College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences

A $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation will allow a multidisciplinary team of researchers to examine the impact of rising ocean temperatures on the ecology and economics of the Gulf of Maine. Led by Andrew Pershing from the University of Maine and Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), the team will conduct a […]

University of Maine marine scientist Rhian Waller has been named a Fellow in an elite international group of adventurers who encourage scientific discovery while exploring land, sea and space. Founded in 1904, Explorers Club members attempt to attain new heights and depths; they’ve been the first to reach the moon, North Pole, South Pole, the […]

I. Introduction The College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture (NSFA) has a three-part mission—education, research, and service—covering a range of areas within the natural sciences, forestry, and agriculture. We offer 28 undergraduate majors, 14 Ph.D. programs, 24 M.S. degree programs, and six Master of professional studies programs that provide students with a wide range […]

Two University of Maine researchers are teaming up with a University of California-Berkeley professor to study the sinking rate and trajectories of phytoplankton in relation to particle shape and water turbulence. Phytoplankton provide the food supply at the base of the marine food web and help maintain the health of the atmosphere by absorbing and […]

The National Science Foundation has awarded University of Maine researchers $574,617 to study the effects of ocean acidification on the marine ecosystem of the Aleutian Islands. UMaine professor Bob Steneck and postdoctoral research associate Doug Rasher, both based at the Darling Marine Center in Walpole, Maine, will work with Jim Estes of the University of […]

The New England Wild Flower Society awarded Eric Doucette, a University of Maine environmental sciences doctoral student, with the 2013 Maine State Award. The New England Wild Flower Society, originally the Society for the Protection of Native Plants, was founded in 1900 and is the nation’s oldest plant conservation organization. Each year, the society presents […]

A University of Maine researcher is participating in five projects aimed at improving nationwide science instruction and assessments. Michelle Smith, assistant professor in UMaine’s School of Biology and Ecology, is the principal investigator on four projects and co-principal investigator on another granted $6.8 million in total funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF); UMaine’s portion […]

A research team recommending that greater conservation measures be applied to two rare, dense coral garden communities that it discovered in the Gulf of Maine has three University of Maine connections. Rhian Waller, associate research professor at UMaine’s Darling Marine Center in Walpole; Steven Auscavitch, master’s candidate in marine biology; and Les Watling, Professor Emeritus […]

Assessing the potential for emergence of new cropland weeds in northern New England as a result of climate change is the focus of the first study to be supported by the Northern New England Collaborative Research Funding Program. The program is a partnership of the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station at the University of […]

Sandra Butler, University of Maine professor of social work, is collaborating with a University of Southern Maine colleague to write a monthly profile about Mainers struggling economically. The yearlong series by Butler and USM sociologist Luisa Deprez is titled “The People Next Door.” It’s scheduled to debut Sept. 28 in the Bangor Daily News. The […]