Mainebiz

V O L . X X X N O. V § 2 M A R C H 4 , 2 0 2 4 12 I N N OVAT I O N T here's a notion that college campuses are for college stu- dents, it's often parents who are most impressed by new buildings and investment. And at the University of Maine campus in Orono, parents have plenty of reasons to be wowed. Students may be impressed by the buildings and what they might mean for the next four years, but their parents likely see possibilities for the future. "Parents are really interested in seeing that 'pathway to a career.' We can prepare the innovators of tomor- row," says Joan Ferrini-Mundy, pres- ident of the University of Maine. Within the past two years, UMaine has unveiled the E. James and Eileen P. Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center — a $78 million structure that is the backbone of the university's engineering and innova- tion programs, with: 10,000-square-foot multidisci- plinary student project design suite with 48 workbenches sup- ported by shops for biomedical, electronics, 3D printing, vehicles, metals, wood and composites. 10,000-square-foot biomedical engineering research lab suite Six active learning classrooms 12 team meeting rooms Teaching labs for mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering technology Student common on first and second floors Welcome center and focal point for campus-wide STEM outreach. Education on the ground floor is devoted to woodworking and machine shops, and as you go further upstairs the engineering concepts get more technical, until you are in clean bio- tech labs on the top floor. "You're an innovator as soon as you get in the door," says Ferrini-Mundy. e structure is set up so classrooms are next to labs, making it a more seam- less experience going from theoretical learning to learning by doing. In each setting, professors are offering guidance. "I was upset when I was an under- grad and only a few professors would have a scientific discussion with an undergrad," says Giovanna Guido- boni, who joined UMaine in 2022 as dean of the UMaine College of Engi- neering and Computing. Students are encouraged to develop a "discovery and dream mindset," she says. e student may think, "Maybe an idea will come from a textbook or maybe I will find a new solution." Students are also encouraged to think about ideas and products that might have a commercial value. "If there's a commercial aspect, we have to ignite the fire," Guidoboni says. Yet the Ferland Center isn't the only hub of STEM learning. UMaine has been able to jumpstart innovation initiatives with an invest- ment of $240 million from the Har- old Alfond Foundation. e Alfond funding underwrites research learn- ing experiences in the first year of col- lege, a "gateways" center and in career development or pathways to a career. is summer, UMaine will break ground on the Green Engineering and Materials Building, what will be called the Factory for the Future, a 60,000-square-foot center for mass- timber research. Guidoboni says it will offer students "the convergence UMaine rolls up its sleeves Innovation at the heart of university's growth plans B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n If there's a commercial aspect, we have to ignite the fire. — Giovanni Guidoboni College of Engineering and Computing P H O T O / F R E D F I E L D F O C U S Giovanna Guidoboni, dean of the College of Engineering and Computing, diagrams an aspect of ocular hemodynamics as she speaks with, from left, doctoral candidates Mohamed Zaid and Rajat Rai and first-year student Kristian Jacques.

• Cover