UMaine experts participating in 2025 Maine Science Festival

University of Maine faculty and students will present at several events during the Maine Science Festival, a program of the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor that will include more than 70 events and activities from March 18-23. 

The five-day celebration will showcase science and technology happening in Maine in the format of an arts or music festival, with events for all ages. Programming includes forums, workshops, talks and hands-on activities. The full schedule can be found on its website.

During the festival’s Field Trip Day on March 21, the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, the Transportation Infrastructure Durability Center, the UMaine Space and AI initiatives, the Department of Communication and Journalism and Sheila Edalatpour, associate professor of mechanical engineering, will join other presenters in showcasing their work to middle school students at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. 

University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H, the Versant Power Astronomy Center, the UMaine Society of Physics Students and UMaine Dept of Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology will join 20 other exhibitors in offering hands-on educational activities during the Exploration Stations event at 9 a.m. on March 22 at the Cross Insurance Center. 

Also at the center on March 22, Nikita Saini, a Ph.D. student in physics and astronomy, will deliver a talk titled “Worlds Beyond Our Sun: Exploring the Architecture and Evolution of Alien Planetary Systems” at 1:30 p.m. Christina Murphy, an assistant professor with the UMaine Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology and assistant unit leader of Maine’s U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, will present “Fish Printing — freshwater fishes of Maine” at 2 p.m. in Meeting Room B. 

During the festival’s headlining event, 5 Minute Genius, at 7 p.m. in Husson University’s Gracie Theatre, UMaine faculty members will join other experts across the state in delivering rapid-fire talks about their work. Participants will include Downeast Institute Director of Research Brian Beal, also a professor of marine ecology at the University of Maine at Machias; Damian Brady, professor of marine sciences; Danelle Levesque, associate professor of mammalogy and mammalian health; and Mac Stetzer, associate professor of physics. 

On March 23, Daniel Sandweiss, professor of anthropology and climate studies and member of the National Academy of Sciences, will present “Invisible Lines, Tangible Impacts: The Anthropology of Borders​” with undergraduate student Obie Casperson at 11:30 a.m. in Penobscot Theatre Company’s Dramatic Academy. Also in the academy, graduate student Aleandra Scearce; Rachel Schattman, an assistant professor of sustainable agriculture; and Sue Hunter, owner of Hunter Farm in Unity, will deliver a talk titled “PFAS and Agriculture.”