USDA-FS Symposium: Build It Back Better with Wood: Connecting Urban & Rural Communities with Innovation Online Symposium Sessions

Thursday, 4/18/2024, 12:15 – 4:30pm EDT

Register for this event at: https://wvu.zoom.us/w/96199535762

MISSION STATEMENT
“Build It Back Better with Wood: Connecting Urban and Rural Communities with Innovation” Symposium:

Promote innovation, knowledge exchange and collaboration
Promote higher technical and commercial interaction between urban and rural communities
Promote value-added utilization of all wood species, especially under-utilized hard wood species and their by-products for economic growth
Explore the potential of wood products in infrastructure applications, energy savings, carbon sequestration, waste reduction and management
Innovative applications for wood include transparent wood in lieu of glass for energy saving windows, wood frames for solar panels, soft and hard wood as core materials for FRP sandwich structural slab, beam, column, and wall panels in lieu of balsa wood, wood composites utilizing low-quality wood using high pressure infusion process, and use of nanocellulose for packaging applications
Inspire individuals and organizations to leverage the power of wood, foster R&D advancements, and empower communities towards a more sustainable future with wood as a method of natural CO₂ sequestration

	Thursday, April 18, 2024, from 12:15 – 4:30pm EDT
Session 3
12:15-1:15 pm	Theme 4 – Value added utilization of Eastern species for structural applications - Moderator: Doug Gardner Objectives: Opportunities for Eastern species in structural applications, connecting urban and rural development opportunities Hardwood Species and Product Markets - Matt Bumgardner Wood species that grow faster & in bulk for subsystem manufacturing of CLT using compression molding - Joe McNeel What is the Future of Workforce Development for Construction and Industrialized Off-site Construction? - Sarah Lyon-Hill Q&A - All Theme 4 Speakers
1:15-2:15 pm	Theme 5 - Wood resource management - Moderator: Ray Liang Objectives: Wood resource management, utilization of low-quality and insect-damaged timbers, economic development and training in underserved forest-based communities Improving Hardwood Forest Health and Sustainability Through Wood Utilization – A Federal Perspective - Charles Becker Resource management- Industry view - Beryl Beagle Utilizing Paulownia Wood as Composite Sandwich Core Material in lieu of Balsa - Hai Fang Q&A - All Theme 5 Speakers
2:15-2:30	Break
Session 4	Theme 6 - Expanding structural applications of Eastern wood species - Moderator: V Gopu Objectives: Enhancing Eastern wood species as a structural material, research, and outreach plan for the next 5 years Wood as engineered structural materials R&D - Marco LoRicco Implementation of wood composites into transportation structures - V Gopu Eastern Hardwoods as a Structural Raw Material (Weyerhaeuser perspective) - Gene Shutler Q&A - All Theme 6 Speakers
3:30-4:30 pm	Conclusions and Pathway to a More Sustainable Future in Urban and Rural Communities (action items) - Moderator: Radhey Sharma Objectives: Prioritizing objectives, emphasizing connections between urban and rural development opportunities, and the development steps required for using low-grade and underutilized timber for value-added wood products Summary of each theme discussions - Chairs of above sessions Recap of challenges and opportunities - Lew McCreery Prioritization of future initiatives and wrap up - Marco LoRicco

Last updated April 3, 2024