Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions

Mitchell Center members share a passion for tackling complex sustainability problems that matter to people and communities through collaboration with diverse stakeholders and across many different areas of expertise. They seek to connect knowledge with action to create a brighter social, environmental and economic future in Maine and beyond. Learn more about who they are […]

Mitchell Center community members actively publish their research across a diverse range of academic journals. The following is a sample of recent papers by Mitchell Center faculty, students, and alumni. Divided Perception of Drinking Water Safety: Another Manifestation of America’s Racial Gap Onur Apul, Rianna Grissom, Uzay Damali, Robin Toof ACS ES&T Water. 2021, Volume […]

The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine was selected as a finalist for one of seven Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs of the Year awards for 2021. Germany’s Falling Walls Foundation selected the Mitchell Center as one of 10 finalists in the Science Innovation and Management category for its global leadership […]

National Public Radio cited a study of resilience in the Maine lobster fishery in a recent story about changes in the industry that will also impact the communities that depend on it. The study, Fishing in Hot Water: Defining Sentinel Indicators of Resilience in the American Lobster Fishery, is led by Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow Joshua […]

A new study of trends in tree-size density in the United States over the past two decades could assist scientists, managers and policymakers in decision-making related to future forest carbon trajectories, land use planning, potential risks to disturbance, and strategies to increase resilience of U.S. forests in global change. The study, published in the journal Scientific […]

On September 20, Maine Public’s Jennifer Mitchell talked with Susanne Lee about food waste and why it might be one of the most pressing climate issues facing Maine. Lee is a Mitchell Center faculty fellow and leads the project Food Waste Management: Empowering Maine Businesses Toward Sustainability. Her team recently launched Food Rescue Maine, an […]

Together with UMaine’s Darling Marine Center (DMC), the Maine Business School is launching the UMaine Blue Economy Program, where students, faculty, and industry and community partners will work together to conduct research, product development and commercialization related to Maine’s marine economy, according to a DMC news release. The $50,000 award from the William Procter Scientific […]

In an August 5 special session in celebration of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI)’s 85th anniversary, Linda Silka engaged virtual conference attendees in an interactive presentation entitled “SPSSI: Using Our Past and Looking to Our Future.” During the session, Silka highlighted research published by SPSSI over the last several decades […]

We’re excited to announce that six projects have been awarded Mitchell Center Sustainability Grants for fiscal year 2022. Three of the funded projects, focused on Indigenous community engagement in research on Maine’s shell middens, energy justice and community energy, and telling the stories of sea-run fish in Maine, are highlighted below. The other three projects […]

Mitchell Center members share a passion for tackling complex sustainability problems that matter to people and communities through collaboration with diverse stakeholders and across many different areas of expertise. They come from a wide range of disciplines—from engineering and economics to fisheries and agriculture to business and communication—and take an interdisciplinary approach because that’s what’s […]