NSFA Outstanding Public Service Award—2013

Eleanor Groden, Professor of Entomology
School of Biology & Ecology
Ellie Groden is an entomologist whose research on insect pests has been important for Maine’s potato industry and for homeowners and landowners. Her research on biological control of Colorado potato beetle led to non-chemical ways to control this pest. As potato growers started noticing a new problem, Ellie shifted her research to methods to control the European corn borer. When biologists at Acadia National Park contacted her about a problem with a new invasive species—the European fire ant—Ellie responded with targeted research programs once again. As these ants have spread throughout Maine, she has made a considerable effort to educate land managers, pesticide control applicators, and homeowners on how the ants are spread and how to control populations. Ellie’s research has recently broadened to include other invasive insect species, including the lily leaf beetle and emerald ash borer. Ellie Groden’s responsiveness to the needs of Maine’s resource professionals and citizens makes it clear that she is committed to public service.

NSFA Outstanding Research Award—2013

Peter O. Koons, Professor
School of Earth & Climate Sciences

Peter Koons studies the basic structures and processes of the Earth to develop a better understanding of issues such as the strength of Earth materials, deformation history of mountain belts, and deformation related to glaciated terrains. He made one of the largest conceptual breakthroughs in tectonics in recent years by explaining that not only does the uplift of mountains lead to increased erosion, but that erosion itself feeds back to control rates of the deep-Earth deformation processes. Since 2006, Peter has submitted more than 25 proposals and brought more than $3.6 million to UMaine. In the last ten years, he has authored or co-authored approximately 30 papers. Peter also has played a major role in training the next generation of researchers, advising or co-advising 9 graduate students and serving on the committees of 34 others. Peter has also used his expertise to benefit the state, from informal discussions with the Maine Geological Survey about earthquake hazards to serving as a resource to other colleges in Maine. At the 2003 Penrose Conference, Peter was singled out by a colleague who said, “we are standing on the backs of giants, and one of those giants is Peter Koons who first demonstrated the links between climate and tectonics.” The University of Maine is indeed fortunate to have such a scientist.

NSFA Outstanding Teaching Award—2013

Harold B. Dowse, Professor of Biology
School of Biology & Ecology
Harold “Dusty” Dowse has had a long career dedicated to students in UMaine’s zoology and biology programs. Over his 30+ years at the university, because of the breadth of his expertise, he has taught a great diversity of courses: from comparative anatomy to parasitology, from biomedical instrumentation to biological rhythms. Although the teaching technologies he uses have changed over the years, Dusty believes the underlying philosophy has not. He sees himself as a tribal storyteller, who selects and organizes the information for each course and then makes each class interesting, humorous, and rich in information. Although students in his classes may find the material challenging, they recognize and appreciate Dusty’s ability to clarify it and connect it to what they already know. In the words of one of his students, “Professor Dowse is an amazing teacher. …He is enthusiastic, inspirational, innovative… and advocates for students individually and for the topics he is teaching.”

The College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture announces the winners of this year’s undergraduate student awards.

Wallace C. and Janet S. Dunham Prize—2013

This year’s Wallace C. and Janet S. Dunham Prize is awarded to two students: Elizabeth Gouin and India Irene Stewart.

Elizabeth Gouin, originally from the Passamaquoddy Reservation at Indian Township, Maine, is a nontraditional student, double majoring in social work and psychology. Elizabeth is particularly interested in social work within Native American communities and is completing her senior internship at the Penobscot Nation Indian Health Service. After she graduates, Elizabeth is planning to pursue a master’s of social work degree.

India Stewart graduated from Bucksport High School and is majoring in biology at the University of Maine. A member of the Honor’s College, India was awarded highest honors for her thesis. The faculty on her committee were extremely impressed with both its content and her poise in defending it. India was accepted in the Early Assurance Program at the Tufts University School of Medicine, where she will begin her medical studies in the fall of 2013.

Frank B. and Charles S. Bickford Prize—2013

Lindsay LaJoie, from Van Buren, Maine, is this year’s winner of the Frank B. and Charles S. Bickford Prize. Lindsay is a food science and human nutrition major with a concentration in human nutrition and dietetics. On top of maintaining a 4.0 grade point average, Lindsay has worked as a student research assistant, a resident assistant, and a food service worker on campus. All who have worked with Lindsay recognize that she is an exceptional young woman: a top student and a natural leader who is organized, personable, and responsible. This coming fall Lindsay will start work as a dietetic intern at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The college is extremely pleased to award the Frank B. and Charles S. Bickford Prize to Lindsay LaJoie.

The College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture announces the winners of this year’s graduate student awards.

The Norris Charles Clements Graduate Student Award—Matthew Jones

Matthew Jones is a master’s degree student in ecology and environmental science who is investigating how farm management and surrounding landscape variables affects the actions of beneficial insects in lowbush blueberry fields. His research involving dung beetle scavenging could have important implications for Maine lowbush blueberry production as the federal government debates ways to limit E. coli contamination in fruits and vegetables. (Advisor: Frank Drummond)

George F. Dow Graduate Scholarship Fund—Yucheng Peng

Yucheng Peng, a Ph.D. student in the School of Forest Resources, is investigating methods for drying cellulose nanofibrils—a new generation of nano-scale material from forest products. Yucheng has won several awards for his research including first place in the Wood Award Competition sponsored by the Forest Products Society. (Advisor: Douglas Gardner)

Fred Griffee Memorial Award—Stefano Vendrame

Stefano Vendrame is a Ph.D. degree candidate in food science and human nutrition. His research investigates the role of wild blueberries on risk factors for metabolic syndrome in the obese Zucker rat. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors that increase the risk of type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Stefano received a Fulbright Fellowship from Italy to study at the University of Maine.(Advisor: Dorothy Klimis-Zacas)

Outstanding Master’s Degree Student Award—Alisha Autio

Alisha Autio is a master’s degree student in the School of Forest Resources whose research focuses on understanding the physiology and behavior of trees as they pass through life stages. These studies address the essential paradox of species that have a defined lifespan, yet continually produce new, young tissue. (Advisor: Michael Day)

Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award—Alper Kiziltas

Alper Kiziltas is a Ph.D. student in the School of Forest Resources whose research focuses on the use of cellulose fillers (such as wood flour or flax fibers) rather than on conventional fillers (such as glass or carbon fibers). He has received numerous awards for his research, including the Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition’s Graduate Scholarship Award for the 2012-2013 academic year.(Advisor: Douglas Gardner)

Outstanding Service Award—Spencer Meyer

Spencer Meyer, a Ph.D. candidate the School of Forest Resources, has been exceptionally active in service to his profession, school, and community. He serves on the advisory committees of the Forest Society of Maine and Baxter State Park, and on the review committee for the town of Hampden’s Comprehensive Plan. He plays an active role in UMaine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative, serving on a graduate student search committee and representing UMaine at a national conference. (Advisors: Robert Lilieholm and Christopher Cronan)

Graduate Research Excellence Award—Nathan Briggs

Nathan Briggs is a Ph.D. student in oceanography who is studying the role of CO2 drawdown during the important North Atlantic spring phytoplankton bloom. In 2010, Nathan was awarded a prestigious NASA doctoral fellowship. He was also first author of a significant paper showing how simple optical sensors can be used to assess rates of removal of organic carbon from surface ocean waters—an approach that has already been adopted in a major European program. (Advisor: Mary Jane Perry)

 

Growing up in Kars, a heavily wooded city in northeast Turkey, Alper Kiziltas appreciated nature and understood the importance of natural resources at an early age. That interest in forestry science and its effect on his country led him to the University of Maine in 2007 to pursue graduate research in the School of Forest Resources.

Three years later on a trip back to Turkey, Kiziltas met a carpet manufacturer with a growing concern over nonbiodegradable waste. Kiziltas wanted to find a solution not only for the businessman, but for the country, environment and future generations.

“My biggest concern is to find uses for recycled materials to keep the environment beautiful for younger generations,” says Kiziltas.

Kiziltas’ award-winning research in UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center in collaboration with Professor Douglas Gardner has focused on the use of natural fillers such as microcrystalline cellulose, wood flour, hemp, flax and kenaf fibers as opposed to conventional reinforcing fillers such as glass fiber, carbon fiber, nanoclay and silica. He is exploring new heat-resistant automotive plastics from these natural materials, which he has determined can stand the stress of high temperatures and are low-cost, low-density, strong, renewable, recyclable and biodegradable.

Kiziltas will continue his research at Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn, Mich., when he starts a six-month internship in August.

Last year, Kiziltas received an Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) Graduate Scholarship Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers for his research proposal focused on cellulose-filled recycled carpet for under-the-hood applications for the automobile industry.

Other recognition he has received for his preliminary research results include the Dean’s Undergraduate Mentoring Award at UMaine’s 2013 Graduate Academic Exposition and first place for his oral presentation and third place in the commercialization competition at the 2012 GradExpo. He also won first place in the poster competition in the 2012–2013 SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) for his project having the greatest potential effect on ground transportation.

Most recently, Kiziltas was named the 2013 outstanding Ph.D. student in UMaine’s College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture.

In 2010, Kiziltas submitted the “Under the Foot to Under the Hood” proposal to the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology. Out of more than 700, it was chosen to receive $60,000 in funding if he returns to Turkey and opens his own company. The competition is open to students from Turkey until five years after earning an undergraduate, master’s or Ph.D. degree.

Kiziltas earned an undergraduate degree in forest products engineering from Karadeniz Technical University in Trabzon, Turkey, and in 2006 was awarded one of two full scholarships from the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of National Education to pursue graduate studies in wood sciences and technology in the United States.

In August 2009, Kiziltas earned a master’s degree from UMaine’s School of Forest Resources and became the first UMaine student to earn a graduate certificate in innovation engineering. This August, he will start his internship with Ford, and will receive his Ph.D. from UMaine in May 2014.

Kiziltas hopes to convert the nylon used in carpets to a form that could be used by automobile manufacturers by mixing the recycled nylon with the natural fillers.

Many scientists think natural materials can only be used in thermoplastics with a low melting point, Kiziltas says. However, he thinks UMaine is the only research institute that can heat cellulose at such high temperatures, opening the door for more uses of the materials.

Kiziltas says according to carpet industry estimates, about 4–6 million tons of carpet are disposed every year worldwide, with less than 5 percent of the disposed materials being recycled and less than 1 percent being reused. Nearly 95 percent of nonbiodegradable carpet waste ends up in landfills, taking up space that could be used for other materials.

Carpet is generally made up of a face fiber and backing. About 65 percent of carpets sold in the U.S. are made of nylon, making it the most popular face fiber because of its versatility, moldability and resistance to high temperatures and harsh chemicals. Even though nylon performs the best among synthetic fibers, it is also the most expensive.

Demand for nylon in the automotive industry is expected to increase because of government regulations requiring fuel economy upgrades. Lightweight nylon can help make cars lighter, more efficient and environmentally friendly, according to Kiziltas.

Kiziltas believes nylon from carpet waste can fill the demand in the automotive industry once properties from the materials are converted to meet required standards.

After speaking with automotive manufacturers, Kiziltas learned the market requires a high specific strength and modulus, low density and inexpensive reinforcements for nylon. From his master’s thesis research, he knew cellulose fiber reinforcement could be a suitable candidate to mix with the recycled nylon and found natural fibers-filled nylon composites could be produced for under-the-hood applications where conditions are too severe for other plastics.

The reused nylon could be used in simpler automobile applications, such as dashboards, engine covers and side panels, that require less modification, Kiziltas says, but adds that he and his team “like a challenge.”

Kiziltas, who lives in Orono with his wife — who is also a UMaine graduate student — and their two young children, says he would like to return to Turkey to continue his research with the scholarship he was awarded, but he may wait a few years to do so.

“I would like to work in a research institute to mentor young scientists while using my background to make new materials,” Kiziltas says.

He has already mentored and supervised more than six students in the field of natural fillers-filled thermoplastic composites for automobile applications. One of his mentees, third year civil engineering student Alex Nash, won the Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE) 2013–2014 Extrusion Division/Lew Erwin Memorial Scholarship.

Kiziltas says he used to want to be a professor, but after taking the innovation engineering courses at UMaine, his image of his future began to shift as he discovered his passion for creating new materials with moneymaking potential.

In the long term, Kiziltas would like to return to Turkey to help his native country become more developed and scientifically advanced. He also hopes to help build a relationship between Ford Motor company and UMaine while doing his internship at Ford’s research facilities this summer.

“I don’t want to see my degrees on a shelf. I want to see them put to use in the industry,” Kiziltas says.

A team of University of Maine graduate students and their faculty adviser Jennifer Middleton are the recipients of the 2013 President’s Research Impact Award for the research project “What Happens Next? Examining Child Protection Outcomes in a Cohort of Opioid-Exposed Infants.”

Alison Mitchell, Meagan Foss, Leah Agren, Jenifer Koch and Middleton won the annual President’s Research Impact Award at the 2013 GradExpo where Mitchell presented the project. The award is given to a graduate student and adviser who best exemplify the UMaine mission of teaching, research and outreach. The $2,000 award will be split among the grad students and their adviser.

The community-engaged research project, part of a research methods series for the Master in Social Work curriculum, is being conducted by the graduate students in collaboration with Middleton.

“The Graduate Student Leadership and I created this award last year to recognize the high-quality research of University of Maine graduate students occurring in so many academic areas across the campus,” says UMaine President Paul Ferguson. “I wanted to specifically recognize the research that has tangible impact for our state with the potential to make a difference — in this case, in the lives of some of Maine’s youngest citizens. This is an outstanding example of the research excellence that a land grant university offers to the people it serves.”

Though the population of infants born with prenatal opioid exposure in the Greater Bangor region is growing — from 23 in 2003 to 183 in 2012 — little is know about what happens to the infants after they leave Eastern Maine Medical Center, Mitchell says.

The project aims to clarify what happens, from a child welfare system perspective, after the infant is discharged. The team plans to explore rates and reasons families with opioid-exposed infants become subsequently involved with child protective services through the Office of Child and Family Services, or OCFS, at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

Currently, there are no other studies tracking the child protection outcomes of opioid-exposed infants in Maine, Mitchell says, and the project represents the first attempt to share data between EMMC and OCFS.

“Winning this award is enormously gratifying,” says Mitchell, noting that the project is a team effort. “Social workers in general aren’t particularly recognized for their research very often so for that it’s really exciting.”

The project was proposed to Middleton by EMMC contact Mark Moran, a graduate of UMaine’s Master’s in Social Work Program who works with families of substance-exposed infants.

There has been a significant increase in the number of drug-exposed babies born in Maine, from 165 in 2005 to 667 in 2011, and Maine’s opiate addiction rate is also the highest in the country per capita at 386 per 100,000 as opposed to the national average of 45 per 100,000, according to data collected by the research team.

The Bangor area, which is home to three methadone clinics and a hospital equipped to handle drug-exposed infants, has a concentration of opioid-exposed births compared to more rural areas. Drug-exposed babies who are delivered in regional hospitals get transferred to EMMC for treatment, Mitchell says.

When a substance-exposed infant is born at or transferred to EMMC, the hospital makes a notification and sends it to OCFS, she says.

“All of those infants in our cohort were already in the OCFS database so what this project is trying to do is just match cases,” Mitchell says.

By using the name and birth date of the drug-exposed infants from the EMMC record and having OCFS run a query on the infants one year from their birth date, the team was able to see if the child showed up in protective services’ database again, Mitchell says.

“It really is a three-way partnership,” Mitchell says of the involvement of the UMaine School of Social Work graduate students, EMMC and OCFS. “Each of the partners has had quite a bit of influence in shaping how the project has evolved.”

From their data collection, the team has determined that 68 percent of their sample does not show up again in child protection, while 32 percent showed up as having an open case with OCFS within their first year.

The students expect to receive information from the hospital on the severity of the 60 cases once the hospital eliminates identifying information and clears the data for release.

In the remaining weeks of the semester, the students will conduct statistical analyses. Agren and Koch will graduate in May 2013, while Mitchell and Foss, who are scheduled to graduate next year, will continue to do analyses over the summer once they find out where the cases fall in terms of severity.

Mitchell says she believes one of the reasons the project won the President’s Research Impact Award is because it’s a community-engaged partnership.

During the course of the class, the region received a $4 million federal grant for the Penquis Regional Linking Project, a five-year effort aiming to enhance the network of over 25 agencies in the Penobscot and Piscataquis counties supporting trauma-informed services for substance-exposed children and their families. Middleton is the lead researcher and co-director of evaluation for this project.

The team members think their research will help the agencies in the project reach their goal, and Mitchell says they have already received positive feedback from project members.

“What Happens Next?” also aims to generate knowledge useful in advancing local practice and policy efforts and pave the way for future collaborations.

“The primary aim is right in the title, ‘What happens next?’” Mitchell says. “The goal of the study is to see if we can figure out what happens from a child protective perspective and to establish those precedents of how to come together as a service-providing community.”

Contact: Elyse Kahl, 207.581.3747