Aleta is a conservation biologist who has completed work for local soil and water conservation districts as well as state and national organizations. She specializes in ecological restoration and community science and conservation. Her conservation work has been a second career, following a 20+ year career in education. If you'd like to connect wit…

Mehdi Tajvidi is a Professor of Renewable Nanomaterials in the School of Forest Resources at the University of Maine. His areas of research interest are production, characterization and performance evaluation of renewable nanomaterials and their composites. Mehdi’s core research area at UMaine is focused on utilization of cellulose nanomaterials in…

Jacqui White is the Director of the Center for Biometric Analysis at The Jackson Laboratory. Her background in the clinical characterization of genetically altered mice coupled with her experience in establishing and running large operations critical to genetics research has been deeply beneficial to JAX and science. Jacqui was part of the 2024 Mai…

RJ Perry, Laboratory Technical Manager at the VEMI Lab at the University of Maine. VEMI Lab, and the people who make it up, are one of far too many hidden gems in Maine, and hopefully this conversation will put at least a small spotlight on the work they do. If you are a student at UMaine and you want to work for VEMI, send your resume to RJ! https…

Max Tritt is a Fisheries Biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Max has lived all over the country and after serving the military for 20 years followed his passion for fish. Max is actively involved in outreach - he's been a presenter at the Maine Science Festival numerous times - and his work as a scientist for …

Daniel Moore is the Department Chair of the Biological Sciences Department at Southern Maine Community College, and his love of teaching is evident throughout our conversation. Daniel's background is diverse, and his extensive experience in industry and research have provided an excellent foundation for him to reach his students - whether in the cl…

Angie Reed has served as the Water Resources Planner for Penobscot Nation since 2004. Her contributions include field work, reports, all aspects of digital data management, training tribal environmental professionals, developing outreach materials, activity development for Indian Island School students, and conducting outreach to many non-Native sc…

Aaron's Maine-focused research looks at the various factors that influence regional forest structure and composition in the hope of being able to forecast future changes. His research attempts to understand the biophysical factors influencing forest growth and to integrate those factors with other economic, climate, and sociological models. Aaron w…

Shawn Laatch is the Director of the Versant Power Astronomy Center and Jordan Planetarium at the University of Maine and Nikita Saini is a graduate student in Astronomy in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Maine and is also a presenter at the Planetarium. Shawn and Nikiti were part of a nationwide NASA Citizen Science pro…

You’ll hear in-the-moment reactions about the April 8th total solar eclipse in Maine from folks in Stacyville, Houlton, and Jackman Maine, and then we’ll circle back to Stacyville for some short conversations right after the eclipse. We are indebted to Sarah Kirn, Nikita Saini, and Terrence Finnegan for their willingness to record audio, and Jennif…

Laura Wilson manages skills-based micro-credential development for Cooperative Extension at the University of Maine. Laura's previous work includes being a Science Youth Development Professional at 4H and a Water Quality Professional. Laura has been a a long-time partner with Maine Discovery Museum, including being part of the Maine Science Festiva…

Dan Burgess is the Director of the Governor’s Energy Office for the State of Maine, and he's had a robust career in energy policy, first in Massachusetts then coming back home to Maine. Dan was part of our online forum about offshore wind, Off Shore Wind from the UK to Maine, in February 2021. You can watch that on our YouTube Channel Our conversat…

Wendy LePage is a research scientist at IDEXX in Westbrook, ME. Wendy has been with IDEXX since their early start-up days, having joined them once she returned from a two-year stint with the Peace Corps, which she did right after graduating from the University of Vermont with a degree in zoology. Wendy has been a hands-on presenter at the Maine Sci…

Rob Wheeler studies fungus from both sides: how the immune system responds to fungal infection AND the how the fungus itself works. In particular, Rob studies Candida albicans, and all the ways it impacts us. Rob has degrees from Harvard and Stanford University in 2000, and did post-doctoral work at the Whitehead Institute. Our conversation was rec…

You may have noticed we haven’t kept to our regular episode release schedule, and we wanted to send out a quick note to assure you that we’ll be back! We’ve had to do some staff juggling behind the scenes, and will be back to releasing episodes as soon as we are able. Listen to this short update for some recommendations about past episodes to liste…

This past August, Maine Science Podcast host Kate Dickerson was a guest interviewer on the National Writing Project’s The Write Time podcast, and spoke with Meghan Wilson Duff about their children’s’ book, How Are You, Verity? (Illustrated by Taylor Barron). Meghan is on the faculty in the Psychology & Community Studies program at University of Mai…

Diane Rowland is the Dean of the College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences (formerly Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture) and Director of the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station at the University of Maine. For most of her career, Diane has specialized in the physiological mechanisms of crop stress, particularly related to dro…

Matt is an entrepreneur and award-winning architect with a nationwide reputation for innovation and expertise in the design of high performance residential and institutional buildings. A leader in Passive House design in North America and named to Architect Magazine’s Architect 50 list in 2018, he is a frequent speaker at sustainable design confere…

Fayeza Ahmed is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Maine. She is the director of the Maine Health, Aging, and Lifestyle Lab, where the focus of her work is on the intersection of health factors/behaviors and cognitive functioning. Fayeza has been trained in Clinical Neuropsychology throughout her graduate and postdoctoral tra…

Jennifer Lund is the Maine State Apiarist. She received her Master’s degree in Entomology from the University of Maine and has over 20 years of entomological experience. Aside from managing the honeybee inspection program and helping Maine beekeepers, Jennifer has several of her own hives she maintains on her farm. This conversation was recorded in…

Alaina Weinheimer is a postdoctoral fellow at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences where she examines how bacteria fight viruses in the ocean. She is particularly interested in jumbo phages, which are phages with really large genomes (> 200 kb). Until recently, they have been largely overlooked in both culture-based and sequencing studies due …

Jessica Leahy was born and raised in Alaska, adjacent to the second largest state park in the United States. She researches environmental attitudes and behaviors towards forests, forestry, and other natural resource management topics using a social psychology and communication approach. Her work focuses on four populations: outdoor recreationists, …

Today's episode is a conversation I had with Dan Cortes who is an Associate research scientist in the Pera Lab at The Jackson Laboratory. Dan is originally from Mexico City, and he holds both an MD and a PhD; his research is focused on genetics, and he has a particular interest in exploring strokes. Dan was a 5 Minute Genius™ speaker for the 2023 M…

Caitlin's research is based on looking to nature for inspiration, and her lab uses an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving and solutions. Her educational background - from Maine to Germany to Harvard, and now back in Maine - is an example of how reaching beyond one area of focus and collaborating across disciplines can lead to some really …

Dave Levine is a Science & Engineering Manage for the V&V Shared Services team at IDEXX. Dave is a longtime friend of the Maine Science Festival, and has been a multi-year presenter. Dave was a 5 Minute Genius speaker at this past year's (2023) event - you can see his talk on the MSF YouTube channel. Dave's passion for systems and efficiency for pr…

Eric is an Assistant Professor in the New England School of Communications (NESCOM) at Husson University. A musician and audio engineering by training, Eric may be best described as a science practitioner - someone who uses it, is fascinated by it, and who wants to make sure his students understand it within the context of the audio classes that he…

John is an aquatic entomologist with Haley Ward, and his work centers on water quality and sampling. John's work is proof that there is a lot more to large projects than might be readily apparent. Our conversation was recorded in January 2023. ~~~~~~ The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Science Festival and Maine Discovery Museum.…

Kevin is a Senior Research Associate at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, where he works in the air-sea exchange laboratory with Dr. Stephen Archer in the biogeochemistry wing of Bigelow Laboratory. The general focus of the laboratory is to understand the sources and controls of atmospherically active gases produced by marine microorganisms. T…

Rebecca Robich and Chuck Lubelczyk are team members at the Vector-Born Disease Laboratory at Maine Health Institute of Research. The team goal includes investigating the spread of disease-carrying ticks and mosquitoes in Maine and the disease agents they carry. Chuck is a wildlife ecologist who is a vital part of the "outdoors" team, and Rebecca is…

Amanda Smith is the Director of Water Quality Management, City of Bangor. The world of water treatment is hugely scientific, wildly interesting, and hardly ever thought about, and Amanda's path to wastewater - and how she talks about it - is one of the best examples of applied science you'll hear. Call 207-992-4470 (the general number for the Bango…

Ian Meng is Professor of Physiology and Director of the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence for the Study of Pain and Sensory Function at the University of New England. Ian's path into science was inspired by a college class, and he's now studying pain and the eye. Ian will be one of the 5 Minute Genuis(TM) speakers at the 2023 Maine Science F…

Shawn Laatsch is the Director at Versant Power Astronomy Center at the University of Maine. Shawn deeply dedicated to the public understanding of astronomy and has lived and worked throughout the United States and Europe pursing this work. Our conversation was recorded in October 2022. One note: this is last new episode for 2022; we'll be back in J…

Rachel Schattman is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maine and her research uses skills and techniques across social and lab sciences. Rachel and her team work with specialty crop producers and agricultural advisors to identify and address production challenges, with a focus on climate change adaptation. Our conversation was recorded in …

Kaitlyn Haase is the Research Analyst for Kinotek, a startup that is using technology to assess body movement. Kaitlyn's work centers on understanding kinesiology, the application of technology, and how to assess the data that comes from that merger. Kaitlyn was one of the remarkable people from VEMI Lab at the University of Maine who presented at …

Kat Allen is an Assistant Professor School of Earth and Climate Sciences at the University of Maine, with a Cooperating Appointment at the Climate Change Institute. Kat studies the ocean, both in the geologic past and in the present. Some of you may recognize her from the 2022 Maine Science Festival Headliner Event, The Warming Sea - an exploration…

Habib Dagher is the founding Executive Director of the Advanced Structures & Composites Center, a National Science Foundation funded research center housed in an 100,000 square foot laboratory with over 350 full and part-time personnel. Habib and his team have been responsible for some remarkable innovations in composites, off-shore wind, and bridg…

Amara Ifeji is currently a student at Northeastern University AND the Director of Youth Engagement and Policy for the Maine Environmental Education Association. Amara found her love of the environment and science at an early age, and has reached an understanding of how policy, science, and advocacy can all play a role in improving the world around …

Han Tan is a plant geneticist who's research is focused on one of Maine's most important crops: potatoes. In this conversation, we cover Han's science journey, how he uses CRISPR, and how potato research is different than the work that's been done in corn. We spoke in July 2022. ~~~~~~ The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Science …

Lindsay Ware is a wildlife ecologist who has merged her love of wildlife ecology with her passion for dogs. Lindsay is part of a small but growing group of scientists who are partnering with dogs to assist with endangered species identification and conservation. Our conversation was recorded in June 2022. For more about Lindsay's work: https://www.…

Patrick Breeding is a Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Marin Skincare and a Co-Founder of Dermarus. A biotechnology entrepreneur, Patrick developed his interest for the blue economy working with Lobster Unlimited. He earned his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering in 2017 and completed his M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Ma…

Seth Benz is an avid educator and ornithologist at the Schoodic Institute in Acadia National Park. Seth's work focuses on bird migration, phenology studies, and public participation in scientific research. Our conversation was recorded in May 2022. Links to the citizen science tools mentioned: iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/ eBird: https:…

Anne Lichtenwalner, is an Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension and the School of Food and Agriculture, and cooperating faculty in the Honors College as well as the School of Biology and Ecology at the University of Maine. Since 2008, Anne has been the director and diagnostician for the University of Maine Animal Health Lab (UMAHL), a member…

Luci Benedict is an Associate Professor of Chemistry, and Director of Quality Control Collaboratory at the University of Southern Maine. Luci is an analytical chemist who has worked in the area of environmental pollutants and now focuses her research and work in the fermentation area - in particular the craft brewing industry. The 2022 Maine Scienc…

Phoebe Jekielek is Director of Research for Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership. Her current research focuses on farming scallops, and she's using eDNA as one of the tools to help analyze the aquaculture farm they have at Hurricane. Phoebe is pursing her PhD at the University of Maine, working in the Leslie Lab and being co-advised b…

Sarah Gabrielson is a Research Navigator at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, where she works with clinicians and others who are doing research that will improve healthcare delivery and results. Her healthcare background is in nursing and public health, both providing a solid foundation for her current role. ~~~~~ Tickets are now on sale for th…

Sean Birkel is a climatologist and Research Assistant Professor at the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine. Sean is also the Maine State Climatologist and is part of the Maine Climate Council. One of his ongoing projects is Climate Reanalyzer, where visitors can visualize climate and weather datasets. Sean was also a critical part o…

Jeremy Gabrielson is a Senior Conservation and Community Planner with Maine Coast Heritage Trust, where he focuses on land protection. Jeremy also met with Composer Lucas Richman for The Warming Sea project, and provided invaluable insights on the value and importance of salt marshes to addressing rising sea levels in Maine. ~~~~~ Tickets are now o…

Catherine Schmitt, is a Science Communication Specialist at Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park and the first "official" science communicator who has been on the podcast. She is the author of three books, and her experience has let her learn about Maine from forests to the sea. To learn more about Catherine and find her writing, go to https:…

Dustin Updike is an Associate Professor at MDI Biological Laboratory. Dustin's work looks at how stem cells maintain pluripotency -- the capacity to become other cell types in the body. Dustin and his team use some of the newest and most innovative biological research tools - including CRISPR - to study C. elegans nematodes. More about the Maine IN…

This episode is from the University of Maine's podcast The Maine Question, where one of their recent guests was 2015 5 Minute Genius speaker Sam Hess. Sam is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Maine, and his research is in biophysics and using physics techniques to understand biological processes at the cell…