Announcing the 2022 Maine Impact Week Virtual Events

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School is pleased to invite you to an interesting series of virtual events happening during Maine Impact Week 2022! All event links are embedded in the descriptions below.

April 11

• Fogler Library is bringing back its popular Research Impact Challenge. This week-long challenge helps researchers better understand and manage their online scholarly presence, as well as consider ways to describe the impact and reach of their work. There will be daily “challenges” that researchers might accomplish over the course of one week. Registration is required. 
• President Joan Ferrini-Mundy will offer opening remarks when the UMaine Institute of Medicine brings together leaders from the state, including the healthcare community, to discuss rural health in Maine. The Institute of Medicine is dedicated to the advancement of human health and wellbeing in the state of Maine and beyond, through discovery and learning in health and life sciences. Registration is required. 
• The Mitchell Center will present the next talk in their innovative Sustainability Talks series. Titled “Building a community of interest and response to an invasive species threatening Maine’s ash trees and Wabanaki cultural lifeways,” this talk will be both via Zoom and in-person at 107 Norman Smith Hall, UMaine. For Zoom attendees, registration is required. 
• From April 11-15, anyone interested in learning about the graduate education options available at UMaine may schedule individual virtual meetings with a member of the Graduate School staff during Maine Impact Week. There is no cost to schedule a meeting. Interested parties please visit https://umainegrad.secure.force.com/events#/calendar.

April 12

• Finalists will pitch their innovative, early-stage business or business idea to a panel of judges and the audience in the season finale of the 2021-22 Big Gig series. The winning entrepreneur will walk away with a $5,000 prize. Registration is required. 

April 13

• The Career Center will host Bangor Savings Bank and the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension as they discuss internship programs and the impact of these programs on workforce development in Maine. An employer representative and an intern from each organization will be in attendance to share their experiences from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.  
• The Microbes and Social Equity Group (MSE) is pleased to host Dr. Patricia Kaishian  as she presents her virtual talk titled “Deconstructing the individual: how science can materially advance using queer and feminist theory“ from 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM. Registration is required for this FREE event. 
• Please join UMaine Cooperative Extension Professor Kathy Savoie, MS, RD, in “Cooking for Crowds,” a workshop from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM on safe food handling, designed specifically for volunteers. Participants receive Cooking for Crowds, a manual specifically designed for volunteer cooks; a certificate of attendance; posters; and an instant-read thermometer. This class meets the Good Shepherd Food Bank food safety training requirements. Registration is $15.
• Cooperative Extension presents Horticulture Professional Kate Garland from 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM in Planting for Pollinators, as she offers practical tips for gardeners to be able to provide food, habitat and water resources to stem the decline of insects, native bees, and birds. Garland will offer a special focus on native plants and weave in best landscape management practices as well. Registration is FREE.

April 15

• Sponsored in part by Portland Gateway and the Mitchell Center, the Maine Food Waste Solutions Summit 2022 is Maine’s annual food waste event that brings together our state’s key food system participants to equitably deliver economic, social, and environmental/climate benefits for all Maine people. This year’s summit, “Improving Maine’s Food System,” will feature keynote speakers Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Maine’s First District Representative and leading supporter of bi-partisan legislation to end food waste, and Angel Veza of ReFED, a U.S. non-profit leader in identifying data-driven solutions to end food waste. 
• Join us for the inaugural episode of the “Imagine That!” LinkedIn Live series. Portland Gateway Director Pips Veazey will chat with Dr. Habib Dagher, founding Director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC), about UMaine’s bio-based “factory of the future.” Tune into this bite-sized, 20-minute lunchtime conversation from 12:30 PM – 12:50 PM to learn about advancing large-scale, bio-based additive manufacturing using emerging technologies. This series will be a bi-weekly LinkedIn Live event, so be sure to check out the next in the series!

Bonus Event, April 16

• Cooperative Extension, in partnership with Waldo County Extension Association, presents the third installment of their workshop series for Rural Living Month. Join us at 9:00 AM for Invasive Forest Insects in Maine. Thomas Schmeelk, a Maine Forest Service Entomologist, will teach how to protect your land against current and emerging threats to Maine forests. Schmeelk will cover the life histories and distribution of invasive insects. Registration is $10 on a sliding scale.