Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions

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 […]

Lauren Ross, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and Mitchell Center faculty fellow, was recently awarded more than $600,000 in a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The award will advance research on land-sea connections, fresh and saltwater exchange, and transport of materials in complex tidal estuaries. The NSF CAREER award is […]

Twenty-five undergraduate and recent post-baccalaureate students from the University of Maine, University of Southern Maine and 10 other institutions shared the results of their summer marine research on Aug. 10 in the virtual 2021 University of Maine SEA Fellows Symposium. The SEA Fellows program is coordinated by UMaine’s Darling Marine Center and the Downeast Institute, which serves as the UMaine […]

Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow Susanne Lee will present “Beyond the Bin: Maine’s Big Six Solutions for Reducing Food Waste,” at 2 p.m. on August 31. The free, interactive webinar will be hosted by the Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission; visit their website to register. Lee leads the Food Rescue Maine initiative and the Mitchell […]

As part of the UMaine Research Learning Experiences (RLE) program launching in fall 2021, Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow François Amar will offer the course “Managing Change: The Science of Sustainability,” which will provide an on-ramp for early undergraduate work in sustainability research and showcase projects of Mitchell Center faculty. In this one-credit course offered to […]