** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** AGRICULTURE IS THE PRIMARY GLOBAL SOURCE OF FOOD BUT GENERATES A LOT OF WASTAGE AFTER HARVESTING THE CROPS. USING AGRICULTURAL WASTE (FIBERS FROM STALKS) FOR BIO-COMPOSITES PRESENTS VARIOUS OPTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS AND LONG-TERM CARBON STORAGE. THE CURRENT PROPOSAL AIMS AT RECYCLING AGRICULTURAL WASTE STREAMS, NAMELY STALKS AND HUSKS/HULLS, INTO DECORATIVE COMPOSITE PANELS, A HIGH-END APPLICATION. THE GOAL IS TO DEVELOP A ROBUST STRUCTURE-PROCESS-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE AGRICULTURAL FIBER BYPRODUCTS (STALK AND HULLS) AND THE COMPOSITE PANEL PRODUCTS FABRICATED FROM THEM, FOCUSING ON UNDERSTANDING EACH FIBER TYPE'S PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON PREFORM PREPARATION, FIBER-MATRIX INTERACTION, AND PRODUCT PERFORMANCE. A MODIFIED COMPOSITE PANEL MANUFACTURING METHOD OF VACUUM-ASSISTED RESIN TRANSFER MOLDING (VARTM) TECHNOLOGY, FRAMED-VARTM (F-VARTM), WILL BE IMPLEMENTED AND REFINED TO MANUFACTURE THE FINISHED PANELS AS A DIRECT SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPENSIVE ALL-METAL MOLDS. PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR WILL BE EVALUATED AND CORRELATED TO DETERMINE THE FABRICATION LIMITS OF THE PROCESS TO PRODUCE DECORATIVE ARCHITECTURAL PANELS. THE INFLUENCE OF FIBER TYPE AND PREFORM ARCHITECTURE ON PANEL PERFORMANCE AND AESTHETICS, PRODUCED FROM VARIOUS AGRICULTURAL BYPRODUCTS,WILL ALSO BE STUDIED. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ADDRESSES THE BIOREFINING AND BIOMANUFACTURING PROGRAM AREA (PROGRAM CODE A1531) PRIORITY BY CONVERTING AGRICULTURAL FIBER WASTE TO HIGH-VALUE DECORATIVE PANELS USING A MODIFIED VARTM PROCESS (FRAMED VARTM) THAT WILL PROVIDE POSITIVE ECONOMIC OUTCOMES FOR THE REGIONS WHERE THE RESPECTIVE CROPS ARE GROWN,WHILE ALSO PROVIDING ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS.