engineering · engineering, and mechanical engineering. on three projects throughout their capstone...

Engineering2014

Activelearning

Engineering’s intense capstone experiences bring students to the crossroads of theory

and practice

2 Active learningStudent-structured learning is akey component of capstoneprojects — the culmination ofthe UMaine undergraduateexperience that students acrossall engineering disciplines havedescribed as challenging,intense and innovative.

8 Three decadesBefore public service was anexpectation in education,UMaine mechanicalengineering technologystudents were working tobenefit the community.

12 Remediatingwetlands In his research, AriaAmirbahman is focusing on ways to removemethylmercury from thewetland environment beforeit begins to move up thefood chain.

15 Designed todetectNanoparticles are integral to the cancer detectionresearch of Michael Masonand his students.

Student Focus 21, 27

Alumni Focus 6, 10

Spotlight 28

24 Safety in spaceAli Abedi is working withother UMaine researchers todevelop a wireless sensorsystem to monitor NASA’sinflatable lunar habitat,checking for impacts andleaks, and pinpointing theirlocation.

18 LearningresearchA coalition of UMainefaculty, students andregional elementary, middleand high school teachers arecollaborating to improveK–12 STEM learning andteaching.

22 SuccessfullaunchUMaine’s new aerospaceengineering courses preparestudents to move directlyinto jobs in the aerospaceand defense industries.

Contents

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

engineering.umaine.edu

8

The University of Maine does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, including transgender status and gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability,genetic information or veteran status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies: Director,Office of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, 207.581.1226.

ON THE COVER: The Lombard steamlog hauler restored by capstone teams ofmechanical engineering technologystudents was built between 1901 and1917 in Waterville, Maine. It is now partof the Maine Forest and LoggingMuseum in Bradley, Maine. Videos of thelog hauler project are linked off the METwebsite (umaine.edu.met/capstone-projects).

W ELCOME TO THE annual College of Engineering magazine, where we get a chance to high-

light some of the many outstanding individuals who make up the College of Engineering. In

this issue, we bring you stories and reports from our faculty and students who are creating

solutions to local and world challenges, and working to grow Maine’s economy.

You’ll read about capstone projects that allow students to experience real-world engineering projects and

build team skills while benefiting both the community and their future careers. Hear from current students and

alumni who share senior projects from across engineering disciplines. In particular, you will read about the three

decades of mechanical engineering technology (MET) capstone projects, headed by Herb Crosby, an emeritus

professor in the MET program who, with Joel Anderson, teaches the capstone course.

Our research is making a difference in the human body and in deep space, including research in cancer

detection using nanoparticles, removing toxins from wetlands, and developing sensors to monitor NASA’s lunar

habitat for impacts and leaks. We also explore UMaine’s new online programs, such as the aerospace curriculum

and Professional Science Master’s in Engineering and Business.

Maine needs more engineers and the College of Engineering is working hard to meet this need with grow-

ing enrollment. Currently, our fall 2014 enrollment is 1,823, which sets another record. From fall 2001 to fall

2013, UMaine’s engineering and engineering technology enrollment grew by 58 percent, compared to 47 percent

growth for the U.S. Even with this growth, the College of Engineering is struggling to graduate enough engineers

to maintain Maine’s current engineering workforce.

An engineering career is full of opportunity for our graduates. As of this year, the average annual starting pay

for a graduate with an engineering degree is $55,000. An estimated 99 percent of our new graduates are either

employed or in graduate school within six months following graduation. Moreover, 80 percent of engineering

students have a co-op or internship experience with industry, or conduct research with faculty prior to graduation.

UMaine’s engineers are the key to growing our economy and creating solutions to improve our lives,

communities and our world.

Dana N. Humphrey

Dean, College of Engineering

2 COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

ON A SUNNY Saturday morning in April, 40University of Maine mechanical engineer-ing technology students fire up a 1910Lombard steam log hauler — the first time

it has run in 80 years. The following week, the students conclude the 30-year restoration project on one ofthe legendary machines that paved the way for modern construction, military and recreational tracked vehicles.

For their senior capstone project, students in the classtaught by Herb Crosby and Joel Anderson completed atotal restoration of the vehicle, built in Waterville, Maine,and used to travel on ice-coated roads at 4 mph — replac-ing the work of 50 horses.

Through their project, the students preserved a piece ofMaine history.

Active learningEngineering’s intense capstoneexperiences bring students to thecrossroads of theory and practice

“To me it’s an incredible thing — a pride to the state ofMaine,” says Matt MacCaughey of Winchester, Massachu-setts, a member of the boiler steam systems team, one ofsix groups taking part in the project.

With the completion of the restoration on Maine Day2014, the log hauler is now on display at the Maine Forestand Logging Museum in Bradley, Maine.

Student-structured learning is a key component of thecapstone project — the culmination of UMaine under-graduate experience that students across all engineeringdisciplines have described as challenging, intense and inno-vative.

The UMaine senior capstone project is a chance forstudents to display what they’ve learned throughout theiracademic career, as well as take steps into the communitiesand engineering worlds they intend to work in upon grad-uation.

A requirement for seniors of every major at UMaine,projects can range from Honors theses to art exhibitions torestoring a Lombard steam log hauler.

Although each project is different, a core tenant is thebenefit to the local community and beyond. This past year,some engineering students took their capstones to the next

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY OF MAINE 3

level with work that could influence people in the nationand the world.

Civil and environmental engineering students workedto improve the Bangor Waterfront concert venue byproposing a safer access road, new parking lot, venue roofand sound barrier. The project, according to civil engineer-ing major Kara Zadakis of Bryant, Maine, would helpexpand the pavilion for the client and improve the experi-ence for patrons.

Eric Landis, a professor of civil and environmentalengineering and adviser to Zadakis and her team, haswatched students, as well as the entire capstone process,transform. About 10 years ago, the capstone modelswitched from all groups working on the same problem toprojects designed by students, giving each team a differentdesign problem. According to Landis, this transition madethe projects more interesting and diverse.

“Each group has to rely on itself,” he says. “There’s nolooking over at other groups to see what they’re doing.”

Landis says the quality of work has improved becausestudents get ideas from studying previous projects. He alsocites collaboration with the English Department to incor-porate technical writing and communication into projects.

“The result is that the students are doing real engineer-ing. The groups are almost always very proud of theirwork, as they should be, and they have lots to talk aboutwhen they are interviewing for jobs,” Landis says.

Electrical engineering students Matt Merritt ofDamariscotta, Maine, and Matt Herbert of Hampden,Maine, used the Maine Department of Transportation tohelp illuminate roads in remote locations in northernMaine to reduce vehicle-moose collisions. The project aimsto use solar power to charge batteries that can be used todrive high-efficiency lights when needed. The lights willturn on and off using radar that detects oncoming traffic.

Creating connections with community partners is astep many engineering students say is necessary to preparethemselves for post-graduation work.

“Any opportunity to get out and interact with newpeople is exciting,” says Jeff Servetas, a bioengineeringsenior from Hancock, Maine. “As an engineer, getting ‘out’to work on projects I’ve never even thought of, and to hearfrom people whose perspectives are vastly different frommy own, really helps to broaden my horizons. It makes mea better engineer, and a better person in general.”

Bioengineering students have the opportunity to work

Although eachproject is different,a core tenant is thebenefit to the localcommunity andbeyond. This pastyear, someengineer ingstudents took theircapstones to thenext level withwork that couldinfluence people inthe nation and theworld. In photos,left to right, arecapstone teams inmechanicalengineeringtechnology, civilengineering, andchemical andbiologicalengineering.


Active learning

In photos, left toright, are capstoneteams in chemicaland biologicalengineering, andmechanicalengineering.

on three projects throughout their capstone semester.Servetas and his group’s first project grew from a connec-tion with IDEXX Laboratories, a leader in pet health careinnovation, serving veterinarians worldwide with diagnos-tic and information technology-based products and serv-ices. The UMaine students created a prototype design foran instrument that diagnoses ear mites in dogs.

For group member Wilson Adams of Barrington,Rhode Island, his relationship with IDEXX Laboratoriesextends beyond his classwork to a co-op he did with thecompany’s research and development department.

“I know that something I have done will eventuallylead to a product that will help vets take care of pets forfamilies that love them dearly,” he says. “It really assuredme that I am ready to tackle a job in industry. Even if I

am thrown into a situation I know little about, I can usewhat I know and learn what’s needed to complete aproject.”

Capstones at UMaine are not confined to the state ornation. Mechanical engineering student Amber Smith ofIpswich, Massachusetts, and her capstone team are workingto patent a device they created that has the potential tostop the spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, as of2011, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has killed more than 33million people worldwide. Through their capstone work,Smith’s team is attempting to reduce the spread of thedisease by creating a single-use circumcision clamp.

Although students are serving others through theirwork, the communities are providing for them, as well.Experience with industry and stakeholders preparesstudents for jobs and graduate work. David Neivandt, abioengineering professor and capstone adviser, saysstudents learn independence and responsibility.

“The students are solving problems for external clients.As such, they are representing themselves, the bioengineer-ing program, the College of Engineering and the Univer-sity of Maine,” he says.


In April, bioengineering students gathered with resi-dents of Dirigo Pines, an assisted living community inOrono, to discuss problems that could be addressedthrough engineering, such as making laundry less laboriousand improving stovetop safety. The students then presentedtheir designs to a group of involved residents.

When students move on from UMaine engineering,they leave with a degree in the field they desire, and experi-ence in problem solving.

Smith’s interest in biomedical engineering was sparkedby her capstone and two co-ops with medical technologycompany Stryker. She began working for the company asan associate project engineer after graduation.

“I think the UMaine Mechanical Engineering Depart-ment does a good job teaching students the skills they needto know to excel in the workplace, but they also teach thestudents how to find the information they need to know,”she says.

Haylea Ledoux, another student who worked withDirigo Pines residents, is now studying at Harvard Univer-sity’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.

Adams, who worked with IDEXX, is considering earn-ing a master’s degree in business administration and will

pursue a career in industry. He says he feels prepared forwhatever comes his way.

“If there’s one thing I have learned in industry, it is thatyou are always going to be thrown into situations whereyou have no idea what you are doing. Engineering hastaught me that there is a way to approach these tasks andthat no mountain is too big to climb,” he says.

Back at the restoration site in Bradley, Maine, EmmettHodder stands in the cab of the 1910 Lombard steam loghauler and watches the piping get connected and the proj-ect come together.

“The capstone project has been a valuable experience inteam dynamics and project management,” says groupleader Hodder. “It will be immensely gratifying to return tothe museum in the future and see the Lombard log haulerbeing operated.”

With all its challenges, unexpected turns and thecomplications of working with new regulations on anantique machine, Hodder can think of one word to encap-sulate his whole experience — rewarding.

“It really speaks to Maine,” said MacCaughey, of thelog hauler restoration project. “We can accomplish greatthings.” n

“The end result is that the students aredoing real engineering. The groups are almost always very proud of theirwork, as they should be, and they havelots to talk about when they areinterviewing for jobs.” Eric Landis


Capstones for lifeAlumni reflect on the lessons that endure

FOR MANY UNIVERSITY OF MAINE

students, the capstone experience stayswith them long after their days as anundergraduate. In response to a Collegeof Engineering query, several engineer-ing alumni reflected on their capstonesand other research projects completedduring their senior year, and how theexperience continues to influence themtoday.

Matthew MaberryMaberry graduated in 2013 with abachelor’s degree in mechanical engi-neering and works as an aircraft struc-tural engineer at TASS Inc., inEverett, Washington. His capstonewas the SAE Aero Design project, acompetition offered by the Society ofAutomotive Engineers (SAE) thatprovides engineering students with areal-life engineering challenge.

The goal of the SAE Aero Designproject is to produce a remote-controlled aircraft that can carry asmuch payload as possible whilecomplying with size and powerlimits. The plane Maberry worked onwas 4 feet 6 inches long with awingspan of 10 feet 9 inches.

“Much of the work I did in mycapstone project is related to the workI am doing now,” Maberry says,adding he did a lot of aerodynamics-related design for the project andsupported a good portion of theaircraft’s structural design, includingthe process of taking it from conceptto final product.


Maberry says the student team heworked on finished the plane on timeand met the goal of completing aflight. The students didn’t have thefunds to attend the national competi-tion, but the aircraft met competitionspecifications and performed welloverall, he says.

“This is a project I was verypassionate about because I am anaviation enthusiast,” Maberry says.“The project was a lot of fun and agreat exercise of many engineeringprinciples. Everyone on the team wasnew to aircraft construction, but weworked well together. It was great tosee the plane fly at the end of the yearafter starting months earlier fromscratch.”

Maberry says the group left theplane in Boardman Hall, along witha nitromethane engine, six-channelradio and receiver, fuel and balsawood, for any student who wanted tocontinue the project.

Eben EstellEstell, who was a student in UMaine’sHonors College, graduated in 2012with a bachelor’s degree in bioengi-neering. He is pursuing a Ph.D. inbiomedical engineering at ColumbiaUniversity.

In place of a capstone, Estell didan Honors thesis on engineeringstrategies for controlling neuronalgrowth. His research focused on thematerial neurons are grown on andthe proteins to which the cells attach.The goal of his thesis was to develop amethod for creating patterned materi-als on which neurons could grow.

“These materials can serve as a

platform for better understanding thefactors controlling neuronal growth,which would inform future attemptsat engineering nervous tissue for clin-ical repair,” Estell says.

Estell is now developing tissueengineering strategies for articularcartilage repair.

“The same idea of applying abasic science understanding of cells inengineering methods to developmedical solutions has persisted frommy undergraduate to graduateresearch,” he says.

Estell says the thesis experiencereaffirmed his decision to pursue agraduate degree in biomedical engi-neering and further his academicresearch. The skills he learned whileworking on his thesis — from analyz-ing and presenting data to managinga thesis committee of busy professors— are skills he depends on daily atColumbia.

Joseph Scott Scott graduated from UMaine in1976 with a bachelor’s degree inmechanical engineering. His capstoneproject in energy efficiency focusedon development of a woodstove asthe backup system for solar heat in ahouse designed by mechanical engi-neering professor Dick Hill.

The experience involved workingwith Hill and living in the “Hillhouse,” which had hot water base-board heat supplied by a heat pumpdriven by solar collectors.

“Needless to say, it was either getthe systems to work or freeze,” Scottsays.

Scott was in charge of designing

the combustion air system. He had todevelop a system that produced thecleanest possible exhaust gases byeliminating creosote deposits thatcause corrosion and can be a firehazard.

To eliminate the deposits, theburned exhaust was recycled backinto the combustion area. That madethe temperature hundreds of degreeshotter than in an average woodstoveor fireplace, which created a few chal-lenges, Scott says. When a wet pieceof wood was placed in the stove, thewater would expand quickly, causingthe wood to blow apart and destroythe firebox.

“After we blew up the stove a fewtimes, we finally got it to work verywell,” he says, explaining the problemwas solved by adding a rack on top ofthe stove that allowed the wood to dry.

The stove was later installed as thebackup system for the hot air solarheating in the Maine Audubon Soci-ety’s headquarters in Falmouth, Scottsays.

After graduating, Scott worked inthe energy recovery field designingequipment for the paper industrythat aimed to recover heat andmanage environmental issues of mills.He has used skills acquired during hiscapstone to design many fluid-handling and combustion systems,and is often reminded of an evengreater lesson.

“The major lesson learned fromthe senior project was how to learnfrom failing,” he says. “Each time wewrecked the stove, there were valuablelessons learned that finally produced asafe working stove. Today, we use

simulation tools and hazard studies toavoid actually breaking things, but theprinciples are the same.”

Richard Ludwig Ludwig, a 1952 graduate with a bachelor’sdegree in pulp and paper technology,recalls working on a senior research projectdesigned to demonstrate the practicality ofrecycling magazines into a fiber source formanufacturing printed papers.

The now-retired vice president of engi-neering and logistics at International PaperCo., conducted the research in the base-ment of Aubert Hall with fellow studentAlfred Wynne.

The students used Saturday EveningPost magazines as their raw material andtested two methods of recycling the cellu-lose fibers.

Wynne’s process was based on usingorganic solvents to extract ink from themagazine after pulping the pages into aslush form, Ludwig says. Ludwig usedmore conventional paper industry prac-tices, such as mixing the slushed magazinestock with caustic soda, using extractivewater displacement washing and bleachingwith calcium hypochlorite.

Paper sheets were made using bothprocesses and were tested for propertiessuch as strength, brightness, opacity anddirt count. Ludwig doesn’t recall whichmethod was optimal, but believes he andWynne were both heading in the rightdirection.

“Given that the U.S. paper industrycurrently employs (the) recycling of oldpapers as the source for more than 60percent of its fiber raw materials, AlWynne and I were well ahead of the curvein looking at waste paper as a possiblefuture fiber source,” Ludwig says. n

ALUMNI FOCUS


S INCE THE 1980s, students in the Mechan-ical Engineering Technology program haveused their capstone projects to solve realproblems in unique ways. And before pub-

lic service was an expectation in education, these studentsworked on issues that benefited the community, whetherit was through large, visible projects that would be seenby many people, or by tackling individual issues that hadbenefited one person.

“We’ve always had projects here,” says Herb Crosby, an

emeritus professor in the MET department who, with JoelAnderson, teaches the capstone course. “We thoughtit would be nice to get some projects involved wherestudents work in teams and solve a real problem.”

The projects often come from the community,although students can develop their own initiatives. Formore than 30 years, the projects have met a wide variety ofcommunity needs.

For instance, one project was to design a magic Christ-mas tree for the Robinson Ballet annual performance of

Three decadesThe legacy of MET capstone projects


The Nutcracker — an evergreen that grows to 20 feet tall inthe course of the show.

Capstone students also created kinetic sculptures forthe Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor. They enjoyedthe project so much, they then created more sculptures forarea schools. And when ZF Lemforder Corp., an auto partsmanufacturer with a plant in Brewer, needed a mechanismfor unloading stabilizer bars after they were painted, itturned to the MET capstone program for a solution.

Sometimes project ideas have come from individuals ororganizations working abroad. One local resident workedwith an organization in Mozambique that assisted peoplewho have lost a leg due to land mines. Capstone studentsdesigned a hand-operated bicycle that included cargospace, and they built it for less than $200.

For a group working in Haiti, mechanical engineeringtechnology students designed and built a portable waterpurifier that could be operated and transported by bicycle.

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

Crosby says that many of the capstone ideas comefrom area residents with disabilities. Their issues and needsdon’t always have a clear-cut solution, Crosby says. Andthat’s the challenge: There’s nothing that can be bought; anew design is needed.

Capstone teams have designed and built a kayak thatcould be paddled by a man with no arms, and a kayakloader for a man in a wheelchair. They designed a mecha-nism for a boy who played piano but, because of a medicalcondition that required a body brace, could not use thepedals. Their design allowed him to operate the pedals bynodding his head.

They’ve designed and built a computer workstation fora writer who needed to remain in a reclining position, andmodified a bathroom to allow a local resident to continueto live independently in her home.

“They build their projects and the world is a littlebetter because of what they have done,” Crosby says. n

1984

19851994

20022005

2009

20131996

1986

1987

Videos of past MET capstone projects are online(umaine.edu/met/capstone-projects).


HILARY HENRY graduated from theUniversity of Maine with a bache-lor’s degree in computer engi-neering in 1994. In 2013, she

became the first UMaine student to earn aProfessional Science Master’s Degree in Engi-neering and Business. Henry currently oversees36 engineers in her role as manager of engi-neering at General Dynamics Bath Iron Worksfor the Life Cycle Services Department.

Describe your job and responsibilities.I manage a team of 36 multidiscipline engi-neers who develop the design products neededfor installing system upgrades for the 65 Aegis-class destroyers in the U.S. Navy fleet. The teamsupports hundreds of technologies and systemson the ships. Everything from icemakers tosecure networks, from ballistic missile defenseto solid state lighting, and more. The focus ofmy work is providing leadership and directionto the team and managing budget, workflow,product quality, lean initiatives and staffing.

Why engineering?I started college 10 years out of high school. Iwas a single mom at the time and my daughterwas 2 years old. I originally planned to pursuea teaching degree so I could teach high schoolmath; math was always my favorite subject. Idecided I could better support my daughterwith a company job and like many collegestudents changed my major.I moved from the Machias campus to the

Orono campus and started working on adegree in computer science. One of my classesthat first semester was a computer engineeringclass taught by Eric Beenfeldt, which I enjoyedso much I decided to go over to the Electricaland Computer Engineering Department to find

Engineering businessAlumna is at the helm of amultidiscipline engineeringteam at Bath Iron Works

out more information about the program. Imade my inquiry to Janice Gomm in the officeand within seconds the department chair, JohnField, emerged from his office and welcomedme to the department. John spent two hoursshowing me the building, all the labs, andintroducing me to students and professors.Needless to say, I was sold and changed my

major to computer engineering. It was the bestdecision I have ever made. It allowed me tofollow in the footsteps of my father, an electri-cal engineer and also a UMaine graduate.

Why did you decide to pursue aprofessional science master’s degree?I started pursuing my master’s in electricalengineering about 10 years ago and had tostop due to being busy with work and family. Iwas torn as whether to continue with the engi-neering master’s or switch to an MBA, since mycareer path was going in the direction ofmanagement.

Dean Dana Humphrey came to Bath IronWorks several years ago to discuss online engi-neering degree opportunities and talked aboutthe Professional Science Master’s Program. Thiswas the perfect solution for me, as it had thebest of both worlds with study in engineeringand business in an online program.Right away, I started working with Dean

Humphrey taking courses in spring 2011. Theapproval for the PSM degree was finalized in2012 and I graduated in December 2013.

What are some of the biggestchallenges in your field?The Zumwalt DDG 1000 is a ship with half amillion electrical conductors, 23,000 pieces ofelectrical equipment, and power and controlstechnology so advanced that much of it hasnever been deployed on any other platform.Managing the electrical engineering team to

enable successful production and activationwould be challenging even if the resources

ALUMNI FOCUS


were unlimited. Budgets for Zumwalt called fora team of 35 engineers to handle this hugescope of electrical work. Fortunately, my team embraced innovation

and developed many integrated data-driventools to help them manage the informationand prioritize their work. As the manager, Ifostered and supported these efforts by theteam. Their innovation greatly contributed tothe ongoing activation of this amazing ship.

What are some of your greatestprofessional achievements?When I took on the role of manager of electri-cal engineering, I was the first woman to be onthe BIW director of engineering’s staff, and thatwas pretty exciting. I find in my role as engineering manager, my

greatest achievements are seeing the engineersthat work with me grow and achieve their ownprofessional goals.

Why UMaine?I attended UMaine as an undergraduatestudent primarily because I lived in Maine, andUMaine offered the programs I wanted tostudy. As an undergrad, I recognized theeducation and experience I received atUMaine was extraordinary. In engineering, theclass sizes were small, the curriculum waschallenging, and there were many experientialopportunities.What I found most extraordinary about my

education at UMaine was the engagement,dedication and accessibility of the professors.At UMaine, the undergrad students are just asimportant as the graduate students, which isnot the case in many large universities thatcater to graduate students.I chose UMaine for my graduate studies

because of the positive experience as an under-grad and because of the online PSM degreeoffering. This was exactly what I was lookingfor to further my education.

What kind of research were youinvolved in as a UMaine student?In the graduate program, I completed the wire-less communications concentration workingwith Ali Abedi. One of my projects had to dowith polarization of antennas used for cellularcommunication. I had never worked withantennas before, so this was a great learningexperience for me. I developed computermodels of various circular and linear polarizedantennas, and compared the gain of each inseveral communication channels.

Describe your internships as a student.For the PSM degree, I completed an internshipwith BIW while I was working my regular jobthere. The radio frequency identification projectwas for the materials department and I workedin engineering. When I was an undergraduate, I interned

three summers with Digital Equipment Corp. inAugusta. They manufactured electronic prod-ucts, and it was that internship that paved theway for my first job in a cell phone factory withMotorola.

How does UMaine still influence you?As an engineering manager, I frequently hireUMaine graduates, as I know they are well-educated and are up for the challenges we faceat BIW every day. I participate in the Electrical

and Computer Engineering Visiting Committee,which keeps me engaged with UMaine. Thisinteraction with the students, professors andother engineering professionals is very impor-tant to ensure UMaine students are beingtrained in the technologies needed by GeneralDynamics Bath Iron Works.

What difference has UMaine made inyour life?The education I received from UMaine waseverything in helping me reach my goals. Iwould not be where I am today without it.

What was your favorite place oncampus?As an undergrad, my favorite place was theBear’s Den. It was a great place to get a mealand meet friends. I also love the library; whatan amazing wealth of information. Being in thestacks in the basement with all the old textsand engineering books was like traveling backin time. Today, the extensive digital databasesavailable online puts the world at your finger-tips. I miss not having that access now that Iam no longer taking classes.

What’s your most memorable UMainemoment?I’m sure I could write a book. I won’t talk abouttaking a physics final with the stomach flu,although that was memorable.As an undergraduate, I worked in the

controls lab with Eric Beenfeldt and AndySheaff, coding the controller for a robot. I lovedworking in the lab, which confirms that I am atrue geek. It was a great day when we set therobot down in the hallway of Barrows anddirected it remotely to meander about andreturn on command.

If you weren’t an engineer what wouldyou be? I’ve never really imagined being anythingother than an engineer, but thinking about it, Iwould like to be a marine biologist. My oldestdaughter, also a UMaine graduate, initiallywanted to be a marine biologist and I thoughtthat would be very exciting, and the UMaineprogram was excellent. Alas, my daughterdecided to change her major to art history,which she absolutely loved and now happilylives and works in the U.K on the Norwich ArtsCouncil. n

“As an undergrad,I recognized theeducation andexperience Ireceived atUMaine wasextraordinary. In engineering, the class sizeswere small, thecurri culum waschallenging, andthere were manyexperientialopportunities.”

Photo courtesy of Michael C. Nutter, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works

Hilary Henry

UNIVERSITY OF MAINE 1312 COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

A CADIA NATIONAL PARK

has hot spots for the trans-formation of mercury fromthe atmosphere into a toxic

form known as methylmercury. The wetlandssurrounding the many small ponds in the parkare ideal habitats for that transformation, andfish in some of the park’s ponds have some ofthe highest levels of methylmercury in theNortheast.

That’s one of the reasons why University ofMaine researcher Aria Amirbahman was lookingfor a way to interrupt the process, to removemethylmercury from the wetland environmentbefore it begins to move up the food chain. Andhe did. In a limited study, Amirbahman andgraduate student Ariel Lewis, with collaboratorsat the U.S. Geological Survey, were able toremove about half of the methylmercury fromthe study area in the field and under laboratoryconditions.

Much of the mercury deposited in Maineand New England is the result of the burning ofcoal, which releases volatile elements such asmercury into the atmosphere, according toAmirbahman, a professor of civil and environ-mental engineering. But the mercury from theatmosphere is transformed naturally as somemicrobes take up the atmospheric mercury andsecrete it as methlymercury.

That transformed methylmercury gathers infat and muscle tissues of small organisms; itremains there and easily moves up the foodchain as smaller organisms are eaten by largerones — zooplankton, fish, birds and mammals,including humans. The higher up the foodchain, the higher the concentrations of

methylmercury. Even if the world stopped burn-ing coal tomorrow, legacy mercury already insediment will, under the right conditions,continue to become toxic and work its way intothe food chain for decades to come, Amirbah-man says.

Methylmercury is toxic and has been shownto cause neurological damage in infants, youngchildren and developing fetuses. Every state inthe country has issued consumption advisorieswarning that pregnant women and young chil-dren should not eat fish from inland lakes andrivers. Maine is one of two states to issue blanketadvisories, warning people not to eat fish fromany Maine lake or river if they are in a high-riskcategory. Other states have refined their advi-sories, pinpointing the water bodies containingfish that are safe to eat.

Amirbahman says one of his long-termresearch goals is to help policymakers in Mainerefine their consumption advisories and identifywhich water bodies have fish that are safe to eat.

Part of that effort involves the kind of reme-diation techniques he used in Hodgdon Pond inAcadia National Park. Amirbahman and hiscollaborators initially looked for methylmercuryin the sediment in the pond, assuming that wasthe site of the transformation process. But theirsamples showed the sediment was not generat-ing any significant methylmercury.

“Then we looked at the data from an earlierstudy, the 150 Lakes Project, and what dawnedon me was that the smaller the lakes are, onaverage, the larger the methylmercury concen-tration in fish,’’ he says. “All of the highmethylmercury fish lakes were small lakes. Allhad major contributions from wetlands. That’s

Remediating wetlandsStudy focuses on techniques for removing mercury from sediment

Aria Amirbahman says oneof his long-term goals inresearch is to helppolicymakers in Mainerefine their consumptionadvisories and to identifywhich water bodies havefish that are safe to eat.

“Then we looked at the data from an earlier study, the150 Lakes Project, and what dawned on me was thatthe smaller the lakes are, on average, the larger themethylmercury concentration in fish.” Aria Amirbahman

CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING


when we realized the reaction wastaking place in the wetlands. And themethylmercury generated in thewetlands goes up the food chain andends up in the fish in these lakes.’’

That’s when the focus of thestudy shifted to the wetlandssurrounding Hodgdon Pond, whichcover nearly the same area as thepond. The study used two substances,granular active carbon (GAC) orground-up charcoal, and zero valentiron (ZVI), which is basically ironshavings from a metal shop. Both arehighly reactive and have been usedsuccessfully to remove contaminantsby means of sorption.

Their methods were simple. Forthe first phase, they took a 2.5-footdiameter segment of PVC pipe thatwas about 2 feet long and pushed itinto the wetland, creating a meso-cosm by sequestering that small areaof the wetland. They did that 12

times in the park. Four of the meso-cosms were left untreated as controls;four were treated with carbon andfour with iron.

The second half of the study wasdone in the lab. They collectedclumps of the wetland sediment,including plants, and set up 12aquaria. The sediment was treated thesame way as the 12 mesocosms. Inthe lab study, they also added 10snails to each aquarium.

The results were promising. Inthe 28-day tests, the carbon and ironmedia were effective in removingmethylmercury from the sediment,both in the field test and in the lab,Amirbahman says.

“Carbon and iron had loweredthe level of methylmercury comparedto the control statistically signifi-cantly,’’ Amirbahman says. “Welowered the methylmercury in thesesamples by an average of 50 percent.

That’s a lot. If we can have half asmuch methylmercury pumped fromthe root zones in the wetlands intothe water, I think that is very goodnews for the park.’’

The lab tests also showed that thesnails in the control aquaria pickedup significantly higher amounts ofmethylmercury than the snails in thetreated fishbowls.

While the method shows prom-ise, Amirbahman stresses this was alimited study, really just a “proof ofconcept’’ showing that at some level,the method works. Years of study areneeded before the method could beused on a wide scale, he says. Theywould need to study the longevity ofthe additives, how long they last andhow they react in a dynamic environ-ment. They also need more informa-tion about the effects of thoseadditives on the environment, and onorganisms that live in that environ-ment.

“In our 28-day test, we did notsee any adverse effects of the additiveson the snails,’’ he says, “but, long-term exposure can be a differentstory. And we only tested one type ofsnail.’’

The next step would be tobroaden the study, both in the fieldand in the laboratory, over multipleyears, measuring the methylmercuryconcentrations in sediment andwater, and in the habitat’s organisms.

“There is definitely promise inthese schemes,’’ he says. “The cost isrelatively low and, if the adverse envi-ronmental effects are not significant,then absolutely, this is something thatcan be implemented in the field.’’ n

Remediating wetlands

Aria Amirbahman,center, works inthe lab withgraduate studentHeather Doolittle,left, and PaigeBrown, a BangorHigh School junior. I N A CHEMISTRY lab in Jenness Hall, small

glass vials sit in a semicircle on a light box, eachcontaining a different colored liquid: gold, yel-low, deep shades of red, purple, blue and green.

The colors are a result of incredibly small nanoparticlesof gold, their size and shape designed and created in thelab.

The nanoparticles are integral to the work by MichaelMason and his students that has put the university on thefront lines of cancer research nationwide. Mason, an associ-ate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biologi-cal Engineering, has been using gold nanoparticletechnology to develop new imaging methods that candetect cancer cells early in their development, monitorthem as they grow and potentially deliver medication tocancer cells, all using minimally invasive nontoxic meth-ods.

Mason’s lab concentrates on developing and employingnew highly sensitive techniques that make it possible tolook at things on the single-molecule or single-nanoparticle

Designed to detectUMaine research shows the potential of gold nanoparticlesto not only identify, but also monitor and treat cancer

level, where individual characteristics of these nanoscaleobjects, not apparent on a larger bulk scale, can beobserved.

“Nanoscience is designed to focus on the oddities andoften those oddities have properties that are exceptional,’’he says.

Using imaging technologies developed in the past fewdecades, researchers are able to observe and study theseindividual qualities and learn how to use their special char-acteristics. By changing the size, shape and combinations inthese nanoparticles, Masons says it is possible to design andengineer them to become effective tools with differentapplications.

“We can take this technology and develop it into toolsand instruments, and we can use the technology to tell usthings about systems that we did not know before,’’ hesays. “We look at all the design criteria we want to engi-neer into something and we develop a list of the designrequirements. Then we go in to the lab and decide how tomake it.’’

CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING

Nanoparticles like these in the vials are integral to the work ofMichael Mason and his students and have put the university onthe front lines of cancer research nationwide.

16 COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY OF MAINE 17

The nanoparticles that Mason describes are a fewbillionths of a meter wide — so small that about 500 ofthem could fit on the end of a human hair. The designprocess often starts with a cartoon, a simple drawing ofwhat they think a nanoparticle should look like in order toexhibit the desired properties. The designs vary from thefantastic to the mundane: a starburst or a dog bone, each

interacting with light in a differentway, depending on the designrequirements. In the lab, theresearchers grow and chemicallymodify nanoparticles, changing theirsize, shape and surface. They oftenlink them with other targeting mole-cules, depending on what they wantit to accomplish.

Each new project has its ownchallenges, but each different applica-tion helps develop a general approachand technique, improving results.

“We’re getting better and betterin our ability to go from design toreality,’’ Mason says.

A focus for Mason has been the potential to use goldnanoparticles in cancer research. Funded by grants fromMaine Cancer Foundation and Memorial Sloan KetteringCancer Center in New York, Mason has frequently collab-orated with Dr. Peter Allen at Sloan Kettering to developbetter techniques to look at cancer cells.

Mason has been able to attach bioactive agents ontospecially designed gold nanoparticles in a way that has beeneffective in detecting cancer cells early during their devel-opment and providing better images of those cells. Thebioactive molecules can seek out and attach to the cancercells, while the gold generates strong X-ray image contrastthat provides an image of the cancer that is more readilyvisible to doctors and technicians.

According to Mason, this method provides clearer andlonger-lasting images than the currently used iodine-basedcontrasting agents, which can result in a negative reactionin patients.

Mason’s collaboration with Dr. Allen at Sloan Ketteringhas been crucial in matching clinical and surgical needswith emerging laboratory technology.

“We speak different languages and often we don’tunderstand each other,’’ he says. “But we have had theopportunity to sit in on surgical consultations, and we hearabout what they need, even if it is just anecdotal informa-tion.’’

Those sessions have led Mason to develop new cancerdetection and staging techniques. For example, cancerspecialists noticed the fluid viscosity in precancerous lesionsappeared to change over time as the lesions develop frombenign cysts to more malignant tumors. Armed with thatinformation, Mason designed a low-cost portable tool thatallows researchers to monitor the changes in cancer cystfluid viscosity over time and to correlate those changes withdifferent stages of the cancer.

“This could help surgeons determine what stage thecancer is in and determine a course of treatment — and todo it early on,’’ Mason says.

Likewise, an earlier study developed a technique to usenanoparticles to clearly image the boundary of pancreaticcancer tumors, providing surgeons with a fast, accurate andnoninvasive way of determining whether they haveremoved all of the cancer from a patient. Current methodsrequire a lengthy analysis of tissue samples while thepatient remains on the operating table.

Currently, a team of graduate and undergraduatestudents is working on creating a gold nanoparticle with aniron-oxide core that simultaneously could be used in CTscans, MRIs and spectral imaging. And the department’smost recent grant from the Maine Cancer Foundation willfund a three-part study to use nanoparticles designed for

Currently, a teamof graduate andundergraduatestudents is workingon creating a goldnanoparticle withan iron oxide corethat couldsimultaneously beused in CT scans,MRIs and spectralimaging.

CT and MRI imaging to monitor cancer progression overtime. With Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Mason isdirecting the study designed to develop nanoparticlesattracted to a specific cancer cell. They will study those cellsin a laboratory setting, then implant a cluster of the cellsinto a mouse. A nanoparticle solution injected into themouse will enable the researchers to monitor the cancercluster as it grows.

“We’ll be able to watch the disease progression andcorrelate this with spectroscopic genetic information,’’Mason says. “We’ll be able to monitor the tumor as itdevelops over time.’’

Although the work has the potential to greatly benefitpatients, these systems, and other nanotechnologies, areslow to make it to the clinic. Part of the difficulty, Masonsays, is that in many cases, nanoparticles have unknownand unexpected properties, making it difficult to obtainapproval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration foruse in humans. So far, the FDA has agreed to review ahandful of nanotechnologies for human use. One chal-lenge Mason faces is to create nanoparticles that are engi-neered to be biocompatible, using materials the FDA hasalready approved for use in humans.

There are other, bigger challenges for scientists beforethey can bring the nanoparticle technology from the test-ing stage to a viable tool for cancer research. But Masonsays, the potential is also great and offers both a means todetect and monitor cancer cells, and a way to treat cancerpatients. The same techniques used to create a nanoparticlethat can seek out and attach to a cancer cell can also beused to design a nanoparticle that could deliver medicationto a specific cancer in the body, he says.

While the medical uses of nanoparticles have been thefocus of his research, Mason says there is an economiccomponent to the field of nanoparticle research and devel-opment. The state is well-suited for this type of industry,says Mason. It does not require a large facility or factory,and much of the required equipment is already here.

“I think we are very well equipped in Maine to do thisin the state,’’ Mason says. “I think it could providecommercial and industrial growth opportunities forMaine.’’ n

“We can take this technology and develop it into tools andinstruments, and we can use the technology to tell us thingsabout systems that we did not know before.” Michael Mason

STEM outreach

Designed to detect

EVEN BEFORE THERE was anationwide emphasis onteaching in science, technol-ogy, engineering and mathe-

matics, University of Maine Departmentof Chemical and Biological Engineeringfaculty and students were focused oncommunity outreach to support STEMeducation in local schools. Their workencourages students in all grade levelsto learn more about those subjectswhile introducing them to UMainebioengineering research.

“This is a significant piece of ourprogram and it has real value,” saysprofessor Michael Mason.

For a number of years, the depart-ment regularly brought in nearly two-dozen high school sophomores andjuniors, and gave them experience work-ing with graduate students and facultymembers in a variety of lab activities,many of them based on the ongoingnanoparticle research at the lab.

More recently, that program hasincluded middle school students inhopes of getting them interested inscience. In addition, through theConsider Engineering Program, offeredin conjunction with the Pulp and PaperFoundation, high school juniors are inthe lab for three or four separatesessions during the year in an effort to

expose them to 21st-century science.Through his work as a school board

member in Orrington, Mason realizedthat the youngest students in theschools were not getting a significantamount of science exposure. He workedto obtain a National Science Founda-tion grant to develop activity kits thathis graduate students use in K-4 class-rooms at the Center Drive School inOrrington. The UMaine students havevisited each of those classes multipletimes, delivering hands-on scienceactivities to about 400 children.

Mason also is involved in the univer-sity’s Elementary Science Partnership,which works to build the infrastructure— including materials, curriculum andprofessional development for Mainescience teachers — in the early grades.All these efforts, he says, are an impor-tant part of STEM education at UMaineand statewide. They help create publicawareness of the work being done atthe university and provide an opportu-nity for UMaine students to interactwith the community. They also serve asa potential long-term recruitment tool.More important, those efforts aregenerating an interest and excitementabout science.

“Their faces light up when theyknow it’s science time,” Mason says. n


ENGINEERING PHYSICS

T HE MAINE CENTER for Research inSTEM Education (RiSE) already had adecade of experience researching waysto improve science teaching and learn-

ing when, in 2010, it received a $12.3 million NationalScience Foundation grant that broadened the scope andthe impact of those efforts.

With the funding, the center developed a coalition ofUMaine faculty, students and regional elementary, middleand high school teachers. They work together to betterunderstand how K–12 students learn science concepts,implement new instructional resources and techniques topresent those concepts, and assess their effectiveness inclassroom settings. The initial Maine Physical Science Part-nership spawned several offshoot projects that have gener-ated more enthusiasm for science among young studentsand more excitement among teachers at all levels. And, inearly assessments, the projects have improved studentunderstanding of science topics.

Meanwhile, what happens in the K–12 classroomsdoesn’t stay there. The teaching strategies and instructionalresources, and the educational foundations behind them,are making their way back into UMaine classrooms,informing the education of a new generation of scienceteachers and offering opportunities for university professorsto improve their teaching.

The center, now in its 14th year, was founded for theadvancement of research and practice in teaching andlearning in science and mathematics. The goal was to fostera more focused, interdisciplinary approach to researchingscience and mathematics teaching and learning at theuniversity, and to use that research to improve teaching ofscience topics and to make science more satisfying and

Learning researchRiSE Center best practices prepare teachers andstudents to get the most out of STEM education

interesting, especially to younger learners. An initial $1.2million grant from the U.S. Department of Educationallowed the fledgling center to hire new faculty and toestablish the Master of Science in Teaching (MST)program, which offers secondary certification in lifesciences, physical sciences and mathematics, as well as grad-uate opportunities for certified teachers in these disciplines.

“That was a big step,’’ says Susan McKay, the foundingdirector of the RiSE Center and a UMaine professor ofphysics. “It brought us all together around the researchprojects of the students.’’

In the ensuing years, the center developed a researchteam of faculty, postdoctoral research associates and under-graduate and graduate students focused on a broad spec-trum of research areas related to teaching and learningscience and mathematics at the K–12 level, as well ashigher education. The NSF grant allowed the center todevelop the Maine Physical Science Partnership(MainePSP) that now includes 25 Maine schooldistricts, 46 individual schools and more than 80teachers. The goal of the partnership was tofocus on grades 6–9, a time when manystudents lose interest in science.

The center brought together grade-levelteachers and RiSE researchers to review possi-ble instructional resources, supported bycurrent science education research. Participatingteachers began using a common set of instructional

“We’re always looking for evidenceon how we are doing and ways tomake it better.” Susan McKay

20 COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY OF MAINE 21

resources recommended by the task force, which helped theuniversity work with those teachers to design professional develop-ment programs to meet their needs. The partnership has providedmaterials to accompany the science units, enabling teachers to domore hands-on science. UMaine students paired with teachers toprovide in-class assistance with challenging lessons.

Among the initiatives: Eighth-graders are doing design workthat introduces engineering principles and practices, and elemen-tary school students are working in teams to roleplay and solve problems in different engineeringfields.

The approach has been collaborative ratherthan top down. Although much of the researchis conducted by UMaine faculty and graduatestudents, the middle school and high schoolteachers are an integral part of that process.Rather than being research subjects, they aretrue research partners. They gather data andinteract with RiSE faculty regarding what datamean. The process creates a loop: the researchinitiates changes in the classroom which, inturn, drive new research.

The process had a clear challenge lastsummer as the team assessed a physics unit onforce and motion. While students enjoy theactivity — building and testing a model car —they still were not understanding some of thefundamental concepts.

This past summer, university faculty withexperience in researching and teaching theseconcepts, MST students with a background inphysics and the grade-level teachers met toexamine the materials and the ways they wereteaching these ideas. They redesigned the lessonsto be used by the partnering teachers. A small group of teacherspiloted the new materials early this fall and made changes, ifneeded. The rest of the MainePSP community will use whatthey’ve developed in the remainder of the school year.

“That’s just one example of how the research interplays withthe instruction,’’ McKay says. “You use research to take your bestshot at learning in the classroom, then you look at how that works,modify what you’re doing based on what you’ve found, and then

you try that again and again. We’re always looking for evidence onhow we are doing and ways to make it better.’’

Although MainePSP materials have only been in the class-rooms for three years, and it is too early for a definitive assessmentof the partnership’s effectiveness, McKay says there are some earlyindications it has had a positive effect on teaching and learning.

To date (2012–14), MainePSP eighth-graders meeting orexceeding standards on standardized state tests in science have

gone from 74 percent to 80 percent. Students innonparticipatory schools statewide improvedfrom 72 percent to 73 percent. The percentageof MainePSP students who don’t meet the stan-dards has decreased each year of the program. Asimportant, McKay says, is evidence that thepartnership seems to be changing student atti-tudes about science.

In an online survey, 46 percent of studentsresponding said their science class in the pastyear made them more interested in jobs relatedto science. Surveys also indicated that those inthe program are more likely to view themselvesas good or very good science students. Partici-pating grade-level teachers indicate they havestrengthened their knowledge of science; partic-ularly in the areas of physics, chemistry andEarth science, and 85 percent said they consid-ered themselves better science teachers forhaving been a part of the partnership.

And, based on demand from elementaryschool teachers seeking additional support foryounger students, the center used a MaineDepartment of Education grant to expand theMainePSP and create the Maine ElementaryScience Partnership (MaineESP). Still in its early

stages, MaineESP includes about 80 elementary school teachersworking as Science Resource Partners with more than 960 teachersin their individual districts throughout the state.

“Part of our philosophy is that we really want to invest in andsupport teachers. They are there year after year and have such animpact on students. And it’s a tough job. We want to continue towork together — to better understand and improve teaching andlearning in science, engineering and math.’’ n

Learning research

In an online survey,46 percent of thestudentsresponding saidthat their scienceclass in the pastyear made themmore interested injobs related toscience.

EVELYN FAIRMAN of Bangor, Maine,graduated from the University ofMaine in May with a bachelor’sdegree in chemical engineering, and

minors in renewable energy engineering andmathematics. This fall, she began graduatework in energy science, technology and policy,with a disciplinary concentration in chemicalengineering at Carnegie Mellon University.Upon graduation in May 2015, she plans towork with alternative liquid fuels in an indus-trial setting.For two years while at UMaine, Fairman was

involved in nanocellulose research. Her work,which applied cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB) to dry and rehydrate nanocel-lulose for easier transport, was recognized witha 2013 UMaine Center for UndergraduateResearch Fellowship. This spring, her work wasfeatured in the Maine Journal, and Fairmanwas recognized by UMaine with the Edith M.Patch Award. Most recently, the poster from herHonors thesis, “Avoiding Aggregation Duringthe Drying and Rehydration Phases of Nanocel-lulose Production,” was a finalist in the Societyof Women Engineers Collegiate TechnicalPoster Competition.Earlier this year, Fairman presented her

research findings at the 2014 National Colle-giate Research Conference at Harvard Univer-sity. This summer, she spoke at the 2014 TAPPIInternational Conference on Nanotechnologyfor Renewable Materials in Vancouver, B.C.In her research, Fairman was mentored by

engineering faculty members David Neivandt,James Beaupre and Karen Horton; HonorsCollege Dean Francois Amar; and forest opera-tions professor Douglas Gardner.

Why did you decide to major inchemical engineering?�I chose to major in chemical engineeringbecause I wanted to change the way energy ismanufactured and distributed. I felt obligatedas an educated citizen to reverse the effects ofclimate change by reducing our nation’sdependence on fossil fuels. As a junior in highschool, I hoped to one day design an alterna-tive liquid fuel for the transportation sector. Iwas especially interested in the potential offuel cells. I knew I wanted to major in engineer-ing, but it was the University of Maine’sConsider Engineering summer program thatconvinced me to choose chemical.

At the nano scale

How did you get involved inundergraduate research?I contacted David Neivandt after I graduatedhigh school. I had met him at the ConsiderEngineering program the previous summer, so Ifelt comfortable reaching out to him via email.He knew I was an incoming first-year chemicalengineering major, and he was more thanhappy to assign me a student research assist-antship under the guidance of one of his Ph.D.,students, James Beaupre. The three of uscontinued to work on various research projectsthroughout my undergraduate career at theUniversity of Maine.

What difference did the research make inyour overall academic experience?�My classroom experience was richer because Iwas able to reinforce academic topics withhands-on experimental testing. I always lovedmath and science in high school, but I chose

engineering because it was an applied field. It’snot often that an undergraduate has the oppor-tunity to collect and analyze data for an inde-pendent research project, while getting paid. Iwas extremely lucky to have Dave and James asmentors. The research experience gave me theconfidence to speak up in class, to ask questionsif I didn’t understand the material, to present myresults in weekly meetings, and to never hesitateto use upperclass and graduate students asresources. Indeed, my research experienceconvinced me by the end of the summer beforemy freshman year at UMaine that chemicalengineering was the right field for me.

How do you describe your research?�That is a very good question. It is very impor-tant for scientists to be able to translate theirresearch to laymen’s terms, not just to fuelcuriosity in those who work outside the field,but also for funding purposes. Here is what Iusually say: Maine has a strong pulp and paperindustry. I am sure you know that we use treesto make paper. Trees — and all plant matter —are composed of cellulose. Cellulose is a usefulmaterial, but if you break it down into smallerpieces until it reaches nanoscale dimensions,we call that nanocellulose. Nanocellulose hasvery unique properties that allow it to beapplied in a wide variety of fields. There is,however, a problem with the way nanocellu-lose is being produced industrially. Currently,nanocellulose is produced in an aqueous slurry.The water in this slurry eventually needs to beremoved. However, when we remove thewater, the nanocellulose clumps together andloses its nanoscale dimensions. Thus, its desir-able properties are lost and it is no longernanocellulose. My research project has apatented solution to this problem: We use thechemical additive CTAB to effectively dry andrehydrate nanocellulose.

Which faculty mentor did you work withmost and what did you learn from himor her?�I worked most closely with James Beaupre.James encouraged me to think outside the boxand to consider all possibilities before drawinga conclusion. His guidance taught me to payclose attention to detail, both during experi-ments and during data analysis. Outside thelaboratory, his positive attitude reminded menot to forget the big picture. n

For two yearswhile at UMaine,Fairman wasinvolved in nano -cellulose research.She has presentedher research atnational andinternationalconferences, andshe was a finalistin the Society ofWomen EngineersCollegiateTechnical PosterCompetition.

STUDENT FOCUS


W HEN DAVID RUBENSTEIN gavea quote to a Portland paper aboutMaine’s aerospace industry sixyears ago, he had no idea it would

lead to the creation of the University of Maine’s fledglingaerospace engineering program or that he would beteaching in that program.

But since 2009, Rubenstein, now an associate researchprofessor of aerospace engineering, has been the instructorfor UMaine’s undergraduate and graduate aerospace engi-neering courses. And the university is marketing theprogram nationwide.

Rubenstein, who holds a master’s and Ph.D. in aero-space engineering from Pennsylvania State University, hasmore than 20 years of experience in the aerospace industry.He’s worked in navigation and control system design anddynamic modeling, and simulation development at aero-space and defense contractors, including Martin Marietta,Raytheon Systems Design Laboratory and Draper Labora-tory. During that time, he worked on systems for NASAspace shuttle missions, defense satellites, unmanned aerialvehicles, unmanned underwater vehicles and even a flyingsaucer, as well as government projects.

When he moved to Maine in 2002, Rubenstein startedhis own consulting company, which has kept him involvedin aerospace, and related research and design projects. Healso joined a local steering committee to promote the aero-space industry in Maine. It was in connection with thatsteering committee that he was interviewed in 2008 for astory in the Portland Press Herald. Almost as an aside, hetold a reporter that he was not aware of a successful aero-space industry and R&D presence in a state that did nothave an aerospace curriculum. The day after the storyappeared, Rubenstein received a phone call from DanaHumphrey, dean of the college of engineering, who asked,“What can I do about that?’’

Successful launchUMaine’s online aerospace engineeringprogram focuses on design and simulation

While some of the students who enter the UMaineprogram have pilot training and even a pilot’s license,Rubenstein says the curriculum is not designed to trainpilots. The program offers two undergraduate courses inaeronautics and astronautics, focusing on the basics of thedesign and physics of aircraft and spacecraft. Two graduatecourses expand upon the undergraduate courses, focusingon the flight dynamics, modeling, and control of aircraftand space vehicles.

Undergraduate students can obtain a concentration inaerospace engineering, while graduate students can receivegraduate certification.

Rubenstein says he approaches the courses as an engi-neer, making each element relevant to real-life engineeringsituations. To that end, every student in each of the fourcourses is required to develop a design for a computersimulation of a particular aerospace system. The studentsuse Matlab software — one of the most important piecesof design equipment in the aerospace industry, accordingto Rubenstein — to create mathematical models necessaryto study the effects of various control applications on the

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

“These courses areavailable to students in

any of the 50 states.”David Rubenstein


aircraft or spacecraft. Those simulations, he says, are aimportant part of the program, and key in the research anddevelopment sector of the industry.

“In the aerospace industry, it is very expensive to builda prototype. Before they ever run tests on the hardware,they run numerous trials with simulations,’’ he says.“There is a tremendous need for engineers who have strongsimulation capabilities on aerospace systems.’’

By bringing current industry standards into theprogram, he says UMaine is preparing students to movedirectly into jobs in the aerospace industry when they grad-uate. That background will make them attractive tocompanies in the aerospace and defense industries.

Although Maine’s aerospace sector is a small part of theoverall aerospace industry, Rubenstein says it may be possi-ble for those UMaine graduates to become a driving forceto grow the industry in Maine. Since he has lived inMaine, Rubenstein says he’s observed a fair number ofsmall firms in the state that have been started by UMainegraduates, particularly in civil engineering. Part of the ideabehind UMaine’s aerospace program is to develop mechan-

David Rubensteinteaches all of hiscourses onlinefrom Falmouth,Maine, where helives and works.

ical engineers with aerospace training who will stay inMaine and become part of a growth industry here.

Rubenstein not only teaches science and technology, heuses communications technology to present that informa-tion to students. Rubenstein teaches his courses onlinefrom Falmouth, Maine, where he lives and works. Ruben-stein presents all his lectures live. Students ask questions inreal time via microphone or chat window; Rubenstein usesa whiteboard and digital tablet to add visual and writteninformation to the lectures. Many prepared graphics,videos, links and other presentation elements are integratedinto the presentations.

More important, Rubenstein says, all of the lectures arerecorded, giving students flexibility in how they approachthe course. They can “attend’’ the lecture live and they canwatch the recording. The recorded lectures also are avail-able to nontraditional students, many of whom are work-ing engineers.

The first student to complete the program took theonline courses while working as an engineer at Bath IronWorks.

Rubenstein says there has been some discussion aboutexpanding the aerospace course offerings, and he has ideasfor specific courses that could be added. For the first timethis year, UMaine is marketing the aerospace engineeringcourses across the country.

“These courses are available to students in any of the 50states,’’ he says. n


SPACE MAY BE the final frontier, but thework to put men and women into space andkeep them safe while they’re there hasalways been done on Earth. Increasingly,

some of that work is being done at the Wireless SensorNetwork (WiSe-Net) Lab at the University of Maine.

For several years, UMaine researcher Ali Abedi, an asso-ciate professor of electrical and computer engineering, hasbeen working with other researchers at the university todevelop a wireless sensor system to monitor NASA’s inflat-able lunar habitat, checking for impacts and leaks, andpinpointing their locations. Recently, Abedi and the WiSe-Net Lab received NASA funding to adapt that leak detec-tion system for use on the International Space Station.

While the space research has brought some notoriety toUMaine and the lab, Abedi stresses that all of the NASAwork, as well as other research being done at the lab, hasapplications on this planet.

Abedi created the WiSe-Net Lab, now a 3,600-square-foot lab on campus, to foster the kinds of collaborationswith other researchers that would match the long-standingsensor work.

“They build chemical sensors, biological sensors andphysical sensors. I thought ‘wouldn’t it be wonderful toattach wireless radios to those sensors and put them in thefield rather than trying to hook them up with wires in thelab?’’’ Abedi says. “That’s where I thought it would be avery good match for me to collaborate with the sensor

ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

Safety in spaceWireless sensor research provides leak-detection technology for NASA


people here. They knew how to build sensors; I knew howto communicate with those sensors, so we put out headstogether and figured out a way to make a wireless sensor.’’

Abedi’s team approached their design not by creating aradio and a sensor and putting them together as everyoneelse had, but by designing the radio and sensor as a singleplatform. Their initial effort was a single radio-sensor,designed so that the radio’s frequency would change basedon temperature fluctuations. This system had the addedadvantage of being powered remotely using radio wavesand did not require a battery.

That basic design, Abedi says, enabled a large area ofapplications that were previously not possible. From there,,the WiSe-Net team, which included graduate students aswell as collaborators from other UMaine departments,worked to expand and refine the system, using differentmaterials and developing different hardware and softwareto eliminate interference and to distinguish responses frommultiple sensors talking to each other.

The scope of that research has resulted in the develop-ment of diverse applications in areas that have surprisedAbedi. For instance, the U.S. Army is using a device — afitted bed sheet embedded with an array of sensors —developed in conjunction with colleagues in the UMainePsychology Department that can detect mild traumatic

brain injuries in soldiers. As a person sleeps, the sensorscollect data about large sleep movements, and heart andrespiratory rates. They also detect high-frequency vibra-tions in the spinal cord that can determine if a person hasbeen exposed to any traumatic brain injury.

“That’s one aspect of this research that I didn’t antici-pate,’’ he says.

Although the sensor array was initially developed foruse in monitoring substance-exposed newborns goingthrough withdrawal, Abedi says they recognized that thesensor system could be used with soldiers. With a grantfrom the U.S. Army, Abedi’s team developed a productused to diagnose mild traumatic brain injuries. Early detec-tion and treatment of these types of injuries can helpprevent significant post-traumatic sleep disorders, he says.

A company in Boston has approached Abedi abouttaking the technology to the National Football League. Heis currently working with a senior adviser to the NFL towrite a proposal for a clinical trial to test if the device canbe modified for football players to help determine if andwhen it is safe to for them to resume play after a concussion.

It might seem like a giant step from the football field tothe International Space Station, but that same type of wire-less sensing technology has linked the WiSe-Net Lab toNASA’s ongoing efforts in space exploration. The lab’sinitial foray into space involved development of a leakdetection system for NASA’s inflatable lunar habitat.

The first-of-its-kind inflatable lunar habitat is a 42-foot-long inflatable donut 10 feet tall, erected at the WiSe-Net Lab in 2009. Abedi, graduate student Joel Castro andpostdoctoral fellow Hossein Roufarshbaf, as well ascolleagues in the Mechanical Engineering Department andat NASA, developed a sensor array that could monitor thestructure for leaks as it was being inflated, detect impactsfrom space debris and autonomously monitor for leaks foras long as the habitat remained in use.

That required them to develop sensors that communi-cate with each other to detect the ultrasonic sounds

The wireless sensor research of professor Ali Abedi and his students on NASA’sinflatable lunar habitat on campus, pictured far left, also has applications forhuman health and safety on Earth. Initiatives are exploring their use inmonitoring head trauma and sleep disorders.


produced by a leak, as well as a way to quickly and reliablyprocess all the data gathered by those sensors.

In 2013, NASA began looking for research projects forthe International Space Station and Abedi submitted aproposal to develop a similar leak detection system. Earlierthis year, that project was one of five in the nation to befunded through NASA’s Experimental Program to Stimu-late Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

The three-year, $100,000 grant will allow researchers toadapt the technology from the inflatable lunar habitat leakdetection system to the space station. Although the func-tion is the same, Abedi says the research team will have toredesign the hardware and software for use in the spacestation, making it more durable and adapting it to a micro-gravity environment.

“It’s a very different system, both in the hardware andthe software,’’ he says. “It follows a similar concept, be wehave to redesign it for a whole different structure.’’

The design will focus on detecting and localizing leaksin one module of the space station. If it proves reliable, thesystem can be expanded for use throughout the Interna-tional Space Station. Abedi notes that other researchers areworking on the possibility of attaching inflatable modulesto the space station, where the WiSe-Net technology alsocould be used for leak detection.

One of the challenges of this project will be to shrinkthe prototype system from the inflatable habitat so it fits ina small box that can be transported to the space station.Once the system is built, it will be tested at the lab inOrono and later move to the Johnson Space Center inHouston, Texas, where there is a module of the Interna-tional Space Station

Once that testing is complete, the device will be sentinto space for testing on the space station. According toAbedi, NASA has programmed crew time into a futuremission for astronauts to install and test the leak detectiondevice.

The International Space Station project is expected tolast three years, but Abedi says there is a bright futureahead for wireless sensor technology, both in space and onthe ground.

Currently, all of the space station systems are wired andNASA is interested in technology that could eliminate theneed to transport the weight of that wiring. There also isan annual International Conference on Wireless for Spaceand Extreme Environments, which Abedi helped establish,that gathers experts from space agencies around the worldto discuss issues surrounding the use of wireless technolo-gies in space, as well as future applications.

On the ground, the technology has a multitude ofapplications — from monitoring aging bridges for struc-tural weaknesses to helping older people remain safely intheir homes.

Wireless technology can also be used to make homesmore energy efficient, and to help make the nation’s powergrid smarter and more efficient. With “smart home’’ wire-less technology, Abedi says, appliances at home can “talk’’to each other: the dishwasher will know if the washingmachine is running and won’t turn on until that cycle isdone, he says.

Expanded to the nation’s power grid, he says, the tech-nology can allow the grid to monitor use in different areas,and determine if and when a power generating stationneeds to run.

“In my mind, we are working toward an energy crisis,’’Abedi says. “If we can use technology to make us more effi-cient, that is good for us and for the next generation.’’ n

Safety in space

Once testing is complete, the device will be made flight-ready and sent intospace for testing on the space station. According to Ali Abedi, NASA hasprogrammed crew time on a future mission for astronauts to install and testthe leak detection device.The Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft approaches the International Space Station. Photo courtesy NASA.

STUDENT FOCUS

Engineering success

JONATHAN TORSCH of Old Town, Maine,struggled in high school while copingwith his mother’s cancer diagnosis andgrandfather’s death. Falling behind in

school cost him acceptance into college, so hefocused on work. When he was laid off fromhis retail job five years later, he decided to goback to school and enrolled at Eastern MaineCommunity College (EMCC), where he earnedan associate degree in electrical and automa-tion technology, graduated with a 4.0 gradepoint average and was named 2013 EMCCStudent of the Year. To continue to challengehimself, Torsch transferred to the University ofMaine to pursue a bachelor’s degree in electri-cal engineering technology, which he expectsto earn in the spring of 2015 — again with a4.0. He also is OSHA certified, a licensed Jour-neyman-in-Training Electrician and is studyingto earn his Maine Engineer-in-Training License.

Why study engineering?I was unsure of exactly where I would excel,but I enrolled in the electrical and automationtechnology program at EMCC, with the inten-tion of learning a trade that I would have at mydisposal the rest of my life; providing job secu-rity and higher earnings for my family. Itworked out perfectly, as the program at EMCCis far more geared toward engineering thanelectrician work, as I had initially thought it tobe. I absolutely fell in love with engineering,and could not see myself doing anything elsenow. Problem solving, logic, organization,teamwork and strong math skills are exactlywhat engineering can instill, and with those, I

have found success not only academically butin many other areas in life. Upon graduatingfrom EMCC, I knew that I had to continue topush forward and challenge myself in the elec-trical engineering technology program atUMaine.

Tell us about your internship with TRCCompanies, Inc.I have been working as an intern/designer withTRC Companies, Inc. in Augusta, Maine, sincesummer 2012. TRC is one of the foremost engi-neering firms with a presence in Maine, andwhile there I have learned an incredibleamount. I have worked specifically with theautomation and communications group. Withthem, I have done drafting in AutoCAD,designed communication profiles, programmedsubstation relays and devices, and was the leadon building a piece of software from theground up that is now used daily to automateinternal processes, saving the group largechunks of meticulously spent time.

Have you worked closely with aprofessor or mentor who has made youracademic experience better?At EMCC, Rick Reardon was an incredible influ-ence on me. I owe an incredible amount ofwhere my future is headed to him. He was myadviser, professor, and the head of the electricaland automation technology program, and hiscommitment to every student really helped megrow academically, professionally and person-ally. He stands out as someone I admire andaspire to be like because of his consistently

positive attitude, his excitement for educationand the material both in and out of the class-room, and his investment to the betterment ofothers. At UMaine, I was fortunate to have JudePearse as my adviser, professor and supervisorfor my teaching assistant and lab technicianwork. Her commitment to the students issomething that followed nicely with Rick’sstyle, and it made my transfer smooth andwelcoming. She stands out as someone Iadmire and aspire to be like because of hercommitment to being a human first — recog-nizing that whether student or professor,younger or older, employee or employer, we’reall just people with the same main goals in life,and we can approach professional goalstogether while maintaining a fun and engagingsocial environment.

What are your plans after graduation?First and foremost — work. I hope to obtain acareer in my field after graduation. I’d love towork in the automation and/or power engi-neering fields, as those are the areas of studythat have most intrigued me, as well as theones in which I have had the most success.Meanwhile, I plan to attend Worcester Poly-technic Institute for a master’s degree in powersystems engineering, and eventually worktoward earning my professional engineeringlicense in Maine. n

The time I spent atEMCC was the mostfulfilled and the mostchallenged I had everfelt. I was absolutelyaddicted toengineering andacademia. I wanted toattend UMaine topursue a higher degreeto learn as much as Icould about all of theaspects of theelectrical, power andautomationengineering world.


For more information, contact Diane Woodworth, development officer for the College of Engineering,800.671.7085 or 207.581.2211, [email protected]

engineering.umaine.edu

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Bea catalyst for innovation• Support the College of Engineering or your

department through your annual gift. You can give online (umaine.edu/give).

• Create an endowed fund in the University of Maine Foundation.

• Leave a legacy through your estate plans.

CHI TRUONGChemical Engineering

CHI TRUONG of Quang Ngai, Vietnam,was the Outstanding Graduating Inter-national Student in the College of Engi-neering. Truong had pre-med andchemistry minors. She was a Tau Beta PiEngineering Honor Society NationalScholar and received a 2013 Center forUndergraduate Research (CUGR) Fellow-ship. This past spring, Truong received asecond-place poster award at the CUGRAcademic and Research Showcase.Working in the laboratory of profes-

sor of chemical engineering JosephGenco, Truong helped conduct researchon the feasibility of generating aceticacid from Maine hardwood extract usingelectrodialysis. She also was a studentresearch assistant and teaching assistantin the Department of Chemical andBiological Engineering. Truong did twoco-op terms at Lincoln Paper and Tissue.Her campus leadership activities

included serving as treasurer of AllMaine Women, Sophomore Eagles andTau Beta Pi, and vice president of theAsian Student Association and the Inter-national Student Association. Her exten-sive volunteer activities includedparticipation in Alternative Breaks andPartners for World Health.

ENGINEERING SPOTLIGHT

FINN BONDESONCivil and Environmental Engineering

FINN BONDESON of Woodland, Maine,was the Outstanding GraduatingStudent in the College of Engineering.His many honors include membership inPhi Kappa Phi, the Marcus Urann Schol-arship and the University of Maine Presi-dential Distinguished Scholar Award.Bondeson had two summer intern-

ships — with Civil Engineering Servicesin Brewer, Maine, in 2011, and withStantec Consulting in Limestone, Maine,in 2012 and 2013. More recently, he’sbeen involved in potato breedingresearch led by Gregory Porter, professorof plant, soil and environmentalsciences, as well as professor of agron-omy. The goal of the research is to intro-duce disease-resistant traits intocommercial potato varieties.Bondeson’s numerous campus lead-

ership activities included serving as vicepresident of programming in Sigma PhiEpsilon, vice president of the Senior SkullSociety, trip leader with AlternativeBreaks and president of the Nordic SkiClub. He also has been a member of TauBeta Pi, Chi Epsilon, the UMaine chapterof the American Society of Civil Engi-neers, the National Society of CollegiateScholars and Black Bear Men’s Chorus.

2014 UMaine Presidential PublicService Achievement Award

BRUCE SEGEE has been actively engaged in public service for more than twodecades, assisting entrepreneurs and businesses large and small with cutting-edge instrumentation and automation systems. Since 2007, his work has

focused on improving the cyberinfrastructure in Maine and the Northeast that is criticalto the success of the University of Maine and the region. His interdisciplinary workranges from development of production-ready infrastructure to the creation of newtechnologies for visualization, education and communication. His research and outreachefforts have improved the usefulness of laptops in K–12 education, supercomputingand cloud computing, networking and videoconferencing, and resource sharing. Segeehelped spearhead the state’s Three Ring Binder project, which brought $25 million infunding, matched by $6 million in private investment, to form the Maine FiberCompany, providing unprecedented rural connectivity and job creation with the installa-tion of more than 1,100 miles of fiber-optic cable. Three Ring Binder, completed in 2012,was followed the next year by Gigabit Mainestreet, a public-private partnershipbetween UMaine and Great Works Internet to bring gigabit-speed connectivity to theOrono and Old Town communities. It resulted in UMaine being cited as one of the top10 universities for connectivity nationwide. Gigabit Mainestreet is part of a nationwideprogram named Gig.U, and Segee had a leadership role in bringing Gig.U to Maine. Hehas served as the director of the UMaine supercomputer, providing cost-effective,cutting-edge computational power for many significant research projects, classes andsimulations for K–12 education. In addition, he directs the UMaine CyberinfrastructureInvestment for Development, Economic Growth and Research, and has been involved inthe annual Maine Learning Technology Initiative of the state Department of Education.Segee holds the Henry R. and Grace V. Butler Professorship of Electrical and ComputerEngineering. He received the College of Engineering’s 2008 Ashley S. Campbell Award,as well as Dean’s Awards of Excellence in 2004 and 2008, Outstanding Young FacultyResearch Award in 1995 and Outstanding Young Faculty Teaching award in 1994. Segeereceived a bachelor’s and master’s degree in electrical engineering from the Universityof Maine in 1985 and 1989, respectively, and was awarded the College of EngineeringOutstanding Graduate Student Award in 1988. In 1992, he received a Ph.D. in engineer-ing from the University of New Hampshire and joined the UMaine engineering faculty.His publishing has included co-writing a textbook.

2014 Outstanding Graduates

Bruce Segee

College of Engineering5796 AMC, Room 200Orono, ME 04496-5796

Stay Connected toUMaine EngineeringVia email, receive four quarterly e-newsletters, updates of breaking news and notices of important events. Submit your alumni news and photos using our online form(engineering.umaine.edu/home/alumni). The University of MaineCollege of Engineering also has a LinkedIn group. Join throughLinkedIn and share your projects, news and career success. IN OCTOBER, the University ofMaine dedicated Cloke Plaza.

Paul Cloke was dean of theCollege of Engineering,serving from 1925–50.

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