Guitar company collaborates with UMaine to create high-end acoustic instruments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGtYw2iifAw&feature=youtu.be
When it comes to the art of making acoustic guitars, one might not expect to find a master luthier outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Yet, one of the world’s most knowledgeable guitar makers has been crafting guitars in Maine for nearly forty years. Dana Bourgeois of Bourgeois Guitars in Lewiston is well-known to professionals, selling high-end guitars to rock and bluegrass stars like Ricky Skaggs and Ray LaMontagne. With help from the University of Maine’s wood science department and innovation engineering program, Bourgeois engineered a new technology enabling him to craft guitars with a highly desirable antique sound. In this video, president and CEO John Karp, talks about the company’s collaboration with UMaine and their involvement with the university’s Innovate for Maine Fellows Program.
The Innovate for Maine Fellows Program is administered by the University of Maine, and connects college students with Maine companies and business leaders. Internships provide support for students as they gain meaningful hands-on experience working on innovation-based company projects that accelerate growth. The program emphasizes entrepreneurship and innovation in an effort to help grow and create jobs across the state.
For more information about these and other innovation and economic development initiatives at UMaine, visit umaine.edu/econdev.