15 Years of Forest Products Innovation: Inside the Centennial Research Facility
USDA Forest Service’s Centennial Research Facility at Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin
Gigantic wooden beams are pushed to their breaking point. Sparks rain down on treated timber logs as scientists monitor for ignition. Replicas of houses and city infrastructure undergo rigorous testing and reinvention, piece by piece. Daily life inside the USDA Forest Service’s Centennial Research Facility at Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin, looks like science fiction. The facility celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2025, marking over a decade of groundbreaking research, partnerships, and advancements in wood science that support a sustainable future.
Planning began on the facility a decade before its 2010 construction. At that time, wood research looked very different. Planners envisioned a versatile space that could adapt as science advanced. Today the facility houses four key research areas: engineering mechanics and remote sensing, engineered composites sciences, durability and wood protection, and building sciences.
“The Centennial Research Facility planners were forward looking in their deliberations on what the building would look like,” explains Steve Kalinosky, a research engineer who helped design the facility and now leads the Engineering and Mechanics and Remote Sensing Laboratory. “A guiding principle in those initial design stages was that the resulting workspace should be versatile so that it could adapt as the science evolved over time.”
That adaptability quickly proved critical. When the facility opened in 2010, cross-laminated timber had not yet become a mainstream construction material. Since then, mass timber—a category of engineered wood products strengthened through advanced techniques—has emerged as a building material with a low carbon footprint and high carbon storage potential, offering a sustainable alternative to steel or concrete. Cross-laminated timber, created by gluing layers of wood together for extraordinary strength, requires a massive testing space. The Centennial Research Facility provides precisely that.
The facility also serves as a hub for collaboration and exchange. Visiting scientists and industry partners routinely work in its labs, creating a dynamic environment of shared scientific discovery.
“Having a place to bring together this vast network of partners is a huge benefit,” says Andy Martin, Assistant Director of the Wood Products Research Group at the Forest Products Laboratory. “Academic institutions are regular collaborators on projects at the facility.” Researchers at the Forest Service Products Laboratory now work with more than 500 partners, including private industry, universities, and government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Defense.
That collaborative approach has already produced innovations with national impact. For example, soon after the facility opened, U.S. railroad companies requested assistance in addressing a persistent problem: trestle bridges catching fire. Forest Service scientists used their expertise in fire testing, wood preservation, and structural engineering to determine the cause of sparks from train brakes under specific wind conditions. Their research led to fire-inhibiting treatments that railroads could easily apply to ties, reducing the risk of future fires.
“The Centennial Research Facility embodies Forest Service Research and Development’s commitment to innovation,” says Cindi West, Director of Forest Products Laboratory. “The collaborative research happening here is advancing wood science while directly enhancing the competitiveness of local wood economies across the country.”
Fifteen years later, the Centennial Research Facility continues to adapt to every new challenge and opportunity. The next breakthrough in wood science remains unknown, but the USDA Forest Service Laboratory stand ready to lead the way.