University of Idaho (UI) 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. Since then other universities have joined this Center: the University of Maine, the University of Washington, the University of Georgia and the University of Florida.
The primary focus of the proposed research site within CAFS will be to provide additional and specialized expertise and research platforms in the areas of endophyte selection and deployment, seed orchard pest protection and geospatial projections. The proposed activities at UI 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 the University of Idaho has the potential to improve the competitiveness of the forest products industry by solving key problems using applied research and enhanced institutional collaboration. The community will benefit from refereed publications and presentations at scientific meetings focusing on key nationwide research questions. The proposed work at the University of Idaho will expand training of graduate students with unique interdisciplinary skill sets. The proposed site also has a plan to address diversity issues in this field.
