System Research

The Research Year in Review

In 1997 the Maine Legislature established the Maine Economic Improvement Fund (MEIF). This fund is invested at the University of Maine and the University of Southern Maine in six areas of research targeted by the State. The goal is to foster economic development in Maine through research and development.

Experience in other states attests to the profound impact that strong university research programs can have on economic development. High-technology centers such as the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, Route 128 around Boston, Silicon Valley in California, and Austin, Texas, are direct outgrowths of university-based science and engineering research. Scientific discoveries in commercially important fields such as plastics, new materials, computers, telecommunications, and medical products are creating millions of jobs and contributing over $600 billion per year to the national economy. It's easy to see why the federal government invests over $12.4 billion per year to support university research.

Per capita, Maine ranks 50th in federal awards for university research. The University of Maine System and the Maine Legislature are working hard to change that. MEIF investments are helping us develop a critical mass of infrastructure, expertise, and equipment needed to compete for federal research and development grants. And MEIF funds help provide the matching funds many federal grants require. Building a strong university research program in Maine will:

• Broaden the State's economic base by developing new industries in Maine
• Add value to Maine's traditional products
• Substantially increase federal funds invested in Maine
• Help offset Maine's loss of defense dollars
• Generate new well-paying, high-quality jobs
• Present new opportunities for Maine's youth to stay in Maine

We are pleased to present this annual report on research at the University of Maine System in FY 1999. We look forward to continued success working together with State legislators to promote an expanding Maine economy.

Research Highlights

These projects represent a small sample of the research and development work made possible in part through MEIF or through funds generated by the Research and Development Bond passed by Maine voters in 1998.

• Detecting Chemical or Biological Poisons in the Air We Breathe
• Automating the Recognition of Changes in Satellite Images
• Simulations Make a Maine Business Internationally Competitive
• Saving Our Waterways by Using Less Fertilizer
• Studying Mice to Understand Human Autoimmune Diseases
• Providing Maine Wardens with New Forensic Tools
• Testing Farm-Raised Salmon for Deadly Viruses
• The Red Tide Is Coming-But When?
• Determining the Sex of a Bovine Embryo
• Detecting the Presence of E. coli in Foods Before They Are Shipped

UMaine is the flagship university
of the seven-member University System.