Sec. 302. Joint mass timber science and education program
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The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Director of the Forest Products Laboratory of the Forest Service (referred to in this section as the Secretary ), shall establish a mass timber science and education program to respond to the emerging research needs of architects, developers, and the forest products industry. The Secretary shall work closely with research programs at colleges and universities in administering the mass timber science and education program established under subsection
(a)to supplement the current research and educational efforts of colleges and universities. The mass timber science and education program established under subsection
(a)shall have the following principal purposes: To provide practical research responsive to the needs of architects, developers, and the forest products industry, including assessments of carbon impacts in the originating forests and the end use of mass timber in the built environment. To engage and listen to clients and then develop focused, strategic lines of new research responsive to those needs, which may include research relating to flammability and performance during a fire, structural characteristics, energy use and savings, acoustics, and slab construction composed of hybrid materials. To solicit proposals from scientists who compete for funding through a rigorous peer-review process designed to ensure the best projects are funded. To disseminate research findings using a suite of communication tools to ensure that architects, developers, and the forest products industry are aware of, understand, and can use the information to make sound decisions and implement projects. To develop and facilitate the adoption, on a voluntary basis, of a curriculum for building structures using mass timber for use in schools of engineering and architecture that includes— structural design; and the possibilities, benefits, and limitations of using mass timber in construction. Not later than September 30, 2024, the Secretary shall submit to the relevant committees of Congress a mass timber plan that includes— an assessment of the current state of knowledge about mass timber and tall wood buildings; an integrated approach to improve knowledge sharing; an approach for project monitoring and evaluation; and an approach for setting research priorities. The Secretary shall appoint a stakeholder advisory group of technical experts that consists, at a minimum, of— a Forest Service scientist; a researcher from a college or university; a representative of a trade association; an architect or developer; a representative of a local approving agency; a representative of a forest products company; and a representative of a nongovernmental organization with experience— designing or constructing tall wood buildings; or complying with or revising related building codes. The stakeholder advisory group shall meet at least annually— to consider immediate and long-term science needs; to suggest to the Secretary appropriate topic areas, specific issues within those topic areas, and information transfer needs for which the Secretary shall solicit proposals described in subsection (c)(3); and to assist the Secretary in drafting the mass timber plan required under subsection (d). The Secretary may provide to the Secretary of Transportation and to States technical assistance relating to the use of wood in bridges when undergoing revisions to a State bridge design manual. From amounts appropriated for Forest Service research, excluding funding made available for the Forest Inventory and Analysis program, the Secretary may use $4,000,000 to carry out the activities described in this section.