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AN ECONOMIC CATALYST, Oregon BEST connects the state's businesses with our university-based network of shared-user labs and expertise to commercialize and transform sustainable built environment and renewable energy research into on-the-ground products, services, and jobs that power Oregon's green economy.

With 200+ Member Faculty at four universities, investments in seven shared-user lab facilities, a Sustainable Built Environment Research Consortium, a unique Commercialization Program offering commercialization grants, and a growing list of industry partners, Oregon BEST is helping Oregon compete.

Creating Rural Jobs for Oregon One "Green" Block at a Time

Tom van Denand of ShelterWorks, Ltd.What happens when you combine recycled wood pallets, a passionate entrepreneur working out of a shuttered lumber mill in rural Oregon, a dash of cement, and an Oregon BEST researcher who runs a seismic research lab in downtown Portland that is part of our growing network of shared-user research facilities?

First: a green building construction product that uses fewer resources and lowers energy costs.

And second: more sustainable jobs for Oregonians.

Read more about this industry-univeristy collaboration that's turning leftover pallets into 'green' blocks.

Oregon LeadersBEST Leadership Includes Top Oregon Executives

Oregon BEST's leadership includes executives from some of Oregon's most respected sustainable built environment and renewable energy companies: SolarWorld, PGE, Gerding Edlen Development, Collins Companies, CH2M HILL, SunPower Corporation, PNNL, and Perkins Coie. These people join research leaders from Oregon BEST's member universities (Oregon Institute of Technology, Oregon State University, Portland State University, and the University of Oregon) and a member of Oregon's Legislature to form a visionary management team committed to building Oregon's green economy. Read More...