ORONO – Students at the University of Maine will have a chance to participate in a new course in the Fall of 2010 that’s all about renewable energy.

Renewable Energy and Electricity Production will introduce the different types of renewable energy technologies and geographical considerations when evaluating renewable energy resources. This unique approach allows students to understand the technologies while assessing the viability of a particular site.

Beyond the renewable energy and resource presentation, the course will cover power plant economics and fuel concerns, comparing costs between renewable energy technologies and conventional fossil fuel plants. The course also will look at the scale and location of electric power producing plants.

Students will learn from licensed professional engineers who have worked in renewable energy fields. Dr. David Dvorak, UMaine mechanical engineering technology professor, is an expert on fuel cell systems and has been developing a graduate program in renewable energy in Iceland. Paul Villeneuve, UMaine Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Technology, has worked extensively in the power generation, supply, and delivery arena and was heavily involved with the first commercial scale wind farm in Maine.

The course will cover more than just the science of renewable energy technologies, also making it appealing to those who are interested in the policy aspects and economic evaluations of renewable energy.

The course is a three-credit offering, but also can be taken as 45 professional development hours or continuing education units.

ORONO, Maine — For the third year in a row, the University of Maine’s AEWC Advanced Structures & Composites Center has been recognized as an industry leader by the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA).

The center on Wednesday received the ACMA’s Most Creative Application Award for Composites Excellence (ACE) for its uniquely innovative “Bridge-in-a-Backpack.”

The Bridge-in-a-Backpack is a lightweight, corrosion-resistant system for short to medium span bridge construction using inflatable carbon-fiber tubes that act as reinforcement and formwork arches for cast-in-place concrete. The easily transportable arches are can be deployed rapidly and don’t require the heavy equipment or large crews needed to handle the weight of traditional construction materials. When deflated, the tubes fit into a sack not much bigger than a large athletics bag.

Two Maine bridges have been rebuilt using the Bridge-in-a-Backpack technology: the Neal Bridge in Pittsfield and the McGee Bridge in North Anson. Six more of these arch bridges will be constructed in Maine over the next year.

The ACMA annual conference and trade show, held this week in Las Vegas, is the top composites conference in North America, and usually about 3,000 industry representatives attend.

Only five ACE awards are presented each year for the most creative applications of composite materials. The advanced Structures and Composites Center received two ACMA awards in 2008 for its blast-resistant composite tent panels, and in 2009 brought home the ACE award for Most Creative Application for the blast-resistant building construction material.

“The ACE Awards are the highest composite industry awards in North America and we are humbled to receive it again this year,” says Habib Dagher, director of the AEWC Advanced Structures & Composites Center.  ”The award goes to the faculty, staff and students who worked on this project including Larry Parent (senior R&D program manager), Edwin Nagy (research engineer), Bill Davids and Roberto Lopez-Anido (professors of Civil and Environmental Engineering), Bob O’Neil (scientific technician), Richard Nye (composites process engineer) and graduate students Harold Walton, MacKenzie Demkowicz and Dan Bannon.”

In addition, one of the center’s spin-off companies, Harbor Technologies of Brunswick, received the ACMA’s Infinite Possibilities Award for Composites Excellence for its development of composite beam technology.

That award is presented for an entry that demonstrates the most creative application of composites materials that is imaginative and innovative.

ORONO — The University of Maine’s College of Engineering has increased its number of courses in robotics engineering to more than a dozen and has created a minor in the field, which will be available to students in the fall of 2010.

The expended program is a response to the rapidly growing robotics industry, according to Chet Rock, associate dean of the College of Engineering.

“Mechanical and electrical engineering has offered a robotics class and students who took it wanted more, and we see robots becoming more prevalent every day,” Rock says.

College Dean Dana Humphrey says the future will increasingly rely on robotics in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare and medicine, aeronautics, and for working in hazardous environments.

The minor is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of robotic operation and preliminary training in design and use of robots, according to Mohsen Shahinpoor, chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department, and Mohamad Musavi, chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

Students will have access to classes in mobile walking robots, robotic vision, robotic surgery, surgical micro-robotics and robot statics, kinematics, dynamics and control.

Mechanical engineering major Justin Whitney calls the new minor an “exciting” blend of engineering specialization that will offer new opportunities and applications. The robotics minor involves mechanical, electrical and computer engineering fields.

“From my previous internship experience, projects seldom require the knowledge of a single engineering discipline, Whitney says. “The robotics minor covers several fields and will allow me to become a better-educated and more attractive candidate for future employment.”

The University of Maine, founded in 1865, is the state’s premier public university, located in the town of Orono. It is among the most comprehensive higher education institutions in the Northeast and attracts students from across the U.S. and more than 60 countries. It currently enrolls 12,000 total undergraduate and graduate students who can directly participate in groundbreaking research working with world-class scholars. Students are offered 88 bachelor’s degree programs, 64 master’s degree programs, 25 doctoral programs and one of the oldest and most prestigious honors programs in the U.S. The university promotes environmental stewardship on its campus, with substantial efforts aimed at conserving energy, recycling and adhering to green building standards in new construction. For more information about the University of Maine visit http://www.umaine.edu

ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine has received a $12.4 million grant from the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology for construction of its new deepwater offshore wind energy research and testing facility.

The 30,000 square foot addition to UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center will be the only facility of its kind in the United States to include complete development capabilities for designing, prototyping and testing large structural hybrid  composite and nanocomposite components for the deep water offshore wind energy industry.

“This was a formidable competition across all fields of science and engineering that was set up last summer for all universities and non-profits in the United States,” says Habib Dagher, director of UMaine’s AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center. “The goal was to identify research projects that would have a significant impact on the science and engineering competitiveness of the United States. We’re pleased that the University of Maine was among one of the 11 universities selected by a science peer review committee.”

The new Advanced Nanocomposites in Renewable Energy Laboratory (ANREL)  will support a materials and engineering research program designed to capitalize on two of the state’s key resources, wind energy and wood.

Wood is a potential renewable feedstock for new lignocellulose-based nanocomposites. This still-experimental materials technology uses nanoscale, cellulose-based fibers naturally produced in forest products to add stiffness and strength to polymer composites.

“I am delighted to have helped successfully secure funding for this important project,” says U.S. Sen. Susan Collins. “I am a strong supporter of UMaine’s Composites Center because of its excellence in research and development, and because of the project’s vital role in securing our renewable energy needs.  This new facility will be one of the nation’s leading laboratories for the development of advanced composites for offshore wind energy research.”

“In a time of economic distress, it is vital for Congress to focus on both short-term relief, as well as on a long-term comprehensive energy strategy that reduces America’s dependence on foreign oil, creates jobs, embraces renewable and alternative sources of energy, and, most importantly, makes energy prices affordable for consumers,” stated U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe on Friday. “With its Advanced Nanocomposites in Renewable Energy Laboratory (ANREL) already spearheading efforts to solve the current challenges being driven by the energy crisis, the University of Maine is in a unique position with the research and technology capabilities already in place, to ensure that offshore wind development become a success along the East Coast.

Maine has an estimated 149 gigawatts of offshore wind energy within 50 nautical miles of its shoreline, according to figures from UMaine. Experts estimate that developing 5 gigawatts of offshore wind in Maine would create 15,000 jobs and bring $20 billion to the state.

“The University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center has been central to our vision of increasing manufacturing and technology jobs here in Maine, promoting renewable energy production, and growing the economy and jobs in the State,” stated Gov. John Baldacci on Friday. “I am pleased that the Federal government has again recognized the work of Dr. Habib Dagher and his team. The Center plays a vital role in realizing Maine’s potential for deep water offshore wind generation and Maine’s ability to become more energy independent.”

The ANREL addition is designed to develop durable advanced composites materials suitable for the harsh offshore environment, which must withstand both high wind stresses and a corrosive environment. It will include a nanocomposites laboratory, prototyping space for large composite structures, a large structural testing laboratory with a test stand capable of supporting prototype 70-meter wind blades, and mechanical and environmental testing labs.

“This is another important step forward for clean energy development and job creation in Maine,” U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud stated Friday. “The research conducted at the new lab will complement the cutting edge advancements being made at the University of Maine and position our homegrown clean energy industry for future growth. This project represents a win for the local economy with the construction jobs that will be created.”

Funding for UMaine’s new facility is being distributed to Maine through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which Collins helped author.  In addition to UMaine, NIST grant awards totaling $123 million were announced Friday to support the construction of new scientific research facilities at 10 other universities nationwide and will launch more than $250 million in new laboratory construction projects beginning early next year.

“These awards will create jobs by helping to fund twelve major, shovel-ready construction projects,” stated U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke in a news release Friday. “These new, state-of-the-art facilities will help keep the United States at the forefront of scientific and technological innovation, and will support economic growth.”

More information is available at www.nist.gov/recovery.

ORONO, Maine – University of Maine electrical and computer engineering Professor John Vetelino has been conferred as a 2010 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow.

Vetelino received the honor for his contributions to acoustic wave properties of piezoelectric crystals and their application in sensors.

The IEEE Grade of Fellow is conferred by the Board of Directors upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year does not exceed one-tenth of one percent of the total voting membership of the institute, making it a very prestigious honor.

“His IEEE award is the first for any electrical and computer engineering faculty in the state of Maine and possibly any engineer in Maine,” according to UMaine Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Chair Mohamad Musavi, who nominated Vetelino for the award.

To become an IEEE Fellow, the nominee must have accomplishments that have contributed importantly to the advancement or application of engineering, science and technology, bringing the realization of significant value to society.

“He is a devoted scientist, educator, and public servant who has made significant contributions to the area of bulk and surface acoustic waves and their applications in sensor science and technology,” Musavi wrote of Vetelino in his nomination.

At UMaine, Vetelino is one of the founding members of the Laboratory for Advanced Surface Science and Technology (LASST), an interdisciplinary research facility focusing on research of advanced materials in areas related to microelectronics, sensors, composites, paper, and biotechnology.

He received the UMaine Distinguished Maine Professor Award in 2008, and the UMaine Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award in 1980.

In addition to advising more than 50 masters and doctoral candidates, Vetelino has received more than 100 science and education research contracts totaling more than $25 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense (DOD), government laboratories, and industrial laboratories. He also received 25 NSF science education grants for involving highly qualified undergraduates in state-of-the-art research.

The numerous research breakthroughs by Vetelino and his research groups have resulted in the incubation of several small sensor companies from Dr Vetelino’s group, namely, Mainely Sensors, Sensor Research and Development Corporation, BIODE Corporation and Microconversion Technology. He also consults with government laboratories and many industries and serves as a reviewer for several scientific journals and government funding agencies.

When asked what the award meant to him, Vetelino said he has received other recognition for his work, but that being named an IEEE is significant.

“It’s probably the highest award that an electrical engineer can ever receive,” he says. “It’s an award that requires a tremendous amount of scrutiny in terms of the nomination process, and then in how the actual award winner is chosen.”

He noted that the competition in the northeast region is particularly tough because he was up again researchers from institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Yale and Columbia universities.

Vetelino formally will be recognized in October 2010 as an IEEE Fellow at the IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium in San Diego, California.

ORONO — Alston D. “Pete” Correll and Ada Lee Correll of Atlanta, Georgia, have provided a $2 million gift to the University of Maine. The gift will be directed to four key areas at UMaine, where Pete Correll received two master’s degrees in engineering, one in 1966 and one in 1967.

The Corrells are highly respected community leaders and philanthropists in their home state of Georgia, where they were recognized last week as “Philanthropists of the Year” by the Atlanta chapter of the Association for Fundraising Professionals.  That award recognized their work to enhance Atlanta’s healthcare, cultural and educational resources.

The Correll gift will support four priority areas at the University of Maine:

• a new Presidential Chair in Energy which will enable UMaine to recruit a leading national expert in offshore wind and tidal energy development.  Together with the university’s recent $8 million federal grant supporting the development of this new technology, this gift will fortify UMaine’s position as an international leader in the field;

• new graduate fellowships (scholarships) for each of UMaine’s five colleges and scholarship funds in the Dept. of Ecology and Environmental Science;

• a new Professorship in Early Childhood Literacy in UMaine’s College of Education and Human Development;

• an unrestricted “excellence” fund allowing UMaine President Robert Kennedy to address immediate priorities and enhance programs not covered by state funding, tuition or endowments.

“It’s so much more fun to give money away than it is to earn it,” Pete Correll says. “It makes us feel really good if we can have an impact on a certain number of people and give them a chance they wouldn’t have had otherwise.  That’s as good a feeling as you can have in life.”

“This extraordinary gift will have a significant positive impact on the University of Maine, and we are most thankful to Pete and Ada Lee for their generosity,” Kennedy says.  “It will help us to enhance our teaching and research activities in areas of critical importance to our state and its future.  This gift represents a landmark moment for UMaine and we look forward to using it to reinforce the institution’s unique and vital role as the state’s research and graduate education university.”

Pete Correll, chair of Atlanta Equities, a new company he founded, retired recently from a 40-year-career as a highly respected and visionary international leader in the forest products industry. During his tenure at Georgia-Pacific, he transformed that company into a global consumer product powerhouse. Under his leadership, G-P garnered the best safety records in its industry sector, became a better environmental steward, and greatly expanded opportunities for women and minorities.

Ada Lee Correll began her career as a school teacher in Old Town, where she started a lifelong commitment to children and young people.  In addition to raising the Corrells’ two children, she has devoted her life as an effective community leader, working to enhance the quality of life for all Georgians.  She currently chairs the Emory University School of Medicine’s $500 million fundraising campaign.

“We are passionate about education and children.  That’s why the educational component was included in the gift,” says Ada Lee Correll, who also noted that their time living in Maine had a transformative impact on their lives.

“We left Maine a whole lot more prepared to deal with the world than when we moved there, and we remember our time at the university and in the community fondly,” she says.

Several UMaine officials also applauded the gift and praised the Corrells’ generosity and foresight in helping to advance the university as the state’s premier research and teaching institution.

“Hiring a Correll Presidential Chair in Energy is critical to the University of Maine’s research efforts and the future economy of Maine,” says College of Engineering Dean Dana Humphrey. “It will help us move forward in the effort to develop offshore wind and tidal energy and develop a cost effective source of power to further the state’s economy,” he says.

The gift will go a long way in attracting more high quality graduate students, says Daniel Sandweiss, dean of the Graduate School.  Because the graduate fellowships are funded for five years rather than the typical three and because they come with a higher than average stipend, “we will be able to recruit really excellent students – most of whom will be doctoral students – who will contribute to the research and education mission of UMaine,” he says.

The Correll Professorship in Early Literacy will be the first named professorship in the College of Education and Human Development.

“This is a significant development, which will enhance UMaine’s leadership role in research and scholarship in this important field of study,” says College of Education and Human Development Dean Anne Pooler.  “We have faculty members with international stature in literacy studies, the Correll Professorship will provide important new opportunities.”

The University of Maine System Board of Trustees formally accepted this gift at its meeting today in Bangor.

ORONO – In collaboration with the University of Maine, the Maine Public Utilities Commission’s Efficiency Maine Program is seeking applications for a Wind Turbine Site Survey within the state. UMaine is responsible for tower erection, data collection and review, and tower decommissioning, and students will develop detailed reports discussing data validation and project viability.

The survey provides qualified applicants with a preliminary assessment of the potential for wind generation at a specific site. In the end, successful applicants will have a sense of whether wind power at their site is viable.

Eligible participants include Maine-based schools, communities, non-profit organizations and businesses. Residential applications are not eligible.

Applicants must pass the minimum requirements of the survey in order to qualify to go forward to other elements, which will be rated in the decision-making process.

They also must show that they have the intention and the means to establish a working wind turbine at the location if the study proves the site to be of sufficient wind capacity.

The application deadline is Friday, Oct. 30.

Detailed copies of the RFP are available by contacting UMaine Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Technology Paul L. Villeneuve, 5708 Barrows Hall, Room 9, Orono, ME 04469-5708, (207) 581-2271, or e-mail paul.villeneuve@umit.maine.edu.

ORONO — “Composites Manufacturing” magazine has recognized Habib Dagher, director of the University of Maine’s AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center as one of the industry’s leaders.

Dagher is one of 16 people out of a pool of 50 nominees who were selected to receive the B.E.S.T. Award, which stands for bright, energetic, skilled trailblazers.

In the current issue, which highlights the award recipients, Dagher is described as advancing the use of composites in a variety of industries, particularly military and infrastructure applications.

They cite the recently developed and implemented Bridge in a Backpack that aims to streamline the process of bridge building by using lightweight rigidified composite arches that are easily transported in place of heavy steel beams.

They also note his efforts to build ships made with composite materials for the Navy, and assist in rebuilding efforts for hurricane victims using composite building materials.

Dagher’s other achievements include his work with the wind energy industry, testifying before the U.S. Senate and meeting with U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu to propose an offshore wind energy testing facility in Maine.

When notified of the award, Dagher was quick to share the credit for this achievement.

“This award goes to all 150 faculty, staff, and students who work at the composites center at UMaine,” Dagher says. “It is humbling that Maine is recognized for this first-time award.”

ORONO, Maine – A recent discovery by a University of Maine engineering professor and his collaborators is expected to make it easier for doctors to find cancerous tumors and start treatment in the early stages of the disease when it can be most effective.

Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering Michael Mason and his collaborator, Dr. Peter Allen at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York have been awarded nearly $78,292 from the Maine Cancer Foundation for their project, “Improved Cancer Detection through the Use of Engineered Bioconjugates.”

They are developing a new class of cancer identifying agents to detect cancerous tumors in the pancreas and liver. The agents are based on chemically modified noble metal nanoparticles labeled with bio-active molecules. Bio-active molecules are antibodies against cancer markers found on the surface of cancer cells.

These particles are non-toxic and can specifically seek out and attach to cancer cells which are difficult to distinguish from healthy tissue by imaging studies, such as MRI or CT scans.   Though only a few billionths of a meter across, they generate very strong x-ray signals effectively making the cancer cells visible to doctors.

The project has the potential to vastly improve early detection of many types of cancer.  In addition to improved images, these particles could replace current Iodine based contrasting agents to which many patients respond negatively, says Mason.

Although the technology is still a few years away from being used by medical professionals, researchers have successfully tested the detection process in mice.

Contact Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571

ORONO — The University of Maine’s Electrical Engineering Technology program and the Maine Association of Engineers will offer a 14-lecture course on the subject of alternative energy, beginning on Friday Sept. 4.  The course will take place in 126 Barrows Hall Fridays from 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m. through Dec. 11.  Open to anybody who is interested, the course will also be available through Web-based instructional technology, a feature that should be particularly attractive to professional engineers interested in the subject matter and the opportunity to earn up to 14 credits (one for each session) applicable to license renewal. UMaine students should register for the course (EET 498-002) as they would any other course.

The cost for taking only selected course lectures breaks down as follows:

1-3 sessions: $25/session
4-8 sessions: $20/session
9 or more sessions: $15/session

Payment by check, payable to the Maine Association of Engineers, will be accepted.  Such payments, along with a list of applicable sessions, should be mailed to:

Maine Association of Engineers
Attention: Judith Pearse, PE
5711 Boardman Hall, Room 119
University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469-5711

For more information, contact Pearse at jude_pearse@umit.maine.edu or (207) 542-5523.

UMaine professors, industry executives and government leaders will lead the discussions.  A complete list of the sessions and instructors follows:

EET 498 (002) – Alternative Energy
Agenda

9/4  Energy: Will the Future Ever be Like the Past?
Jim LaBrecque

9/11  Biofuels from Non-food Resources
Peter VanWalsum, Associate Professor, Forest Bioproducts Research Initiative, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Maine

9/18  Fuel Cell Systems and Applications
S. David Dvorak, Professor, Mechanical Engineering Technology, University of Maine
Coordinator, Fuel Cell Systems and Hydrogen, RES: the School for Renewable Energy Sciences Akureyri, Iceland

9/25  Intelligent Heterogeneous Energy from Alternative Resources (iHEAR)
Ali Abedi, Assistanct Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maine

10/2  Electrical Smart Grids
Mohamad Musavi, Chair and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maine

10/9  Forest Biorefinery Producing Pulp, Transportation Fuels and Chemicals
Adriaan van Heiningen, J. Larcom Ober Chair in Chemical Engineering, University of Maine, Orono and FiDiPro Professor, Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland

10/16  Co-Generation in Maine Industry and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Glenn Poole, Manufacturing  Support Manager – Energy, Verso Paper in Bucksport, ME

10/23  Building Energy Modeling Seminar
George Callas, Director of Sustainability at the Newforest Institute

10/30    The GridSolar Project
Richard Silkman, GridSolar LLC

11/6  Electric Power from Tidal Energy: Is This Part of the Answer?
Rick Armstrong, Executive Director of the Tidal Energy Demonstration and Evaluation Center (TEDEC)

11/13  Offshore Wind Energy, Part I
Habib Dagher, Bath Iron Work Professor and Director of the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center (AEWC)  and Professor of Civil/Structural Engineering, University of Maine

11/20  Offshore Wind Energy, Part II
Habib Dagher Bath Iron Work Professor and Director of the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center (AEWC)  and Professor of Civil/Structural Engineering, University of Maine

12/4  Nuclear:  Is It Part of the Energy Supply Future?
Paul Villeneuve, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Technology, University of Maine

12/11  Maine’s Energy Future
John Kerry, Governor’s Office of Energy Independence & Security