Accomplishments

  • 0711031521Published over 250 peer-reviewed research articles
  • Received over $23 million in additional external grants
  • Active participation by more than 143 faculty from over 20 academic disciplines.
  • Established innovative partnerships with nearly 300 stakeholder organizations representing all levels of government, tribal communities, business and industry, and local as well as global NGOs.
  • Playing key roles in solutions-development processes, including:
    • Development of novel renewable energy technologies
    • Passage of innovative legislation to:
      • reduce the spread of invasive forest pests,
      • balance the economic development and wetland protection in municipal planning processes,
      • strengthen support for Maine’s tradition of public recreational use of private land.
    • Production of decision-support tools that facilitate the incorporation of climate adaptation strategies into stormwater management.
  • Training a more nimble generation of sustainability researchers, practitioners and leaders, including seven postdoctoral researchers, 131 graduate students, 448 undergraduates, and 62 high school students.
  • Created one of the nation’s largest solutions-focused sustainability science research networks, including 12 institutions of higher education, each of which is conducting place-based projects in collaboration with local partners.
  • Hosting the annual Mitchell Lecture on Sustainability, which has featured some of the world’s leading sustainability researchers, including Elinor Ostrom, Pamela Matson, Jane Lubchenco, William Clark, and Roger Pielke Jr.
  • Provided the inspiration for MPBN’s “Sustainable Maine” series, which has highlighted nine different research projects and been nominated for five Emmy awards.