CORRIM

Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials
Box 352100
Seattle, WA 98195-2100
(206) 543-8684 o fax 685-0790

ANNUAL REPORT 1998

INTRODUCTION:

CORRIM was created as a non-profit research corporation to facilitate research and education on the environmental performance of renewable materials. Most of the startup operations of CORRIM were directed by the Board of Directors made up of the member research institutions. From startup to May 1998 the Board held 10 meetings, sponsored two Technical Steering Committee Meetings and three meetings of the technical panels during the development of a comprehensive research plan on the environmental performance of renewable building materials. A chronology of the major events, decisions and deliverables serves as a useful summary of these efforts.

CHRONOLOGY:

1. First Board Meeting July 23 1996. The Board including 5 of 6 confirmed member research institutions and 3 prospective member guests convened and:

• Developed a Statement of Purpose for the company
  As approved by the Board on July 23, 1996: "That CORRIM is formed to establish, support, and manage research and education programs relating to renewable industrial materials focused on the environmental impact of the production, use, and disposal of wood and other bio-based materials."
• Ratified the incorporation and adopted by-laws
• Elected interim officers and an executive committee
      - B. Lippke, President; J. Bowyer, Vice President; T. McLain, Secretary
• Established banking and financial protocols
      - designated J. Gorelik as the corporate bookkeeper and accountant
• Established a membership fee structure
• Approved a funding plan for the development of the research plan using
      - industry grants for the startup ($54,000)
      - DOE grant prepared by CORRIM principals and submitted by U of Washington on behalf of
        CORRIM ($125,000)
• Directed the president to develop subcontracting arrangements to support work on the research plan
• Established an ad-hoc committee to draft a needs assessment for the research, a framework for a research plan and the organizational plan for technical committees
• Opened membership to other institutions and made assignments to follow up those that had shown some interest

2. Board meeting October 1, 1996. The Board with 8 of 9 confirmed members present convened and

• Adopted a proposal by the ad hoc committee for organizing the technical steering committee and scientific panels to develop the research plan as outlined.
• Made assignments for invitations to serve on the steering committee and panels
• Extended the elected officer slate 6 months
• Nominated panel chairs and offered advice and assistance to the chairs in the selection of panel members
• Established milestones for developing budgets, confirm panel selections, and development of a Phase I interim report on the research plan

3. Board meeting October 15, 1996. The Board with 9 of 11 confirmed members in teleconference convened and

• Selected panel chairs and vice chairs for 2 year terms of office leading to a reevaluation of the structure and possible extension of terms

4. Board Meeting November 12 1996. The Board with 9 of 11 confirmed members in teleconference convened and

• Refined the selection of external steering committee members
• Nominated persons for potential technical panel membership
• Approved a preliminary budget distribution to panels
• Set plans for the first Technical Steering Committee (TSC) review meeting

5. Board Meeting November 22, 1996. the Board with 8 of 11 confirmed members in teleconference convened and

• Further refined the composition of the TSC and technical panels
• Panel chairs reported on their progress

6. Board Meeting of December 12, 1996. The Board with 7 of 12 confirmed members in teleconference convened and

• Directed the President to prepare a one page Fact Sheet on CORRIM and the research plan mission for the AF&PA Chief Technical Officers (January meeting)
• The Data and Standards panel reported being well established and at work on the development of a research protocol
• Development milestones were revised to reflect changes in the Agenda 2020 schedule

7. Board meeting of January 13, 1997. The Board with 10 of 13 confirmed members in teleconference convened and

• Further refined the composition of the steering committee and panels
• Directed the Data and Standards Panel to develop and distribute a bibliography of key resources
• Developed plans for a January 23 workshop of the technical panels
• Directed the president to confirm that an interim report on our research plan would be useful for the AF&PA February meetings

8. A technical working session of the panels was convened on January 23 and 24.

• Content outlines for the research plan were developed
• Assignments were made for preparation of a draft plan to be reviewed by the TSC

9. Board meeting of February 6, 1997, preceding a TSC meeting. The Board with 8 of 13 confirmed members in attendance convened and

• Approved a financial report through February 1, 1997
• Approved service contracts for member institutions and administration
• Agreed to defer second year membership fees indefinitely
• Designated the interim officers as permanent officers
• The president was directed to prepare an operating conflict of interest guideline for member institution's independent response to AF&PA Agenda 2020 RFP's

10. The Technical Steering Committee met on February 6, 1997 and

• Provided a comprehensive review of the CORRIM mission and the draft of an interim report on progress toward the development of a research plan

11. The interim report on progress toward the development of a research plan, essentially an early draft of the plan, was provided to AF&PA CTOs

12. An integrated technical panel meeting was held on June 10, 1997 and

• Reviewed progress by each panel and refined boundary conditions for each panel's work
• Developed protocols on the level of detail to be included by each panel in their respective modules of the research plan in preparation for a July 22 and 23 working review meeting prior to a planned TSC review meeting.

13. A presentation on the status of the CORRIM research plan was presented at the annual FPS meeting with a commitment to provide a paper for the special proceedings to be prepared for the resource session.

14. An integrated technical panel meeting was held on July 22-23, 1997 and

• A comprehensive review of the developing research plan was completed and a set of assignments made to incorporate suggested revisions for the planed TSC meeting in August

15. A Technical Steering Committee meeting was held on August 26, 1997 and

• A comprehensive review of the draft research plan was completed and assignments made to incorporate suggested revisions
• A plan was developed to include a final review of each completed section of the final report by assigned member institutions, a copy editor, and selected external reviewers

16. Board meeting of September 8, 1997. The Board with 12 of 15 confirmed members in teleconference convened and

• Approved budget changes to complete the research plan
• Approved membership in the ATHENA institute to facilitate future cooperation and reflect same in the final report
• Arranged for members to assist panel chairs in enlisting more industry participation
• Approved a conflict of interest agreement
• Reviewed final changes to the research plan final report
• Directed the officers to present the summary findings to the AF&PA Environmental Task Force review meeting and if possible to make presentations to NSF and the Ag Board of NRC

17. A presentation of the CORRIM mission and research plan was made to the AF&PA Environmental Task Force as a part of its normal research project reviews

18. A review draft copy of the final research plan was provided to DOE for comments on October 28, 1997.

19. Board meeting of December 19, 1997. The Board with 12 of 15 confirmed members in teleconference convened and

• Approved a publication and distribution plan for the final report
• Directed an ad-hoc committee to make recommendations on web site availability
• Directed the president to work with several CTOs in preparation of a presentation to a spring meeting of the CTOs
• Approved the audit of CORRIM financials to support becoming an approved government contractor when the DOE financials were completed
• Agreed that it was best to defer presentations to NSF and NRC until there was some decision under the Agenda 2020 process
• Directed the president to obtain copies of ATHENA reports for all institutions

20. The final report on the research plan including responses to suggestions made by DOE was published by CINTRAFOR for CORRIM with copies distributed to CORRIM members, contract monitors, TSC and technical panel members and other supporters.

21. An executive summary of the CORRIM Research Plan was presented to the CTOs on March 7 along with a proposal for startup funding of the first four research modules with the expectation that they will consider it for funding in their June meeting.

FUTURE PLANS

• A request for an article to be published by APA on the need for research as called for by the research plan will be met by June 15
• Consider broader distribution of the research plan report and or the executive summary
• A plan for additional fund raising to pursue the research plan will be revised after determination of the degree of support offered by Agenda 2020 or other suggestions by AF&PA
• An audit to become an approved government contractor is planned

APPENDICES:

A. CURRENT MEMBERSHIP

B. TECHNICAL PANEL STRUCTURE

C. TECHNICAL STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

D. CURRENT FINANCIAL STATEMENT

APPENDIX A

CURRENT MEMBERSHIP

CORRIM member research institutions each provide a representative to the voting Board of CORRIM. Supporting companies provided additional non-voting representatives to facilitate information flow and review by experienced practitioners.

Bruce Lippke, President, University of Washington (UW)
Jim Bowyer, Vice President, University of Minnesota (U. Minn.)
Tom McLain, Secretary, Oregon State University (OSU)
Donald Bender, Washington State University (WSU)
Jim Dangerfield, FORINTEK, Canada
Geza Ifju, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI)
Bo Kasal, North Carolina State University (NCSU)
W. Ramsay Smith, Louisiana State University (LSU)
Leonard Johnson, University of Idaho (U. Idaho)
Rado Gazo, Purdue University
Sue LeVan, U.S. Forest Service-Forest Products Laboratory (USFS-FPL)
Peter Laks, Michigan Tech University (MTU)
Darrel Nicholas, Mississippi State University (MSU)
Paul Winistorfer, University of Tennessee (U. Tenn.)
Mike O'Halloran, APA

    Company representatives (non-voting Board members):

Del Raymond, Weyerhaeuser Co.
Bill Nicholson, Potlatch
John Gorman, Simpson Investment Co.
Vacant, Boise Cascade Corp.
David Crooker, Plum Creek Timber Co.
Bob Glowinski (ex officio), AF&PA
Future members to be designated: LP, GP, Champion, IP, Temple Inland, Mead

APPENDIX B

TECHNICAL PANEL STRUCTURE

Technical Panels: The Board identified three primary panels and a number of supporting Technical Advisory Committees (TAC's) to assist the panels. The three primary panels are (1) Data, Standards & Procedures, (2) Stages of Processing, and (3) Strategy Assessment. The Stages of Processing Panel was subdivided into four TAC's: (1) Resources, (2) Processing, (3) Structures, and (4) Use and Disposal.

The Data Standards and Procedures Panel is composed of :            (* identifies active reviewers)
David Briggs*, Chair, University of Washington

Members and Candidates:
     John Zerbe*, vice chair, USFS-FPL (consultant)
     Jim Bowyer*, U. Minn.
     Leonard Johnson*, U. Idaho
     Pat Layton*, AF&PA
     Bruce Lippke*, UW
     Jamie Meil*, JKM Associates for FORINTEK, Canada
     John Perez-Garcia*, UW
     Jim Wilson*, OSU
     Reid Miner*, NCASI

The Stage of Processing Panel and its Technical Committees are composed of:
     Panel Chair: Jim Wilson*, OSU
     Resources Committee Chair: Leonard Johnson*, U. Idaho
     Processing Committee Chair: Jim Wilson* (acting), OSU
     Structures Committee Chair: Vacant
     Use and Disposal Committee Chair: Paul Winistorfer*, U. Tenn.

APPENDIX C

TECHNICAL STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

TECHNICAL STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS: The Board formed a technical Steering Committee made up of the Board and selected independent expertise representing government, environmental interests, and other materials experts to provide guidance for the technical panels of experts who are assigned the tasks of developing and reviewing the research modules.

The Steering Committee includes (in addition to Board members): Jim Bowyer, Chair

Panel Chairs:
     David Briggs, Data, Standards and Procedures, UW
     Jim Wilson, Stages of Processing, OSU
     Con Schallau (acting): Strategy Assessment, consultant

Steering Committee Members at Large:
     Steve Kelley, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
     Valri Robinson, DOE, Office of Industrial Technologies
     Scott Chubbs, American Iron and Steel
     Connie Best, The Pacific Forest Trust
     Joe Demkin, American Institute of Architects
     Reid Miner, National Center for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI)
     Roger Blair, EPA