University of Maine (UM) is planning to join the existing multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) entitled "The Center for Advanced Forestry Systems" (CAFS) which was established in 2007 with four member institutions: North Carolina State University (lead university), Oregon State University, Purdue University and Virginia Tech. The primary focus of the proposed research site within CAFS will be modeling the productivity of managed natural forests. This research focus will be addressed at multiple scales ranging from the individual tree to the regional forest. UM has a long history of applied research in the management of naturally regenerated forests as well as a strong relationship with the forest products industry. The proposed activities at UM will augment current CAFS projects, and will more fully address the needs for scientific and technological advances for enhancing the competitiveness of the US forestry sector.
The effort at UM has the potential to improve the competitiveness of the forest products industry by solving key problems using applied research and enhanced institutional collaboration. The broader scientific community will benefit through refereed publications and presentations at scientific meetings that focus on key nationwide research questions. Enhanced graduate student research opportunities will increase the number of trained professionals able to address these future forest resource challenges. UM also plans to address employee and student diversity issues.
