{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/senator-collins-announces-umaine-will-begin-construction-of-3d-printed-neighborhood-for-homeless-individuals", "Senator Collins Announces UMaine Will Begin Construction of 3D-Printed Neighborhood for Homeless Individuals", "2026-08-19", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "ME", "Susan M. Collins", "C001035", "www.collins.senate.gov", "collins", "https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "BANGOR, ME \u2013 U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced today that the University of Maine\u2019s (UMaine) Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC) has received its $4 million Congressionally Directed Spending award. This funding, which Senator Collins secured through fiscal year 2024 appropriations legislation, will support the design and production of a neighborhood of nine 3D-printed homes for homeless individuals in the greater Bangor area, in partnership with Penquis.\n\nThe housing development will be the first in Maine constructed from wood sawmill waste and could serve as a model for other communities seeking to address homelessness. The homes will be designed to withstand Maine winters, as the 600-square-foot prototype on UMaine\u2019s campus in Orono has done since it was unveiled in 2022 at an event attended by Senator Collins.\n\n\u201cThis first-of-its-kind neighborhood is an exciting next step for UMaine\u2019s BioHome3D technology and builds on years of groundbreaking research,\u201d said Senator Collins. \u201cI have long been proud to support the pioneering work of Dr. Habib Dagher and his team at the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, including by securing funding for its advanced manufacturing capabilities and for this project. By transforming recycled forest products into durable, energy-efficient homes, this innovative technology could help address our housing shortage, strengthen Maine\u2019s forest products industry, and create new jobs across our state.\u201d\n\n\u201cToday marks a major milestone for UMaine\u2019s BioHome3D technology. Thanks to Senator Collins\u2019 support, we received the funding to produce nine 3D-printed homes for the unhoused in Bangor. We are collaborating with Penquis on the world\u2019s first project that uses wood residuals from Maine\u2019s sawmills to print the homes,\u201d said Dr. Habib Dagher, Executive Director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center at the University of Maine.\n\nSenator Collins has supported the ASCC since the beginning of her Senate service, and her first official visit as a senator in 1997 was to Dr. Habib Dagher\u2019s wood composites laboratory. In 2019, she helped establish a partnership between UMaine and Oak Ridge National Laboratory focused on large-scale 3D printing with forest materials. She then secured $35 million in fiscal year 2022 appropriations legislation to support the construction and advanced manufacturing capabilities of the ASCC\u2019s Factory of the Future. In fiscal year 2023, she secured an additional $33 million to expand the facility, including the addition of a second manufacturing bay focused on developing 3D-printed affordable housing. In fiscal year 2024, she secured $4 million specifically to advance the production and commercialization of BioHome3D technology.\n\nIn April 2024, the ASCC unveiled the world\u2019s largest polymer 3D printer, which is four times larger than its previous record-setting printer. The printer allows UMaine to accelerate and expand its research into applications including affordable housing, national defense, and bridge construction.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-20T05:28:41Z", "2026-08-20T05:29:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/senator-collins-announces-umaine-will-begin-construction-of-3d-printed-neighborhood-for-homeless-individuals"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.658337190747261, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}