Kristen is an Associate Professor at The Jackson Laboratory where her research focuses on the effects of age on brain function and dementia risk. As a first-generation college student, Kristen's path to doing cutting edge basic research is both inspirational and informative. 

Kristen  was one of the 5 Minute Genius™ speakers at this past year’s Maine Science Festival; you can see her talk on our YouTube channel.

This conversation was recorded in June 2025.

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The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.  

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

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© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

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

Asheesh  was one of the 5 Minute Genius™ speakers at this past year’s Maine Science Festival; you can see his talk on our YouTube channel.

This conversation was recorded in June 2025.

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The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.  

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook    Instagram   LinkedIn   Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook  Instagram   LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook   Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

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

This conversation was recorded in April 2025.

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The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.  

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook    Instagram   LinkedIn   Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook  Instagram   LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook   Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

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

Damian was one of the 5 Minute Genius™ speakers at this past year’s Maine Science Festival; you can see his talk on our YouTube channel.The link to the paper about kelp that recently made the cover of Science: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adt6788

This conversation was recorded in May 2025.

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The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.  

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook    Instagram   LinkedIn   Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook  Instagram   LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook   Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

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

Sue was part of the 2025 Maine Science Festival, on a session we held about PFAS research.

This conversation was recorded in June 2025.

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The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.  

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook    Instagram   LinkedIn   Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook  Instagram   LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook   Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

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

Cory was one of the 5 Minute Genius™ speakers at this past year’s Maine Science Festival; you can see his talk on our YouTube channel.

This conversation was recorded in May 2025.

~~~~~

The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.  

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook    Instagram   LinkedIn   Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook  Instagram   LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook   Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

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

If you'd like to learn more about Seth's work, check out his UMaine webpage: https://umaine.edu/earthclimate/people/seth-campbell/

This conversation was recorded in April 2025.

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The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.  

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook    Instagram   LinkedIn   Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook  Instagram   LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook   Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

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

As an applied environmental anthropologist, Kourtney has worked throughout Maine and Maritime Canada on a number of projects that she will describe today. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Wenner Gren Foundation, USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative, Henry David Thoreau Foundation, and more. 

This conversation was recorded in April 2025.

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The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.  

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook    Instagram   LinkedIn   Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook  Instagram   LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook   Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

Today’s episode is a conversation with Jamie Fogg who is an undergraduate at the University of Maine studying marine science. Jamie has been doing research in different areas of marine science since high school, and has recently been awarded the  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship - one of only two students in Maine and 130 nationwide to receive this honor. From whale watch research to using environmental DNA (eDNA), Jamie has been participated in a wide range of research that is often found in students well past their junior year of college.

This conversation was recorded in April 2025.

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The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.  

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook    Instagram   LinkedIn   Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook  Instagram   LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook   Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum

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

This conversation was recorded in January 2025.

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The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.

The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.

To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.  

Find us online:

Maine Discovery Museum

Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook    Instagram   LinkedIn   Bluesky

Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook  Instagram   LinkedIn

Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook   Instagram

© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum