Research Resources

The discovery, synthesis, and dissemination of knowledge are the goals of graduate level study. The University provides varied sources of organized research and learning opportunities through which students are introduced to the concepts of independent thinking in order to reach these goals.

In the past few years, funding for sponsored research, teaching, and public service activities of the faculty has increased to nearly $17 million. These activities include research in areas as diverse as wildlife populations, marine resources, surface science technology, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Canadian-maritime history, language development in children, and counselor education.

The University Libraries. The Raymond H. Fogler Library, Maine’s largest research library in Maine contains 960,000 volumes, 6,700 periodical subscriptions and continuations, 1.5 million microforms, and a rapidly growing number of electronic resources. Fogler Library is the regional depository for federal government publications and houses approximately 2.1 million U.S. Federal, Maine State and Canadian federal and provincial documents. It is also Maine’s only U.S. Patent and Trademark Depository Library.

Through URSUS, the online union catalog of the University of Maine System libraries and other participating libraries: the Maine State Library; the Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library; and the Bangor Public Library, faculty and students have access to over two million volumes. URSUS indexes the majority of the print and nonprint materials for the libraries, including books, serials, microforms, sound recordings, maps, government documents and other audiovisual formats. In addition to a bibliographic description of each item, URSUS provides location and status information.

Fogler Library also provides access to the electronic resources available for the university community. The electronic resources include indexes, databases, electronic journals, electronic books, websites, and other material selected or created by librarians. The library also provides for online reference service through Ask a Librarian, www.library.umaine.edu/reference/askalib.htm and also allows patrons to view their own record and renew their books through URSUS.

The Reference Department is the contact point for general reference assistance. The Department provides research assistance, database searching, and conducts instruction in the social sciences, humanities, business, and education. Individual research assistance is available by appointment. The Department is also the service point for Federal and Canadian documents.

The Science and Engineering Center, located within Fogler Library, services the scientific reference, instruction, and research needs of the University Community and public. The Center houses Maine’s only Patent and Trademark Depository Library. The Darling Marine Center Library, located in Walpole, Maine, is part of the Science and Engineering Center and has a collection of more then 12,000 volumes focused on marine studies.

The Special Collections Department contains an extensive collection of published bibliographical, historical, and descriptive works on Maine, as well as literary titles by its authors. These books, pamphlets, and state documents provide extensive important insights into Maine cities, towns, counties, people, and institutions. They are complemented by a substantial body of original source materials. The department also houses rare books and university publications and records. Since 1998 it has been the home of the William S. Cohen Archives.

Students and faculty may borrow books available at any of the UM campus libraries using the online requestor function. Fogler Library now participates in the Maine Info Net which allows online borrowing among the member libraries. Other materials may be requested from Fogler’s Interlibrary Loan Department.

Additional information about materials and services can be found at the Fogler Library website www.library.umaine.edu. Please use the web site to access URSUS, the online indexes and databases, electronic resources, and other collections. The website also gives detailed information on the library departments, collections, services, and contacts. The general telephone number for the library is 207-581-1666.

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs has broad responsibilities for fostering and encouraging research and other scholarly activities throughout the campus. The office provides support services to faculty and staff seeking extramural funding for research, teaching, or public service projects, and to those who direct extramurally funded projects. On behalf of the University, the office oversees the submission of proposals and shares with the Principal Investigator or Project Director responsibility for the management of grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements.

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs provides administrative oversight for the research risk committees (i.e., human subjects, animal welfare, and biosafety) and the Faculty Research Funds Program. It is also responsible for developing policies for research and related activities.

UNET Technology Services (formerly CAPS). A service of the University of Maine System, UNET was formed in 1997 with the merger of the University of Maine System’s Computing and Data Processing Services (CAPS) and distance learning technologies and services (Education Network of Maine). UNET’s two branches are Educational Services, headquartered in Augusta, and Technology Services, headquartered in Orono in a wing of Neville Hall.

UNET Technology Services provides networking, internet access, research, instructional and administrative computing support to all System campuses, centers, and sites. Faculty can take advantage of new computing and networking media in their instruction and students can enroll in courses offered over the ITV and compressed video systems.

Through the collaboration of UMaine and UNET, students can obtain course schedules, grades and register for classes via the Interactive Voice Response system (581-MAIN). Campus or home computers can be used to request transcripts, course and grade information, audit progress towards student’s degrees, obtain transfer equivalency information, and participate in web-based course conferences or classes.

The statewide data network run by UNET Technology Services supports Internet Services for all students, faculty and staff at UMaine and the other System institutions. Among these services are electronic mail, USENET news, and the World-Wide Web. UNET Technology Services supports Windows and Macintosh software to take advantage of these services and also provides access through its central computer systems.

UNET supports the video networks over which the University System delivers distance education, and works with the System institutions to install and maintain on-campus data networks. In addition, UNET Technology Services maintains remote dial-up access via modem pools around the state. Home computers and modems can be used with our Windows and Macintosh software to connect to the Internet and to the central UNET computers.

UNET consultants are available during normal office hours to assist students, faculty and staff with computing, statistics networking or distance education-based course design. Call (207) 581-3524 or e-mail support@maine.edu. For more information on UNET and UNET Technology Services, see the WWW site at www.unet.maine.edu.

Information Technologies provides high quality technological resources for use in the teaching/learning/research environment, including telecommunications, networking resources, computing services, and support and training to all members of the academic and administrative community.

Information Technologies’ main office is on the second floor of the Telecom Building (attached to Neville Hall), but many of its services are in the other buildings on the campus. Visit our web page at: www.umaine.edu/it/

See our list of services below:

Help Center, Room 17 Shibles Hall - Help Center consultants provide walk-in and telephone assistance for Windows/Intel and Macintosh software support, FirstClass Conferencing and Internet support, disk recovery, virus utilities, and file conversion. Call (207) 581-2506, or e-mail: ITHELP@umit.maine.edu.

Public Computer Clusters - Windows/Intel and Mac personal computers are available at the Memorial Union and Fogler Library. Additional computers are available in the classroom clusters in Donald P. Corbett Business Building, Little Hall, Boardman Hall (Windows/Intel computers), and Barrows and Lengyel Halls (Macintosh computers). The E-mail Station in the Memorial Union provides students access to computers for e-mail and Web Access only. All clusters provide a wide variety of software and Internet applications, including Microsoft Office, FirstClass, Netscape, and URSUS (the Library system).

Computer Connection, First Floor - Memorial Union, is a store for The University of Maine community offering personal computers, printers, computer peripherals, memory, supplies and software at discounted educational prices. Phone (207) 581-2580 for a general catalog or for information about financing and renting computers. View our Web Page at ccweb.umecit.maine.edu/ or visit our showroom in the Memorial Union.

Computer Repair, Room 107 Lord Hall, services all university-owned computer equipment, as well as computer equipment owned by staff members and students affiliated with The University of Maine. It provides warranty service for Apple, Dell, Toshiba computers, and most Hewlett-Packard Laserjet-series printers purchased at the Computer Connection. Extended warranty AppleCare contracts are also available. For more information call (207) 581-2512.

UMaineNet provides all students living in all UMaine residence facilities (with the exception of University Park) internet access, telnet capabilities, a FirstClass account (the Uni-versity’s computer conference system), as well as access to various software packages for both Windows/Intel and Mac. For more information call (207) 581-2506, or e-mail: ITHELP@umit.maine.edu.

FirstClass offers personal e-mail (including Internet mail services); public and private electronic conferencing and discussion groups; online chatting with other users; as well as Netnews and ListServe subscription services. Using your free account, you can participate in discussions on topics ranging from multi-culturalism to favorite movies, keep informed about campus events, as well as obtain course information, syllabi, and assignments. For more information call (207) 581-2506 or visit: www.umaine.edu/it/itweb/rtfclass.html.

Instructional Workshops are offered in a hands-on computer classroom for introduction to operating systems and a variety of software applications for Windows and Macintosh. Schedules, fees, and registration information are posted in the Public Clusters, at our website, www.umaine.edu/it/itweb/rtworkshops.html, and on FirstClass. Phone (207) 581-1638 for more information.

Phone Service - Each residence hall room is equipped with a working telephone jack. However, students must provide their own touch-tone phone. In addition, students may sign up for long distance service through the AT&T program. Students living in the residence halls also have access to a Meridian Mailbox (voice mail).

Video Services, Room 220 Alumni Hall - Provides satellite programming to any of the 30 classrooms which have been added to the campus cable television network. We also provide videotape duplication services with equipment for VHS, S-VHS, and U-matic SP formats. For more information call 207-581-2577.

Audio Visual Services, Room 123 Lord Hall - Provides A.V. equipment (color TV monitors, video tape players, computer/video projection devices, overhead projectors, slide projectors, and public address systems, etc.) for classroom and department use on the UMaine campus as well as providing support for the high-tech classrooms in the Donald P. Corbett Business Building. For a complete list of equipment that can be scheduled, please call 207-581-2500.

The Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology (LASST) is an interdisciplinary research unit within The University of Maine comprised of faculty, post-docs, graduate students and undergraduates from the departments of Chemistry, Physics & Astronomy, Chemical Engineering, and Electrical & Computer Engineering. LASST engages in research, public service, and educational activities providing a focus for training students and carrying out research in high technology areas related to surfaces, interfaces, and thin film materials. Research of advanced materials spans the spectrum from basic science to applied technology in areas related to industries both within and outside the State of Maine. Current projects include development of micro-sensors, synthesis of ceramic films and coatings, studies of friction, wear, and lubrication of surfaces, interfaces in composite materials, surface science of paper coatings, surface adhesion of polymers, catalytic reactions, and microelectronic materials. The research effort benefits from a full-time support staff of technical and administrative personnel, state-of-the-art instrumentation, and funding from a mix of university, state, federal, and industrial sources. More than twenty graduate students are carrying out thesis projects at LASST pursuing advanced degrees in Physics, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. LASST awards research assistantships to carry out graduate research and also participates in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program. Well-equipped facilities are available for synthesis, analysis and characterization, and processing of surfaces, interfaces, thin films, and electronic devices. These facilities include several ultra-high vacuum systems with instrumentation including ion beam and plasma-assisted thin film deposition sources, reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), field ion microscopy (FIM), and low energy ion scattering (LEIS). The tribology laboratory includes an atomic force microscope (AFM), a novel nanotribometer to study friction and wear at micrometer and nanometer length scales, and a pin-on-disc tester. LASST also maintains a class 1,000 clean room for fabrication and testing of microelectronic devices including photolithographic patterning and packaging equipment, computer-controlled gas delivery systems, a Hall effect apparatus, and microwave test equipment.

The Institute for Quaternary and Climate Studies is an interdisciplinary research unit with a focus on the Quaternary Period, a time of numerous glacial/ interglacial cycles leading up to the present. Research focuses on the timing, causes, and mechanisms of natural climate change, and on the effects of former climate changes on the physical, biological, chemical, social, and economic conditions of the past. Such studies provide important perspectives on Global Changes of the present and the future. The Institute includes faculty with joint appointments in the departments of Anthropology, Plant Biology and Pathology, Computer Sciences, Geological Sciences, History, and Oceanography. Research projects currently involve the United States, Canada, South America, Antarctica, Greenland, Europe, Siberia, and many regions of the world’s oceans. Collaborations and exchange programs are in effect with faculties at the University of Oslo, Norway, and the Universities of Stockholm and Lund, Sweden, among others.

The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research is the congressionally authorized water center for Maine. As the clearinghouse for water resource research, education, and public service, the Center serves as a primary source of objective information, research, and analyses. A major goal is the training of undergraduate students and graduate students to be future water resource professionals. The Center is the home of the Water Resources graduate options in Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Geological Sciences, and Civil Engineering (see www.umaine.edu/WaterResearch/EES/intro.html). These programs support M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Contacts with agencies and businesses made by students working in the Center often lead directly to career employment opportunities.

The Center is the premier vehicle for promoting interdisciplinary research, with 22 affiliated faculty from 4 colleges, 10 departments and 3 agencies, plus associates from state agencies, other Universities, and Maine businesses. Research topics include many aspects of environmental chemistry, geochemistry, environmental engineering, and environmental economics. Our major long-term watershed-scale research includes our 12-year whole-ecosystem experiment on acid rain, nutrient cycling, and forest health (in collaboration with International Paper Company), and our long-term calibrated watershed research on mercury and nitrogen at Acadia National Park, in collaboration with the U.S. Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Center houses the state-of-the-art Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, serving as the national analytical laboratory for the EPA flagship environmental monitoring program EMAP and the State of Maine Environmental Toxics Laboratory. The laboratory is one of the most comprehensive environmental research facilities in the northeast. Three ultra-clean chemical isolation ‘clean room’ facilities for low level organic toxics and heavy metal research allow for the preparation of samples free from outside contaminants, at concentrations as low as parts per quadrillion. This facility is one of only a handful in the U.S. for the testing of dioxins, furans, co-planar PCB’s and mercury.

For more information, visit us at www.umaine.edu/WaterResearch/

The Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station. For more than 116 years, the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station has undertaken research for Maine and its people. Originally devoted to research for Maine’s farm community, the Experiment Station is now Maine’s most important center for research in agriculture, forest resources, wildlife and fisheries and aquaculture. The Station maintains its offices and principal research laboratories at Orono. Additional research facilities include Aroostook Farm at Presque Isle, Highmoor Farm in Monmouth, Blueberry Hill Farm in Jonesboro, Rogers Farm in Old Town, Witter Teaching and Research Farm in Orono, the Lyle E. Littlefield Ornamentals Trial Garden and the Clapp Greenhouse at Orono, the Demeritt Forest in Orono, the Penobscot Experimental Forest in Bradley, and the Darling Marine Center in Walpole.

More than 100 scientists participate in research programs designed to apply the techniques of modern science to the needs of Maine. This commitment to relevance is seen in both applied and basic programs in agriculture, forestry, wildlife, human nutrition, food technology, fisheries and aquaculture, community economic development, and plant and animal biology. Public advisory committees provide advice in the development and oversight of the research programs.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension (UMCE) extends the resources of the University to the people of Maine wherever they live, an important responsibility of all land-grant colleges and universities. At work in Orono and in 16 county offices, more than 70 faculty members, 39 professionals, 67 aides and roughly 5,000 volunteers conduct educational programs to help Maine citizens solve problems at home, at work, on farms and in communities. In addition, UMCE partners with the Maine Sea Grant Program through the Maine Extension Team. Extension also administers the state’s 4-H program which involves nearly 21,000 Maine young people in educational clubs, camp and school activities. Programs are based on research performed at The University of Maine and other colleges and universities across the nation. In addition to county educators and volunteers, Extension personnel include state and area specialists, professionals, paraprofessionals, classified staff and administrators. County Extension Associations sponsor programs in each county. Maine’s Cooperative Extension is part of a nationwide system, supported by a three-way partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the land-grant colleges and universities, and county governments. Graduate students work with faculty and professionals on community-related projects that are mutually beneficial to students’ academic goals and the needs of Maine’s people. Information on graduate assistantships is available on UMCE’s website at www.umext.maine.edu/gradassist.htm. Information on fellowships and other funding opportunities with National Sea Grant is available at www.nsgo.seagrant.org/funding.html.

The Department of Industrial Cooperation. The University of Maine has accumulated skills, equipment, and facilities which are useful to private business, industry, and individuals. The Department of Industrial Cooperation (DIC) was established in 1946 to make the skills, equipment, and facilities of the University available to industry, government and citizens of the State, and to coordinate the use of these resources in a way that does not compromise the basic commitment of the University to teaching, research and public service. All University costs, including the operation of the Department, are paid by the client.

In addition, the Department of Industrial Cooperation acts as the liaison between business and industry and The University of Maine. The technology transfer office has several public service programs that provide assistance to inventors.

The Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center. The Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center (AEWC) is an interdisciplinary research organization which focuses on the underlying science, manufacturing technologies, and engineering of solutions for the use of composite materials. A special emphasis is the combination of wood with synthetic composites such as glass fiber reinforced polymers to create lightweight, economical, hybrid composites for large volume structural applications. The faculty, staff, graduate, and undergraduate students involved come from a variety of programs including Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wood Science & Technology, Business, and Mechanical Engineering. The Center is often involved in complex, large, multi-disciplinary projects requiring a team approach for successful completion. Such projects typically include integrating material, component, and structural system development. Students involved in these projects obtain their degrees from the appropriate home department while using the equipment and resources available at the AEWC. Another important component of the AEWC is its perspective on the importance of commercial development and transfer of technology to industrial partners.

A modern 30,000 ft.2 laboratory, completed in 1999, houses several unique laboratory spaces and equipment for the production, evaluation, and testing of materials and structural systems. Equipment in these areas include - Manufacturing: 2’ X 2’ and 4’ X 8’ compression molding press, twin-screw extruder, resin impregnator, pressure cylinder, filament winder, abrasive water jet machining, SCRIMP, and vacuum bagging equipment. Structural Testing: 45’ X 95’ reaction floor with movable 27’ high reaction wall for testing of large structures including buildings, bridges, ships, airplanes, etc., and structural components such as beams, panels, and built-up sections. The Structures Lab is equipped with two 10-ton overhead cranes, computer controlled hydraulic actuators in capacities ranging from 22,000 to 300,000 pounds, Material Evaluation: Walk-in environmental controlled chambers, Differential Scanning Calorimeter, Dynamic Mechanic Thermal Analyzer, Liquid Chromatograph, Light Microscopy, Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy, Acoustic Emission, Flame Spread, Impact Testing, Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation, and X-ray Microtomography.

The Pulp and Paper Foundation. Supported by private funding from nearly 120 companies located in 20 states as well as several hundred individual donations and endowment gifts, the foundation encourages a strong teaching and research program in Chemical Engineering, with a significant undergraduate scholarship program available to qualified students throughout the College of Engineering and the School of Engineering Technology.

The School of Marine Sciences (SMS) is a large unit of the University residing in the College of Natural Sciences Forestry and Agriculture. SMS is the focal home of both graduate and undergraduate academic programs, research, and public service activities related to scientific policy and resource topics of marine and coastal zone environments. At present, approximately 57 faculty are affiliated with SMS including full-time, part-time, and cooperating appointments. SMS, by its very nature, is an interdisciplinary unit dedicated to research, education and public service. Current areas of expertise and research include oceanography, aquaculture, marine biology, marine geology, seafloor ecology, fish and fisheries biology, fish pathology, seaweed biology, marine resource development and policy, and ocean engineering.

The School of Marine Sciences offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of M.S. and Ph.D. in Oceanography, M.S. and Ph.D. in Marine Biology, and M.S. in Marine Policy. An M.S. in Aquaculture may be developed in the near future.

Faculty of SMS provide leadership in research programs with emphasis on the Gulf of Maine, its related coastal zone, and in other cold-water and global systems. SMS faculty are headquartered at both the University’s Orono campus and its coastal marine laboratory campus, the Ira C. Darling Center (see below).

The School also develops and maintains relationships with other marine research institutions within the region. Examples include Maine Maritime Academy, the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bigelow Laboratory, the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and the Maine Geological Survey.

The Ira C. Darling Center, the University’s coastal marine laboratory, is located on the Damariscotta River estuary, approximately 100 miles south of the Orono campus in mid-coast Maine. Approximately 60 faculty, postdoctoral associates, graduate students, and support staff live in residence and conduct research encompassing the disciplines of benthic ecology and invertebrate life histories, macroalgal ecology, physiological ecology, microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, invertebrate nutritional physiology, aquaculture, and marine archaeology. The Center has 100,000 sq. ft. of laboratory space and a wide variety of modern analytical research instrumentation. The Center has housing for 120 people and is equipped with a wide spectrum of laboratory and office space, a modern telecommunications system, a new Conference Center containing housing and a dining hall, a research library, three classrooms equipped with running seawater which are available for faculty and students, as well as a modern flowing seawater laboratory equipped with ambient, heated, and chilled seawater for the culture of marine organisms. A small boat fleet (19’ to 42’) enables researchers to access a wide variety of near and offshore marine and estuarine habitats.

The Sea Grant Program provides a focus for The University of Maine and other cooperating institutions on the important marine issues and the resource potential of the Gulf of Maine and its coastal boundary. Primarily a program of marine research, graduate education, and marine extension education, the Sea Grant Program receives its primary funding through grants from the Office of Sea Grant, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Students interested in graduate study in marine-related fields should write to the School of Marine Sciences.

The Lobster Institute, a cooperative program of research and education with the lobster industry, generates information about the Maine lobster which is used to help conserve and enhance the resource and ensure the continuance of this strong and healthy industry in Maine and adjacent areas. The Institute works with representatives of the industry to identify practical problems and help solve them.

The National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) is a research center focusing on a broad spectrum of investigations in geographic information science. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and many other Federal agencies, the Center draws a large number of graduate students and long-term visitors. A nucleus of 8-10 small and middle-sized geographic information systems (GIS) and mapping companies exist in the immediate neighborhood, many of them hiring NCGIA graduates. NCGIA collaborates with industry in the off-campus target Technology Center. NCGIA is considered one of the world-leading facilities in its area. The President of the world-wide leader in GIS software products stressed the importance of this area in the information systems age, highlighting the lack of qualified people, and requesting that “the nation needs a program ten times the size of the one at Orono.”

NCGIA supports graduate research assistants at the Ph.D. and Master’s levels and enables the participation in cutting-edge research projects in geographic information science.

The College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture, in cooperation with the Holt Woodlands Research Foundation, maintains a center for forest ecology research on the 400-acre Holt Research Forest near Bath, Maine. There is a year-round research associate’s residence, a meteorological station, and linkage with the Orono mainframe computer. Current research includes a 20-year forest ecosystem study tracking the influence of woodlot management on forest production in oak-pine, and on forest plants and non-game wildlife.

The Department of Forest Management’s Forest Products Laboratory is a state-of-the-art facility for modern wood science and industrial forest products teaching and research. The 5,500 square foot facility contains equipment for the protection and preservation treatment of wood and biotechnology facilities for fiber processing and bioremediation, including a spectrophotometer, laminar flow hood, centrifuge, and gas chromatograph. Laboratory equipment includes an experimental-size dry kiln for wood drying research and a variety of wood drying and conditioning chambers. A full-sized conditioning room is maintained at standard conditions for testing wood and wood-based materials. The lab is equipped with a 200-ton position controlled hydraulic press, and support for the preparation of laminates and reconstituted board materials. Computer facilities include data acquisition stations, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) devices, image analysis, and Silicon Graphics work stations.

The Department of Forest Management also maintains laboratories for image analysis and information management. The Maine Image Analysis Laboratory is a research facility for the application of satellite remote sensing and geographic information systems to natural resource management. The laboratory maintains facilities for image processing, geographic information analysis and photointerpretation. Research programs exist on the integration of satellite remote sensing and geographic information systems, forest mapping, tropical landcover/land use change analysis, wetland monitoring, wildlife habitat analysis, and landscape ecology.

The Information Management & Spatial Analysis Laboratory (RIMSAL) develops computer-assisted mapping software, forest inventory processing software, forest growth models, and forest visualization software.

The Department of Forest Ecosystem Science supports an array of research facilities and equipment. Well-equipped laboratories are available for research in physiology, structural microscopy, tissue culture, and tree-ring analysis/dendrochronology. Physiological instrumentation includes a state-of-the-art portable photosynthesis system, programmable growth chambers, spectrophotometer, foliar image analysis system, and sterile transfer hoods. A full range of field instrumentation includes a TDR soil moisture system, water potential meter, hemispheric canopy analyzer, laser plotting system, GPS receivers and base station, and automatic dataloggers with sensors for light, temperature, humidity, wind, etc. Greenhouse space with environmental control is available, and the department has access to computer clusters with statistical analysis and image scanning capabilities.

The Department of Wildlife Ecology has a Geographical Information System laboratory for use in research on interpreting wildlife habitat selection and assessing value of habitats for conservation. Additional research resources available to graduate students are provided through the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

The Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, administratively part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Biological Resources Division and functionally an integral part of the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture, is one of approximately 40 such units across the country. The nationwide Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit program was established in 1935 to meet the growing need for trained wildlife professionals and better technical information for management programs. Under a 1960 Federal law, the Secretary of the Interior can enter into cooperative agreements with universities, State fish and wildlife agencies, and non-profit organizations to establish cooperative fish and wildlife research units. Maine has one of the oldest such units in the country with the wildlife component established in 1935, fisheries in 1962, and in 1985 the two were combined into the present-day Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (MCFWRU).

The primary goals of the MCFWRU are to provide: (1) needed scientific information on fish and wildlife to cooperators; and (2) graduate level training, including research experience, in fish and wildlife ecology and management. Most of the research projects done by the Maine Unit are identified and funded by the major cooperators, specifically the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, USGS Biological Resources Division, Wildlife Management Institute, and The University of Maine. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the original administrative home of the Unit Program, also supports projects at the MCFWRU.

More information on the MCFWRU, including a mission statement and a list of personnel, can be found at: wlm13.umenfa.maine.edu/progs/unit/unit/html.

The Canadian-American Center, established in 1967, coordinates all Canadian Studies activities at The University of Maine. The Center organizes international conferences, promotes student and faculty exchanges with Canadian universities, coordinates outreach activities, and encourages graduate research on Canadian-American topics.

The principal graduate programs in Canadian Studies are in the Department of Modern Languages at the master’s level, and in the Department of History, which has a Canadian concentration at both the master’s and doctoral levels. Individualized graduate programs are also available in many departments. The Canadian collection at the Fogler Library is outstanding. Holdings include numerous journals, newspapers, the pre-1900 Canadian series, government documents, dissertations, and the Mason Wade collection.

Students interested in graduate study on Canada or a Canadian-related field may write to the Canadian-American Center, 154 College Avenue, or contact Canadian Studies faculty in Anthropology, Business Administration, Economics, English, Modern Languages, Forest Resources, Geology, History, and Quaternary and Climate Studies.

Intensive English Institute (IEI) of The University of Maine is part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It prepares international students and non-native speakers of English for university study or for professional activities where English is the medium of communication. Intensive English is offered year-round. Contract courses are also provided. In addition to a full-time course of study, the IEI offers academic advising, cross-cultural counseling, tutorials and self-study opportunities in a variety of content and skill areas. The Institute administers the TOEFL every semester. Students may also participate in the Conversation Partners Program.

Full-time study consists of four classes totaling twenty hours per week. The four communication skills are addressed in integrated classes of Writing and Grammar, Oral Communication Skills, Vocabulary and Reading, and Accurate Listening. The IEI also offers a TOEFL workshop series for students and a TESL certificate program for teachers.

Students are charged a set fee for each IEI course. Matriculated students may take a combination of language study courses and degree courses. For more information please contact the IEI by telephone (207) 581-3821, e-mail ieium@umit.maine.edu, or the world wide web www.umaine.edu/iei/.

The Maine Folklife Center is a unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Center staff teach in the Anthropology and History departments. The Center houses the Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History, a research facility and repository for tape recordings, transcripts of tapes and related photographs and manuscript materials relevant to the folklore, folklife, history and culture of Maine and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Presently it contains more than 2,500 separate accessions, about 3,500 hours of tape-recorded interviews, about 60,000 manuscript pages, and more than 8,000 photographs. The collection features regional folklife including folksongs of Maine and the Maritimes, traditions of the Maine lumberwoods, Native American legends and beliefs, traditional medicine, women in the Depression and W.W.II, labor history, vernacular architecture, coastal and marine occupations and textile arts. The Maine Folklife Center publishes the annual monograph, Northeast Folklore, and conducts public programming including exhibits, festivals, and workshops on oral history and folklore fieldwork. Periodically graduate assistantships are available. The Center is located in South Stevens and is open to the public five days a week, 9:00-4:00. For further information, telephone 581-1891 or visit our website: www.umaine.edu/folklife.

The National Poetry Foundation is a center for research on modern poetry, in particular modern American poetry. NPF publishes two scholarly journals: Paideuma, which is devoted to scholarship on Modernist poetry, with a special emphasis on the works of Ezra Pound; and Sagetrieb, which publishes scholarship on postmodernist poetry. Both journals regularly publish work by UMaine graduate students, and both journals also offer opportunities for graduate students to gain experience in editing and publishing. NPF also publishes books of poetry and scholarly books devoted to modern poetry. Recent books of poetry have included volumes devoted to the poetry of Kenneth Fearing, Stuart Z. Perkoff, Ted Enslin, John Tagliabue, and Armand Schwerner. Forthcoming volumes include the collected poems of Lola Ridge and of Evelyn Scott. NPF also publishes the Modern Poets Series, which consists of substantial volumes of biographical and critical commentary on such poets as Louis Zukofsky, George Oppen, Basil Bunting, William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, H.D., T.S. Eliot, Hugh MacDiarmid, Mina Loy, and many others. To date, fourteen volumes have been published in this series, with a new volume on Charles Olson now in preparation. Graduate students have regularly found opportunities to provide editorial assistance in the development of books in this series. NPF also regularly organizes conferences that bring to UMaine major figures in contemporary poetry and contemporary criticism. Recent conferences have included “American Poets of the 1930s” (1993), “American Poetry in the 1950s” (1996), and “American Poetry in the 1960s” (2000). Participants included Allen Ginsburg, Carl Rakosi, Lewis Simpson, Ruth Stone, Hugh Kenner, Marjorie Perloff, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Joan Retallack, Charles Bernstein, and many other distinguished poets and critics. UMaine graduate students regularly participate in these conferences.

The Department of Psychology has facilities available for experimental and clinical research; rooms designed for observation and audiovisual recording of behavior; rooms for electrophysiological recordings; learning laboratories; laboratories for the study of physiological psychology, operant psychology, social psychology, conformity, and other interpersonal types of behavior and influence. Developmental psychology maintains several laboratories including the Child Study Center.

The Psychological Services Center, maintained and administered by the Department of Psychology, has three interrelated functions. It is a community mental health clinic which serves central Maine residents of all ages through the provision of psychotherapy, and psychological assessment on site. Referrals are accepted from area physicians, family members, other mental health agencies/professionals, and from clients themselves. Graduate students in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program serve as clinic staff under direct supervision of licensed psychologists. Facilities for direct observation of treatment and audio-video recording are available. The clinic also provides mental health consultation services to community agencies. These services may involve consultation of agency staff on mental health matters, provision of direct services to individuals served by various agencies, and the provision of workshops and training seminars for residents and staff. The third function of the clinic is to serve as a clinical research facility. From time to time specialized treatment/research programs may be offered to the community free of charge. These programs aim to identify particular client populations and provide new and innovative approaches to the treatment of specific disorders.

The Child Study Center, of the Psychology Department, offers a developmentally-based, individualized curriculum of activities in art, dramatic play, science, language, motor, cognitive and social skills. Children of three to five years of age are provided with opportunities to be successful at tasks geared to their own developmental levels. The philosophy of the program involves a developmentally supportive approach to working with young children, with an emphasis on developing social competence in interaction with same-age peers and adults.

The Center provides the Psychology department with a naturalistic laboratory for the systematic study of children’s affect, cognition and behavior through research. Research has examined the development of children’s friendships and group structures, children’s thoughts about entering peer play groups, expressive behavior, suggestibility of children’s recall of the meaning of events, and their ability to detect contingencies from nonverbal cues.

The Child Development Learning Center, in the College of Education and Human Development, composed of two model nursery school programs and a state-approved model kindergarten, offers observational facilities and a setting in which to work with young children. Individuals have an opportunity to be involved in teacher training programs, curriculum development, and research focused on topics related to child and family development. Research may be interdisciplinary with other departments such as Communication Sciences and Disorders and Psychology. Graduate assistantships are available and assistants become part of the Center staff.

The Conley Speech and Hearing Center is the primary teaching and demonstration facility for graduate students in clinical practicum in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. The on-campus Center offers a full range of diagnostic and therapy services for children and adults with speech and language problems. The Center also provides outreach services to preschools, public/private schools, group homes and mental health settings. Additionally clinical practicum experiences are arranged for graduate students in hospitals, rehab centers, nursing homes and community speech and hearing centers. The Center operates a comprehensive Audiology Clinic offering hearing testing and hearing aid evaluations and fittings for children and adults. Graduate students can complete an audiology practicum in the clinic.

The graduate program in Communication Sciences and Disorders is accredited in the area of speech-language pathology by the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and offers the only M.A. program in Speech-Language Pathology in the state.

The Margaret Chase Smith Center For Public Policy was created in 1989 to improve the capacity of the University to address important policy questions and to be responsive to the information needs of officials in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. The Center provides policy research, training, and public education services through the development of research teams which include faculty, professional staff and graduate students. Graduate students from several academic disciplines serve as research assistants and are encouraged to participate fully in the research team effort.

The primary audience for the Center’s work is the State of Maine, including its citizens, elected officials in the legislative and executive branches, and business, technological, and educational communities. Secondary audiences include regional, national, and international constituencies.

The Center works cooperatively with many academic units and research centers across campus. Primary areas of activity include economic development, the role of science and technology in state development, environmental analysis and policy, rural health, and civic values.

The Bureau of Labor Education (BLE), established in 1966 by the 102nd Maine Legislature and the Trustees of The University of Maine, is guided by the principle that education is a necessary and vital component of a democratic society, as well as a lifelong process. The BLE conducts educational programs, presentations and research on labor and labor related issues of interest to workers, students, educators, leaders of employee organizations, and public policy makers. General topics include employment law, labor management relations, leadership development and labor economics. Through the publication of briefing papers, the Bureau also analyzes important public policy issues such as the U.S. health care system, occupational health and safety, workforce demographics, and economic development. Essentially, through teaching, research, and public service, the Bureau helps Maine workers and others assess their own situation in relation to the global economic, political, and social environment. For more information on the Bureau, or to request a program, call (207) 581-4124. Fees, charges, and program costs are determined by arrangement. www.dll.umaine.edu/ble

The Women’s Resource Center (WRC), located at 101 Fernald Hall, was established in the Fall of 1991 to promote and maintain an inclusive, positive, and supportive climate conducive to women’s personal and professional development at The University of Maine. The Center, which comes under the Division of Lifelong Learning, serves as a resource for individuals and organizations, offering information and referrals for women’s programs and services on and off campus, providing advocacy and collaboration to help women with special needs and concerns, and bringing together women with similar values and goals.

The WRC employs work-study students who contribute to the work of the office as well as develop projects that reflect their interests and skills. Currently, the WRC is involved in a research project on girls’ friendships, funded with a grant from the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation. A graduate assistant is employed by the WRC to work with a visiting scholar to analyze data and work with the campus and community representatives regarding the power dynamics in girls’ friendships.

The Women’s Resource Center offers programs for girls and networking opportunities for women to support their participation in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology.

The staff and students of the WRC work closely with the Student Women’s Association, a student run organization that advocates women’s rights, sponsors educational programs, and provides a positive and supportive environment conducive to personal expression.

The WRC promotes a closer relationship between the women on The University of Maine campus and women in the larger Maine community, reaching out to women’s programs and initiatives and providing support and guidance, including mentoring opportunities with women activists and programs for girls in public school. In addition to an extensive collection of books, periodicals, and videos of interest to women, the Center offers programs, provides meeting space, produces and distributes a calendar of events by and about women and promotes within the University community a broader understanding of the diverse experiences of all women.

For additional information, contact the Women’s Resource Center at 101 Fernald Hall, 581-1508.

The Center for Community Inclusion, Maine’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service is part of a national network of federally funded programs. These programs provide graduate and undergraduate education, applied research and policy analysis, community services, and dissemination of information in the area of developmental and related disabilities. To meet its statewide mission, the Center has affiliations with a wide range of state and community agencies, advocacy groups, and consumer, parent, and professional organizations. The Center administers the undergraduate and graduate interdisciplinary concentrations in Disability Studies in collaboration with academic departments across campus. Several education, research, and service projects that focus on improved quality of life for persons with disabilities, and their families, are conducted through the Center. Students who elect the Interdisciplinary Concentration in Disability Studies may become involved in the Center’s activities through practicum and internship experiences.

Cooperative Research Relationships

The University of Maine maintains active cooperative research relationships, formally and informally, with a variety of institutions and agencies in Maine, the United States and other countries. A partial listing follows:

Augusta Mental Health Institute
Bangor Counseling Center
Bangor Mental Health Institute
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Center for Learning Disabilities
Eastern Maine Medical Center
Huntsman Marine Laboratory, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada
Jackson Laboratory
Maine Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Maine Geological Survey
Maine Medical Center
Maine Municipal Association
Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Forest Service
The U.S. Geological Survey
Veterans Administration Hospital, Togus