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V O L . X X I N O. X M AY 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 26 Casey Jacob Acklin, who will gradu- ate from COA in June with a focus on human ecology, had a similar experience after taking the INBRE short course and then academic year fellowships. "It reinforced my desire to work in the lab," he says. He has an internship at Jackson Lab as well, and hopes to apply for a research assistant position there. "INBRE prepares you to enter into a real job instead of having to get the extra training after graduation," he says. One particularly helpful skill was learn- ing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques, which are used in molecular biology used to amplify small amounts of DNA into thousands or millions of copies for study. "I'll be using PCR in the jobs I'll be pursuing," he says. "It's essential for me to enter a lab knowing these skills." Science from K–college Outside the lab, largely taking place in the fi eld, for example along the banks of the Saco River, EPSCoR off ers learning programs to a broader age group. Maine became an EPSCoR state in 1980. "Since then, more than $97 million has been used to expand our research capacity as a state," says Laurie Bragg, outreach and program manager for the program, which is anchored at the University of Maine in Orono. From 2009-15, more than 100 faculty and 752 high school, undergraduate and graduate students have taken advantage of the program, which is largely hands-on fi eld work. She expects about 5,000 students, from kindergarten through high school, to participate in the program annually over the next fi ve years. "You can scale this to kindergar- ten," she says. "We have a tool kit for kindergarteners on how a scientist investigates a problem, for example, looking at the invasive emerald ash borer beetle and why it is bad for the environment. We want to pique their curiosity." EPSCoR is trying to teach stu- dents data collection skills as part of an education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM workforce in Maine. We need scientists and consumers of science," Bragg says. "You need science just to operate your cell phone." A Vimeo video last year made last year by UMaine about EPSCoR's economic impact noted that the pro- gram aims to use the state as a living lab for research. UMaine's Advanced Structures & Composites Center, for example, was established in Orono in 1996 with an EPSCoR grant. From that time until now, center Director Habib Dagher said on the video, the staff has grown from fi ve faculty to 200 faculty, staff and students, and an 83,000-square-foot lab now stands where there was no lab. e center has attracted more than $100 million in research and develop- ment funds into Maine through 300 contracts with industry in the United States and beyond, Dagher said, adding that UMaine now is a world leader in bringing deep-water off shore wind technology into Maine, along with advancing composite technology. He said developments in the lab have led to more than 25 patents. EPSCoR includes the University of Maine campuses at Fort Kent, Presque Isle, Orono, Augusta and Farmington, as well as the University of Southern Maine; Unity College; College of the Atlantic; Bates College; Bowdoin College; and the University of New England. Cassandra Smith, who was involved in the Saco River project in 2012, studied the history and evolu- tion of land use on the Saco River. She graduated from the University of New England in 2013 with a degree in environmental studies and a minor in geographic information systems. She used GIS heavily in the EPSCoR project to gather data, and now applies it in her job as a GIS specialist at the engineering fi rm Hatch Mott MacDonald in Holyoke, Mass. She credits the experience at EPSCoR with helping her get the job. " at experience was valuable for inter- personal skills and team eff ort. I shared results with other students, faculty and staff , plus attended symposia," she says. "I was able to apply what I learned." Shane Murphy, an environmental science graduate in this year's UNE class, also worked on the Saco River project last year, which was the fi nal year of that EPSCoR grant. "I learned a lot of diff erent skills to put on resumes, like using the Trimble GPS and working with graduate students on nitrog en studies in the river," he says. He was paid $10 an hour for his work while on the grant. But most of all, he enjoyed doing bird surveys, and is looking to apply to graduate schools in the fall and focus on wildlife biology. MDIBL's Yin says that students in such programs don't have to get a doctorate or train for 10 more years to run their own lab. "If you think about it, the idea of being able to think cre- atively and integrate information from a number of diff erent resources, and being responsible, diligent and being able to communicate your ideas to other people are all skills that tran- scend science. ey're applicable in journalism, in sales, in practically any discipline," he says. One of the downsides in Maine, how- ever, is that there are not enough jobs for the people who do gain the skills. "INBRE creates the opportunity in Maine to get exposure in the STEM fi elds, but there are no jobs here for people to apply to," says Takemon of Jackson Lab. One suggestion: "It would be nice, as a potential draw to keep students, to have students in INBRE work in an institution in Maine and get reimbursed for student loans," says Takemon, noting she actually doesn't have student loans, though others she knows do. "Now they have to go to the big city to pay off loans." L O r i Va l i G r a , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t lVa l i G r a @ m a i n e b i z . b i z a n d @ L Va l i G r a » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E F O C U S P H O T O / DAV I D C L O U G H We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM We want to build capacity to build a larger STEM workforce in Maine. We need scientists and workforce in Maine. We need scientists and workforce in Maine. We need scientists and workforce in Maine. We need scientists and workforce in Maine. We need scientists and workforce in Maine. We need scientists and workforce in Maine. We need scientists and workforce in Maine. We need scientists and workforce in Maine. We need scientists and workforce in Maine. We need scientists and workforce in Maine. We need scientists and workforce in Maine. We need scientists and workforce in Maine. We need scientists and consumers of science. You need science just to operate your cell phone. — Laurie Bragg EPSCoR outreach and program manager Casey Jacob Acklin, who will graduate from College of the Atlantic in June, says short courses and fellowships reinforced his desire to work in a lab.

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