MANY SEGMENTS OF THE FOREST PRODUCTS INDUSTRY ARE IN MATURE LIFE CYCLE PHASES, ARE GREATLY DEPENDENT ON THE HOUSING MARKET, AND ARE STAGNANT IN TERMS OF EXPANSION AND NEW MARKET DEVELOPMENT. DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT IN VALUE-ADDED SPECIALTIES AND NOVEL MANUFACTURING PROCESSES THAT CATER TO NICHE MARKETS WITH HIGH PROFIT MARGINS CAN HELP BOOST THE INDUSTRY AND FOSTER POSITIVE GROWTH. THERE IS A NEED TO DEVELOP A SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING PROCESS (A PROCESS THAT IS ECO-FRIENDLY AND COULD BE ESTABLISHED AS A SMALL-SCALE FACILITY OR BE INTEGRATED INTO AN EXISTING OPERATION, WHICH IS ECONOMICALLY VIABLE, REACHES NEW MARKETS, AND PROMOTES RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT) TO MITIGATE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF CURRENT PRACTICES, INCLUDING RESOURCE EXPLOITATION, FOREST FIRES, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND RURAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES. LIQUID MOLDING TECHNOLOGY, COMMONLY USED FOR SYNTHETIC FIBERS, PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP A SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING INFRASTRUCTURE. PROPERLY DEVELOPED, IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CONVERT UNDERUTILIZED LIGNOCELLULOSIC FIBER FROM FOREST THINNING FOR HAZARDOUS FUEL REDUCTION AND FAST GROWING SHORT-ROTATION PLANTATIONS INTO COMPOSITE PRODUCTS OF COMPLEX GEOMETRIES FOR NICHE MARKETS SUCH AS THE AUTOMOTIVE, MARINE, AND AVIATION INDUSTRY.RESIN TRANSFER MOLDING (RTM) AND VACUUM ASSISTED RESIN TRANSFER MOLDING (VARTM) ARE WIDELY APPLIED IN MANUFACTURING AIRPLANE AND AUTOMOBILE INTERIOR COMPOSITE PRODUCTS DUE TO THEIR COST-EFFECTIVENESS. TODAYS AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY IS UNDER CONSIDERABLE PRESSURE FROM SOCIETAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS DUE TO THE RELATIVELY LOW FUEL EFFICIENCY AND DISPOSAL PROBLEMS OF SYNTHETIC FIBERS. AUTO BODY AND INTERIORS ARE OF 40% OF THE TOTAL VEHICLE WEIGHT, WHICH INDICATES A PROMISING WAY OF IMPROVING THE FUEL EFFICIENCY. DEVELOPING LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS FOR INTERIORS PROVIDES A PROMISING OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE FUEL EFFICIENCY. HOWEVER, LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS LIKE CARBON FIBERS ARE EXPENSIVE AS COMPARED TO STEEL, URGING THEAPPLICATION OF LOWER COST LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS. NATURAL FIBER (AS A LOWER COST, RENEWABLE WITH LOW SPECIFIC GRAVITY AND HIGH SPECIFIC STRENGTH AND STIFFNESS) HAS SHOWN POTENTIAL IN AUTOMOBILE NON-LOAD-BEARING COMPONENT PARTS, SUCH AS DOOR PANELS, SEAT BACKS AND INTERIOR PARTS BY EUROPEAN CAR MANUFACTURES. WOOD STRAND COMPOSITES HAVE BEEN USED FOR DECADES AS A COST EFFECTIVE REPLACEMENT FOR SOLID STRUCTURAL LUMBER. WOOD STRAND (AS A COST-EFFECTIVE NATURAL FIBER) CAN BE EASILY BE FORMED AND MOLDED INTO AUTOMOBILE COMPONENTS AS A PANEL WITH COMPLEX GEOMETRY AND GOOD SURFACE FINISH USING THE RTM TECHNOLOGY. RECENT WORK HAS SHOWN THAT WOOD STRAND COMPOSITES CAN BE FORMED INTO THIN, GEOMETRICALLY COMPLEX PANELS. LIQUID MOLDING OF WOOD STRAND COMPOSITES MAY FURTHER IMPROVE THIS MATERIAL FORM WITH IMPROVED SURFACE FINISH AND PART STABILITY. PRELIMINARY FORMING STUDIES OF WOOD STRAND COMPOSITES USING COMPRESSION MOLDING AND RESIN TRANSFER MOLDING SUGGESTS THEY COULD REPLACE POLYMERS IN MANY APPLICATIONS DUE TO THEIR LOW COST, HIGH SPECIFIC STRENGTH AND STIFFNESS. TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES SUCH AS PREFORM FABRICATION, THE INFLUENCE OF STRAND GEOMETRY ON COMPLEX SHAPES, MANUFACTURING METHODS FOR HIGH PRODUCTION RATES AND MATERIAL PERFORMANCE ARE NEEDED FOR ACCEPTANCE OF THIS MATERIAL FORM IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY.THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSED STUDY ARE TO APPLY AND DEVELOP THE UNDERPINNING SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES OF LIQUID MOLDING TECHNOLOGY, WIDELY USED WITH SYNTHETIC FIBERS, TO PRODUCE WOOD STRAND COMPOSITE PANELS FOR AUTOMOTIVE INTERIOR PARTS. IN THE PROPOSED WORK, COMPRESSION RESIN TRANSFER MOLDING AND VACUUM ASSISTED RESIN TRANSFER MOLDING WILL BE INVESTIGATED TO UNDERSTAND THE FUNDAMENTALS OF LIQUID MOLDING LARGE CURVATURE AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE WOOD STRAND COMPOSITE PRODUCTS FOR POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY. MEETING THESE OBJECTIVES WILL IDENTIFY THE LIMITS OF MOLD SHAPE, OPTIMAL LOCATIONS AND QUANTITY OF INLET AND OUTLET RESIN PORTS, AND RESIN VISCOSITY REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTOMOTIVE CURE TIMES AND PRODUCTION RATES. BENCHMARK PROPERTIES OF 3D WOOD STRAND PANELS PRODUCED USING LIQUID MOLDING WILL BE ESTABLISHED. A PROTOTYPE AUTOMOTIVE INTERIOR WILL VALIDATE THE USE OF LIQUID MOLDING AS A VIABLE TECHNOLOGY TO PRODUCE AUTOMOTIVE COMPOSITE PANELS PRODUCT USING WOOD STRANDS. THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF THE OUTCOMES OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ECONOMICALLY VIABLE STRATEGY, WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF A SUSTAINABLE LIGNOCELLULOSIC FIBER-BASED INFRASTRUCTURE IN DIFFERENT REGIONS OF OUR COUNTRY, FOR PRODUCTION OF COMPOSITE PANELS FOR NEW MARKETS, SUCH AS THE AUTOMOTIVE AND AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES THAT DEMAND HIGH-PERFORMANCE AND DURABLE PRODUCTS.