Team Spotlight - Ichchha Thapa
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EmailMeet Ichchha Thapa, a Doctoral Student in the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University. She is our spotlight feature of the week! Read her segment to learn more about her experience as apart of the team, and the work she does for mass timber.
Tell us about the work you do related to mass timber:
"My doctoral dissertation is all about mass timber. I intend to work on modeling the various economic and policy scenarios to evaluate the potential of mass timber manufacturing in Michigan and the Great Lakes region. Like all other industries, sustainability of the mass timber industry is governed at the equilibrium of supply and demand of the timber resources. Understanding of the mass timber demand will help us understand the willingness of the key factors such as state and federal agencies, forest products industry representatives, architecture, engineering, and construction industries, municipal officials, multi-dwelling residents, and the general public to adopt mass timber. While supply chain analysis includes but not limited to assessment of wood feedstock availability (including competition from other users), existing mill facilities, and optimal costs derived as a function of transportation time in response to market competition, industry response (harvest change and shifts), and policy responses."
What impact do you hope your work will have?
"As my doctoral dissertation is being funded by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, I am positive that the results of my study will help policy makers, forest product industry, other stakeholders, and investors to understand and materialize the opportunity in developing mass timber industry in Michigan and the Lake States."
How does your Mass Timber work fit into your broader research or teaching?
"Mass timber is an innovative revolution in the wood product industry and a promising approach to lowering usage of carbon intensive building materials. In the world of climate uncertainty, mass timber is one among the many other solutions that we can look up to without compromising the need of economic development."
What do you love most about your work?
"I love how my work is at the crossroads of sustainable utilization of forest products and promising climate smart solution that is not only renewable but has great potential to replace non-renewable and larger carbon footprint industries."
