framing of research, education, and workforce development; and (4) preparation for a full NSF Engine Award.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该区域创新引擎发展奖的重点是未来，先进的森林生态系统管理和林产品创新将为新英格兰北部的循环生物经济带来新的机遇。通过战略区域伙伴关系，该发展奖将使团队能够利用精准森林管理、传统木制品和生物基材料方面的知识，以新兴的森林可持续产品和技术补充过去的成功和基础设施投资。发展奖将把行业、高等教育机构、劳动力发展和公共部门的能力统一到一个区域创新生态系统中，该生态系统与北方森林生态系统的多州规模和多样性相匹配。缅因州、新罕布什尔州和佛蒙特州是美国森林覆盖率最高的三个州，它们的经济和社区与其自然资源基础紧密相连。全球化给森林部门带来了根本的变化。气候变化的影响正在给森林带来压力，并突出了健康的北方森林和来自北方森林的木材产品在储存和隔离碳方面的关键作用。这些复杂的挑战带来了一个关键的机遇：重新调整和振兴以森林为基础的经济，在建立农村社区公平和加强经济发展的同时，为美国的竞争力做出贡献。在发展奖期间将讨论三个具体目标：(1)加速森林资源管理、木制品制造和新兴森林技术的进步；(2)实施北方森林资源智能利用的最佳实践，实现经济效益、生态效益和气候效益；(3)提高劳动力技能和参与以森林为基础的职业，包括扩大历史上代表性不足人口的参与。三个重点领域包括：(1)气候智慧型可持续管理和运营的精准林业（例如，先进的森林清查、碳核算、地理空间评估）；(2)常规林产品（例如，尺寸和图案的实心锯材、木复合板、纸浆和纸张、生物能源）；(3)新兴森林生物产品（如纳米纤维素、森林生物化学、大块木材、增材制造）。成果将包括一个战略路线图，提供：(1)确定现有和需要的研究和开发过程、基础设施和实践，以建立一个蓬勃发展的区域创新引擎；(2)促进合作，制定基于北方森林资产和能力的商业化和创新战略；(3)开发商业化与创新研究、教育和劳动力发展框架整合的网络、资源和途径；(4)准备获得NSF发动机奖。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。