Team

Research Team
Advisory Board
Staff
Evaluators
Partners

Research Team

Michael Maughan

Professor
PI
Mechanical Engineering
University of Idaho

Michael Maughan is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Idaho. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from Purdue and two degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Idaho. His interests lie in materials development, additive manufacturing, design, and the intersection among them. He is the principal investigator and will lead development for a new type of 3D printer for this project.

Damon Woods

Research Assistant Professor
Senior Personnel
Integrated Design Lab
University of Idaho

Damon Woods is a research assistant professor and the Interim Director of the Integrated Design Lab at the University of Idaho in Boise. Dr. Woods is a licensed engineer who earned his B.S. from Montana State University, his M.S. from Boise State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Idaho in mechanical engineering. His current research focus is on the management of building thermal envelopes and control systems. Damon will be working with Dr. Manrique to develop the tools and pedagogy surrounding the resiliency of bio-printed building systems.

Lili Cai

Assistant Professor
Co-PI
Forest, Rangeland & Fire Sciences
University of Idaho

Lili Cai is an Assistant Professor of Forest and Sustainable Products in the Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences at the University of Idaho. She received her Ph.D. from Mississippi State University in 2019 and her B.S. and M.S. degree in Wood Science and Engineering from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in China, 2012 and 2015, respectively. Her research interests include development of green wood preservatives, bio-based fire retardants, and wood modification and functionalization. In this Track-2 project, she will work with the team on improving the durability and fire resistance of PrinTimber and predicting its long-term performance.

Audrey Fu

Assistant Professor
Senior Personnel
Mathematics and Statistical Science
University of Idaho

Dr. Audrey Qiuyan Fu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistical Science at the University of Idaho. She received her PhD in Statistics (Statistical Genetics) from the University of Washington. Dr. Fu develops statistical models and computational methods for high-dimensional data, particularly big data arising in biomedical sciences. Her team have developed machine learning and Bayesian methods for causal network inference, deep learning methods for imputation, hierarchical models for single-cell data, mixed-effects linear models, Bayesian models for DNA methylation. Dr. Fu will participate in the data analysis in this Track-2 project.

Ahmed Ibrahim

Associate Professor
Co-PI
Civil & Environmental Engineering
University of Idaho

Ahmed Ibrahim is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Idaho. He earned his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri. His research is focused on the structural behavior of timber and concrete composites under extreme loading conditions, Energy savings of Building Envelopes, and full-scale experimental testing and high fidelity simulations of structural behavior of buildings and bridges. His research has been funded from various agencies such as state Department of Transportation, FHWA, NSF and private sectors. His role in the NSF T-2 project is the Performance Evaluation, Improvement, Simulation, and Prediction of the developed 3D- Printimber panels.

Carolina Manrique Hoyos

Associate Professor
Co-PI
Architecture
University of Idaho

Dr. Carolina Manrique Hoyos is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Idaho. She received her Ph.D. degree in Architecture from Texas A&M University. She has a bachelor’s degree in Architecture (University of Valle, Colombia), and master’s degrees in building technology-structures (Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain & University of Minho, Portugal). Her research focuses on structures and architectural design, and developing the notion of resilience in architecture. She will contribute to the work of developing: (1) resilience assessment tools for the architecture, engineering and construction industry and municipalities, and (2) curricular and pedagogical strategies for educating these stakeholders.

Armando McDonald

Professor
Senior Personnel
Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences
University of Idaho

Armando McDonald is a Professor of Forest and Sustainable Products in the Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Science, University of Idaho (UI) with over 36 years’ experience in bioproducts and biomaterials research and development and has presented and published numerous articles. Armando came to UI in 2001 from New Zealand Forest Research, where he was a Group Leader of the Materials Discovery group. His time at UI is devoted to mainly research and teaching with some extension/service activities. He teaches classes in Biocomposites, Biomass chemistry, and Bioproducts and Bioprocess Development. Dr. McDonald has graduated 10 Ph.D. students and 19 M.S. students and hosted 15 International visiting scholars. Dr. McDonalds’ group is currently investigating: (i) bioplastics from lignin and other waste streams, (ii) biofuels from pyrolysis of biomass and plastics, (iii) development of nanostructured Fischer-Tropsch catalysts for production of fuels, (iv) additive manufactured biocomposites, (v) biomass conversion into chemicals, (vii) torrefaction of biomass and plastic waste, and (viii) natural products chemistry. Dr. McDonald will be working with Dr. Maughan on the fusion of natural fiber with biobased binders as a substrate for additive manufacturing of construction materials.

Daniel Robertson

Assistant Professor
Senior Personnel
Mechanical Engineering
University of Idaho

Daniel Robertson is an assistant professor in Mechanical Engineering and the director of the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenge Scholars Program for the University of Idaho. He acquired his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Brigham Young University in 2013. His research efforts are focused on using engineering principles to accomplish what the White House has called the great challenge of the 21st century: sustainably providing food, fuel and fiber for the world’s growing population. His expertise lies in the area of plant biomechanics. On this T-2 project he will be aiding in material property quantification and computational modeling.

Randall Teal

Professor
Senior Personnel
Architecture
University of Idaho

Dr. Randall Teal is the Head of the Architecture Program at the University of Idaho. He is a designer, builder, and theorist. His pedagogical and research interests are in design fundamentals and architectural theory with a significant influence from Continental thought. His writing focuses primarily on the pedagogy of creative thinking and promoting situated dialogues between design processes and the built environment. The latter is further explored through his design practice, Teal Studio, where Professor Teal is particularly interested in the design and construction of material intensities and spaces of sensation.

Brian Via

Professor
Co-PI
Forest Products Development Center
Auburn University

Dr. Brian Via is Regions Bank Professor and Director of the Forest Products Development Center at Auburn University and has worked in R&D at Louisiana Pacific and International Paper Corporations where he obtained commercialization experience. He obtained his PhD from Louisiana State University in the area of chemometrics. His research interest encompasses developing sustainable composites and adhesives, where his role in this project will be to design and synthesize bio-resins prior to 3D-printing. Overall, he has worked in interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary teams to secure >$33 MM in external grants and contracts and has 2 patents using soy flour to replace wood adhesives.

Sushil Adhikari

Professor
Senior Personnel
Dir. of Center for Bioenergy & Bioproducts
Auburn University

Sushil Adhikari is a professor in the Biosystems Engineering Department and the director of the Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts at Auburn University. Adhikari earned his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, an M.S. degree from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand in Energy Technology, and a Ph.D. degree from Mississippi State University in Biological Engineering. In addition to teaching, he conducts research related to biofuels and bioproducts, especially in thermochemical conversion. Adhikari’s research focuses on biomass gasification, pyrolysis, algae liquefaction and upgrading, anaerobic digestion (AD), and hydrogen production. In this project, Adhikari will produce different building molecules for resins synthesis from biobased materials using the pyrolysis process.

Maria Auad

Professor
Senior Personnel
Chemical Engineering
Auburn University

Dr. Maria L. Auad is the Director of Center for Polymers and Advanced Composites (CPAC) and Full Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Auburn University. Dr. Auad’s research interests include control of microstructures and nanostructure in polymer and fibrous materials, polymers and coatings for structural and biomedical applications, shape memory polymers, polymer nanocomposites and sustainable materials. Dr. Auad’s Laboratory offers facilities for materials synthesis, characterization and processing.

Soledad Peresin

Assistant Professor
Senior Personnel
Forest Products Development Center
Auburn University

  • soledad.peresin@auburn.edu
  • Website

Dr. Maria Soledad Peresin got her Licenciate in analytical chemistry in 2007, from Universidad Nacional del Litoral (Argentina) with focus on pulp and paper chemistry. In 2011, she obtained her Ph.D. in Forest Biomaterials degree from North Carolina State University (USA). In 2010 she was a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Forest Products Technology, Aalto University (Finland). After finalizing her doctoral dissertation, in 2011 she joined the High Performance Fibre Products Knowledge Team at VTT, for her post-doctoral studies and where she continued working as a Senior Scientist. She has over ten years of academic experience with strong emphasis on nanocomposite materials, surface chemistry of plant cell wall components and their interactions, including studies of the materials in model surface approach.
During her time at Auburn, Dr. Peresin has established a solid multidisciplinary research platform that gathers expertise in the areas of chemistry, pharmacy, materials sciences and engineering, as well as product development, encompassing the needs for stimulating new businesses in food, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medicine sectors, through novel value-added products from biomass (wood, annual crops, agro-forestry, sericulture, etc.). Dr. Peresin will lead the AU team on the design and synthesis of high-performance bio-resins with controlled macromolecular architecture. Her role will be focused on nanocellulose production, characterization and chemical modification to be included in bio-resin formulations as a mean to improve products mechanical performance.

Advisory Board

Shayne Kimball

Kimball Farms provides the research team with hop bines and other long natural fibers for use in the PrinTimber material.

Dann Briscoe

Boise Cascade Corp. Boise, Idaho


Emmanuel Sackey

Weyerhaeuser Seattle, Washington


Aiman Hussein
Aaron Hackett

Alquist 3D uses 3D printing technology to create exceptional design while lowering the cost of housing and infrastructure in economically distressed and under-served communities.

Nathan Stranberg

With the ability to print both structural and functional fibers, Continuous Composites presents a new future for additive manufacturing with composites.


Staff

NameInstitutionDepartmentRole
Lisha AbendrothUniversity of IdahoInstitute for Interdisciplinary Data SciencesAdministrative Manager
Mollyann JonesUniversity of IdahoInstitute for Interdisciplinary Data SciencesFinancial Manager

Project Evaluators

NameCompanyRoleBiography
Heather McInnisThe Implementation Group (TIG)Vice PresidentDr. Heather McInnis is a Vice President and program assessment and evaluation lead at The Implementation Group. She is a broadly trained interdisciplinary scientist and holds a M.S. from the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Oregon. She has over a decade of experience designing and implementing strategic assessments and data-driven evaluations of large-scale, transdisciplinary, federally funded STEM programs for universities, research consortia, and government agencies in the U.S. and abroad. Dr. McInnis will be serving as the external evaluator for this grant.

Partners

NameInstitution/CompanyJob TitleRoleBiography
Hannah KiserPullman High SchoolChemistry TeacherEducation Outreach Partner