Emilie Casey came to UMaine planning to focus on geology, but after connecting with one of their professors, glaciology is becoming a much larger part of their academic life. “I came to UMaine with a bright passion for Earth Sciences, eager to use my resources and apply myself. I think my professor picked up on […]

Though she had always been good at science and interested in the natural world, it was a long while before Hanna Brooks thought of herself as a scientist. It wasn’t until a casual conversation during her sophomore year at Virginia Tech that led to her studying rock samples in Greece, that she first owned the […]

While looking for a job on campus during her freshman year, Ainslie Allen happened to listen to a presentation given by Dr. Caitlin Howell and the rest, as they say, is history. Allen has been working in Dr. Howell’s lab ever since and has “enjoyed every minute of it.” Allen says “working with Dr. Howell […]

For undergraduate Madeline Howorth, research is in her blood. The Center for Undergraduate Research AY2223 fellowship award winner remembers watching her mother study, do homework and perform research. “Growing up in Pennsylvania as my mom pursued her PhD studies full-time, I was constantly surrounded by eager education faculty, used textbooks, and an endless supply of […]

Winning a fellowship award from the Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR) led to the “defining moment of my undergraduate career,” says Alexandra Peary, a senior nursing student at the University of Maine. Peary, a Cumberland, Maine native, is passionate about living a healthy lifestyle. She decided to use her fellowship to research how physical activity […]

Growing up in a small town in California, Jillian Trujillo watched as it became larger and busier—and with that came more human-made noise. Trujillo noted that eventually there was no time of day that she could find silence. Trujillo is a senior art history major and Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR) fellowship recipient at the University of […]

Zachary Maynor’s UMaine Student Symposium project focuses on ways to mitigate the effects of water evaporation on wild blueberry crops in Maine. With the help of graduate student Rafa Tasnim, a Ph.D. candidate studying ecology and environmental sciences, he was able to conduct a study that mixed Biochar and compost at different rates and compositions […]

Anna Soule presented two separate projects at the UMaine Student Symposium 2021. The project “Whites Only,” advised by Owen Smith, won the arts category award for graduate students. The winning project is a “collaborative video performance/installation that touches on white privilege and assimilation to white culture and systemic racism in America.” Along with collaborators Derek […]

Jacob Mealey’s UMaine Student Symposium project focuses on COVID-19 contact tracing. He has designed a system that utilizes Android cellphones and a Bluetooth Beacon. The phone uses an app that constantly scans the unique ID of each beacon, and looks for the closest one. When the app detects a new beacon, it updates a server […]

Cassidy McCusker’s UMaine Student Symposium 2021 project focuses on the role that diagnosis, hospitalization, and perceiver mental health experience have on the subjective hireability of a job applicant. She is examining how medication use, previous hospitalizations, mental health disorder diagnosis, and gender could change a candidate’s perceived hireability for a job. From this research, she […]

Determination of Potential Biopolymer Substitutes for Intaglio Etching Constituents Based on Rheological and Adhesive Properties Gabrielle Bock, Chemistry and Studio Art, is attempting to determine a non-proprietary, non-toxic substitute to use in an intaglio etching ground, which is the process of using acid or mordant to cut into metal surfaces to create a design. “I […]

The Impact of Prophage BPs on Antibiotic Resistance in Mycobacteria Ben Williams, pre-med, is conducting research on understanding the manner in which bacteria gain tools for antibiotic resistance from the viruses that infect them. “The rise in antibiotic resistant bacteria is a critical issue in the clinical setting. So, as a pre-medical student this area […]

Assessing the effectiveness of bait versus lure in linear arrays with multiple trail cameras to detect North American mammals Michael Buyaskas, wildlife ecology, is attempting to find the best combination of bait and lure to attract the most mammals to a trail camera. This combination will be used to provide a framework for researchers and […]

Imaging Zebrafish with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy using Second-Harmonic Generation to Evaluate Myosin Structure Jordan Miner is a Biomedical Engineering student at the University of Maine examining Zebrafish with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy to help determine the best course of treatment for a person with DMD. Miner uses a two-photon laser to image the myosin structure of […]

The effects of environmental lighting on circadian rhythm entrainment and voluntary alcohol intake: possible role for melanopsin signaling With her research, Meghan Royle, biology, is attempting to find a link between daily biological rhythms and voluntary ethanol intake through a protein found in photosensitive cells. Royle is hoping her research can be used to help […]

Determining the Role of Prophage, Cuke, Gene Expression on Host Mycobacterium Smegmatis Gene Expression Molecular and cell biology student Sarah McCallister’s research seeks to understand the impact of integrated phage genomes on bacterial gene expression. “I believe by researching and determining how bacteriophage impact bacterial gene expression, we can then understand more about the bacteria […]

An Exploratory Study Of Sustainability Conceptualizations And Practices In Maine Wineries Michaela Murray studies environmental science. Her research is focused on understanding sustainability perceptions and implementations among Maine winery owners. “I chose to study Maine wine not only because I have a personal interest in the product, but because it has become evident that the […]

Developing a Novel Approach to Estimate Reproductive Success of Black Bears in Maine Griffin Archambault, wildlife ecology, is currently researching and developing cost-effective monitoring protocols to establish an understanding of the black bear reproductive rates across the state of Maine. “Black bears are a keystone species in Maine, and understanding how our uses of the […]

How Personality Types Affect Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) and Southern Red-backed Vole (Myodes gapperi) Seed Cache Management Bobby Brittingham, wildlife ecology, studies how varying personalities of deer mice and southern red-backed voles changes the behaviors around their seed caches. “There is a lot of information to find out about how personality can be implemented to […]

Impacts of plant detritus and bacterial composition of mosquito development Cassandra Steele, zoology, does research focused on how plants and bacteria influence the survival of mosquitoes, who can be carriers of vector-borne diseases. “The more knowledge we have about how invasive plants alter ecosystems may contribute to management strategies to control invasive outbreaks,” explains Steele. […]

Asian American Politics: A Case Study of Hmong American Political Incorporation in St. Paul, MN Thilee Yost, political science and philosophy, is researching Asian American voting motivations and patterns for her Honors Thesis. Yost’s research is focused in St. Paul, MN, where examples of Asian American political incorporation and participation has been successful. Yost is […]