PI: Josh Stoll, UM School of Marine Sciences Aquaculture represents a major economic opportunity for coastal communities in the United States and has the potential to be a way for fishermen to diversify their employment. Small-scale aquaculture businesses are the fastest growing subset of farms in Maine. In 2017 the Maine Department of Marine Resources […]
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PI: Mehdi Tajvidi, UM School of Forest Resources We propose commercialization of molded products that can be fabricated from wood flour and lignocellulosic nanomaterials, originated from Maine’s abundant fiber resource. The main advantage of the proposed product, compared with its plastic counterparts, is biodegradability and environmentally-benign end-of-life disposal. Moreover, both major components are made from […]
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PI: Mike Mason, UM Chemical and Biological Engineering The targeted market for the proposed technology is that of orthopedic fixation devices, or devices used to hold bones together after surgery or trauma. Currently, this market is valued at ~$40.2 billion and predicted to grow to $61 billion by 2021. Biomaterials within this field currently possess […]
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PI: Nicholas Giudice, UM School of Computing and Information Science Gaining access to graphical information (such as maps, graphs, and diagrams) is one of the biggest challenges for blind and visually-impaired (BVI) people. To address this major unmet and immediate need in the field of blindness accessibility, we have invented an innovative multimodal software solution […]
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PI: Danielle Levesque, UM School of Biology and Ecology Collaborators: Jason Johnston, Wildlife Ecology, and University of Maine at Presque Isle Recent changes in environmental conditions have brought to the forefront the importance of understanding the relationship between environmental temperatures, energetics, and performance in animals as species ranges shift in response to warming temperatures. This […]
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PI: Jean MacRae (UM Civil and Environmental Engineering) Collaborators: Clayton “Mac” Richardson, Lewiston Auburn Water Pollution Control Authority (LAWPCA) To address the need to shift to renewable sources of energy as well as the large amounts of produce grown in the U.S. that is wasted, this project proposes the extraction of energy from food waste […]
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PI: Damian Brady (UM School of Marine Sciences) Collaborators: Richard Wahle UM Lobster Institute, Deborah Bouchard UM Aquaculture Research Institute, Annie Tselikis & Patrice McCarron Maine Lobstermen’s Association., Andrew Goode UM SMS Ph.D. student and lobsterman, Phillip Dostie Bates College, Environmental Geochemical Lab, Matthew Jadud Bates College, Digital & Computer Sciences This project’s goal is […]
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PI: Rachel Lasley-Rasher, University of Southern Maine Biological Sciences Collaborators: Karen Wilson, USM Environmental Science and Policy; Damian Brady, UM School of Marine Sciences River herring populations have declined dramatically and remained low for over a century after dams were built that blocked access to their spawning habitat. The primary goal of this project is […]
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PI: Paul Rawson, UM School of Marine Sciences Collaborators: Eric Moran, co-owner, Bagaduce River Oyster Co. The eastern oyster is an important species supporting the current growth of Maine’s aquaculture industry, but there is a high degree of variance in growth among individuals within available stocks. This project’s goal is to test the hypothesis that […]
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PI: Brian Beal, Director of the Marine Science Field Station, University of Maine at Machias Collaborator: Heather Leslie, UM Darling Marine Center The goal of this project is to produce a fast-growing, disease-resistant American oyster that will grow to commercial size in 2-3 years in the cold waters of eastern Maine, finally allowing this region […]
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