Funding is available at the BioEnergy Laboratory of the School of Forest Resources (SFR), the University of Maine, to support one or two highly qualified M.Sc. or Ph.D. students to start in Fall 2022 or Spring 2023.  The graduate student(s) will work on a project regarding a 3D dry thermoforming technology to make molded paper products. The research will be mainly focused on dry thermoforming process optimization and modeling to avoid fracture or other defects occurred during the thermoforming, especially in the case of deep thermoforming. The research activities will include: Assist in designing and fabricating paperboard materials with barriers to select gases, vapors, and liquids; Develop optimal thermoforming parameters to mold paperboard materials into