UMaine Research

UMaine Research Top-tier research and innovation from Maine's flagship R1 University.

06/02/2026

🦞New research from the Maine Business School found that consumers are willing to pay more for lobster harvested using ropeless fishing technology designed to reduce whale entanglement risks.

The study, led by Dr. Qiujie "Angie" Zheng, Associate Professor of Business Analytics, found that consumers would pay an average of $3.42 more for a lobster roll when informed about the animal welfare benefits tied to ropeless technology.

The research highlights how sustainability, consumer behavior, and Maine’s iconic lobster industry intersect in meaningful ways. The story has been picked up by several news outlets, including WMTW, Maine Public, CBC, and NEWS CENTER Maine.

The research highlights how sustainability, consumer behavior, and Maine’s iconic lobster industry intersect in meaningful ways. The story has been picked up by several news outlets, including WMTW, Maine Public, CBC, and News Center Maine.

Read the UMaine News story here: https://umaine.edu/news/2026/05/consumers-willing-to-pay-more-for-lobster-harvested-with-ropeless-technology-umaine-study-finds/

University of Maine UMaine Research

05/21/2026

In a remote, nearly untouched corner of the Maine woods, people and technology are learning how to read the forest.

Howland Research Forest, which is protected as forever-wild by the Northeast Wilderness Trust , is home to 98-foot towers with instruments that measure how the forest interacts with the atmosphere every tenth of a second, and 550 research plots on the ground.

The data meticulously collected here, for 30 years, is overturning how people think about forests and their influence on the atmosphere. The monitoring at Howland powers other, more experimental research that is used by scientists, educators and land managers worldwide, including to:
🌲🌬️Compare carbon dynamics on a neighboring forest that was partially harvested in partnership with
🛰️ Ground-truth satellite instruments for
🌧️ Find out how rainfall influences the ebb and flow of methane from the forest
🌲 Track tree growth trends
🌐 Build climate models
🧑‍🏫Teach the next generation of forest scientists.

This year, interruptions in federal support nearly shut the project down. A private gift made through the kept the towers running through next August, but the future of this work is still uncertain.

Long-term research can’t simply be restarted once it’s lost. The value comes from decades of uninterrupted observation.

Swipe through to learn why this forest matters, and share this post to help more people understand why we should keep listening to what Howland Research Forest has to tell us.

Learn more about what’s happening in this forest – and how you can help – at the link in our comments.

There's a whole world you've never seen. 🔬These images were captured by UMaine students through the CORE Imaging Your Re...
05/12/2026

There's a whole world you've never seen. 🔬

These images were captured by UMaine students through the CORE Imaging Your Research Photo Contest. They provide a glimpse of the creativity and cutting-edge research happening right here at UMaine. This year's entries were captured in UMaine’s Electron Microscopy Lab with a Zeiss NVision 40 FIB/SEM.

Swipe through to see the world at the microscopic scale through the eyes of our students, then let us know which one you think won! 🏆 Winners will be shared in the comments in one week.

1️⃣ “Behold the distal portion of a Dermacentor albipictus (winter tick) leg.” by Donne Sinderson
2️⃣ “Snorting of the Living Dough” by Alicia Bell
3️⃣”Chaoborid Tail” by Greg Kronisch
4️⃣ “Diatom Frustule” by Kayla Guthrie
5️⃣ “Requiem for a Dreadnought” by Josie Aprea
6️⃣ “Hidden bloom” by Nabanita Das.
7️⃣ “Mouse kidney” by Nathan Jalbert
8️⃣ “Caverns of Vanished Water” by Autumn Greene
9️⃣ “Nano Snowfall: Peptoid Nanoparticle Clusters” by Kalani Samarasekara
1️⃣0️⃣ “Through the Fusarium Network” by Nichole Baker

📩 Interested in accessing the SEM, getting trained or signing up for next year’s contest? Reach out to UMaine’s Coordinated Operating Research Entities unit, which manages the lab, at [email protected].

📚 A longtime first-grade teacher on Maine’s coast, Kristen Braun noticed that students who struggled with handwriting of...
05/05/2026

📚 A longtime first-grade teacher on Maine’s coast, Kristen Braun noticed that students who struggled with handwriting often struggled with reading too.

As she pursues her doctorate in professional education at UMaine, her research examines how fine motor skills, memory and attention support early literacy development. At UMaine, Braun is turning classroom observations into research that could help strengthen literacy for the next generation of readers.

Please join us in celebrating the dedicated teachers who continue their education to help students!

🤱 Doctoral student Gianna DeJoy studies maternal health care access in rural communities.As she pursues a Ph.D. in anthr...
04/21/2026

🤱 Doctoral student Gianna DeJoy studies maternal health care access in rural communities.

As she pursues a Ph.D. in anthropology and environmental policy, DeJoy’s research explores how geography, policy and environmental changes shape where and how families receive care, particularly in rural northeastern North America where maternity wards are closing at alarming rates.

At UMaine, DeJoy’s work connects research with real-world challenges facing rural communities.

🐻 UMaine, it's time to rally!The Student Symposium for Research and Creative Activity is TOMORROW, and we want the whole...
04/16/2026

🐻 UMaine, it's time to rally!

The Student Symposium for Research and Creative Activity is TOMORROW, and we want the whole Black Bear community there!

750+ students have worked hard all year on research, on creative projects and ideas that matter. Now, it's our turn to show up and find out what they have been up to!

Whether you're faculty, staff, a fellow student or someone who loves UMaine, we hope you'll come discover what learning at Maine's R&D department is all about, and celebrate what it means to ! 💙

📅 April 17 | 📍 New Balance Field House in the Memorial Gym | 🕙 9:30–3

📣 Tag someone who should be there!

🧬Doctoral student Jordan Miner studies how breast cancer progresses to find out why some tumors are more aggressive than...
04/08/2026

🧬Doctoral student Jordan Miner studies how breast cancer progresses to find out why some tumors are more aggressive than others.

Her research may ultimately help doctors predict tumor behavior and guide personalized treatment decisions. The Ph.D. candidate in biomedical engineering recently earned a Fulbright Scholarship and is conducting research in Paris, France, bringing Maine-originated innovation abroad.

What's on the horizon for eye care? 👀 Join us tomorrow for a preview of the future of ophthalmology from Dr. Michael Chi...
04/06/2026

What's on the horizon for eye care? 👀

Join us tomorrow for a preview of the future of ophthalmology from Dr. Michael Chiang, director of the National Eye Institute!

Dr. Chiang is a pediatric ophthalmologist who helped develop an FDA Breakthrough-designated AI system for diagnosing eye disease in premature babies. He's coming to UMaine to share how artificial intelligence and data science are reshaping clinical practice and research in ophthalmology and beyond.

Whether you're pre-med, in nursing, molecular and biomedical sciences, computer science, data science, biomedical engineering or just curious about where healthcare is headed, this one's for you!

📅 Tuesday, April 7 from 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.
📍 Minsky Recital Hall, University of Maine
📺 Or watch live on YouTube

🔗 Register online: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfh24s-n9oStTQXvWyobaKOfolhxf59pLsfUfma--iy5ygYAA/viewform

🌊 Want to make your living on and around the water? Join us TODAY in the Wells Conference Center for the Blue Economy Ca...
04/02/2026

🌊 Want to make your living on and around the water? Join us TODAY in the Wells Conference Center for the Blue Economy Career Summit!

2:10-3:10 p.m. Breakout sessions about careers in:
🦪 Aquaculture and fisheries 🦞
🛥 Coastal and ocean engineering and marine technology
👩‍💼 Policy, communication and community engagement
🏖️ Tourism, recreation and coastal economies

3:15-4 p.m. Blue Economy Career Expo and poster session
🤝 Meet potential employers
🗣 Talk with people who make their living in the blue economy
📝 Find job and internship opportunities

Drop in for a few minutes or spend the whole day! We hope to see you there!

🌱 Doctoral student Kallol Barai is helping wild blueberry growers monitor crop health.As he pursues a Ph.D. in plant, so...
04/02/2026

🌱 Doctoral student Kallol Barai is helping wild blueberry growers monitor crop health.

As he pursues a Ph.D. in plant, soil and environmental sciences, Barai uses remote sensing and that latest science on plant physiology to develop tools that help growers of Maine’s state fruit better manage irrigation, fertilization, and drought management.

Address

5703 Alumni Hall
Orono, ME
04469

Telephone

+12075811506

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when UMaine Research posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The University

Send a message to UMaine Research:

Shortcuts

Share

Category