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

这一区域创新引擎发展奖的重点是先进的森林生态系统管理和森林产品创新为新英格兰北部的循环生物经济带来新机遇的未来。通过战略区域伙伴关系，该发展奖将使该团队能够利用精准森林管理、传统木材产品和生物材料方面的知识，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与北方森林生态系统的多个州的规模和多样性相匹配的区域创新生态系统中。缅因州、新罕布夏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。全球化使森林部门发生了根本性的变化。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及其木质产品在储存和封存碳方面发挥的关键作用。这些复杂的挑战带来了一个关键的机遇：重新利用和振兴以森林为基础的经济，以提高美国的竞争力，同时建立农村社区公平和加强经济发展。发展奖期间将讨论三个具体目标：(1)加快森林资源管理、木制品制造和新兴森林技术的进展；(2)实施智能利用北方森林资源以实现经济、生态和气候效益的最佳做法；(3)提高劳动力技能和参与森林职业，包括扩大历史上任职人数不足的人口的参与。三个重点领域包括：(1)用于气候敏感型可持续管理和业务的精确林业(如高级森林清查、碳核算、地理空间评估)；(2)常规森林产品(如尺寸和图案实心锯材、木质复合板、纸浆和纸张、生物能源)；(3)新兴森林生物产品(如纳米纤维素、森林生物化学品、大宗木材、添加剂制造)。成果将包括一份战略路线图，该路线图提供：(1)确定现有的和需要的研发流程、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，基于北方森林的资产和能力创建商业化和创新战略；(3)开发网络、资源和途径，以整合商业化和创新框架的研究、教育和劳动力发展；以及(4)为全面的NSF引擎奖做准备。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.