UMaine STEM outreach, SMART cited in BDN feature on Bangor teacher
University of Maine STEM outreach programs were mentioned in a Bangor Daily News feature article on Bangor High School chemistry teacher Cary James. Over the past decade, Bangor High School students have dominated science competitions, including the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, Maine Science Bowl, and Maine State Science Fair, according to the article. Many credit James, chair of the school’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Academy, with the students’ success. James earned a master’s degree in plant pathology from UMaine in 1985, and worked for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension before becoming a teacher. In 2012, James and his colleagues, with help from faculty at UMaine, established BHS’s STEM Academy, the first of its kind in Maine, the article states. Students in the STEM program undertake projects in which they do complex research — including the Stormwater Management Research Team, which James co-founded with UMaine engineering professor Mohamad Musavi. SMART brings students and community members together to collect data, develop solutions, and educate the public about stormwater pollution and management, the BDN reported.