Scott Eaton, cofounder of SeaChange Group, a Maine-based technology start-up founded in 2009 to develop low-emissions fuels for the heavy shipping and power generation industries

Where did you grow up?
Gardiner, Maine

Where do you live now?
Hampden, Maine

What degree(s) do you have from UMaine and other places? What degree are you pursuing now?
B.S. in mechanical engineering, University of Maine

M.S. in mechanical engineering, University of Tennessee – Knoxville

Ph.D. in chemical engineering, University of Maine

What has your career path been like in the years following college?
My career path has been smooth, but not necessarily linear. After leaving UMaine in 2004, I studied the catalytic reduction of diesel exhaust emissions at Tennessee. In 2006, I became a research associate at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., where I worked with Bruce Bunting in the Fuels, Engines and Emissions Research Center. I was involved with the development and testing of alternative fuels in advanced combustion engine platforms. This work was highly enjoyable as I was fulfilling a national need for cleaner, more efficient transportation, while constantly learning and improving the state-of-the-art in emissions reduction technology. In 2009, my family decided to move back to Maine and I took a job as a laboratory engineer at Maine Maritime Academy. I became deeply interested in the maritime industry and particularly how one of the oldest industries can evolve under the modern pressures of global economies and environmental concerns in light of the rising cost of energy. In collaboration with other faculty at the Maine Maritime Academy and entrepreneurs from across the state, we founded SeaChange Group to address these issues. I currently serve as the company’s director of science and research.

How did SeaChange come together? What are the company’s goals?
SeaChange Group is a Maine-based technology start-up founded in 2009 to develop low-emissions fuels for the heavy shipping and power generation industries. The company was started by six of us as co-founders. We are spread across the state, from Caribou to Cape Elizabeth. Currently, our headquarters is in Cape Elizabeth and our research facility is in Bucksport. This allows for close collaboration with the University of Maine and Maine Maritime Academy. The company was formed around the idea that there is no such thing as waste. With the rise of energy costs and stringent environmental regulation impacting the shipping industry, the market is demanding alternative energy options. SeaChange Group is trying to fill this need by utilizing waste energy products and formulating them into cost-effective, emissions-compliant fuels to serve that broad-based industry. We have raised more than $240,000 from the National Science Foundation, Maine Technology Institute and private industry to fund activity in this area, and have developed an initial patented fuel product. Our intention is to focus on the development and production of this product and distribute it in late 2012 to those niche players most affected by environmental regulations. We hope to expand into servicing a wider market share as regulations roll out and become more stringent. We also plan to research and support the development and commercialization of other new low-emissions fuel products to keep pace with a rapidly evolving marketplace. Our goal is to achieve these objectives and maintain a strong Maine presence.

What led to your return to UMaine for a Ph.D.?
I decided to return to UMaine for a Ph.D. in chemical engineering because of the opportunities presented within the department and the great work being done in the labs of professors Clay Wheeler and Adriaan van Heiningen. I always knew I wanted to return to graduate education. Being in Maine and starting a new technology company provided the catalysts I needed to make re-entering the classroom a high-value proposition.

Why UMaine for college?
As a high school student, I didn’t even know what an engineer was or what one was expected to do. I thank my high school teachers and administrators for pointing me in the direction of two summer programs on campus, the Pulp and Paper Foundation summer program (now Consider Engineering) and the Young Scholars Program. I participated in both in the summer of my junior year and I was hooked on UMaine and on engineering in general. Further college searching reinforced that UMaine was a fantastic value in science education.

What, if any, research initiatives were you involved in as an undergraduate?
I was exposed to many research opportunities as an undergraduate. My first research experience was with professor Vince Caccese on an Office of Naval Research-funded project to characterize the mechanical behavior of structure joints. I also had the opportunity to work with professor Mick Peterson to provide proof-of-concept design and prototyping for a marine fuel overflow prevention device for Sebek Technologies Inc. Each of these experiences greatly enhanced my understanding and application of engineering concepts.

Hannah Yovino grew up in what she describes as a “nature-based” family. In her summer internship at the National Arboretum, she worked with horticulturist Mariya Navazio in the Gotelli Dwarf and Slow-Growing Conifer Collection. Photo courtesy of Hannah Yovino

Ever green

This past summer, Hannah Yovino of Tenants Harbor, Maine, took her passion for horticulture to Washington, D.C., where she did an internship at the National Arboretum. The University of Maine senior is majoring in environmental horticulture with a concentration in landscape design. She plans to go on to grad school and have a career in sustainable design.

Tell us about your internship at the 446-acre National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.
I started my internship in the Gotelli Dwarf and Slow-Growing Conifer Collection at the National Arboretum in late May and went through mid-August. In the collection I did a lot of typical maintenance like weeding and pruning, plus lots and lots of watering. I was also involved in propagating some of the conifers. The arboretum is constantly changing. I helped with some of the inventory of the collection to allow it to be completely accurate and current in its signage.

How did the experience inform your perspective on horticulture?
Before my internship, I only had experienced landscaping and your typical gardening. I wanted to learn more about plants, especially those not typically found in New England.

How did your UMaine training prepare you for the internship?
Before the internship I was a little nervous because I didn’t know how I would stack up to the other interns. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I knew from the courses I have taken at UMaine.

Even when their political party is not in the White House, Republicans are happier than Democrats, according to a new study by University of Maine economists examining the effects of political affiliation on happiness.

In addition, during a Democratic presidential administration, members of both parties report happiness, supporting earlier evidence that people are happier when their nations are governed from the left, the researchers say.

What the research failed to find was compelling evidence that Americans are happier when their own political party is in power.

Using 34 years of data from the U.S. General Social Survey, UMaine economists Todd Gabe and Bernardita Silva looked at the connections among happiness, a person’s political party and the political affiliation of the U.S. president. They analyzed data on more than 38,000 Americans from 1972 to 2006 and found the majority of Republicans reported being “very happy,” no matter which political party was in power, when asked: Taking all things together, how would you say things are these days? Would you say you’re very happy, pretty happy or not too happy?

The research findings were published in the journal Applied Economics Letters.