Explore it! Building the Next Generation of Sustainable Energy Researchers

This award will establish an REU Site at the University of Maine. The program will engage 10 undergraduates each year for three years in a 10-week summer research experience. This REU site will leverage a focus area represented by the newly established University of Maine Forest Bio-products Research Institute (FBRI). Undergraduate students will conduct research advancing their knowledge of sustainable forest bio-products and will gain a detailed understanding of one of the thematic elements of the research effort as well as a broad understanding of all areas, specifically: 1) sustainable and life cycle analysis; 2) solids extraction/modification; 3) process control and sensing; 4) nanocellulose production and utilization; and 5) new project development. In addition to the hands-on research experience, undergraduate students will participate in a seminar series, field trips to gain practical knowledge of various aspects of sustainable forest bio-products, and a series of evening and weekend recreational activities. Participants will develop and utilize new knowledge to address sustainable energy issues impacting society. The REU site program will specifically target recruitment efforts towards women, minorities and students from undergraduate only institutions. Results of the research will be disseminated via campus presentations, and more broadly through journal articles and symposia

REU Site: Explore It! Building the Next Generation of Sustainable Forest Bioproduct Researchers

The major goal of the project is to create the next generation of sustainable forest bioproduct researchers through providing them with an outstanding and relevant research experience

REU Site: Explore It! Building the Next Generation of Sustainable Forest Bioproduct Researchers

This three-year REU Site program builds on the substantial research strengths at the University of Maine. The focus on sustainable forest bioproducts is highly topical and of great global importance in the area of sustainable energy alternatives. Ten US undergraduate participants will conduct research advancing their knowledge of the field in general and one of the thematic elements in detail, specifically: 1) sustainability and life cycle analysis, 2) feedstock extraction/modification, 3) process control and sensing, 4) nanomaterial production and utilization, and 5) new product development. In addition the program includes an international component whereby, six Chilean students on a mutual exchange with six US students will participate in this program. Ongoing relationships exist between the University of Maine and Chilean faculty in Forest Resources and Engineering disciplines at the University of Chile in Santiago, the University of Bio-Bio in Concepcion, Chile and the University of Concepcion-UDT. The international component will allow students to learn the nuances of technical practices in the forest products industry in Chile, and discuss business, marketing, technology and environmental issues. At the end of the summer, REU student final presentations will be held at the University of Concepcion-UD in the format of a research conference. The entire conference will be streamed to the US so that the U of Maine based research teams can participate. Through participation in this REU Site program students will be better prepared to collaborate with international scholars and will develop a broader international perspective. The REU Site will specifically recruit minorities through extensive use of existing linkages with primarily minority serving institutions. All participants on this award will be non-UMaine students. The involvement of students in exciting research in the area of sustainable energy alternatives enhances the likelihood that they will consider post-graduate study and broaden the base of the Nation\u27s technical manpower. This award is co-funded by the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EHR/EPSCoR

EXP-SA: A Lateral Field Excited Acoustic Wave Sensor for Peroxide-Based Explosives

Intellectual Merit:The candidate films will be functionalized on the quartz surface of the LFE sensing platform and exposed to peroxide-based IEDs and the materials used to fabricate them under simulated conditions. Critical sensor element properties such as the response level, response time, detection limit, resolution, and linearity will be measured and the selectivity will be determined by exposing the sensor to known concentrations of chemical simulants. In addition the admittance of each sensor element will be measured to isolate mechanical and electrical property changes in the film so as to identify the unique chemical signature of each analyte and provide a higher degree of selectivity. Sensor electronics will be designed and fabricated resulting in a handheld electronic unit. The sensor electronics will simultaneously process the output from five LFE sensing elements and provide a digital readout. Finally, the prototype sensor unit will be assembled and tested for the detection of PBEs and the materials commonly used to fabricate them.Broader Impacts:The development of a detector for PBEs will demonstrate that cutting edge research at the University of Maine will benefit homeland security, the military. A successful demonstration of a field deployable detector for PBEs will motivate the development and commercialization, by small sensor businesses, of similar sensors for homeland security, military, health, agricultural, automotive, and environmental applications

Maine EPSCoR End-to-End Connectivity for Sustainability Science Collaboration

Project DescriptionThis RII C2 proposal from Maine (ME) EPSCoR is focused on addressing last-mile bottlenecks at seven campuses of the University of Maine System. Maine\u27s Research and Education Network, MaineREN, delivers high performance inter-campus fiber connectivity to public and private institutions across the state, but the intra-campus networking has lacked the same investment by the state.The proposed improvements include:- Rewiring eight buildings at the University of Maine Orono Campus (UMaine) with Cat-6 cable, increasing end-to-end performance to 10 Gbps.- Upgrading the fiber backbone between the two University of Southern Maine (USM) campuses, one in Portland and one in Gorham, 12 miles apart. In addition, upgrades will be done for the buildings housing the ME RII Track-1 researchers, including the Law Building, Library, Bailey Hall, and the buildings that make up the fiber core for the Portland campus. - Upgrades to edge routers to connect to the MaineREN backbone for UMaine Augusta (UMA), UMaine Farmington (UMF), UMaine Fort Kent (UMFK), UMaine Machias (UMM), and UMaine Presque Isle (UMPI). Intellectual MeritThe proposed upgrades in network connections will greatly improve the networking capacity available to the University of Maine system and enable researchers to take advantage of state-wide upgrades with improved end-to-end performance. The proposed RII C2 connectivity improvements will support the Maine RII Track-1 Sustainability Science Initiative (SSI) by increasing bandwidth availability for the SSI data management and visualization approaches. SSI is advancing the emerging field of sustainability science in three integrative ways: 1) examining interactions between social and ecological systems (SES) as landscapes change in response to urbanization, forest management, and climate variability; 2) investigating how much SES knowledge affects, and is influenced by, the actions and decision of stakeholders, with a goal of strengthening connections between knowledge and actions; 3) evaluating the factors that facilitate and impede interdisciplinary collaboration, with a goal of identifying and implementing individual and institutional best practices that are needed to support successful interdisciplinary research programs in sustainability science.Broader ImpactsBy filling in relatively small gaps in the infrastructure, Maine will be able to make very large gains in the effectiveness of the state\u27s cyberinfrastructure (CI) that will allow researchers to fully utilize investments to improve research effectiveness, promote collaboration, improve K-12 interaction, and develop the future workforce of the state. The networking upgrades will support the 300 researchers, students, and stakeholders that are part of the SSI collaboration over 17 different disciplinary fields. The SSI activities have the potential to increase Maine\u27s research capacity and competitiveness and grow Maine\u27s green innovation economy. The proposed project will leverage the RII Track-1 programs for broader impacts

MRI: ID-Development of a Hybrid Scanning Fluorescence and Sum Frequency Spectroscopy Imaging Microscope

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation program (MRI), Michael Mason and colleagues from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Maine will develop a hybrid scanning fluorescence (FL) and sum frequency (SF) spectroscopy imaging microscope. The instrument will be constructed by the addition of sample scanning and FL capability to an existing broadband SF spectrometer. The SF NIR pump source will be used to excite SF at the sample interface, while a modulated Argon ion CW laser will excite FL. These collinear sources will give rise to spatially and temporally correlated SF and FL signals which will be separated and individually detected. The instrument will simultaneously measure the fluorescence and sum frequency to yield information about the localized dynamics of a single particle, i.e. protein, and spatially correlated structural information about the bulk material containing the particle. This yields information about the interaction between the particle and the bulk not accessible by any other method. The proposal will initially investigate test projects including the study of membrane domain structure and membrane-membrane interactions, e,g., correlation of the structure and dynamics of lipid and protein molecules within planar supported lipid bilayers. Successful development of this instrument could lead to major breakthroughs in several fields ranging from surface chemistry and biophysics to nanotechnology and cellular biology

Technology and Aging: An Emerging Research and Development Sector in Maine

The authors discuss the importance of research for developing products and services that cater to the needs of a rapidly growing aging population and provide examples of projects underway at the University of Maine. Products designed to improve and protect older adult health and well-being represent a significant opportunity for economic growth in Maine

Adsorption and onset of lubrication by a double-chained cationic surfactant on silica surfaces

In the context of glass fiber manufacturing the onset of lubrication by a C18 double-chained cationic surfactant has been investigated at high normal contact pressures. Comparison with adsorption kinetics demonstrates that lubrication is not directly connected to the surfactant surface excess but originates from the transition to a defect-free bilayer which generates limited dissipation. The impact of ionic strength and shear rate has also been studied

Layer-by-layer deposition of open-pore mesoporous TiO 2- Nafion® film electrodes

The formation of variable thickness TiO2 nanoparticle-Nafion® composite films with open pores is demonstrated via a layer-by-layer deposition process. Films of about 6 nm diameter TiO2 nanoparticles grow in the presence of Nafion® by “clustering” of nanoparticles into bigger aggregates, and the resulting hierarchical structure thickens with about 25 nm per deposition cycle. Film growth is characterized by electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and quartz crystal microbalance techniques. Simultaneous small-angle X-ray scattering and wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements for films before and after calcination demonstrate the effect of Nafion® binder causing aggregation. Electrochemical methods are employed to characterize the electrical conductivity and diffusivity of charge through the TiO2-Nafion® composite films. Characteristic electrochemical responses are observed for cationic redox systems (diheptylviologen2+/+, Ru(NH3)3+/2+6, and ferrocenylmethyl-trimethylammonium2+/+) immobilized into the TiO2-Nafion® nanocomposite material. Charge conduction is dependent on the type of redox system and is proposed to occur either via direct conduction through the TiO2 backbone (at sufficiently negative potentials) or via redox-center-based diffusion/electron hopping (at more positive potentials)