Media Report on Student’s Lobster Claw Strength, Shipping Viability Research
The Bangor Daily News, Associated Press, Maine Public Broadcasting Network and WNPR in Connecticut reported on research being conducted by Matthew Hodgkin, a fourth-year animal and veterinary sciences major at the University of Maine, under the guidance of Bob Bayer, executive director of the Lobster Institute at UMaine. The cross-discipline research project focused on developing and testing a noninvasive procedure to determine the viability of lobsters for shipping based on claw strength. A couple of years ago, Bayer approached UMaine mechanical engineering professor Michael “Mick” Peterson about developing a way to measure how hard a lobster can squeeze, according to the article. Peterson and Thomas McKay, a fourth-year mechanical engineering technology student, developed a pressure sensor that could fit in a lobster’s claw. Under Bayer’s guidance, Hodgkin has spent a couple of years studying the results of claw pressure tests. When comparing them to the more invasive serum test results, they found a close correlation between each lobster’s serum level and the power of its grip, the article states. WABI (Channel 5), Seacoast Online and Times Union carried the AP report. Phys.org and FIS published the UMaine news release on the research, and Government Technology published the BDN article.