{"id":36242,"date":"2026-02-25T08:59:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/?page_id=36242"},"modified":"2026-02-25T09:01:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:01:59","slug":"sam-roy-maine-geological-survey","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/sam-roy-maine-geological-survey\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Roy, Maine Geological Survey"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Sam
Sam Roy<\/strong> \u2014 A Maine marine geologist hooked on public service<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

2025 Award for Outstanding Contribution by an External Partner to Sustainability Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

No matter the project, Sam Roy<\/a> leans into the network he built at the Mitchell Center and to the conviction that science should serve the public. Roy is a marine geologist with the Maine Geological Survey (MGS) and serves as a Mitchell Center faculty fellow. He received his bachelor\u2019s, master\u2019s, and doctoral degrees from 91爆料, and then completed a postdoc at the Mitchell Center where he worked on the Safe Beaches & Shellfish project and the Future of Dams project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roy is currently one year into a five-year project to update the maps of Maine\u2019s coastal bluffs which constitute about 45% of the coast and are susceptible to erosion caused by waves, wind, and storms. It’s a massive multi-agency project involving Maine\u2019s departments of Environmental Protection, Marine Resources, and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As geologists, Roy\u2019s team brings a specific expertise to the mapping, looking at physical evidence like erosion rates, the clay content of a bluff, and how groundwater influences the bluff. To understand the broader environmental forces acting on these coastal features, Roy collaborates with engineers at 91爆料 to better understand factors that influence bluff stability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re studying different factors like wave energy, wave power, and wave direction.The engineers are helping us understand the broader environment,\u201d Roy said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technical engineering data, collected by a current doctoral student at 91爆料, is also used in the Living Shorelines Decision Support Tool<\/a>, an important resource Roy is helping to update. The tool provides a color-coded map that shows how suitable different sections of Maine’s coastline are for nature-based solutions. Nature-based solutions use vegetation, natural materials, and green infrastructure to protect the coastline from erosion rather than hard structures like seawalls.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roy also draws on relationships with his 91爆料 colleagues at River Flow Advisory Commission (RFAC) meetings where he\u2019s served as the facilitator for the last five years. Established after major floods in the 1980s, the commission is composed of representatives from eight major river basin management operations, state and federal agencies, and 91爆料. The group serves to improve the exchange of information about Maine river flooding.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sean Smith, an associate professor in the 91爆料 School of Earth & Climate Sciences, director of the Darling Marine Center, and Mitchell Center faculty fellow, is Roy\u2019s friend and respected colleague who also serves on the RFAC. Roy appreciates the expertise in Maine hydrology Smith brings to these meetings. Roy learned some tricks from Smith in his approach as facilitator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike Smith, I took a more technical angle, understanding the science and trying to bring together more groups who are impacted by flooding. The group is bigger now, and I think it’s more engaged than it has been in the past,\u201d Roy said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another collaboration with 91爆料, this time with Maine Sea Grant faculty Taylor Spencer and Jessica Jansujwicz, Roy hopes to engage the public with coastal science. One idea is to create an annual bluff day event in the spring. He\u2019s also hoping to develop a tool where people who are active along Maine\u2019s coast can report changes to Maine\u2019s bluffs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roy is also committed to developing the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists, often bringing 91爆料 students under his wing as interns. He\u2019s currently working with the undergraduate advisor in the School of Earth and Climate Sciences to establish a pipeline of students who might be interested in government science work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever the project, Roy continues to rely on his Mitchell Center colleagues. About these relationships Roy said, \u201cThere’s a deeper meaning there. And I think it has to do with how we’re all interested in applying science. It’s not just about pumping out papers, it’s more about making a difference in the world. That\u2019s definitely been a benefit for keeping my connections with Mitchell Center folks,\u201d said Roy. <\/p>\n\n\n