• Sustainable Design
• Materials Development
• Biopolymers
• Natural Fiber Composites
• Design concepts that enable sustainable communities
• Co-products that enable biorefineries

Mike Wolcott directs the new Institute for Sustainable Design at WSU and serves as the Louisiana-Pacific Distinguished Professor of Wood Materials and Engineering. He researches the design, production, and use of sustainable building materials from renewable resources and coordinates university initiatives for the design of sustainable built environments. For more than a decade, Dr. Wolcott has led research teams developing novel building materials for the U.S. Navy, aiming to reduce toxic chemical exposure from docks, piers, and other shoreline structures. He serves on teams planning integrated biorefineries that will produce fuels, chemicals, biopolymers, and nanomaterials using cellulosic feedstocks. Dr. Wolcott frequently keynotes at international conferences, is widely published, and has managed more than 100 industrial product research and development projects with more than 45 companies. His research emphasizes natural fiber and wood composites design, thermoplastic composites, fiber-polymer interaction, viscoelasticity, and adhesion.

Professor Wolcott has received numerous honors, including two George Marra Awards for excellence in wood research, the Wood Award for excellence in graduate research, and career achievement awards from both his alma maters; the University of Maine and Virginia Tech.