Maine Space Grant Consortium Fellowship and Scholarship Program

November 13th, 2009

Maine Space Grant Consortium Fellowship and Scholarship Program
at the University of Maine – Space Grant 19
Year 2010

Contact: Vince Caccese, 581-2131

PROGRAM DEADLINE IS November 23, 2009

Mission
The Maine Space Grant Consortium is an affiliate of NASA’s National Space Grant
College and Fellowship Program. The mission of the Maine Space Grant Consortium is to
support NASA’s mission and four strategic enterprises by strengthening Maine’s
aerospace related research and education assets, which are critical to the Agency.

Purpose of the Fellowship & Scholarship Program
The purpose of the Maine Space Grant Consortium Fellowship and Scholarship Programs
at the University of Maine is to provide research opportunities to undergraduate and
graduate students in aerospace technology, space science, earth science, and human
exploration/space development, and other science or engineering related fields.

These awards are limited to U.S. citizens. With Maine Space Grant Fellowships and
Scholarships support, undergraduate and graduate students at affiliate institutions may:
• Conduct research in areas of interest to NASA,
• Spend time conducting research at a NASA flight center,
• Facilitate the development of a liaison between researchers at the University of
Maine and one of NASA’s centers, and
• Facilitate technology transfer from the University of Maine to industry.

All applications submitted to this program will be critically evaluated based on their
relevance to NASA’s mission for the National Space Grant College and Fellowship
Program. Collaboration with researchers at NASA Space flight centers is highly
encouraged as well as collaboration with industry, among departments within the same
institution, and among institutions within the State of Maine. Women, minorities and
persons with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply to this program.
The following pages detail the intent, requirements, and awards for the Maine Space Grant
Consortium Fellowship and Scholarship Programs at the University of Maine.

For More Information: www.umaine.edu/mecheng/caccese/spacegrant

Posted in News | Comments Off

Nov. 17-18th Fall Forum on Sustainability & Engineering Excellence Awards

November 10th, 2009

ACEC of Maine will be holding the 2009 Fall Forum & Engineering Excellence Awards ceremony at the University of Maine campus in Orono for the second year in a row, allowing members to see new campus facilities and interact with future engineers.

---

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Networking Reception
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Buchanan Alumni House
University of Maine, Orono, Maine

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Fall Forum on Sustainability & Engineering Excellence Awards
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Wells Conference Center
University of Maine, Orono, Maine

Agenda
Tuesday, November 17
6:00 – 9:00 PM – Networking Reception
ACEC will be hosting a Networking Reception at the Buchanan Alumni House on the University of Maine . In order to
accommodate your attendance at the reception we have reserved a block of rooms at the Best Western Black Bear Inn &
Conference Center in Orono. Rooms are $79.95 per night plus tax and this rate includes a complementary breakfast. If you
would like to reserve one of these rooms call (207) 866-7120 soon.

Wednesday, November 18
The 2009 Fall Forum will be held at the Wells Conference Center on the campus of the University of Maine . This year’s theme is
Sustainability.
8:00 – 9:00 AM – Registration and continental breakfast
9:00 – 10:15 AM- Joint session on the University of Maine’s $20 million National Science Foundation Grant for
Sustainability Initiative – David Hart, Ph.D., Research Director, Sustainability Solutions Initiative
10:15 – 10:30 AM – Break
10:30 – 11:45 AM – Concurrent sessions
Track 1 – Why should engineering firms be interested in sustainable design, both for their clients and for the operation of
their own business? Target audience is senior managers and owners of consulting firms. The presentations will be made by
two speakers: Stephen Rich, AIA, LEED AP, of WBRC, speaking about why companies should operate internally in a
sustainable manner; and Barry Sheff, Woodard & Curran, speaking about why it is in a consulting company’s interest to
design sustainable projects.
Track 2 – With all the talk about and demand for sustainable design, what does this really mean to a practicing
engineer? Presenter: Ann Archino Howe, PE, LEED AP, of Sustainable Design Studio.
11:45 AM – 12:15 PM – Student judging of EEA submissions
12:15 – 12:45 PM – Lunch
12:45 – 2:00 PM – EEA Program – Presentations by EEA Award winners, announcement of Grand Conceptor Award
winner, and Students’ Choice Award Winner.
2:00 – 3:00 PM – Presentation on Hannaford’s new Platinum LEED Rated facility in Augusta, the first in the United
States. Speaker: Harrison Horning, Director of Energy and Facility Services.

For more information, please contact:

Paul Lariviere, ACEC of Maine
207.623.3748
plariviere@mainetomorrow.com

Or Chet Rock, Associate Dean of Engineering
207.581.2218 Phone
207.581.2220 Fax
chet.rock@umit.maine.edu

Posted in News | Comments Off

AEWC Expansion Begins Nov. 1st

October 22nd, 2009

Print E-mail Share

The planned construction for an expansion to the University of Maine Advanced Engineered Wood Composites building (AEWC) — delayed for more than three months — will finally start on Nov. 1 as the Army Corps of Engineers issued the last required permit for the project Oct. 9.

The permit will allow the project to go forward after a delay that caused at least four layoffs for one subcontractor involved and had the potential of slowing the center’s research concerning its role in deepwater offshore energy projects in the state.

The $4.9 million expansion will create an extra 18,500 square feet of space that will house the equipment needed to test large windmill blades and other research components. The delay had been a source of confusion and frustration for many of the parties involved, with everyone from local construction companies hired to complete the project to the center itself expressing concern. The expansion was scheduled to start in May and be finished by January 2010, but due to a misunderstanding that resulted from an unrelated issue in 1997 between the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) and UMaine, the project stalled, causing a host of setbacks and bringing about the involvement of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

According to Elaine Clark, the executive director of Facilities Real Estate and Planning at UMaine, the university was required to apply for a permit with the MDEP because a portion of the expansion will be built on freshwater wetlands. When the university applied for its permit in March 2009 with the MDEP, it was passed on to the Army Corps of Engineers, which has jurisdiction of and reviews all permits relating to wetlands. The corps told the university there was an unresolved issue from 1997 with the site.

“Section 404 of the Clean Air and Water Act provides us with the job of protecting wetlands; we were just doing our job,” said Shawn Mahaney, the project manager from the corps.

The corps said in March that in 1997, during unrelated construction of a portion of the commuter parking lot located in front of what is now the Collins Center for the Arts, gravel and dirt had been improperly dumped into a portion of the wetlands where the current AEWC expansion will be built.

“When the permit got to our office, it raised a red flag,” Mahaney said. “Wetlands have many functions in the environment, and we wanted to make sure that everything was properly attended to before construction started. Things like drainage and the grade of the land all have an impact on the way these areas function environmentally. It’s important that they are filled correctly.”

Since the matter had not yet been resolved the corps would not allow construction to go forward. The EPA was brought in to enforce UMaine’s obligation to clean up the fill.

“It was a surprise to everyone who was involved then and now, so upon being told that we had an outstanding issue with the USEPA and the ACOE, we conducted an investigation that revealed the problem,” Clark said.

The university’s investigation revealed staffing changes at the EPA and the corps had caused a failure on behalf of both to follow up on the improper wetland fill. The corps also confirmed this to be true.

“Turns out the claim, made back in 1997, got lost in [the] system,” Mahaney said. “It was a total administrative error. There were position changes at the ACOE, USEPA and at UMO that caused everyone to unintentionally overlook the issue.”

The university also uncovered evidence that showed if the EPA and the corps had followed up, they would have discovered the map used in 1997 by the university and both federal departments to determine the location of wetlands in the area was incorrect.

“The university brought to our attention the fact that the map we had all been working with was more like a sketch. It was not accurate,” Mahaney said. “In my opinion, it wasn’t the university’s fault or ours for working with a bad map; it was the environmental consulting firm that had drawn it up for them in the early ’90s.”

The sketch identified wetlands where there were none, and failed to identify areas where there were wetlands.

The university hired a new environmental consulting firm called Stantec to take aerial photos of the area from a helicopter in order to create a correct map. The new map allowed the university to replace the outdated sketch and correctly identify the wetlands. The new map showed gravel and dirt had not been improperly dumped into any wetlands in 1997, as the corps had accused UMaine of doing. What the map did show was that other wetlands in the area had been improperly filled over time due to the incorrect sketch the university had been working with.

“Once we realized this, we wanted to get the matter behind us forever,” Clark said. “We determined that about a half an acre of other wetlands around the area of the planned expansion had been improperly filled over time due to the inaccuracy of this old sketch. We then submitted this information to the ACOE. They were extremely cooperative with us, and they simply assessed a fee that is currently being processed. This allowed us to obtain our permit and we will begin construction in November.”

According to Clark, the fee is a stipulation involved in the wetlands permit process that would have been assessed anyway as the expansion of the AEWC will require some filling of surrounding wetlands. The fee is determined by the square-feet of wetlands to be filled.  Since half an acre was improperly filled, the corps assessed a fee of $33,863.24 — close to what the university would have originally paid.

Despite having paid the fee, Clark said there is a possibility UMaine might have to pay an EPA fine related to the filling of half an acre of wetlands, which Mahaney confirmed to be true. He added the EPA would probably not issue a fee in UMaine’s case, as the EPA usually collects fees from willful violators or those that refuse to cooperate, not because of accidents. The fee is also unlikely as the permit shows that there are no further objections from the EPA. UMaine expects the construction to be complete in June 2010.

Posted in News | Comments Off

News Update- AEWC Awarded $8M Grant for Offshore Wind

October 21st, 2009

ORONO, Maine — A University of Maine-led research and development effort to explore deepwater offshore wind power in the Gulf of Maine received an $8 million boost Thursday, with up to $5 million more possibly on the way.

The Department of Energy announced Thursday afternoon it has awarded a 38-member consortium led by UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center an $8 million grant to develop and deploy three small-scale deepwater offshore wind turbines that will float on composite platforms off the coasts of Maine and New Hampshire.

Click here for a list of consortium participants.

Two of the turbine models, which could all be in place in the next two years, will be located in one as-yet undetermined site in the Gulf of Maine. The third model will be located at the Maine-New Hampshire border. Researchers will use the models to develop lightweight composite platforms with the eventual goal of a large-scale floating wind farm in the Gulf of Maine, which would be the first of its kind in the world.

“This puts Maine in the drivers’ seat of deepwater offshore technology in the country,” UMaine professor Habib Dagher, the director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, said Thursday. “The fact that the Department of Energy has selected us provides a catalyst for industry in the state to work with us to help achieve this goal. It’s a bright day for Maine [and] a bright day for the future of Maine.”

The $8 million could grow to $13 million for the Advanced Structures and Composites Center if President Barack Obama signs an energy and water budget bill the Senate passed 80-17 Thursday afternoon and the House approved earlier. The bill includes a $5 million appropriation for the UMaine center secured by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Appropriation Committee.

The $5 million would go toward establishing a UMaine-based national center for deepwater offshore wind research and development. Part of the allocation would also go toward the development of the models.

Dagher, a longtime advocate for Maine to be the site of future research and development of deepwater offshore wind facilities, has equated the Gulf of Maine’s wind capacity to that of Saudi Arabia for oil production.

Dagher, who testified last summer about wind energy in front of Congress’ Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, has estimated Maine has the potential to produce about 130 gigawatts of power in deep water — 60 to 900 meters deep — within 50 nautical miles of the coast.

By comparison, the entire U.S. coastline has about 1,500 gigawatts of offshore wind potential in waters deeper than 60 meters within 50 nautical miles of its shores, Dagher has said.The Department of Energy has a stated goal of achieving 20 percent of the nation’s electricity from wind power by the year 2030. Gov. John Baldacci said Thursday Maine’s goal is to generate 5 gigawatts of power by 2030.

Dagher said 1 gigawatt is roughly equivalent to the energy output of one nuclear power plant. Five gigawatts of power, which is 3 percent of the energy potential of the Gulf of Maine within 50 miles of shore, would be enough to attract roughly $20 billion in related investment, according to Dagher.The Department of Energy grant is also expected to lead to job growth in Maine, Dagher said. Initially, UMaine will hire students, scientists and some faculty for research, development, production and deployment of the technology.

However, with an estimated $20 billion in investment, Dagher said estimates are that the project could create up to 15,600 jobs — if the entire project from creation to implementation occurs in Maine. Even if half of the project ends up outside Maine, Dagher added, it would still mean several thousand jobs.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Thursday during a conference call that the wind power initiatives are part of “a new industrial revolution” that will reduce independence on foreign energy sources and keep America competitive.

“The world is beginning to take hold of this and many countries are moving in this direction,” Chu said. “The country, and Maine in particular, has enormous promise for wind energy.”

The consortium will be called the University of Maine DeepCwind Deepwater Offshore Wind Consortium.

The Department of Energy grant money, along with some of the anticipated $5 million congressional appropriation, will go toward the design and deployment of two 10-kilowatt and one 100-kilowatt floating offshore turbine prototypes.

The 100-kilowatt model will be roughly one-third the size of a standard 300-foot high turbine, while the 10-kilowatt models will be about one-fourth the standard 80- to 100-foot size.One 10-kilowatt turbine will be located at an offshore test site in the Isle of Shoals near the Maine-New Hampshire border.

The other 10-kilowatt turbine and the 100-kilowatt turbine will be located at one of seven Maine areas currently being considered for five offshore wind turbine sites, one of which will be operated by UMaine. The potential sites include areas off Cutler and Jonesport in Washington County, south of Isle au Haut, and near Matini-cus, Monhegan, Damariscove and Boon islands. Damariscove is off Boothbay Harbor and Boon Island is off Cape Neddick in York County.

The projects will not go forward without local approval.

Dagher has said the turbines would be far enough offshore so they could not be seen from land.

With the grant money, the Advanced Structures and Composites Center and other consortium members intend to experiment with designs for floating platforms by evaluating options for durable, light hybrid composite materials, the manufacturability of the platforms, and deployment logistics.

The grant also will fund educational initiatives such as a model Master of Science Degree in Renewable Energy and the Environment, with a focus on deepwater wind energy, and a new undergraduate minor in deepwater wind energy.

The DOE announcement came about 4½ months after a June meeting among Dagher, Chu and the Maine congressional delegation. The Maine group requested $20 million in federal economic stimulus funds for a wind research center.

Collins said Thursday she wasn’t disappointed in receiving less than half of the requested funding from the Department of Energy.

“There’s no disappointment at all, because the $8 million will be supplemented by the $5 million that I secured through the appropriations process, and the state has also pledged funding,” she said. “So the combination should be very close, or even exceed the $20 million.”

Dagher said the state will vote next June on a $6 million bond to develop offshore wind test sites.

Late last month, Baldacci traveled to Europe with a group of business leaders to meet with wind power industry representatives there in an effort to attract more interest in the state. The group came back with an agreement with StatoilHydro, a Norwegian firm, to explore the possibility of using the firm’s offshore turbines in the Gulf of Maine.The UMaine grant, which was awarded as part of a competition among other university consortia, was announced along with $8 million DOE grants for on-shore wind-power projects at the University of Minnesota and the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Bangor Daily News reporters Kevin Miller and Bill Trotter contributed to this report

Source:  Bangor Daily News

jbloch@bangordailynews.net

990-8287

These are the different entities taking part in the University of Maine DeepCwind Deepwater Offshore Wind Consortium:

Universities, government and nonprofit agencies

University of Maine — AEWC Advanced Structures & Composites Center (Lead)

University of New Hampshire

Maine Maritime Academy

Northern Maine Community College

University of Western Australia

U.S. Department of Energy

Governor’s Office of Energy Independence & Security

Maine Department of Economic and Community Development

Maine Department of Environmental Protection

Ocean Energy Institute

New Jersey Audubon Society

Island Institute

Gulf of Maine Research Institute

Siting, design and fabrication operations

Cianbro Corp.

Bath Iron Works

Bernstein Shur Counselors at Law

James W. Sewall Co.

Kleinschmidt Associates

Technip USA

McNiff Light Industry

Santos Wind Energy Technology (SWEeT)

Principle Power Inc.

Bangor-Hydro Electric Co.

American Superconductor

Northern Power Systems

Clean Energy Design

Composites Materials Industry

Ashland Inc.

Kenway Corp.

Harbor Technologies

PPG Industries

Owens Corning

Zoltek

Polystrand Inc.

Industry partners, organizations and manufacturing automation

MAG International

Maine Composites Alliance

Simmons & Company International

American Composites Manufacturers Association

Maine Wind Energy Initiative

Posted in News | Comments Off