New York Times remembers the life and work of Gordon Hamilton

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

October 25, 2016 Climate Change, UMaine in the News

The New York Times remembered the life and work of University of Maine climate scientist Gordon Hamilton, after his death in a snowmobile accident in Antarctica. In an appreciation, published in the newspaper’s Dot Earth blog, science writer Andrew C. Revkin wrote, “In probing the fast-changing ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, Gordon Hamilton of the University of Maine exemplified the qualities in the rare breed of scientists, engineers and field staff willing to go to extremes — literally — to help clarify the pace at which seas will rise as warming glacial ice melts.” The Times published another remembrance of Hamilton in its regular column on climate change, By Degrees. In the piece, reporter Justin Gillis recalls a trip he took with Hamilton to Greenland in 2010. “The helicopter hovered 30 feet above a fjord in Greenland, a thrumming red speck of human ingenuity in a vast wilderness of rock and ice. Gordon Hamilton leaned out the right side at a crazy angle, dropping a scientific instrument into the water below. He wore a seat belt for safety, but he looked as if he might break free at any moment and plunge into the icy water. He must have seen the worried look on my face, and he shot me a big grin. That moment, that smile: That is how I will always remember him, a man willing to court danger to do the job he loved.” The Associated Press also published an article remembering Hamilton as “a gregarious climate scientist who lightened the mood of those around him.” ABC News and The Japan Times carried the latest AP report and the Bangor Daily News also published a memorial piece.