News

Maine-eDNA: Looking backward to move Maine forward

by Liz Theriault, Maine EPSCoR Student Writer WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU PICTURE A TIME MACHINE? Maybe it’s the car from the popular 1980s film Back to the Future. Or perhaps you picture a metal box decorated with flashing lights and mysterious levers. But for Michael Kinnison, he pictures environmental DNA (eDNA). Kinnison is […]

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Faculty Spotlight: Doug Rasher, Senior Research Scientist, Bigelow

by Liz Theriault, Maine EPSCoR Student Writer With the new EPSCoR RII Track-1 Grant, Molecule to Ecosystem: Environmental DNA as a Nexus of Convergent Research for Maine’s Coastal Ecosystems (Maine-eDNA), comes new faculty members and principle investigators to lead interdisciplinary groups of researchers. For Maine-eDNA, Dr. Doug Rasher has taken on the role of Project […]

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Faculty Spotlight: Andrew Goupee, UMaine Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

by Liz Theriault, Maine EPSCoR Student Writer Dr. Andrew Goupee came to the University of Maine for his undergraduate career in the fall of 1999, and due to the various academic and professional opportunities UMaine presented, remained to complete the entirety of his academic career. Currently, Dr. Goupee teaches Strength of Materials; Dynamics; Mechanical Vibrations; […]

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Meet Maine-eDNA: Rene Francolini, Graduate Research Assistant

Jane Horovitz, EPSCoR Student Writer Rene Francolini didn’t even know the field of computational biology existed until her high school computer science teacher suggested that she combine her knack for logic and puzzles with her love for ecology and marine biology. Francolini did just that, completing a degree in biology with a focus in computational […]

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Meet Maine-eDNA: Graham Sherwood, Research Scientist, GMRI

Graham Sherwood received his undergraduate degree in Biology and Environmental Studies. During the course of his education, he found field work interesting and took a specific liking to freshwater ecology. He completed an internship working on fish ecology and food webs, which eventually led to a Masters degree in Ecology. He studied how altered food […]

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Meet Maine-eDNA: Nick Record, Senior Research Scientist, Bigelow

Nick Record has worked on projects covering topics from viruses to whales and ocean physics, but he always comes in with the math and computer science piece of the puzzle. Record is a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, where he’s worked for seven years. Record is also a researcher on Maine […]

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Meet Maine-eDNA: Phoebe Jekielek, Graduate Research Assistant

By Jane Horovitz, ME EPSCoR Student Writer Phoebe Jekielek grew up in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, about seven hours away from the ocean. Ever since she was 10 years old, Jekielek knew she wanted to study marine biology, even though she was a little scared of what was in the ocean. The intimidation didn’t stop Jekielek, but […]

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Meet Maine-eDNA: Grayson Huston, Graduate Research Assistant

Jane Horovitz, ME EPSCoR Student Writer After Grayson Huston received his undergraduate degree in marine science from the University of California, Berkeley, he decided to not go directly into graduate school, largely because he wasn’t sure what he wanted to specialize in. He knew he wanted to study science, either marine or aquatic, but he […]

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