Maps and illustrations graphically depicting New England forest product export trends
Center for Research on Sustainable Forests

NSF Advances Northern New England Proposal to Regional Innovation Engines Semifinal Round

July 8, 2025 News & Events

Orono, July 8, 2025. CRSF Director Aaron Weiskittel is pleased to share the news that NSF has advanced the Northern New England Precision Forest Management and Advanced Forest Bioproducts (NNE-PROMISE) proposal to the semifinal round of the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program. NNE-PROMISE is 1 of 29 proposals to moved forward from 71 submissions from teams across the U.S. invited to submit full proposals. 

NNE-PROMISE, led by the Northern Forest Center working in tandem with senior personnel representing 15 regional organizations (including UMaine Professor of Forest Biometrics & Modeling Weiskittel as Co-PI), seeks to position the region as a global leader in the forest products sector by expanding bioeconomy technology and commercialization of new products and services. The program’s vision is to develop and promote regional solutions to forest policy concerns and expand the forest products workforce by engaging rural communities and underserved populations.  

“I am thrilled to move forward on this significant opportunity to fuse together the many initiatives and partnerships that the University of Maine, particularly the Center for Research on Sustainable Forests, has been helping to facilitate in the last decade of rapid change for the forest sector. These efforts include research to advance new technologies to better monitor the forests, develop tools to optimize forest management, provide stakeholders with ecosystem services, innovate new wood fiber-based bioproducts, and support forest-based rural communities.”
Aaron Weiskittel
NNE-PROMISE Co-PI and Director, UMaine Center for Research on Sustainable Forests

According to Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, “Each team was selected because it brought strong public and private partners to the table and outlined a promising vision for research, innovation and workforce development in their respective regions of service, thereby advancing U.S competitiveness, national security and economic growth” (see NSF Engines news release). 

About NSF Engines 

Launched by NSF TIP, the NSF Engines program is building and scaling regional innovation ecosystems nationwide. Each NSF Engine is powered by a broad coalition of private sector, regional and scientific leaders and organizations to accelerate breakthrough emerging technology R&D that drives growth and ultimately bolsters U.S. economic competitiveness and national security.