2008 Woodie Awards
Getting to Know Your Professors
Issue date: 12/3/07 Section: News
Mohsen Shahinpoor
When Mohsen Shahinpoor, head of the mechanical engineering department, came to Maine in April 2007 to interview for a job at the University of Maine, he was not ready for the weather. "I was not prepared for three feet of snow," he said.
Originally from Iran, his parents encouraged him to come to the United States, where he attended the University of Delaware and Johns Hopkins. After receiving his degrees, he went to work at the University of New Mexico. In 2006, along with two of his colleagues, he published a book about using artificial muscles in the human body.
The materials, called active plastics, are a polymer mixed with different types of metal and can be used to help people with muscle control illnesses - including multiple sclerosis - and could be used to help pump a heart.
He is working to expand the bio-medical engineering program at UMaine, which would be housed in Crosby Hall.
Shahinpoor also has more than 50 inventions, plays soccer and the violin and was Delaware State Chess Champion after he graduated from college.
Shahinpoor said he came to UMaine because he wanted a leadership position. He did not let the snow stop him.
Kathleen March
Maine is the closest state in the U.S. to Europe, which is why Kathleen March decided to teach at the University of Maine. Originally from New York, she wanted only an ocean to separate her from Spain.
"I came here for the geographical [location]," she said.
She teaches Spanish and has participated in several service learning trips with students to Honduras, where they were able to help the community and learn at the same time.
"It has been a wonderful connection," she said. "They don't know what I taught them, but they know what they learned."
Students go to places like orphanages and clinics, but it is not just about community service. The community helps them by getting the students to use the language in a real-life setting. Students also get to see how others survive on a small wage.
When Mohsen Shahinpoor, head of the mechanical engineering department, came to Maine in April 2007 to interview for a job at the University of Maine, he was not ready for the weather. "I was not prepared for three feet of snow," he said.
Originally from Iran, his parents encouraged him to come to the United States, where he attended the University of Delaware and Johns Hopkins. After receiving his degrees, he went to work at the University of New Mexico. In 2006, along with two of his colleagues, he published a book about using artificial muscles in the human body.
The materials, called active plastics, are a polymer mixed with different types of metal and can be used to help people with muscle control illnesses - including multiple sclerosis - and could be used to help pump a heart.
He is working to expand the bio-medical engineering program at UMaine, which would be housed in Crosby Hall.
Shahinpoor also has more than 50 inventions, plays soccer and the violin and was Delaware State Chess Champion after he graduated from college.
Shahinpoor said he came to UMaine because he wanted a leadership position. He did not let the snow stop him.
Kathleen March
Maine is the closest state in the U.S. to Europe, which is why Kathleen March decided to teach at the University of Maine. Originally from New York, she wanted only an ocean to separate her from Spain.
"I came here for the geographical [location]," she said.
She teaches Spanish and has participated in several service learning trips with students to Honduras, where they were able to help the community and learn at the same time.
"It has been a wonderful connection," she said. "They don't know what I taught them, but they know what they learned."
Students go to places like orphanages and clinics, but it is not just about community service. The community helps them by getting the students to use the language in a real-life setting. Students also get to see how others survive on a small wage.
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