preK-12 outreach

A photo of two students

From Norway and Taiwan, Fulbright awardees hope to make a difference

Investigating plastic pollution in a Norwegian glacier and teaching English in Taiwan are the plans of a University of Maine Ph.D. student and a recent graduate who both received awards from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Ligia Naveira, a Ph.D. student with UMaine’s Climate Change Institute, earned a Fulbright Open Study/Research Award; and Cora Saddler, […]

Read more

A photo of people in a lab setting

New initiative unites Maine’s innovators to bolster STEM research and workforce

An $8 million grant from the National Science Foundation will fund a four-year initiative led by the University of Maine to bolster STEM research capacity and education from Kittery to Fort Kent and dismantle systemic barriers to innovation. Maine-SMART, or Strengthening Maine’s Research Ecosystem and Pathways Through Strategic Capacity Building, will support more than 200 […]

Read more

Maine media cover 2024 ASCC windstorm challenge

News Center Maine, WABI (CBS 5 in Bangor) and WFVX (Fox 22/ABC 7 in Bangor) covered the 2024 Matthew R. Simmons Windstorm Challenge hosted by the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC). Approximately 800 middle and high school students competed during the annual event on Friday, May 10 at the Harold Alfond […]

Read more

A photo of a nanosatellite

Maine’s first research satellite to launch this year

Maine’s first small research satellite, designed to engage middle and high school students in STEM, is expected to launch into orbit within the next couple of months.  Firefly Aerospace, a company based in Cedar Rapids, Texas, integrated the nearly 1 foot tall satellite, known as MESAT1, into a rocket to be launched from the Vandenberg […]

Read more

Astronomy Center hosting new event for Minecraft lovers May 11

The University of Maine Versant Power Astronomy Center is hosting a new family event in partnership What-If Hypothetical Implementations in Minecraft (WHIMC). This immersive astronomy experience, scheduled for Saturday, May 11 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., is designed for children ages 8-14 years old and offers engagement for parents and guardians. Tickets include access to a […]

Read more

PenBay Pilot coverage of STEM fest includes UMaine students, faculty member

Coverage from the Penobscot Bay Pilot of the 2024 Owls Head Transportation Museum STEM fest, held April 26-27, featured the work of three University of Maine undergraduate engineering students and instructional laboratory and lecture demonstration specialist David Sturm from the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The four worked together to use an electrostatic generator to […]

Read more

Media highlight UMaine annual cooking competition for high schoolers

WABI (CBS 5 in Bangor) and WFVX (Fox 22/ABC 7 in Bangor) covered the fourth annual University of Maine Innovative Local Foods Cooking Challenge in Hitchner Hall on Thursday, April 25. University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator and professor Kathie Savoie and food science pilot plant manager Robert Dumas helped coordinate the competition. Eleanor Nery […]

Read more

A photo of a total solar eclipse

UMaine projects expanding nationwide access to 2024 total solar eclipse

Jules Vázquez’s eyes were glued to a four-foot-tall, high-tech telescope being assembled in front of her at the Versant Power Astronomy Center. The telescope has an 80-millimeter lens and is equipped with a specialized camera and small computer. Astronomy center Director Shawn Laatsch was teaching Jules, a high school student at Baxter Academy for Technology […]

Read more