The forest products industry’s Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance—of which RBI is an affiliate member—held its winter 2015 All-Members’ Meeting at Georgia Tech’s Global Learning Center December 9.  The meeting was held in conjunction with the TAPPI International Research Management Committee meeting.

The Agenda 2020 meeting featured presentations from five task teams charged with reducing manufacturing energy, reducing resource and fresh water use, and creating new opportunities from forest biomass.  The teams have worked to identify barriers and develop research pathways to overcome them.  The research priorities and approaches they have developed are being shaped into roadmaps that will be published in January and shared broadly with the research community for implementation. 

Dr. Norman Marsolan, RBI executive director, drew a tight connection between these statements of priority and Georgia Tech research capabilities.  Several Georgia Tech professors serve as Agenda 2020 team members and contributors. 

Dr. Marsolan encouraged the teams in their efforts, noting how the Agenda 2020 priorities influence Georgia Tech’s research.  “In particular, the Agenda 2020 priorities are part of the RFP for developing fellowship proposals for RBI endowment-sponsored research each year,” he observed.  “In addition, we require students to refer to these priorities in their statement of interest when applying for fellowship funding.  Our students benefit directly from this tight connection to industry research needs.”

The Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance encourages the development of advanced manufacturing technologies that promise transformational impact on the paper and forest-based industries. For more information, visit www.agenda2020.org.