Combined News

The 27th Annual Graduate Student and Faculty Recognition (Hooding) Ceremony will be held on Friday, May 10th, 2013 from 4 to 6 pm at the Alfond Arena.  A reception in the Field House will immediately follow.  For more information please see the appropriate link below, or contact the Graduate School at umhooding@maine.edu or 207.581.3291. 

The Bangor Daily News published an opinion piece by Dr. Robert Dana, vice president for student affairs and dean of students at the University of Maine. In Dana’s article, “Marijuana legalization: An easy way out,” he speaks about the complications associated with legalizing the drug and offers ways ordinary citizens can help stop drug abuse.

WABI (Channel 5) cited Marjorie Peronto, educator at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Hancock County, in a story about a countywide food drive. The drive, which started at the beginning of March and had contributions from over 120 businesses, schools and churches, ends April 3. Peronto spoke about March being a “dry month for food pantries” and said “it’s a good time for us to try to restore their shelves.”

The Portland Press Herald spoke to two faculty members of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension for an article about ways gardeners can prevent deer from eating their crops. Donna Coffin, an extension professor in Dover-Foxcroft, spoke about the deer problem in gardens and the use of fences to keep the animals away. Diana Hibbard, home horticulture coordinator at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Cumberland County said deer usually don’t like plants with fuzzy leaves, prickly foliage or strong smells.

The Portland Press Herald previewed the exhibition “Place of Mind: The John Bailly-Richard Blanco Collaborative Project” that opens Friday at the University of Maine Museum of Art in Bangor. The exhibit features mixed-media art by French-American painter and printmaker Bailly and Cuban-American poet and teacher Blanco, who read at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration.

The Portland Press Herald published an opinion piece by Charles Scontras, historian and research associate at the University of Maine’s Bureau of Labor Education. Scontras’ article, “Maine Voices: Maine lobsterman no stranger to unions,” focuses on how Maine lobster fishermen are turning to the labor movement to protect their interests.

The St. John Valley Times advanced the upcoming University of Maine Symphonic Band concerts to be held in Aroostook County. The shows, presented by the University of Maine School of Performing Arts, are free and open to the public. The band will perform at 9 a.m. Friday, April 5 in the Van Buren High School Gymnasium and at 7 p.m. April 5 at Madawaska High School.

The transformation of the world’s oceans due to overfishing, pollution and climate change will be the focus of a lecture at the University of Maine by a senior scientist emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution.

Dr. Jeremy Jackson’s lecture, “Ocean Apocalypse,” begins at 4 p.m. April 11 in Minsky Recital Hall, sponsored by the UMaine School of Marine Sciences. The lecture, followed by a reception, are free and open to the public. For more information or to request a disability accommodation, call 207.518.4385.

Overfishing, pollution and climate change are laying the groundwork for a massive transformation of the oceans with dire implications for biodiversity and human well-being. Jackson will speak about the fundamental changes humans need to make in order to save the oceans and themselves.

Jackson, the author of “Shifting Baselines: The Past and Future of Ocean Fisheries,” also is professor of oceanography emeritus at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He studies human effects on oceans and the ecology and paleoecology of tropical and subtropical marine ecosystems. He has written more than 150 scientific publications and is the author or editor of eight books.

Jackson has received many awards including the 2012 Darwin Medal from the International Society of Reef Studies, the Peterson Medal from Harvard University and the Paleontological Society Medal.

Click here to view the “Preparing the Garden” video on YouTube.

Click here to view the “Pruning Apple Trees” video on YouTube.

A ribbon cutting to mark the opening of the nation’s first cellulose nanofiber pilot plant and a keynote address by U.S. Sen. Angus King will highlight the 63rd annual Paper Days at the University of Maine, April 3–4.

Innovation, with a focus on biobased nanoparticles and biofuels, is the theme of this year’s Paper Days, coordinated by the University of Maine Pulp & Paper Foundation and expected to draw more than 300 industry leaders, researchers and students from throughout the U.S. and Europe. An estimated 60 paper companies and engineering firms are expected to send representatives.

The event is designed to facilitate the connection between the university and industry by getting UMaine students and faculty, and industry representatives together to learn about the latest topics in the field and to network, says Jack Healy, executive director of the UMaine Pulp & Paper Foundation.

Following a luncheon and address by Larry Montague, president and CEO of TAPPI, there will be seminars on biobased nanoparticle opportunities led by Alan Rudie, Forest Products Laboratory; Robert Moon, Purdue University; and UMaine alumna Beth Cormier, Sappi Paper and Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance. All occur in Wells Conference Center.

Tours of Jenness Hall will focus on the Process Development Center, which is observing its 25th anniversary, and the Cellulose Nanofiber Pilot Plant, funded by a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the pilot plant begins at 3:30 p.m. in D.P. Corbett Business Building. Expected to be on hand to offer remarks will be UMaine President Paul Ferguson; Michael Rains, USDA Forest Service; Theodore Wegner, Forest Products Laboratory; and Sean Ireland, TAPPI and Verso Paper Inc.

The pilot plant manufactures cellulose nanofibers (CNF), a wood-based reinforcing material that is increasingly of interest to researchers worldwide in the development of high-value materials. Last year, UMaine and the Forest Products Laboratory began a research collaboration on the conversion of wood components into novel nanomaterials; the incorporation of an array of nanomaterials into forest products to increase their functionality, durability and end-use performance; and development of new generations of high-performance wood-based materials.

UMaine is in a consortium with the Forest Products Lab, six other universities and numerous industrial partners pursuing research using CNF. Nanomaterial has applications in automobile components, paint and coating additives, composites and filtration media.

The Paper Days honors banquet begins at 6 p.m. in Wells Conference Center featuring a keynote address by Sen. King, and award and scholarship presentations.

Also being announced is a leadership gift by Sappi Fine Paper North America to help launch the UMaine Pulp and Paper Foundation’s $2 million fundraising campaign for scholarships.

The following day, Paper Days participants will tour the Forest Bioproducts Research Institute’s Technology Research Center in Old Town, Maine, followed by an industry panel discussion, “Biofuels in the Face of Changing U.S. Energy Availability.” At the luncheon that day, Frederick Clark of EKA Chemicals will speak on “The Business Case for Sustainability.”

Contact: Margaret Nagle, 207.581.3745; 207.949.4149; Pros Bennett, 207.581.2281

The Bangor Daily News reported on a keynote address given by Walter Echo-Hawk, a Pawnee lawyer, professor, activist and author on campus Thursday. Echo-Hawk spoke about indigenous people in Maine and the crossroads between two legal frameworks.

WVII (Channel 7) and the Bangor Daily News covered the University of Maine GradExpo. The annual event was held in the new Innovative Media Research and Commercialization Center, and allowed graduate students to display their research, artistic works, projects and collaborations.

The Bangor Daily News spoke to Alan Majka of University of Maine Cooperative Extension about an Extension program, “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation,” based in Machias to establish free summer meal sites for children.

A study by University of Maine economist Todd Gabe was cited in an opinion piece by State Sen. Rebecca Millett for Current. In her column, “Curbing youth obesity in Maine,” Millett cites the UMaine study that predicts the state will spend $1.2 billion in health care costs on complications from childhood obesity.

Village Soup cited a University of Maine Cooperative Extension publication in an article about healthy eating for toddlers. According to the Cooperative Extension bulletin, “The way we feed our children during the first five years of life affects everything — their physical health, and their emotional and social development, as well as how they learn.”

Natalie Springuel, coastal community development Extension associate with Maine Sea Grant, was quoted in the New Orleans-based Nola.com/The Times-Picayune article “Louisiana’s coastal communities face similar dilemmas as working waterfronts across nation”. Springuel said it’s important to share strategies to “protect working waterfronts that are necessary parts of our local culture and economies.”

The director of a network that evaluates early youth intervention education programs will be the guest at an April 12 campus workshop, “Community Engagement: Alignment of Needs & Capacity.” Maryann Corsello, associate director of positive youth development at Spurwink Services and director of REACH Collaborative, will attend the 10 a.m.-2 p.m. meeting in 107 Norman Smith Hall. The interactive Friday workshop will focus on creating community-university relationships, moving from idea to partnership and overcoming collaboration obstacles. It is sponsored by Community Engaged Research, Teaching and Service (CERTS), Center for Excellence in Teaching and Assessment (CETA), and a grant from American Association of Colleges and Universities. To RSVP, or for more information or to request disability accommodations, email Claire Sullivan, Claire_Sullivan@umit.maine.edu.

The 2013 University of Maine Humanities Initiative’s spring symposium, “Bibliopoetics: The Art and Future of the Book,” will be held April 5-6. The symposium, organized by Christopher Ohge, UMHI postdoctoral fellow in digital humanities, will feature seminars and workshops on topics such as “The Book as Object,” “Editing and Publishing in the Digital Age,” and “Poets and Books: A Reading and Discussion.” The symposium program can be found online. For more information or to request disability accommodations, call Christopher Ohge, 781.366.2972.

Los Hermanos Islet, 2007
Oil on canvas
Courtesy of the artist and ClampArt, NYC

The mixed-media art of John Bailly, produced in collaboration with poet Richard Blanco, will be featured in an exhibition opening to the public April 5 at the University of Maine Museum of Art. The exhibition is then available to travel nationally.

“Place of Mind: Works by John Bailly” will run through June 8 at the UMaine Museum of Art in Bangor, Maine.

“Place of Mind” comes to Maine from an exhibition that opened Feb. 21 at ClampArt gallery in New York City, directed by Brian Paul Clamp, and organized in collaboration with UMaine Museum of Art Director George Kinghorn.

The UMaine exhibition will feature three large-scale paintings and a selection of works on paper from the “Place of Mind” series, including three owned by the university.

Bailly is a French-American painter and printmaker who teaches at Florida International University in Miami. Blanco is the Cuban-American poet from Bethel, Maine, selected as the inaugural poet for President Barack Obama.

The pair produced the collaborative project, “Place of Mind,” primarily in 2007. Bailly’s 25 works on paper and paintings are responses to Blanco poems, says Kinghorn. The art and poems “share a common search for sense of identity and place.”

“They started this project as a way to explore the creative process in different media — the visual and literary arts — and how they inform each other,” Kinghorn says. “There was a dialog between them — a give and take, a call and response.”

Bailly’s works first came to Kinghorn’s attention when he was deputy director and chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, where a large-scale solo exhibition featured some pieces from the “Place of Mind” series. It was also in Florida that Kinghorn met Blanco.

The year after Kinghorn came to Maine in 2008, he curated the exhibition, “A Bit of Colored Ribbon,” featuring some of Bailly’s newest works, as well as a selection from “Place of Mind.”

Kinghorn also brought Blanco to UMaine, where the poet gave readings on campus in collaboration with the English Department. The reading at the Museum of Art included the poem, “Looking for The Gulf Motel,” which was published in 2012 and was the title of Blanco’s third book of poetry.

“This is a great opportunity for the museum and the university,” Kinghorn says. “Bailly is an exceptional painter and I have championed his art for many years. Now three friends working on a project like this is very exciting.”

Contact: Kathryn Jovanelli, 207.561.3352