Black Bear profiles

Sydney Greenlee

Sydney Greenlee: Studying harmful algal blooms in Maine EPSCoR initiative

Sydney Greenlee found her passion for molecular ecology through a research undergraduate experience at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.  Now a participant in the Maine-eDNA program, the Ph.D. student of marine sciences at the University Maine delves deeper into her chosen field, primarily researching harmful algae blooms. Greenlee says she plans to investigate and […]

Read more

Samuel Tan diving with fish in the ocean

Samuel Tan: Exploring microbial communities in Maine-eDNA research

Samuel Tan traveled from Singapore to study at the University of Maine and work for Maine-eDNA.  The Ph.D. student of marine sciences’ research for the Maine EPSCoR program will involve microbial communities and how they change in response to disturbances, such as the effects of seasonality and human action. The technology for eDNA research has […]

Read more

Julia Van Steenberghe

Julia Van Steenberghe: Miss Maine USA says, ‘I definitely bleed blue’

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Julia Van Steenberghe’s parents’ living room in Old Town was transformed into a veritable TV studio, with ring lights surrounding her as she gave probably the biggest interview of her life so far.  Van Steenberghe — a master’s student in human development at the University of Maine — was chatting […]

Read more

Claudia Cummings

Claudia Cummings: Connections are key to success

Claudia Cummings earned her Bachelor of Arts in social work from the University of Maine in May 2020. She knows her success at UMaine can be attributed, at least in part, to her personal engagement during her undergraduate years. But she also learned that before changing the world students must find their niche. After changing […]

Read more

Sara Kelemen

Sara Kelemen: Addressing equity in Maine’s climate strategies 

Sara Kelemen informed dozens of Maine Climate Council members last month about how their efforts to combat climate change can lead to equitable outcomes. The Climate Council invited representatives from the University of Maine Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions to a webinar to discuss their equity assessment of the council’s Climate Action […]

Read more

Sabrina Sultana

Sabrina Sultana: Green solvents, recyclable materials can sustain Maine’s forest industry 

Doctoral student Sabrina Sultana understands how Maine’s forests contribute to the state’s economic health. With her adviser, Carl Tripp, she is working to develop innovative industrial materials that can sustain Maine’s forestry industries while advancing bio-based, recyclable materials. Read more about Sabrina’s research on the Advanced Structures and Composites Center website.  Contact: Meghan Collins, mc@maine.edu

Read more

Darling Marine Center

Darling Marine Center interns: Summer science stories

This summer, eight research interns from the University of Maine, Bates College and Brandeis University collaborated with UMaine scientists based at the Darling Marine Center. Some worked remotely, while other students were out in the field and on UMaine research vessels, collecting data on our changing ocean as part of their capstone and thesis projects.  […]

Read more

Margaret Campbell

Margaret Campbell: Californian chooses UMaine for marine science  

Third-year University of Maine student Margaret Campbell from San Diego, California is an ocean lover who aspires to a career in marine affairs. She started college at the University of California, Davis, a campus renowned for its marine and coastal science programs, but quickly realized that for her, bigger was not necessarily better.  “The University […]

Read more

Maylinda Boynton

Maylinda Boynton: UMaine is ‘home’

University of Maine graduate student and alumna Maylinda Boynton of Belfast, Maine learned a lot about performing arts at UMaine. Before she graduated in 2019 with two degrees — in music education and political science — she performed with four different band groups, sang with University Singers and Mainely Voices, and acted in Maine Masque […]

Read more

Nick-Slabyj

Nicholas Slabyj: Rediscovering a family legacy 

University of Maine Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies student Nicholas Slabyj has long been interested in family history. The son and grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, he readily acknowledges the impact of his grandparents, Olha and Roman Fedoriw, on his life.  “I can still recall stories my grandmother told me to ensure that I knew […]

Read more