Colorado potato beetles can decimate spud crops by devouring the plants’ foliage. That’s a big problem for farmers in Maine where the 2016 potato harvest was valued at more than $142 million. There’s more unsettling news — each female Colorado potato beetle can lay about 600 eggs in a growing season. And the species — […]
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New Hampshire Public Radio spoke with Joyce Longcore, a chytrid researcher in the University of Maine’s School of Biology and Ecology, for the report “Will a deadly fungus destroy N.H.’s frog population? The answer is complicated.” Since it was first discovered, the chytrid fungus known as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or BD, has been implicated in massive […]
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The Bangor Daily News interviewed Frank Drummond, an insect ecology professor at the University of Maine, about a type of fungus with zombie-like qualities that could threaten the state’s wild blueberry crop. Drummond said although the mummy berry disease is probably the most serious blueberry disease, it’s not well understood. Drummond and other UMaine researchers […]
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The University of Maine is well represented in an iSWOOP (interpreters and Scientists Working On Our Parks) video that highlights the importance of scientists to national parks, including Acadia National Park. Martha Merson’s three-minute video includes footage of assistant professor Jacquelyn Gill speaking at a public event, doctoral candidate Kit Hamley coring, and alum Nickolay […]
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The Portland Press Herald spoke with Paul Mayewski and Jacquelyn Gill, researchers at the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute, about President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. Mayewski, director of the CCI, said that while countries such as China are taking steps to reduce carbon emissions, the U.S. stands to lose […]
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BY ERIN MILLER Jean George didn’t know exactly what her career path would be when she enrolled at the University of Maine as an undergraduate, but she knew her passion — science. “It just enthralled me to study any of the life sciences. I always knew I was going to do something in the sciences. […]
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For the second consecutive year, the University of Maine graduated one of the largest classes in its history — more than 1,900 students — during the 215th Commencement on May 13 in Harold Alfond Sports Arena on campus. The event, held in two ceremonies, included the conferral of 33 doctoral degrees and two honorary doctorates […]
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Jacquelyn Gill, a professor of paleoecology at the University of Maine, was quoted in the Grist article, “Your next bar conversation is about climate change. Here’s how to do it.” A convincing conversation doesn’t require citing the latest peer-reviewed research — it has to do with reaching people on a personal level by appealing to […]
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As part of the fourth annual Maine Science Festival March 15–18 in Bangor, several UMaine community members gave 5-Minute Genius presentations, described as “short, sharp talks by some of Maine’s finest scientists.” Those presentations are now online. In addition, the festival included a taping of “You’re the Expert,” a live show and podcast featuring a […]
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The University of Maine’s College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture celebrated outstanding faculty and students during a ceremony on April 26. The college selected just three of its over 150 faculty members for recognition. The dean’s office honored Dr. Farahad Dastoor, a Lecturer of Biological Sciences in the School of Biology and Ecology, with […]
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