Maine has participated in EPSCoR program since 1980. Three new NSF EPSCoR E-RISE RII and E-CORE RII projects were awarded to Maine in 2024, which represent a four-year $23 million investment (with an additional $17 million if renewed) in Maine’s STEM workforce, competitiveness, research capacity, and infrastructure.
Impact of NSF EPSCoR in Maine
2024 EPSCoR Programming in Maine
EPSCoR programming has long been a staple in the Maine research community since the inception of the program in 1980. The NSF, NASA, Department of Energy and other branches’ EPSCoR programs generate long lasting impacts and sustainable economic growth for Maine’s communities.
These programs are responsible for the establishment of many of the state’s premier research institutes and centers. Since their founding, centers and institutes have brought in additional millions of dollars of research and development funding. This also helps introduce undergraduates to research early in their academic careers and supports the development of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
National Science Foundation
- 12 NSF EPSCoR grants
- Seven lead institutions
- $23,347,519 in funding
Department of Energy EPSCoR
- One DOE EPSCoR grant
- One lead institution
- $3,340,000 in funding
NASA EPSCoR
- One NASA EPSCoR grant
- One lead institution
- $281.419 in funding
Maine is one of the first EPSCoR jurisdictions in the nation to earn two EPSCoR Research Incubators for STEM Excellence (E-RISE) and a Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems (E-CORE) award, all part of the EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Program. This represents a $23 million investment in Maine over four years with an additional $17 million in awards if renewed. These programs connect Maine’s leading institutions in research, education and development from across the state and unite them in the pursuit of improving Maine’s research capacity and national competitiveness. As the RII Track-1 program winds down, Maine has embraced NSF EPSCoR’s new programs in order to not just to improve Maine but serve as a leader in the EPSCoR community.
Maine-FOREST
The $8 million RII E-RISE Maine-FOREST award, or Forest-based Opportunities for Resilient Economy, Sustainability and Technology, will expand the state’s research and educational capacity to connect human and ecosystem focused innovations and services. Led by the University of Maine, the project takes an integrated thematic approach to fuel the state’s forest-based economy and the rural communities it supports. Learn more at www.umaine.edu/maine-forest.
MARIA
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences secured a $7 million E-RISE award for the Maine Algal Research Infrastructure and Accelerator (MARIA) project. MARIA will strengthen research infrastructure to serve as a nucleus of innovation potential for algae-based solutions in agriculture, aquaculture, energy, and pharmaceutical sectors. MARIA streamlines the process of exploring and harnessing algae’s potential to help drive economic growth and workforce development in Maine’s blue economy. Learn more at www.bigelow.org/services/maria.
Maine-SMART
The $8 million RII E-CORE Maine-SMART, a four-year initiative led by the University of Maine, will bolster STEM research capacity and education and dismantle systemic barriers to innovation. Maine-SMART, or Strengthening Maine’s Research Ecosystem and Pathways Through Strategic Capacity Building, will support more than 200 early career faculty and 2,500 undergraduate students at colleges across Maine, and an additional 120 educators and 9,000 K–12 students. Learn more at www.umaine.edu/maine-smart.
Maine’s RII E-RISE and E-CORE programs collectively bring together 28 leading research, eduction and economic development institutions from across Maine as formal partners.
Maine-eDNA establishes state as national leader in environmental genetics
Established through the $20 million RII Track-1 Maine-eDNA project, the Maine Center for Genetics in the Environment (MCGE) fosters broad-based environmental genetics collaborations, partnerships, and infrastructure that contribute to sustainability of current and future natural resource industries and agriculture, improve human health and wellbeing, and prepare a technologically skilled workforce.
Over the course of the five year project, Maine-eDNA made strategic investments in infrastructure and personnel to establish Maine as a center for genetics research.
- MCGE faculty brought in more than $11.2 million from sponsors
in the past year with $2.2 million of indirects. - Maine EPSCoR has invested $125,000 in genetics equipment for the University of Maine environmental DNA (eDNA) lab in the 2024 fiscal year alone.
- Additionally, MCGE was able to invest $31,700 in graduate support.
- The White House Office on Science and Technology Policy’s “National Aquatic Environmental DNA Strategy”, eDNA is an increasingly important tool for resource managers, researchers and other stakeholders.
Maine-eDNA has completed its work, there is so much more to do. The program established eDNA as a powerful tool for understanding Maine’s aquatic ecosystems. These new insights are helping resource managers, communities and other stakeholders make informed decisions about the environments they work with.
Statewide EPSCoR Funding
| Program/Grant name | Type / Institution | FY | Cong. District | Award to date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSF EPSCoR E-RISE RII: Enhancing Maine Forest Economy, Sustainability, and Technology Ecosystem To Accelerate Innovation (collaborative submission) (Lead award PI: Aaron Weiskittel, 2416915) | E-RISE / University of Maine | 2024 | 1/2 | $3,513,444 |
| NSF EPSCoR E-RISE RII: Maine Algal Research Infrastructure and Accelerator (PI: Michael Lomas, 2436200) | E-RISE / Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences | 2024 | 1 | $4,221,501 |
| NSF EPSCoR E-CORE RII: Strengthening Maine’s Research Ecosystem and Pathways Through Strategic Capacity Building (collaborative submission) (Lead award PI: Shane Moeykens, 2412130) | E-CORE / University of Maine | 2024 | 1/2 | $3,978,067 |
| NSF EPSCoR RII Track-2 FEC: Explainable and Adaptable Artificial Intelligence for Advanced Manufacturing (PI: Yifeng Zhu, 2218063) | Track-2 / University of Maine | 2022 | 2 | $4,500,000 |
| NSF EPSCoR RII Track-2 FEC: Harnessing Spatiotemporal Data Science to Predict Responses of Biodiversity and Rural Communities under Climate Change (PI: Brian McGill, 2019470) | Track-2 / University of Maine | 2020 | 2 | $3,995,366 |
| NSF EPSCoR RII Track-2 FEC: STORM: Data-Driven Approaches for Secure Electric Grids in Communities Disproportionately Impacted by Climate Change (PI: Reinaldo Tonkoski, 2316399) | Track-2 / University of Maine | 2023 | 2 | $1,802,109 |
| NSF EPSCoR RII Track-4: NSF: From the Ground Up to the Air Above Coastal Dunes: How Groundwater and Evaporation Affect the Mechanism of Wind Erosion (PI: Luis Zambrano-Cruzatty, 2327346) | Track-4 / University of Maine | 2024 | 2 | $220,284 |
| NSF FDSS Track 2: Building Solar-Terrestrial Physics Capacity at Bates College (PI: Aleksandar Diamond-Stanic, 2347922) | FDSS Track-2 / Bates College | 2024 | 1 | $296,665 |
| NSF EPSCoR Research Fellows: PeptoCross: Crosslinked Peptoids for Biomimetic Materials (PI: Alessia Battigelli, 2429793) | Research Fellow / University of Maine | 2025 | 2 | $235,977 |
| NSF EPSCOR Research Fellows: Advancing National Ecological Observatory Network-Enabled Science and Workforce Development at the University of Maine with Artificial Intelligence (PI: Sydne Record, 2429418) | Research Fellow / University of Maine | 2025 | 2 | $230,552 |
| NSF EPSCoR Research Fellows: Enhanced Functional Deformation Transfer in Elastomer-Shape Memory Alloy Composite Actuators for Soft Robotics (PI: Asheesh Lanba, 2429662) | Research Fellow / University of Southern Maine | 2025 | 1 | $222,890 |
| NSF EPSCoR RII Track-4: Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles as Recoverable Microwave Susceptors for Pre-hydrolysis of Waste Activated Sludge prior to Anaerobic Digestion (PI: Onur Apul, 2132018) | Track-4 / University of Maine | 2022 | 2 | $130,664 |
| DOE EPSCoR: Next Generation High-Temperature Harsh-Environment Sensors and Materials for Wireless Operation in Advanced Manufacturing and Energy Applications (PI: Mauricio Pereira da Cunha, DE-SC0021981) | DOE EPSCoR / University of Maine | 2023 | 2 | $3,340,000 |
| NASA EPSCoR: Metastable Oxygen Nanobubbles to Advanced Life Support Systems in Space Exploration (PI: Terry Shehata, 80NSSC22M0168) | NASA EPSCoR / University of Maine | 2022 | 2 | $281,419 |
| Total Funds | $26,968,938 |
History of NSF EPSCoR Track-1 Programming and Long-term Impacts
| Track-1 Project | Year | Established Infrastructure | Faculty Hired | Post Doctoral Fellows Supported | Graduates Supported | Undergraduates Supported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth and Marine Science | 1980-1987 | Ar-dating and Heat Flow Lab | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Global Environmental Change | 1990-1993 | Stable Isotope Lab | 1 | 0 | 12 | 7 |
| Wood Science and Marine Molecular Biology | 1193-1996 | DNA-sequencing facility and Timber Bridge / FRP Hybrids Projects | 8 | 1 | 48 | 39 |
| Adv. Eng. Wood Composites and Aquaculture | 1996-2000 | Advanced Structures and Composites Center, Aquaculture Research Institute | 8 | 5 | 10 | 30 |
| Biosensors, Intel./Spatial | 2000-2003 | Intelligent Spacial Design Institute (ISTI) housed at FIRST | 6 | 7 | 4 | 17 |
| Institute for Molecular Biophysics | 2003-2006 | Institute for Molecular Biophysics | 4 | 0 | 26 | 13 |
| Forest Bioproducts | 2006-2009 | Forest Bioproducts Research Institute | 3 | 2 | 53 | 86 |
| Sustainable Solutions Initiatives | 2009-2014 | Sen. George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions | 4 | 10 | 144 | 459 |
| Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network | 2014-2019 | Aquaculture Research Institute | 4 | 6 | 52 | 445 |
| eDNA as a Nexus of Coastal Ecosystem | 2019-2024 | Maine Center for Genetics in the Environment (MCGE) | 3 | 6 | 38 | 183 |
An original participant in the national EPSCoR program, Maine EPSCoR programming has driven research and economic development in Maine since 1978.