Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions

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 […]

Sustainable seafood got national attention recently when Good Morning America aired a segment on what sustainable seafood is, why it matters, and how to find and support it. The segment featured Joshua Stoll, UMaine assistant professor of marine policy and Mitchell Center faculty fellow, and the Local Catch Network, which supports community fisheries and helps […]

Mitchell Center Faculty Fellows Michael Haedicke and Lauren Ross have received UMaine Faculty Research Awards to further their work. Haedicke, an associate professor of sociology, was given a summer research award for his project, “Constructing and Contesting Climate Adaptation Plans in Southern Louisiana.” Ross, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, received a scholarly […]

We’re excited to announce that six projects have been awarded Mitchell Center Sustainability Grants for fiscal year 2022. Three of the funded projects are highlighted below and the rest will be featured in an upcoming Mitchell Center news article. Exploring the Potential for Reusable Take-out Packaging in Maine Maine residents are generating more waste per […]