Mainebiz interviewed Veena Dinesh, director of business incubation for the University of Maine Office of Innovation and Economic Development, about operational changes implemented to sustain businesses during the pandemic. “When COVID hit, we realized we had to adjust our support services,” she said. “We were more worried about the engagement aspect. But it’s interesting to […]
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The Maine Aquaculture Hub is awarding $216,000 in funding to support five projects seeking to strengthen the aquaculture industry in Maine. Two funded projects, one from Butterfield Shellfish and the other from the Maine Aquaculture Co-op, will be testing new technology to automate the cleaning process. Keith Butterfield of Butterfield Shellfish, an oyster farm in […]
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Maine Sea Grant has launched Buoy Maine, a new pitch competition to fund innovative projects and ideas to help coastal businesses better address the challenges of operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition consists of two phases — a short, written proposal and a five-minute verbal pitch — and concludes with a virtual public celebration. […]
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News Center Maine discussed the University of Maine converting waste from pulp processing into jet fuel and other petroleum products in a story about the Maine forestry industry learning from Finland how to evolve. UMaine houses the Forest Bioproducts Research Institute, which aspires to build research infrastructure dedicated to facilitating a forest-based biorefinery in Maine […]
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Mainebiz shared a media release about UNAR Labs, a University of Maine spinout company that develops assistive technology for blind and visually impaired (BVI) users, being awarded $300,000 under the National Institute of Health’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I program. The company plans to prototype an information access system that would help educational […]
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CentralMaine.com published an opinion piece from Jeff Marks indicating that the recently announced public-private partnership between the University of Maine and New England Aqua Ventus could boost Maine’s renewable energy industry and the state’s economy. Marks is the director and senior policy advocate at the Acadia Center, a clean-energy research and advocacy nonprofit in Rockport.
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The University of Maine was mentioned in an article that ran in the Portland Press Herald and on CentralMaine.com about sales at Skowhegan-based Maine Grains skyrocketing during the pandemic. Founder Amber Lambke said the business has had a 4,000% increase in online sales. She said the company’s collaborative business model is an example in rural areas. “One of […]
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Jason Harkins talked with Mainebiz about Blitz, a free virtual conference 12:45–4:45 p.m. Thursday, July 23 that seeks to provide entrepreneurs with valuable information and business connections during the pandemic. Harkins is an associate professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Maine, cofounder of Blitz, a downtown Bangor business owner and co-managing director of Scratchpad […]
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Two University of Maine economists predict that earnings for Maine restaurants and lodgings will drop by more than one-third from the previous year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Todd Gabe, a professor of economics, and Andrew Crawley, an assistant professor of regional economic development, conducted a study exploring the economic fallout from the […]
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Mainebiz and The Ellsworth American highlighted the University of Maine assisting Kingfish Maine, a Dutch land-based aquaculture company, in building a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility in Jonesport. UMaine conducted a study on the economic effects of the project on Jonesport for the company. The preliminary data from the study “shows a potential value-added, multiplier impact […]
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