MacKeith and Waller Receive $300,000 Award From U.S. Forest Service

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Peter MacKeith, left, and Matt Waller

The U.S. Forest Service recently awarded a $300,000 grant to faculty in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design and Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas to identify, research, develop and promote the use of innovative wood construction products and build business opportunities for Arkansas’ forest economy. This federal grant will be matched by the recipients.

Under the auspices of the grant, Matt Waller, dean emeritus and supply chain management professor in the Walton College, along with Peter MacKeith, dean and professor in the Fay Jones School, will work with associated project members to establish the Arkansas Wood Products Innovations Cooperative. The initiative will focus on applied design research, industry collaboration and economic development.

“Forestry is a $6 billion industry in this state,” said Waller. “If we can encourage businesses to create, expand and utilize specialized wood products, it will improve the economy, environment and affordable housing opportunities in the state.”

“Arkansas is already a leader in the national forest economy and very much now an epicenter for the emerging mass timber movement,” said MacKeith. “There is parallel opportunity in the development of innovative wood products for the construction of buildings of all types and the promotion of Arkansas as the place for new manufacturing enterprises.”

The objectives of the grant funding include establishing the Arkansas Wood Products Innovations Cooperative to drive applied design research, industry collaboration and economic development. Research will be focused on three key areas: development of new wood products; integration of additive and advanced manufacturing (e.g., robotics, 3D printing); and design and construction of affordable housing prototypes using Arkansas-sourced wood.

Several potential products have already been identified. Much of the material research and development of the cooperative will occur in the Fay Jones School’s Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation, which is due to open fully in August 2025.

In addition, this cooperative plans to engage industry and community stakeholders through surveys, working groups and an annual regional/national conference; create a five-to-10-year strategic plan to guide market expansion and workforce development; and document and share progress through websites, reports and publications.

About the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design: Advancing design excellence through a multi-disciplinary, place-responsive design education, in service to Arkansas, the nation and the world, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design provides a vital design culture and educational environment grounded in critical design thinking, multidisciplinary collaborations and civic engagement within the curricular context of an excellent professional design education.   

Founded in 1946 with degree programs in architecture and named in honor of the Arkansas-born Fay Jones, the 1990 AIA Gold Medalist, today the school is constituted by nationally recognized degree programs in architecture, interior architecture and landscape architecture, as well as the award-winning University of Arkansas Community Design Center, the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation and Garvan Woodland Gardens, a botanical garden in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  

About the Sam M. Walton College of Business: Founded in 1926, the Sam M. Walton College of Business stands as one of the largest colleges at the University of Arkansas, serving over 9,800 students across undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs. The college holds AACSB accreditation and consistently ranks among the top business schools in the United States. Walton College ranks 25th for its undergraduate business program among public colleges in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 national rankings. In addition, its undergraduate supply chain management program is recognized as the No. 1 program in North America by Gartner. In 2024, The Princeton Review included Walton’s M.B.A. program in its Best Business Schools list for On-Campus M.B.A. Programs.  

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas’ flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.