This spring, the 91¸£Àû Portland Gateway will host a series of short courses and interactive talks on timely topics important to Maine people.  Speakers and topics include:

March 19: Tips for Aging Well in Maine: What The Research Tells Us – Lenard Kaye, D.S.W./Ph.D., Professor & Director of the Center on Aging. .

April 2: Aquaculture Advancements in Maine – Steve Eddy, Ph.D.,  Director, Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research. 

April 16: Advanced Materials for Hydrogen Energy Technologies–  Sharmila M. Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D.,   Professor & Director of the Frontier Institute for Research in Sensor Technologies (FIRST). .

May 7: Sampling Life’s Alphabet Soup: Your Guide to Environmental DNA Monitoring, Maine e-DNA. .

May 21: PFAS: New Research and Impacts for Maine – Manisha Choudhary, Ph.D.,  Postdoctoral Researcher in Civil and Environmental Engineering. .

June 4:  Think Like AI:  Unlocking Smarter Decision-Making in an Uncertain World – Yonggang “Tim” Lu, Ph.D.  Harold Alfond Associate Professor of Business Analytics in the Maine Business School.  . 

Participation is limited to 24 people to create a personalized experience. 

Questions about the series can be directed to gateway@maine.edu

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CleanTech Open 2024: Maine Launch | February 29, 2024 5-7 pm

Join E2Tech and NECEC at the Maine Center for an evening of food, drink, celebration,  and opportunity!  

Learn how the CleanTech Open accelerator program can help you develop your venture and how to apply to participate. Since 2005, more than 70% of Cleantech Open’s reporting alumni companies nationwide are still active and have collectively raised over $2B in external funding.

We welcome entrepreneurs, students, investors, savvy technologists, and those interested in joining our growing cleantech community in Maine. E2Tech has been a partner in this initiative since 2013, and participation fees for Mainers in CleanTech Open Northeast can be covered by Maine Technology Institute!  Click here for more information and to register

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Save the Dates:  Maine Impact Week April 8-12 2024

Maine Impact Week showcases the variety of ways the University of Maine’s research and innovation activities contribute to the education, workforce, and economic development of the State.  Watch the Maine Impact Week website for online and in-person events in Orono, Portland, and elsewhere.  From tours to talks, there’s a little something for everyone. 

/impactweek/

The University of Maine has been designated an R1 university by the prestigious Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The R1 designation signifies “very high research activity� in recent years and it is the highest possible tier a doctoral research university can achieve in the Carnegie Classification. Updates are completed every three years.

As of February 2021, only 146 of the nation’s 3,982 degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States are classified as top-tier doctoral research universities. This places 91¸£Àû among the top 3.7% in research institutions in the country.

“The research enterprise at the University of Maine is a vital state economic and educational asset,� said University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy. “The R1 designation is the world standard for research universities. With it, we will attract more talent, investment and innovation to Maine. Thanks to the dedication of our research faculty and staff at our flagship university, and the strategic leadership of President Ferrini-Mundy, Vice President for Research Kody Varahramyan, and their teams, Maine is becoming a global destination for discovery and innovation.�

91¸£Àû’s research enterprise spans the entire state, including the newly launched 91¸£Àû Portland Gateway. And in the University of Maine System’s unified accreditation environment, faculty at other UMS universities have the opportunity to partner with 91¸£Àû researchers, allowing them to expand their own research along with the reach and impact of the flagship’s well-established research infrastructure.

Over the last five years, research and development expenditures at 91¸£Àû have grown 80.2% to an all-time high of $179.3 million for 2021. External funding in support of R&D increased 135% to $133.6 million, and 91¸£Àû has achieved record graduate and doctoral student enrollments. See 91¸£Àû’s 2021 Research Report online.

“The R1 designation affirms that 91¸£Àû has reached the highest Carnegie Classification that identifies top doctoral-granting national universities with very high research activity,â€� said Kody Varahramyan, 91¸£Àû Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School. “This is also in recognition that at 91¸£Àû, we have been creating a modern 21st-century research university, with nationally and internationally recognized programs of global impact and local relevance that address the workforce needs and advance the social and economic development of Maine and beyond.â€�

Pips Veazey weighs in on the historic achievement. “The R1 research designation affirms the great work being done by faculty, staff, students and administrators to collectively achieve this national recognition. By working together, we can do great things, and the 91¸£Àû Portland Gateway is focused on amplifying the impacts of our research across the state and beyond.”

Read the full story on 91¸£Àû News.

Three interdisciplinary projects focused on meeting Maine needs have been awarded competitive seed grants through 91¸£Àû’s Portland Gateway. Funded projects facilitate convergent research across the University of Maine System.

The CONVERGE Maine program brings together UMS experts with an interest in transdisciplinary work, developing and strengthening partnerships with other institutions and organizations within the state, and addressing a societal challenge or scientific question facing Maine today.

This is the first round of awards through the program, which satisfies Portland Gateway’s goal of preparing the knowledge and innovation workforce, contributing to societal advancement and propelling economic development.

Faculty and professional research staff and scientists were invited to submit proposals in late 2021. Proposals that engage community members in a meaningful manner were given special consideration. Brief summaries of the funded projects follow.

Building Sustainable Transdisciplinary Networks to Support Just and Equitable Energy Transitions

This project will establish a cross-campus network to advance research on energy transformation, with a particular focus on inclusive, equitable and just approaches to that process.

Collaborators from 91¸£Àû include Jessica Jansujwicz, research assistant professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology; Linda Silka, a senior fellow at the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions; and Sandra De Urioste-Stone, assistant vice president for research and an associate professor in the School of Forest Resources.

Transdisciplinary One Health Approach to Zoonotic Canid Parasites in Maine

The primary goal of this research is to better understand the risk of parasites to wild and domestic canid health, as well as to human health.

Collaborators from 91¸£Àû include Pauline Kamath, assistant professor of animal health, and Sue Ishaq, assistant professor of animal and veterinary sciences, both in the School of Food and Agriculture; and Darren Ranco, associate professor of anthropology and chair of Native American Programs. External collaborators include Michele Walsh, state veterinarian for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

The following University of Maine One Health National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship (NRT) graduate students also are participating in this project: Elizabeth Pellecer Rivera, Alaina Woods and Tegwin Taylor, Ph.D. candidates in ecology and environmental sciences; and Remy Babich, a Ph.D. candidate in biochemistry and biomedical sciences.

Farm-to-Product: Creating Sustainable Kelp-Based Bioplastics

The project researches how to create fully vertically integrated kelp-based bioplastic production in Maine, propelling development in the blue economy by leveraging the plastics and aquaculture expertise in the area.

Collaborators from the University of Southern Maine include Asheesh Lanba, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Composites Engineering Research Laboratory, and Eklou Amendah, an assistant professor of marketing. Collaborator Adam St. Gelais is an aquaculture innovation specialist at the 91¸£Àû Aquaculture Research Institute. External collaborators include Katie Weiler, founder and CEO of Viable Gear Company; Davis Lee, chief technology officer at Clocktower Engineering; and Andrew Schoenberg, serving as technical advisor.

For more information on the CONVERGE Maine seed grants, contact Pips Veazey; alice.veazey@maine.edu or gateway@maine.edu.

91¸£Àû and its Portland Gateway and Northeastern University and its Roux Institute have awarded a new round of seed funding to four collaborative research teams to address topics important to people in Maine and beyond.

The projects are part of a second round of funding in a new collaborative research initiative established between the two universities.

Each team has been awarded $50,000 to conduct the one-year projects and will work together to pursue larger external funding programs through federal and private sponsors. Research priority areas include artificial intelligence, Earth and climate sciences, health and life sciences, manufacturing and marine sciences.

Data-driven discovery of novel oligonucleotide therapeutic technologies through an experiment-theory feedback loop

Lead collaborators include Matthew Brichacek, 91¸£Àû assistant professor of chemistry and Steven Lopez, Northeastern University assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology.

The Nursing Workforce Shortage in Maine & Massachusetts and the Development of a Multi-state Collaborative Health Sciences Research Pathway: A Mixed Methods Approach

Lead collaborators include Kathryn Robinson, 91¸£Àû assistant professor of nursing and Brianne Olivieri-Mui, Northeastern University assistant professor of health sciences.

Sentinel Spectroscopy: Light-Surface Interactions and Machine Learning for Ultra-Low-Cost, Remote, and Continuous Water Quality Detection

Lead collaborators include Caitlin Howell, 91¸£Àû associate professor of biomedical engineering and Amy Mueller, Northeastern University assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and marine and environmental sciences.

Artificial Intelligence Guided Bioinks and Mechanobiological Structures for Synthetic Tissue Regeneration: A Digital Framework

Lead collaborators include Bashir Khoda, 91¸£Àû assistant professor of mechanical engineering and Yongmin Liu, Northeastern University associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering and electrical and computer engineering.

Read full announcement with project descriptions on the 91¸£Àû News website.

On Monday, September 13, 2021, Alice “Pips� Veazey presented her talk titled “Team Science and Lessons from Kindergarten – The Essence of Collaborative Research� at the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, at the University of Maine in Orono. Veazey’s talk is part of the center’s Fall 2021 Sustainability Talks series.

As society continues to manage dynamic and complex global issues, we clearly see that no person, approach, or way of knowing can adequately address these issues single-handedly. From climate change to the current coronavirus pandemic, humanity seeks answers to challenges fundamental to our survival.

Research teams have a great capacity to develop novel and effective approaches and solutions, but there are some challenges along the way. To promote these broad collaborations, we must offer experiences that initiate, encourage, and extend ways that we can all work together.

Veazey’s doctoral work at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks focused on the competencies required to lead large, interdisciplinary science teams, and she has worked with dozens of research teams across the country to facilitate the co-development of research collaboration plans.

In her talk, Veazey points out that lessons we learned in kindergarten form a good foundation, which can be expanded upon and used in team science to maximize how we work in collaborative settings.

She points out that at an early age we learn about sharing, respect, and kindness and have an innate drive to understand the world around us. These ideas hold true throughout life and can be mindfully incorporated in large, interdisciplinary research activities to enhance the effectiveness, trust, and collaborative nature of our team research projects.

Veazey is the director of the University of Maine Portland Gateway, a new initiative that provides a dedicated office in Portland to help people and businesses in southern Maine access the vast array of research and education opportunities at the flagship research university.

Prior to accepting the director’s position, she served as the Principal Investigator for the Alaska Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, a statewide program funded by the National Science Foundation and the State of Alaska aimed at increasing research capacity.

Veazey’s talk at the Mitchell Center can be viewed on .

Contact: gateway@maine.edu

Written by Tilan Copson