The Maine Question

Incessant torrential rain and cold air over Europe from 1914 to 1919 likely increased the number of people who died during World War I (22 million) and the Spanish flu pandemic (50 million). Alex More and Paul Mayewski from the Climate Change Institute connected data from climate science, history and public health to make the discovery. The colleagues say the once-in-a-century climate anomaly may have been caused by dust and explosives from the war that impacted the local atmosphere. As we anticipate another wave of COVID-19, More says we should be mindful of the interconnectedness of human-caused climate change, environmental conditions and disease.

There’s an adage that people don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Mollie Ruben, assistant professor of psychology, examines how face masks affect people’s first impressions of others during the COVID-19 outbreak. Do people appear more or less smart to others, depending on whether they’re wearing or not wearing a mask? More or less friendly? Learn about this research project conducted by Ruben, who directs the Emotion, Pain, and Interpersonal Communication (EPIC) Lab at the University of Maine.

Some may imagine that people who major in and pursue careers in philosophy are relegated to poring through old dusty books about Plato and Socrates. In reality, philosophy majors work in all kinds of fields, including the legal profession and entertainment. One place you might not expect to find a philosopher is in the hospital helping to make decisions about medical care, but that is what bioethicists do. Jessica Miller, a professor of philosophy at UMaine, also is a bioethicist. She uses her expertise to help medical professionals make decisions about care. We speak with Miller about bioethics and how it benefits patients, families and health care professionals. She also dispels a few myths as to what philosophy is really about.

The death of George Floyd is just one of several incidents that put issues of race, diversity and justice to the front burner in 2020. At the University of Maine, President Joan Ferrini-Mundy created a new council to examine where UMaine stands in relation to these issues and what can be done to foster a more inclusive and equitable campus. The Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion began its work this fall. We speak with council co-chairs Kimberly Whitehead, vice president and chief of staff to the president, and Susan McKay, a professor of physics and director of the Center for Research in STEM Education, or RiSE Center, about efforts to make UMaine and the education it provides more just and reflective of the diverse world students will enter.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated many changes that were already underway in how and where education is delivered these days. From Pre-K to Ph.D., online curricula offered through digital platforms like Zoom and Brightspace are now a key component of virtually every student's instruction. What are the advantages of using these technologies? Will they replace or merely supplement in-class, face-to-face learning? We talk with Peter Schilling from UMaine's Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning about the future of online education.

Along with lobsters and lighthouses, wild blueberries are an iconic product from the state of Maine. While the industry has struggled of late, promising developments exist for wild blueberries and the people who grow and make products out of them. UMaine's wild blueberry expert Lily Calderwood shares her thoughts on the work being done at the university to grow the industry and what the past, present and future holds for this delicious, native crop.

Last spring, when the coronavirus was causing major shifts in how schools educated children, Catherine Biddle, Maria Frankland and students from the College of Education and Human Development did some research. They explored how schools were managing and communicating decisions to families. One of the researchers’ goals was to identify best practices for educators to use during the pandemic, or any other large disruption.

The Maine Question Podcast from the University of Maine is back for season 3- kicking off in Fall 2020. We'll continue exploring the research and creative activity taking place at UMaine, the new ground it breaks and the positive difference that it makes. We'll also get to know the people behind those stories.

How does the University of Maine System stay up to date with breaking COVID-19 developments involving testing, treatments, transmission mitigation, contact tracing and vaccine development? It turns to its experts on the UMS Scientific Advisory Board.

Almost a billion people in the world are food insecure, and each year we throw away about one-third of the food we produce.

Susanne Lee, executive-in-residence at the Maine Business School, and Peter O'Brien, a senior majoring in economics, examined the issue of food waste and have some possible solutions.