Signature and Emerging Areas – 91�� News

School of Forest Resources faculty honored by Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District

Thu, 11 May 2023 14:04:02 +0000

The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District named faculty in the 91��’s School of Forest Resources Outstanding Conservation Educators of the Year.

Nicole Rogers, assistant professor of silviculture; Jay Wason, assistant professor of forest ecosystem physiology; Shawn Fraver, associate professor of forest ecology; Jessica Leahy, Henry W. Saunders Distinguished Professor in Forestry; Brian Roth, an external graduate faculty member; and Sean Birkel, Maine state climatologist and assistant professor with a joint appointment in 91��’s Climate Change Institute and 91�� Cooperative Extension, were all recognized for their contributions to the district over the past five years.��

“Since 2018, faculty and students from the School of Forest Resources have worked on numerous projects in Piscataquis County, which resulted in improved forest management, efforts to better connect local youth to natural resource careers, exciting new partnerships and opportunities for college students,” said Kacey Weber, the district’s educational coordinator.

Rogers hosted a “Silviculture 101” workshop for the district and is currently pioneering red spruce silviculture techniques on Appalachian Mountain Club land in Piscataquis County.��

Wason collaborated with Birkel on a workshop for the district called “Climate Change: Forest & Ecosystem Impacts,” and with Fraver on another one titled “Climate Change and Forest Ecology.”��

Wason also is leading a Northeastern States Research Cooperative project on the district’s Law Farm property to study how climate change impacts tree regeneration in Northern Forests. District staff are also collaborators on the project. Law Farm is also home to the American Chestnut Germplasm orchard, where Roth collaborates with staff at the district and the American Chestnut Foundation to explore the northern range of the species.��

Leahy worked with the district to create applied learning opportunities for 91�� students that, in turn, helped inform stewardship of district-managed lands and updated the trail map for the Williamsburg Forest.�� Leahy co-hosted “Teas and Trees” with Maine Forest Service district forester Terri Cooling to foster discussion among women landowners about shared needs, the challenges they face and what resources may be available. She also hosted the district’s “Forestry for Maine Birds” program on one of her woodlands.

The district also noted Leahy’s service to Piscataquis County, including establishing a new wood bank outreach coordinator that will be based there. Leahy also co-led a project with Mindy Crandall, a former 91�� assistant professor of forest landscape management, to ask high school students in rural forest communities about their aspirations and the obstacles they perceive to achieve them, as well as their perspectives on schools and where they live. The researchers published the study’s findings, which included insight from Piscataquis County students, in for schools and local leaders to help them better meet rural students’ needs.

The awards an Outstanding Conservation Educator of the Year every other year to honor educators who connect students to conservation. School of Forest Resources faculty will be recognized by the district during an awards ceremony this fall.��

For more information, contact Erin Miller, erin.miller@maine.edu.

91�� Portland Gateway hosting Semiconductor Industry Day with IEEE

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 18:25:23 +0000

The 91�� Portland Gateway and Maine Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) will host a cross-sector event on May 18 exploring the region’s existing programs, resources and capacity across the semiconductor industry.

This event, to be held from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. at 300 Fore St., Portland, brings experts from academia and industry together with policymakers to plan for future workforce and research and development needs in this important sector of our regional and national economy.

“These developing partnerships among university and industry collaborators are at the heart of the work the Gateway does every day,” says Pips Veazey, director of the 91�� Portland Gateway. “We are thrilled to serve as a catalyst for our community and bring together talented people across sectors and institutions to advance work that we can only do as a team.”

A series of expert panelists and moderators will examine current and forthcoming needs, address the semiconductor workforce and R&D opportunities, discuss university strengths, explore industry needs and identify points of connection and possible gaps

“Our goal with this event is to listen to the industry and find out what skills they need in the future semiconductor workforce. We need to take a fresh look at our curriculum and partner with industry to train the future workforce needed in the semiconductors field,” says Ali Abedi, 91�� associate vice president for research and vice president of the IEEE Council on Radio Frequency Identification.

The slate of panelists from across sectors will prompt conversations about the latest research and innovation, workforce development, funding opportunities and other related topics. Several faculty from 91��, the Roux Institute at Northeastern University, the University of Southern Maine and the University of New Hampshire will present alongside industry experts and funding agencies program managers.

Industry Speakers include:

Moise Solomon, technical director for the Electronic Systems and Technologies Innovation Center at MITRE
Yong Liu, principal member of the technical staff at Onsemi
Steven Leibeger, principal technologist at Diodes Inc.
Stephen Swan, MFAB site quality manager at Texas Instruments.

Funding agencies speakers are:

Brian Whitney, president of the Maine Technology Institute
Nadia El-Masry, program director for the National Science Foundation’s Future of Semiconductors initiative
Julia Upton, chair of the Maine Section of IEEE and associate professor at Husson University.

Members of the semiconductor manufacturing, research and business community are invited to attend the event for panel discussions and a chance to network across sectors. Participants will benefit from the opportunity to develop a multi-faceted and shared understanding of the regional semiconductor education, research and manufacturing system.

Recent federal investments in semiconductor research, manufacturing and workforce development present an opportunity to build strategic expertise and enhance mutually beneficial partnerships across the state and region. Semiconductors are vital components in tools used every day from smartphones to medical devices.

Visit the Portland Gateway website to register for the event by Friday, May 5.

91�� Franco American Programs receives $350K from National Endowment for the Humanities

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 17:28:38 +0000

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded $350,000 to the 91�� Franco American Programs for a project to digitize historic materials and make them openly available online.

91�� will conduct the project on behalf of the Franco American Collections Consortium, a collaboration of university archives that maintain collections of books, documents, photos, oral histories, art, maps and artifacts related to French-Canadian and Acadian heritage communities.

The project will digitize nearly 40,000 pages of French-language and bilingual French-English family correspondence, historic scrapbooks, manuscripts, artworks, personal diaries, songbooks and other personal papers, as well as numerous oral history audio recordings. These materials illuminate 150 years of struggles and triumphs of Franco Americans from all over New England.

Once digitized, all of the items will be hosted online at the , which provides bilingual access to Franco American materials at institutions across North America. The portal collects a diversity of Franco American primary sources for scholars, community members and the public. It uses both standardized and cultural specific metadata to create a full range of access points. The portal was created with support from another NEH grant that 91�� Franco American Programs received in 2020.

“Five academic institutions have been working for five years on this project, and we are honored that the NEH has recognized the importance of our work and the significance of these materials,” says Susan Pinette, professor of modern languages and director of Franco American Programs.

This project responds to the NEH’s special focus on the 250th anniversary of American independence, emphasizing the contributions of under-represented communities in the nation’s history. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Franco Americans faced deep-seated antagonism for their language, Catholicism, family ties to their home country and perceived willingness to accept low wages. They were racialized in public discourse and often excluded from civic life.

Franco American materials offer unique insight into a broad range of research questions concerning ethnic and religious America, worker relations, gender and family dynamics, political party formation, language usage and folkways. Despite this, Franco American materials are rarely known and often hard to find. The term “Franco-Americans” was designated a Library of Congress subject heading only in 2008. This project aims to bolster the available information about the history of these people.

“Collectively, these sources chronicle a unique cultural community whose materials continue to be neglected and hard to access,” Pinette says.

Contact: Susan Pinette, spinette@maine.edu

Hamley awarded $25K American Dissertation Fellowship

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 17:57:07 +0000

Kit Hamley, Ph.D. candidate in the School of Biology and Ecology and Climate Change Institute (CCI) at the 91��, has been awarded an $25,000 American Dissertation Fellowship from the . This fellowship will support Hamley for 2023–24 as she completes her dissertation, which leverages new tools to understand human prehistory in Maine and the Falkland Islands. Hamley was previously supported by a CCI Research Assistantship for her M.S. in Quaternary and Climate Studies, as well as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, a Chase Distinguished Research Assistantship and a Janet Waldron Doctoral Research Fellowship.��

Timber Harvesting & Forest Operations notes 91�� role in PERSEUS project

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 15:52:53 +0000

noted the 91��’s role in a $10 million grant to Purdue University led project called PERSEUS (Promoting Economic Resilience and Sustainability of the Eastern U.S. Forests) designed to help landowners and stakeholders better adapt their forests to increasingly complicated economic and climate conditions in the Eastern U.S. Aaron Weiskittel, professor of forest biometrics and modeling at the School of Forest Resources, spoke to Timber Harvesting & Forest Operations about the project. “The high interest in carbon has renewed interest in forest, while complicating their overall management. PERSEUS will work to provide a more holistic approach to forest management, while giving landowners new tools to guide decision-making,” he said.

Media feature 91�� seafood marketing study

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 17:26:01 +0000

The , and featured a first-ever national assessment of seafood marketing practices in the United States led by the 91�� with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NOAA Fisheries. The American Seafood Harvesters Marketing Practices Survey aims to bring attention to the role that seafood harvesters play in the nation’s food systems and, eventually, inform future investments in the sector.��

Maine Spruce Budworm Task Force releases updated executive summary

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 14:40:47 +0000

The Maine Spruce Budworm Task Force, formed in summer 2013 by the 91�� Cooperative Forestry Research Unit (CFRU), Maine Forest Service (MFS), and Maine Forest Products Council (MFPC) to begin preparing for the next outbreak of the eastern spruce budworm, has released an .

“The work of this Task Force has been important in focusing landowners and managers on a native insect that can cause profound changes in the forests in Maine on a periodic basis,” said Patty Cormier, director of the Maine Forest Service. “I am grateful to the CFRU for their leadership in bringing together the Task Force to reexamine strategies and publish this updated executive summary.”

A native insect that has been a part of Maine’s spruce-fir forests for thousands of years, spruce budworm populations can be found at low levels the majority of the time. When natural limiting factors such as pathogens and parasites are unable to keep budworm populations below a threshold for tree mortality, an outbreak occurs. During Maine’s last spruce budworm outbreak in the 1970s–80s, millions of acres of forests were killed, causing ripple effects on wildlife habitat, Maine’s forest economy, and more.

In late 2021, the task force held a workshop to revisit and provide progress reports on recommendations that were made in the 2016 SBW Task Force Report. Each of the seven task teams, representing different areas of research and expertise, were asked to provide updates on their work as well as prioritizing future needs regarding the potential for a spruce budworm outbreak.

Monitoring efforts and shared knowledge have been key elements to this effort, pointed out Pat Strauch, director of the Maine Forest Products Council.

“Since we first met, many of our members have engaged in enhanced monitoring, reexamined and adjusted harvest schedules to reduce impact of future outbreaks and continued the conversation regarding strategies and priorities for response to this insect,” Strauch said.

Regina Smith,CFRU program leader, emphasized that “climate change has precluded applying all lessons from past outbreaks of this insect, and the work of this Task Force has helped identify areas of focus for CFRU research partners and others.”

The updated executive summary provides a number of links for those interested in newly published research related to spruce budworm, media stories and educational materials, mapping tools, and more.

Contact: Regina Smith, regina.smith@maine.edu

Kerr awarded CINAR Fellowship to study integration of climate change impacts to improve fisheries decision making

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 17:35:51 +0000

NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the Cooperative Institute for the North Atlantic Region (CINAR) have named Lisa Kerr, associate professor at the 91�� School of Marine Sciences, as one of four .

Kerr’s research aims to bring climate information to bear on fishery stock assessment and management processes in order to inform progress toward sustainable management of marine fisheries and ecosystems. She regularly advises on regional, national and international fisheries management issues.

The CINAR fellowship program engages scientists in research that supports the training and education of the next generation of stock assessment scientists, ecosystem scientists and economists. The two-year program pairs fellows with scientists at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center to further strengthen the links between research, assessments and management in order to improve the assessment and management of living marine resources in the Northeast.

During her CINAR Fellowship, Kerr will collaborate with NOAA Fisheries stock assessment scientist Larry Alade to research the integration of climate information into aspects of stock assessments for groundfish stocks. The work will expand on recent climate-integrated modeling conducted through the American Plaice Research Track stock assessment process and new research on yellowtail flounder. The proposed work will also contribute to the collaborative (NCLIM) initiative and Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s ongoing efforts to implement climate-enhanced stock assessments that support an ecosystem approach to fisheries management.

“It is exciting to be advancing science to support climate-informed fisheries decision-making for important fish stocks in the Northeast U.S.,” Kerr says.

Contact: Sam Schipani, samantha.schipani@maine.edu

Maine Public reports on 91�� forest modeling study

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 17:32:16 +0000

reported on a forest modeling study conducted by researchers from the 91��, the New England Forestry Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service. The study shows that Maine’s commercial forest landowners could increase annual carbon storage by at least 20% over the next 60 years while maintaining timber harvest levels. The findings are timely as the demand for carbon offset projects accelerates. ��Ի� shared the Maine Public report.

Maine Public reports on 91�� logging study

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 16:47:52 +0000

In an article about Maine loggers leaving the industry, cited a new 91�� that found the state’s logging industry supported fewer jobs and generated less economic output and labor income in 2021, compared to the five years prior.

Grunge cites 91�� Lobster Institute information about lobster feeding

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 15:43:35 +0000

In an article about lobsters using their feet to taste food, cited information from the 91�� Lobster Institute explaining that lobsters eat tough seafood like crabs and mussels by using their claws to rip their prey into pieces and break through tough shells and use its limbs to bring the morsel into the maxillipeds, which can be loosely deemed the lobster’s “mouth.”

Birkel speaks to Sun Journal about 2022 weather highlights

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 15:46:57 +0000

Sean Birkel, Maine state climatologist and assistant professor with a joint appointment in 91�� Cooperative Extension and the 91�� Climate Change Institute, spoke to the about the weather highlights of 2022. Birkel told the Sun Journal that the last of the winter snowpack melted earlier than usual on March 8, and a lackluster end to the winter season and below normal precipitation through the spring and summer led to drought conditions across most of the state by late summer. shared the Sun Journal report.

Elephant seal remains show Antarctic sea was warmer in the recent past, 91��-led study finds

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 17:02:39 +0000

Studying the response of Antarctic ice sheets to past warming episodes is essential to understand how they may respond to the present warming climate, as their melting and collapse can contribute to global sea level rise. Detailed records of past ocean temperatures close to the continent are rare, but clues to how ice sheets and sea ice responded to global conditions in the past can be found in funny places — even in the remains of animals that once lived there. A study led by the 91�� used the presence (and eventual lack thereof) of elephant seals to illustrate how the area transformed in a warm period in the recent past.

A team of researchers led by Brenda Hall, professor at the 91�� School of Earth and Climate Science, and Climate Change Institute, studied the remains of the southern elephant seal at sites along the Victoria Land Coast of the Ross Embayment, which borders both the West and East Antarctic ice sheets.

Today, the Victoria Land Coast is largely free of elephant seals and even penguins in many places because of shelves of permanent sea ice frozen to its beaches. Besides, modern elephant seals are based largely on subantarctic islands north of the Ross Sea. Past 91�� research, however, uncovered elephant seal remains in the beaches suggesting the species flourished in the area during warm periods of the Holocene. They theorized that the seals were able to occupy the beaches in a period of warmth before extensive sea ice pushed them off of the present-day coast.

For this study, the scientists gathered the mummified and skeletal remains of elephant seals, as well as their molted skin, buried under rocks and snow banks along the Victoria Land Coast, ultimately recovering 305 samples, which they radiocarbon dated and tested for ancient DNA

“Southern elephant seals today tend to haul out in much warmer areas than the Ross Sea,” Hall says. “We were able to use the presence of their molted skin and hair, as well as some bones and mummies desiccated by the polar wind, to show that these seals had once made the Ross Sea their home.”

The results from the molted skin, bones and other remains showed that southern elephant seals not only once occupied the Ross Sea, but were present on the Victoria Land Coast from about 7,000 and 500 years ago. The presence of the seals at this time indicated that there was a reduced amount of ice covering the sea during this time of the Holocene, which coincides with other records of ocean temperatures and circulation in the Ross Sea.

“Our work shows that for much of the Holocene, the Ross Sea was less icy and presumably warmer than it is today and this warmth may have driven retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet from the Ross Sea during the last 8000 years and future warming could continue to push ice retreat,” Hall says. “However, ocean temperature may not be the entire story.”

More research is needed, but the scientists also found a few elephant seals that dated to a much older period just before the last glacial maximum, which suggests that warm water may have existed during the buildup of the ice sheet in the Ross Sea. If the presence of warm ocean temperatures immediately prior to and perhaps even during build-up to the Last Glacial Maximum ice position could be confirmed, it would suggest that factors other than a drop in ocean temperatures, such as lowered sea level, might have been critical in causing ice-sheet advance in the Ross Embayment.

The was published online Feb. 7, 2023, and will be in the March 2023 edition of the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.

Contact: Sam Schipani, samantha.schipani@maine.edu

Yale Environment 360 notes ASCC biobased house

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 17:06:35 +0000

In an article about the rise of biobased materials, noted that the 91��’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC) manufactured 3D-printed house made from a mix of forest byproducts from the state’s numerous sawmills: sawdust, wood flour and a bio-resin whose ingredients have not yet been disclosed. “This material is recyclable. If in a hundred years this house becomes unusable, you could take the material, grind it up, and print another home or other structure or something else useful. It could be repurposed for the future,” said Evan Gilman, the ASCC’s chief operations engineer.

91�� supports teaching of Wabanaki Studies in K–12 schools��

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 18:56:20 +0000

Last fall, Grace Bermeo was in her last semester as an elementary education major at the 91��, doing her student teaching at Portland’s East End Community School.

The school was piloting Portland Public Schools’ Wabanaki Studies curriculum, which weaves lessons about the history, culture, language and more of Maine’s original inhabitants — the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Mi’kmaq and Maliseet/Wolastoq people — through various subjects.

“I went to all the teacher meetings in August, where we discussed the curriculum in-depth, and because we were the first group to go, we were kind of the guinea pigs,” says Bermeo, who taught the curriculum in a third-grade class with her mentor teacher.

Having moved from New York City to Maine at age 10 and having graduated from Biddeford High School before going to 91��, Bermeo says she learned a little about the Wabanaki people growing up. But her knowledge didn’t feel sufficient for teaching the curriculum.

“Before I would teach the lessons, I was teaching myself, too,” she says.

One lesson involved a field trip to a dam on the Presumpscot River in Westbrook, where students were challenged to think about how the river was used by the Wabanaki versus European settlers.

“We talked about how the Wabanaki relied on the river for food, for travel, and how the Europeans came in and built dams and took the river away. It was really interesting for the students and for me to learn about that and think about how it still has an impact,” Bermeo says.

The 91�� College of Education and Human Development has launched a pair of initiatives to help education graduates like Bermeo be better prepared to teach Wabanaki studies when they get jobs in Maine schools. Starting this school year, all pre-service teachers in the college are required to complete the 91�� System’s micro-credential, a self-directed online course exploring the history of the original people of Maine. Starting next year, the college will require teacher education students to take a semester-long class called Teaching Wabanaki Studies, which is being offered for the first time this spring through the Native American Studies program at 91��.

The micro-credential and the class were both developed by John Bear Mitchell, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation from Indian Island and a lecturer in Wabanaki Studies, among other roles at 91��.

“We have an opportunity at 91�� to be a model for how this is done in other places,” says Mitchell. “We’re taking an Indigenous knowledge approach. In other words, we’re going to be doing and creating.”

The course is designed to provide students with eight to 10 example lesson plans and supplementary materials that they can take with them after graduation. It also covers how to create additional lessons and connect them to the Maine Learning Results. Importantly, the lessons span the list of subjects taught in elementary and secondary schools, including math, science and engineering, health, language arts and social studies.

“Indigenous knowledge is broad, and the curriculum has to reflect that,” Mitchell says. “We exist in every single subject.”

A 2001 state law requires K–12 schools in Maine to teach Wabanaki history and culture. The law is still widely referred to by its bill number, , which was sponsored by the Penobscot Nation’s then-tribal representative to the Maine Legislature and 91�� alumna, the Hon. Donna Loring.

Some have criticized the state and school districts for failing to fully implement the law. Last October, a group led by the Wabanaki Alliance, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Abbe Museum and the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission released a that says the Maine Department of Education has not “meaningfully enforced” the law and that schools don’t “consistently and appropriately” teach Wabanaki Studies. The report also called teacher training and professional development on the topic insufficient.

The two initiatives in the College of Education and Human Development were in the works before the report came out. Last year, the college created a committee to look at ways it currently supports implementation of the Wabanaki Studies law and to explore how to incorporate more perspectives and knowledge about the Wabanaki people into courses for aspiring teachers at 91��. In addition, Mitchell led a Wabanaki Studies strand at last summer’s inaugural 91�� Educators Institute, which more than 120 Maine teachers participated in.

“We are the largest teacher education program in the state, so it’s our responsibility to ensure the educators who serve our communities are not only able to meet the letter of the law, but to go beyond it and provide specific and relevant lessons about the first people of Maine,” says Penny Bishop, dean of the College of Education and Human Development.

Mitchell, who has been involved with adding Wabanaki Studies standards to the Maine Learning Results since LD 291 passed and who has worked with Maine DOE and other organizations on teacher training for several years, agrees that the goal should be to go above and beyond the minimum requirements of the law. He notes that many schools and school districts have taken it upon themselves to create programs and curriculum to do just that.

“Things rarely happen quickly in education, but we’ve made great strides in 21 years,” Mitchell says. “From a standalone law to now, all of the tribes have developed their own curriculum, all are working with local school districts. So, we have schools interested, we have the College of Education and Human Development interested.”

After introducing the Wabanaki Studies curriculum at East End Community School in the fall, in the Portland district are now teaching it. The district also has plans to introduce it at the middle and high school levels during the 2024–25 school year. Similarly, the Bangor School Department is piloting a course at Bangor High School this spring.

About halfway through her student teaching, Bermeo, the recent 91�� graduate, was hired as a full-time teacher at Portland’s Rowe Elementary School, where she is currently teaching the Wabanaki Studies curriculum to a class of second graders.

Bermeo completed the Dawnland micro-credential course in December and says it helped her gain a better understanding of the history of the Wabanaki people that will have long-term benefits to her as a teacher.

“I feel a lot more confident than I did in August or September,” she says, adding that she wishes she were still in school so she could take the Teaching Wabanaki Studies class.

“My students in the fall and the class I have now, they love the curriculum,” Bermeo adds. “They are so engaged and so excited to connect what they learn about the Wabanaki people to their own lives and to the other topics we’re learning about.”

Contact: Casey Kelly, casey.kelly@maine.edu

91��’s MIRTA accelerator program selects five teams for 2023 cohort

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 19:34:21 +0000

Five faculty-led innovation teams have been selected to participate in the fifth cohort of the 91��’s MIRTA accelerator program. The 2023 projects will develop research innovations in photovoltaic and color changing fabric; utilizing a new technology in catheterization to reduce infection in long-term patients; developing custom-made medical ports for stuffed animals so children can cope with the stress of similar medical procedures for themselves or siblings; a novel non-toxic fire suppressant foam used in fire fighting; and a computer system that can scan pulp for anomalies at the source.

MIRTA, coordinated by 91��’s Foster Center for Innovation, assists teams from Maine research institutions to advance lab discoveries into public and commercial use. Teams work 20 hours a week for 16 weeks doing market research, intellectual property analysis and business model development to bring their inventions to market. Guiding them throughout the process are business incubation staff from the Foster Center.

Additionally, each team has an advisory committee of industry and technology experts who provide feedback and advice. The teams are eligible for up to $25,000 each to help develop commercialization implementation plans.

This year, MIRTA is piloting two new programs: hosting three Business Fellows — Taylor Boucher, Xander Karris and Japhet Murenzi. All three are MaineMBA students in the Graduate School of Business. Also new this year, a team, led by Bethany Sweet, is participating in this MIRTA cohort and has been matched with MIRTA Business Fellow Taylor Boucher.

To kick off the program, this year’s cohort recently completed an immersive boot camp designed to introduce them to all aspects of the commercialization process.

Commercialization plans vary depending on the type of invention a team brings to MIRTA, and the result could be starting a new company or licensing to an existing one.

From the 21 teams in the first five MIRTA cohorts, eight new startups have been formed, seven patents have been filed or issued, and the teams have collectively raised more than $2.5 million in external funding and prototype sales to support ongoing commercialization.

Companies that have been formed after participation in MIRTA include , winner of the $25,000 David Shaw prize at the statewide Top Gun accelerator program in 2019, and selected to join the first cohort of the Roux Institute Startup Residency Program in 2021. In 2022, was the first runner up in the Greenlight Maine Collegiate edition and was also the winner of Maine Venture Fund’s “Maine Startup Challenge” for the collegiate tier.

MIRTA is made possible by support from the 91�� System Research Reinvestment Fund (RRF) and the Maine Technology Institute. RRF is a pool of competitive internal grants allocated to advance research projects along the path from discovery to becoming commercial products with public benefit. All projects are tied to Maine businesses or industries critical to the future of the state.

The MIRTA 6.0 teams are:

INTELLI-TEX

Color-changing textile yarns and photovoltaic power-producing Textile Yarns that can be woven into consumer-grade products.

Team: David Erb, Senior R&D Program Manager, Advanced Structures and Composites Center; and Christopher Erb, 91�� senior in mechanical engineering

SeekInsight: AI Fiber Characterization Tool Delivers New Insight for Papermakers

SeekInsight provides papermakers with more comprehensive fiber identification capabilities than previously possible, without the inconvenience of human labeled data, better enabling quality, research, and product managers to control their pulp composition, improve product properties and adapt to new material trends.

Team: Douglas Bousfield, Calder Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering; Tyler Seekins, Ph.D. candidate; Andre Khalil, Director of CompuMaine Lab

PROCatheter

A bio-inspired coating on commercial catheter surfaces that can reduce the need for antibiotics making them safer for patients by minimizing both protein and bacterial adhesion to the catheter surface as well as the spread of bacteria to other organs.

Team: Caitlin Howell, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering; Japhet Murenzi, MaineMBA student

Firefighting BioGel

Bio-derived gel that can offer an environmentally friendly novel material for firefighting, that is both safer for the environment and for those fighting fires.

Team: James Anderson, Senior R&D Program Manager, Advanced Structures and Composites Center; Xander Karris, MaineMBA student.

Play Portal

The Play Portal™, is a fully simulated 3D printed port-a-catheter that is inserted into stuffed animals and dolls and given to pediatric patients who have port-a-catheters. This can help young patients feel more at ease with their medical device if they have a friend to share the experience with.

Team: Bethany Sweet, Certified Child Life Specialist, MaineHealth; Taylor Boucher, MaineMBA student.

About The Foster Center for Innovation

The Foster Center for Innovation is the hub of innovation-focused activities at the 91�� and the state’s leading resource for innovation and commercialization, serving both the campus community and outside businesses and organizations. The center is part of the university’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development, which links businesses and communities to university experts and first-class facilities to solve problems and innovate Maine’s future and builds strategic partnerships between public- and private-sector groups and individuals to advance prosperity in our state.

Contact: Katy England, katharine.england@maine.edu

Daigle speaks to Saturday Evening Post about emerald ash borer impact on Wabanaki basket making

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 15:51:04 +0000

The spoke to John Daigle, professor of forest recreation management at the 91��, about the impact of the invasive emerald ash borer on Wabanaki basket making. Daigle conducts research into emerald ash borers, combining academic methods with indigenous expertise. “It’s such a strong part of people’s identity. The style of basket you make kind of defines who you are. It’s one of those things that makes it scary when you think about the emerald ash borer,” he said.

Wahle speaks to AP about impact of changes in lobster regulations

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 15:49:32 +0000

The interviewed Rick Wahle, director of the Lobster Institute and professor of marine sciences at the 91��, about the impact of the rules about the minimum and maximum sizes of lobsters potentially becoming stricter. Wahle said that changing the U.S. measurement standards gives lobsters more opportunity to reproduce, though the change would also have ramifications such as marketing consequences for the U.S.-Canada trade. Wahle added that more restrictive measurement guidelines “would be consistent with the precautionary approach to hedge bets against poor year classes.” The , , , , (Channel 5 in Bangor), and shared the AP report.

Wahle speaks to Maine Public about lobster regulations

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 15:45:29 +0000

Rick Wahle, director of the Lobster Institute and professor of marine sciences at the 91��, spoke to about the continued challenges facing lobstermen even after the Maine lobster fishery secured a six-year pause in a federal spending bill late last year that will buy the industry more time to research and test new fishing techniques and other measures aimed at protecting North Atlantic right whales. “These are huge challenges ahead, and six years may not be enough,” Wahle said.

Brown ash, emerald ash borer webinar and field tour to take place March 1, 3

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 15:41:58 +0000

A webinar and field tour of research about brown ash and the emerald ash borer will be held March 1 and 3, respectively, by the 91�� Center for Research on Sustainable Forests (CRSF).��

The webinar on March 1 will discuss species preservation goals in the context of brown ash trees in the face of emerald ash borer, including a Maine Forest Service update on EAB status, traps and monitoring; management trials and brown ash seed collection projects; and forest/land management strategies. Panelists include John Daigle, professor of forest recreation management in the School of Forest Resources (SFR); SFR graduate students Tyler Everett and Emily Francis; Andy Shultz, consulting forester; and Mike Parisio of the Maine Forest Service. A field tour of the Greater Augusta Utilities District around Readfield will follow on March 3.

For details, resources and registration details, visit the CRSF .

91�� Extension hosts wild blueberry conference Feb. 25

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 15:32:16 +0000

91�� Cooperative Extension will host its annual wild blueberry conference on Feb. 25 from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. An industry soiree will follow the conference from 4–7 p.m. with value-added vendors, dinner and keynote speaker Amanda Beal, commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

Conference sessions will focus on integrated pest and pollinator management, climate change, harvesting and processing. Specific topics include irrigation, mulch, biochar, dual-use solar, food safety, harvester improvements, a new rake and other exciting innovations occurring in both Maine and Nova Scotia. Sessions will be led by 91�� Extension and 91�� educators and researchers; industry experts; representatives from DACF and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS); and farmers from Maine and Canada.��

The conference fee is $0–$50 sliding scale; registration is required. Register and find the agenda on the . Pesticide credits will be available. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Mary Michaud, 207.581.3175; mary.j.michaud@maine.edu.

Media feature 91�� study about salmons stopped at dams

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 16:28:19 +0000

The , ��Ի� featured a recent study from the 91�� that found salmon depleted fat stores while stopped at dams. The scientists found that the tagged fish were delayed on average between 16 and 23 days at the dams and lost between 11% and 22% of their fat reserves, in large part due to the temperature of the water but also due to the delay in time. “We studied the impact of delay at only a single barrier. However, Atlantic salmon often encounter multiple dams or other barriers along their migrations and this can increase the likelihood of a cumulative loss of energy that becomes detrimental. Improving access to quality habitat benefits migrating fish species and is likely to promote increased spawning, post-spawning survival, and reproductive success in Atlantic salmon,” said Sarah Rubenstein, who completed her master’s of science in wildlife ecology at the 91�� in 2021. cited the Hydro Review report.

Ellsworth American, Mount Desert Islander boost Lobster Institute meeting

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 17:35:34 +0000

The and noted that the Lobster Institute at the 91�� will hold a Feb. 3–4 meeting in Portland for U.S. and Canada fishermen, managers and researchers. The event will discuss the impacts of regulations on harvesters, impacts on markets, solutions and technology and shifting distributions of marine species in a changing climate. Register online.

BDN shares Golet research about Atlantic bluefin tuna

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 18:05:24 +0000

The reported on a 91�� study that aims to quantify the number of giant Atlantic bluefin tuna in New England that die after being caught and released led by Walt Golet, a 91�� assistant professor of marine science. The U.S. Department of Commerce awarded Golet more than $210,800 for the project.

Signature and Emerging Areas – 91���� News

School of Forest Resources faculty honored by Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District

91���� Portland Gateway hosting Semiconductor Industry Day with IEEE

91���� Franco American Programs receives $350K from National Endowment for the Humanities