Students in the Spotlight

  • Matthew Jones, Master of Science in Ecology and Environemntal Science student, leads $50,000 Grant

    Posted February 11, 2013

    Master of Science in Ecology and Environmental Science student Matthew Jones is leading a $50,000 grant funded by the California Center for Produce Safety at the University of California. The grant is titled "Evaluation of the level of white-tailed deer fecal colonization by E. coli O157:H7 and the ecological role of dung beetles with the pathogen in produce farms.” Jones’ research is intended to evaluate the association between E. coli in wildlife feces and agricultural fields, whether there are native insects that can reduce the risk of human contamination via agricultural products, and if so, how those insects might be managed. His study will focus on the low-bush blueberry crop in Maine, but will have wider implications for agriculture beyond the state. Franics Drummond, Jones’ advisor and a Co- Investigator, called the grant, “a very unique project, one that was pioneered by Matt Jones. There isn't anyone else in the country that is trying to understand the field ecology of the human pathogen, E. coli O157:H7 (in this way).” For more information and the abstract of the grant, please go here.

  • Film by Master of Fine Arts in Intermedia Student, Neil Shelley, Accepted into Lewiston Auburn Film Festival

    Posted February 6, 2013

    Neil Shelley’s film, Telling Hannah, has been accepted into the third annual Lewiston Auburn Film Festival. Shelley is an UMaine Intermedia MFA student, manager of the Collaborative Media Lab in the Fogler Library, and a Teaching Assistant for Professional Video Production at the University. According to Shelley, in the film,

    “After the death of her father, Hannah is raised by her Uncle Tim. As both Hannah and Tim move on, the pair forms a close bond with one another, but when a dark secret is revealed, their trust is broken and the relationship shattered.
    A story of deception, honesty, and ultimately redemption, Telling Hannah is a reminder to us all about the power of the human heart.”

    Over 1,000 people attended last year’s Lewiston Auburn Film Festival and the Festival has seen submissions from all over the world. Shelley said of the event, “they receive a wide array of submissions, including several other shorts with credits that include Shia Lebouf, and several Saturday Night Live stars. It should be a great festival that accepts both local, small and large productions, so the audience will be in for a nice mix of content.” The Lewiston Auburn Film Festival is from April 4-7 in downtown Lewiston Auburn. For more information, go to the festival website at lafilmfestival.org.
      

  • IPhD Student, Ana Cecilia Mauricio Invited to National Geographic Society Live Chat

    Posted January 25, 2013

     

    On January 13, 2013, UMaine IPhD student Ana Cecilia Mauricio was an invited participant on a National Geographic Society Live Chat to celebrate the Society’s 125th anniversary. The event featured seven explorers from seven continents; in addition to Mauricio, who connected from her field site in Peru, among the others were primatologist Jane Goodall and underwater explorer and discoverer of the Titanic Robert Ballard.

    Mauricio came to UMaine in 2009 from Peru on a Fulbright fellowship to do an MS in Quaternary and Climate Studies with Dan Sandweiss (Professor of Anthropology and Climate Studies and Dean and Associate Provost for Graduate Studies). She defended her master's thesis in 2012 and received the master's last August. At the same time, Mauricio began an interdisciplinary PhD in Quarternary Archaeology. She is currently excavating the early mound site of Los Morteros on the Peruvian coast, initially supported by the National Science Foundation and the Climate Change Institute’s Churchill Exploration Fund. Recently, Mauricio was awarded a National Geographic Society Waitt Foundation grant and a Beca Andina (Andean Fellowship) from the French Institute for Andean Studies.

  • Four History Doctoral Students Published in Major Journals

    Posted January 14, 2013

     

    Four History doctoral students have recently published in major journals. Joesph Miller and Robert Gee are current students, while Katherine O’Flaherty and Stefano Tijerina are recent graduates.

    Joseph Miller’s paper “General William Hull’s Trials: Was This Early PTSD? One Possible Explanation for the Unprecedented Surrender of Detroit, 1812” was recently published in the Canadian Military Journal. Miller is a new doctoral student in history who defended his Master of Arts thesis in December. His paper explores Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as one compelling explanation for the stark differences between General Hull’s utter failure at the Battle of Detroit and his earlier exceptional service in the Revolutionary War. Miller, a former U.S. Army infantry officer, served in various capacities and completed three deployments to Iraq. He received several awards for his service including the Bronze Start medal, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Iraqi Campaign medal (three service stars), the Senior Parachutist Badge, and the Ranger Tab. To read Miller’s article in the Canadian Military Journal, please go here.

    Dr. Katherine O’Flaherty and Dr. Rob Gee co-authored the article “Inviting Coworkers’: Linking Scholars of Atlantic Canada on the Twitter Backchannel” in the Summer and Fall issue of Acadiensis. They presented their work at the 2012 Atlantic Canada Studies Conference and according to the journal editor John Reid, “while a specific benefit was to enable conference attendees to be, in virtual terms, present at more than one of any given set of parallel sessions, there were also more general implications. The 'Web 2.0 concept of user-generated exchanges, O'Flaherty and Gee make clear, continues to hold the promise of newly imagined communities and highly interactive networks among scholars." Dr. O’Flaherty received her Ph.D from the University of Maine in 2010, recently graduated with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Higher Education and is adjunct faculty at the University of Maine. Rob Gee was also featured last year as a Student in the Spotlight for becoming a permanent contributer to the blog Gradhacker (to read this story, go here).

    Dr. Stefano Tijerina published “The Role of Canadian Financial Institutions in the Development of Colombia’s Financial Markets, 1898-1939” in the Colombian journal Ensayos sobre Política Económica in the 2012 Special Edition on the history of the Central Bank. According to the abstract, his paper, “looks at the experience of Canadian financial companies in Colombia from the late 1800s to the beginning of World War II. It highlights the competitive nature of international financial business and the role of business leaders, policy, and governments in efforts to secure market shares in emerging nations such as Colombia.” Dr. Tijerina received his doctoral degree in history from the University of Maine in 2011 and is now an adjunct professor at both UMaine and Husson University. To read Dr. Tijerina’s article in Ensayos sobre Política Económica please go here.
     

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