Maine Science Podcast

Asheesh is a mechanical engineer with over 15 years of experience in research, teaching, and entrepreneurship. He's an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Director of Research at the Composites Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL), at the University of Southern Maine. He teaches materials science and math-based courses at USM, where he also gets to shoot stuff with lasers, break stuff apart, and put things together. 

A...

Lydia grew up in Bangor and has been immersed in mechanical engineering since entering college at the University of Maine. A four-year varsity athlete, Lydia was was UMaine's co-valedictorian in 2024, and in her graduate work has focused on textile properties, blending her love of running with interest in engineering.

This conversation was recorded in April 2025.

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The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery...

Damian grew up in Brooklyn, NY and found his way into marine science and then to Maine. His research is broad, covering aquaculture, seaweeds, and kelp, and using oceanographic tools to help make decisions about aquaculture projects.

Damian was one of the 5 Minute Genius™ speakers at this past year’s Maine Science Festival; you can see his talk on our YouTube channel.The link to the paper about kelp that recently made the cover of S...

Susan Hunter is a farmer who lives in Unity, Maine. She and her husband were longtime dairy farmers, and after her husband passed away Sue turned to hay farming. A few years ago, testing of her soil - which she talks about in this conversation - revealed that her land was heavily contaminated with PFAS - human made  organofluorine chemical compounds that are known as forever-chemicals. Sue decided to partner with researchers from U...

Cory grew up in Maine and after spending time as a sea kayak guide and a ski instructor, found his way to biology and laboratory research. Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Haller Lab at MDI Biological Laboratory, Cory is interested in the cell biology of kidney vascularization and uses renal organoids and zebrafish to investigate how we may, one day, be able to rebuild the kidney and develop non-donor solutions to kidney ...

Seth grew up in Maine, and his interest in science was influenced by both his environmental scientist father and one of his grade school science teachers. Seth's research is deeply multidisciplinary, and his research is not only adding to one of the longest running research projects around (the Juno Ice Field Research), it provides fantastic opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. 

If you'd like to learn more about Se...

Kourtney grew up in Southeast Michigan and received a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology & Environmental Studies from Western Michigan University. As an undergraduate she interned on the trail crew at Baxter State Park and fell in love with the state of Maine, so returned in 2010 to earn a Master of Science in Forest Resources from the University of Maine. Kourtney remained at UMaine and in 2016 became the first person to graduate...

Today’s episode is a conversation with Jamie Fogg who is an undergraduate at the University of Maine studying marine science. Jamie has been doing research in different areas of marine science since high school, and has recently been awarded the  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship - one of only two students in Maine and 130 nationwide to receive this honor. From whale...

Bob is a civil engineer who discovered a love of research at the start of his engineering career, which led to researching composites in engineering. After 20+ years in research, Bob moved on to a more commercial role outside of Maine, and he was called back to Maine in 2019 to take on the role of CEO for Global Secure Shipping, leveraging his engineering background, experience with composites, and business management skills. 

This ...

Emily is the owner of Maine-ly Apples, and an incredibly enthusiastic fruit farmer - although that's our description, not hers. Her work is best described as a true application of what scientists have learned, and her approach to understanding her apples and other fruits is a great overview of how science and the science process gets applied in the "real world".

If you’re listening to this near its release date in early March 2025, ...

Allie is self-professed fan of insects, and the first vector biologist hired at the University of Maine. Her work focuses on medical entomology, vector-borne disease ecology, and epidemiology, and is a great example of how interdisciplinary teams of researchers can do comprehensive work that may actually seem like more than the sum of their parts. 

This conversation was recorded in January 2025.

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The Maine Science Podcast is a p...

Curt is a marine biologist for Ready Seafood, which supplies live and processed lobster products from the coast of Maine to retail, wholesale, and food service companies worldwide. Curt's research program at Ready Seafood focuses on improving the sustainability and quality of lobsters through research and collaborations with academic institutions and industry partners. 

Two quick notes for our listeners who don’t live in Maine. DMR ...

Ian is a forester with Seven Islands Land Company, but one who is not out in the forest every day. His work is deeply data heavy, and his forest management techniques rely on the data collected not just by the foresters in the woods and (significantly) on  other, more technology-reliant techniques. Odds are, the image you have of how a forester sustainably manages the woods is not exactly aligned with how it's done.

This conversatio...

Stacey is a civil engineer and a General Superintendent with Consigli’s Portland office. In her role, Stacey manages the construction of large-scale commercial projects, with a focus on life science and pharmaceutical facilities. She earned a B.S. in civil and environmental engineering at UMaine and earned her MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

A video of Stacey talking about being in the construction industry can be found ...

Aleta is a conservation biologist who has completed work for local soil and water conservation districts as well as state and national organizations. She specializes in ecological restoration and community science and conservation. Her conservation work has been a second career, following a 20+ year career in education.

If you'd like to connect with Aleta, she can be reached at greenwayscenter@gmail.com. 

Our conversation was recorde...

Mehdi Tajvidi is a Professor of Renewable Nanomaterials in the School of Forest Resources at the University of Maine. His areas of research interest are production, characterization and performance evaluation of renewable nanomaterials and their composites. Mehdi’s core research area at UMaine is focused on utilization of cellulose nanomaterials in high volume applications such as coatings, packaging and building products.

Our conve...

Jacqui White is the Director of the Center for Biometric Analysis at The Jackson Laboratory. Her background in the clinical characterization of genetically altered mice coupled with her experience in establishing and running large operations critical to genetics research has been deeply beneficial to JAX and science. Jacqui was part of the 2024 Maine Science Festival, and her work is endlessly fascinating.

Our conversation was recor...

RJ Perry, Laboratory Technical Manager at the VEMI Lab at the University of Maine. VEMI Lab, and the people who make it up, are one of far too many hidden gems in Maine, and hopefully this conversation will put at least a small spotlight on the work they do. 

If you are a student at UMaine and you want to work for VEMI, send your resume to RJ! https://umaine.edu/vemi/people/rj-perry/

Our conversation was recorded in May 2024.

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Th...

Max Tritt is a Fisheries Biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Max has lived all over the country and after serving the military for 20 years followed his passion for fish. Max is actively involved in outreach - he's been a presenter at the Maine Science Festival numerous times - and his work as a scientist for the Federal government provides some insights into how the Federal government uses an...