Research

‘The Maine Question’ asks how physics can help combat COVID-19

Numerous medical professionals, biologists and other experts have been combating COVID-19 and the havoc it has wrought since the pandemic began. Physicists have also joined the fray, including one from the University of Maine. By inventing a new microscope, Sam Hess, a professor of physics at UMaine, can obtain new insight into the structure of […]

Read more

3D rendering of a a coronavirus cell

Yaseen Balkhi gives in-depth look at immune responses to SARS-COV-2

Specific receptors in the immune cells detect and generate responses to defend against the virus that causes COVID-19 — SARS-COV-2 — when it infects the body, according to University of Maine immunology expert Mumtaz Yaseen Balkhi. Using several recent studies involving human samples, cell line and nonhuman primate models, Yaseen Balkhi, an assistant research professor […]

Read more

Researchers work in a lab on a water purification project

New microfluidic water purification system under development by UMaine, Harvard researchers

Development of a new, low-cost microfluidic water purification system by researchers at the University of Maine and Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering has been funded by the National Science Foundation. The initiative, led by Caitlin Howell, UMaine assistant professor of biomedical engineering, focuses on a method of quickly prototyping a portable pulsed-electric-field […]

Read more

Shadow Box Theater

New media seniors develop novel tools tackling stress, COVID-19 lifestyle

The stress of COVID-19 and other obstacles of everyday life prompted seven seniors from the University of Maine New Media program to develop novel apps and activities to cope and adapt.  Using a variety of modern audiovisual and interactive technologies these students crafted tools that can help users de-stress, learn new hobbies, entertain themselves and […]

Read more

Blueberry powder

MIRTA teams forging ahead with commercialization plans

Four faculty-led teams pursuing commercialization of research projects are ready for next steps, having completed the University of Maine’s 2020 MIRTA accelerator program. The teams presented their projects at a virtual event Dec. 8 marking the conclusion of this year’s program. “While 2020 has brought a unique set of challenges to the MIRTA program, this […]

Read more

Maine coastal town

Buoy Maine pitch competition announces winners

Buoy Maine, a pitch competition launched by Maine Sea Grant to foster innovation and entrepreneurship that supports the state’s working waterfront and coastal communities, will fund 10 innovative projects and ideas that help better address the challenges of operating a business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding for the awards comes from the NOAA-National Sea Grant […]

Read more

A couple walking a dog in a park

UMaine professors contribute to report advising how governments can tackle biodiversity loss through COVID-19 recovery

Two University of Maine professors contributed to a report that explores how governments can help mitigate ecosystem and species loss through their COVID-19 stimulus and recovery plans.  While many countries hope to implement regulatory and funding measures to help “return to normal,” the authors of a Rutgers University-led paper, including Michael Howard and Cynthia Isenhour […]

Read more

Hands using an iPad

New website collects educational resources for preK–12 teachers and families

PreK–12 schools in Maine and around the country reopened for in-person instruction this fall after abruptly closing in the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. But with many now operating on a hybrid schedule to limit the spread of the disease, educators and families continue to face uncertainty, and demand for reliable resources related to […]

Read more