Whether it\u2019s conducting cutting-edge research, commenting on current events or receiving that diploma, University of Maine faculty, students and leaders made headlines locally, nationally and internationally in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From research labs and classrooms to commencement stages and championship arenas, UMaine was featured in more than 18,000 stories published from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025. In addition, our faculty, students and leaders were quoted or referenced 25,000 times in outlets based in every U.S. state and over 40 countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below is a sampling of UMaine media placements in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Portland Press Herald \u2014 \u2018Think of UMaine as the R&D department of Maine itself\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In an op-ed published in the Portland Press Herald<\/a>, UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy encouraged Mainers to think of the university as the state\u2019s research and development department. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile all research universities provide value to their home states, UMaine is invaluable to Maine,\u201d wrote Ferrini-Mundy, who also serves as vice chancellor for research and innovation for the University of Maine System. \u201cWith an economy almost entirely reliant on small businesses that typically lack in-house expertise and facilities necessary to develop and improve products and processes, our university is Maine\u2019s Research & Development (R&D) Department.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bangor Daily News \u2014 Showcasing campus capital projects, 2026 look-ahead <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In December, the Bangor Daily News<\/a> touted the many capital projects which will move the university and the state forward in the coming years. The BDN interviewed Ferrini-Mundy, Interim Vice President for Research Giovanna Guidoboni, and many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The BDN highlighted upcoming facilities like the GEM Factory of the Future and Sustainable Aquaculture Workforce and Innovation Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think we can see how our faculty, staff and students have helped to make all of these things attractive and possible. We have the talent here on this campus to warrant these kinds of facilities, and so it\u2019s appropriate that they happen,\u201d Ferrini-Mundy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People Magazine \u2014 Two senior citizens\u2019 road to graduation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At age 88, Joan Alexander likely became the oldest undergraduate degree recipient in UMaine\u2019s 160-year history, concluding a journey she began in the 1960s. Local and national news organizations, including People<\/a> magazine, told Alexander\u2019s story, and how she was acknowledged during one of UMaine\u2019s undergraduate ceremonies in May<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bangor Daily News \u2014 Multi-story graduation celebration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When hundreds of students were awarded diplomas amid cheers from family and friends at the Cross Insurance Center, the BDN celebrated alongside them with not one, but four stories on UMaine\u2019s 2025 commencement ceremonies. The package included a preview<\/a>, guidance on how to watch the livestreams<\/a>, recap<\/a> and photo collection<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI myself realized that we are all blessed by an immeasurable amount of families,\u201d said valedictorian Meg Caron during her speech, as quoted by the BDN. \u201cFrom the sports teams I\u2019ve been a part of, the labs I\u2019ve researched in, the teachers and classmates I\u2019ve grown close to, and the roommates I\u2019ve had in Maine, Michigan, France, Costa Rica and Canada, I\u2019ve formed familial relationships with a thousand souls, and they\u2019ve each gifted me a part of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The New York Times \u2014 \u2018How healthy are potatoes?\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When exploring the nutritional benefits of potatoes before Thanksgiving, the New York Times<\/a> tapped an expert from the home of the popular Caribou Russet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mary Ellen Camire, professor of food science and human nutrition at UMaine, spoke to the Times about how potatoes contain a modest amount of vitamin B6, which is needed for cardiovascular, immune and mental health. Purple and red potatoes have pigments called anthocyanins that promote cardiovascular health, slow starch digestion and help stave off cognitive problems, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Boston Globe \u2014 Hockey East champions <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The UMaine men\u2019s hockey team secured its sixth Hockey East Tournament title with a 5-2 win over UConn at Boston\u2019s TD Garden. The Boston Globe<\/a> and ESPN<\/a> were among the dozens of media outlets that reported on the Black Bears\u2019 first conference championship since 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And they did it before a sellout crowd of over 17,000, most of them making the trip south from Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m extremely proud of them, and happy for the guys in the room, happy for the school, and really the whole state of Maine, because it felt like the whole state was there,\u201d coach Ben Barr said after the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scientific American \u2014 The dire wolf debate <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As memes and social media chatter spread worldwide about Colossal Biosciences\u2019 genetic modification of gray wolf pups to resemble the dire wolf, publications like Scientific American<\/a> got the rundown from the experts. UMaine\u2019s Jacquelyn Gill, professor of terrestrial paleoecology, spoke to the inability of such extinct species to exist the same as they once did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[The pups] don\u2019t have any traits that would allow us to understand the dire wolf any better than we did yesterday,\u201d Gill said, adding that understanding ice age organisms isn\u2019t just a matter of knowing what they looked like or what they ate \u2014 but also about knowing what they did in those ancient ecosystems. \u201cSome of those things are coded genetically; some of those are cultural.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The New York Times \u2014 Struggles of rural children<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The struggles of children in rural America and why they are dealing with increasing barriers to support services was explored in a New York Times<\/a> op-ed published in November. UMaine\u2019s Catharine Biddle, associate professor of education, discussed the challenges rural districts face when trying to provide food, health care and counseling services to students who can\u2019t access them elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The op-ed notes that \u201cIn one paper Biddle wrote<\/a>, where she spoke to over 100 educators in rural Maine about how they dealt with children with adverse childhood experiences, a teacher mentioned that the school nurse is on site just once a month, and that teachers feel as if they are acting as ad hoc social workers on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n WABI-TV (CBS) \u2014 Seeking a universal flu treatment <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n UMaine students are using physics to fight the flu, and WABI<\/a> joined them in the lab to showcase their work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A group of undergraduate and graduate students, led by physics professor Sam Hess, has been doing single molecule microscopy combined with molecular simulations to learn about how influenza viruses mutate and hijack the cells of their host. Their discoveries could lead to the creation of a universal flu treatment with potential applications for other viruses, offering more effective treatment options to defend against cold and flu season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe idea is, can we come up with something more universal. So that way we\u2019re not playing this guessing game every year,\u201d said David Winski, a graduate student at UMaine working on his PhD in Biophysics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CNN \u2014 \u2018How do we identify hazing?\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Following a staged kidnapping at a high school in Syracuse, New York, CNN<\/a> interviewed UMaine\u2019s Elizabeth Allan, professor of higher education leadership, about the culture of hazing, its relevancy in schools and prevention methods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not really focused on \u2018thou shall not haze,\u2019 it\u2019s more, how do we think about the groups we\u2019re in and the relationships we have with our teammates or with our fraternity brothers or with our band mates?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allan is a national expert on hazing, founder of StopHazing.org<\/a> and director of UMaine\u2019s Hazing Prevention Lab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n HISTORY \u2014 Life during the American Revolution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n During the American Revolution, the British Army captured and held many major cities like New York and Boston for months, if not years. In an interview with HISTORY<\/a>, Liam Riordan, a UMaine professor and chair of the history department, presented a picture of what the war was like beyond battlegrounds and street protests, as Americans lived under British occupation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo matter your political allegiance, most people are just hunkering down and trying to survive the war without sacrificing their families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FOX Bangor\/ABC 7 News \u2014 Training with cutting-edge robotics for manufacturing <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n FOX Bangor\/ABC 7 News<\/a> joined the grand opening of UMaine\u2019s B.O.T. Loft, a new robotics and automation training facility inside the Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC). The facility is committed to \u201cbuilding, optimizing and training\u201d the manufacturing workforce in Maine and beyond. This in-demand workforce needs to know how to operate new and efficient industrial technology for everything from wood products to composite materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lot of manufacturers are hesitant to put in technology and automation unless they have a workforce that\u2019s really trained in it,\u201d said John Belding, director of the AMC. \u201cOur goal is to help upscale that workforce and help train their existing workforce so that they are comfortable using robotics and automation in the workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good Morning America \u2014 Printing affordable homes <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n During Earth Week, Good Morning America<\/a> featured BioHome3D, the first 100% bio-based 3D-printed home in the world. Made from local wood fiber and other recyclable materials, BioHome3D was developed by the UMaine Advanced Structures and Composites Center to address labor shortages, supply chains issues and affordable housing shortage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn Maine, we produce about a million tons of wood waste every year in our sawmills. So we thought, \u2018How do we take that waste, and make it into something valuable?\u2019\u201d said ASCC executive director Habib Dagher during the interview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nautilus \u2014 \u2018Has culture surpassed genes?\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nautilus<\/a> reported that human evolution may no longer be driven primarily by genetics, according to a new theory by UMaine researchers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Timothy Waring and Zachary Wood argue that cultural systems are now shaping the way humans survive, adapt and reproduce. \u201cCultural evolution eats genetic evolution for breakfast,\u201d Wood said. \u201cIt\u2019s not even close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maine Public \u2014 Exploring cosmic phenomena with Neil DeGrasse Tyson <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before a total lunar eclipse illuminated the night sky with an eerie red glow in Mid-March, Maine Public hosted famous astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson for a segment of its \u201cMaine Calling<\/a>\u201d radio show on the latest astronomy news. Joining them on the call was UMaine\u2019s own Shawn Laatsch, director of the Versant Power Astronomy Center on campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NPR \u2014 Origins of the word \u2018broadcasting\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the connection between broadcasting and agriculture? UMaine\u2019s Michael Socolow, professor of communication and journalism, got to the bottom of it with NPR<\/a> for a report that explored the origins of the word \u201cbroadcasting.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n What began as a word describing a method of spreading plant seed expanded its meaning in the early 20th century as radios became the most common way for people to receive news, starting with the election of President Warren G. Harding in 1920. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy the end of the 1930s, when you used the word \u2018broadcasting,\u2019 Americans all knew it meant radio broadcasting,\u201d Socolow said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gizmodo \u2014 Tiny technology advancing nuclear generation <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Gizmodo<\/a> praised the tiny, but powerful sensor created by UMaine researchers to enhance monitoring capabilities and safety for next-gen nuclear reactors. These microelectronic sensors are capable of withstanding extreme environments \u2014 temperatures up to 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit and intense radiation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mauricio Pereira da Cunha, the Roger Clapp Castle and Virginia Averill Castle Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was the principal investigator on the project. The breakthrough positions UMaine at the forefront of high-temperature, radiation-resistant materials innovation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n CBS News \u2014 New tick species for Maine <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In August, University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) confirmed the presence of a new species of tick for the state: the invasive Asian longhorned tick. The news of its detection for the first time in Maine garnered headlines nationwide, including on CBS News<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis discovery underscores the critical importance of continued tick surveillance in Maine,\u201d said Griffin Dill, director of the UMaine Cooperative Extension: Tick Lab. \u201cWhile this appears to be an isolated case, we are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with state and federal partners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n News Center Maine \u2014 Providing meals for those in need <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n News Center Maine<\/a> joined hundreds of students and other volunteers as they packaged 52,920 meals to donate to people experiencing food insecurity for the Maine Day Meal Packout on April 30 at the Memorial Gym. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The event was organized by Honors College faculty, staff and students, who raised over $19,400 to purchase the meals, which were given to over two dozen food banks and pantries in Penobscot, Piscataquis, Waldo and Washington counties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s really wonderful to now be on this side and now see the full circle of how we get these meals to communities in need,\u201d said Jasper Makowski, UMaine student and outreach coordinator for the Maine Day Meal Packout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n U.S. News & World Report \u2014 Growing the blue economy workforce <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A story from U.S. News and World Report<\/a> highlighted UMaine degrees that help prepare students for careers in the blue economy. Those include the bachelor\u2019s degree in marine science with options to specialize in aquaculture, marine biology or physical science, MaineMBA that offers a blue economy concentration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n U.S. News interviewed Jason Harkins, executive dean of the Maine Business School, and Diane Rowland, dean of the College of Earth, Life and Health Sciences, and director of the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mainebiz \u2014 Reynolds gym revitalization <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In April, students, regional and state leaders and other guests celebrated the reopening of the newly renovated Reynolds Gymnasium on the University of Maine at Machias campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mainebiz<\/a> highlighted facility updates, which include new, NCAA-compliant hardwood floor, new bleachers, upgraded scoreboards, a new sound system and other enhancements to support student and community events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis project represents more than just a new floor and bleachers \u2014 it represents a revitalized space for our students, faculty, staff and the wider Downeast community,\u201d said Megan Walsh, UMaine Machias\u2019 dean and campus director. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Associated Press \u2014 Energy and environmental cost of AI <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n With the use of artificial intelligence growing rapidly nationwide and the emergence of many data centers designed to support it, the Associated Press<\/a> examined the impacts of the technology on our energy and the environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jon Ippolito, professor of new media at UMaine, spoke to AP on the potential impact of AI and showcased his app<\/a> that explores the environmental footprint of using it for different digital tasks. Ippolito said tech companies are constantly working to make chips and data centers more efficient, but that does not mean AI\u2019s environmental impact will shrink. This story was shared in about 200 news outlets across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WMTW (ABC) \u2014<\/strong> Little insect and its big threat for Maine woods<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Spruce budworms are among the most destructive native forest pests in North America. Outbreaks kill trees, rendering the timber useless, increasing the risk of wildfire and causing a series of ecological effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In February, Angela Mech, director of UMaine\u2019s Spruce Budworm Lab, spoke with WMTW<\/a> about their destructive impact on Maine woods and efforts to curtail their damage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s normally here all the time, but in very low densities, we can\u2019t normally find it. But about every 40 years, it explodes,\u201d Mech said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Newsweek <\/strong> \u2014 Tackling prescription drug costs with science<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Researchers discovered a sustainable method to produce the key ingredient in a broad range of pharmaceuticals, which could help address high prescription drug costs in the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thomas Schwartz, project lead and associate director of UMaine\u2019s Forest Bioproducts Research Institute, and Philip Kersten, research collaborator from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, spoke with Newsweek<\/a> about their work. They explored a new, cost-reducing pathway to produce one of these crucial building blocks, (S)-3-hydroxy-\u03b3-butyrolactone (HBL), from glucose at high concentrations and yields. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInitial economic analysis suggests our process can be used to produce HBL much less expensively than the current process, which opens the door to producing new consumer products as well as more affordable pharmaceuticals,\u201d Schwartz and Kersten explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WGME (CBS) \u2014 Improving cancer detection with AI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A research team led by two UMaine Ph.D students developed an artificial intelligence system that could make it easier and faster for doctors to identify signs of breast cancer in tissue samples, possibly preventing delays and saving lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeremy Juybari and Josh Hamilton spoke with WGME<\/a> (Channel 13 in Portland) about this new tool, which introduces a deep learning architecture designed to interpret microscopic images of tissue with greater precision than conventional AI models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have one part of the model that looks at a detailed resolution of an image, you can see down to the cell level,\u201d Juybari said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just the detailed tissue region that matters, it\u2019s the surrounding tissue structure that also contains a lot of information that\u2019s important for the model to figure out if this detailed region has cancer or not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Independent \u2014 Safely enjoying Thanksgiving leftovers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many people enjoy eating Thanksgiving leftovers, but without proper storage, they can lead to foodborne illness. In an article warning readers against leaving leftovers out too long, The Independent<\/a> shared tips from Extension\u2019s Gulsun Akdemir Evrendilek on how to safely enjoy Thanksgiving for a second time. In particular, the publication noted Evrendilek\u2019s tips on reheating food and reboiling gravy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
People<\/a> also featured Jules Hathaway of Veazie, Maine, who graduated with a master\u2019s degree in student development in higher education from UMaine at age 73.<\/p>\n\n\n\n