University Day 2026

Nine students from Maine School of Science and Mathematics took part in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s University Day, a campus-wide conference that highlights student scholarship and gives participants the chance to share their work in a professional academic setting. Wan Ting Huo, Dhruv Jain, Alice Ziegler, Gabriel Kirmani, Thomas Nonken, Ariana Yin, Benjamin Uhlenhake, Lilian Gorneau, and Mia Shaw represented MSSM by presenting research connected to biodiesel production under the guidance of faculty mentor Eugene Katsman. According to UMPI's website, "One of the event’s objectives is to provide students with the opportunity to experience a conference environment. A second equally important objective is to model a lifelong learning habit by highlighting the importance of participating in out-of-classroom educational venues."

During the event, seniors in SCI 411 Engineering presented three connected projects: Glycerolysis in Biodiesel Production, Biodiesel Reaction System Building and Design Process, and CAD Biodiesel Diagrams. Together, the projects showed how the students worked through a real-world challenge step by step, finding better ways to make biodiesel from waste cooking oil and then designing the equipment needed to do it. Since used cooking oil can contain substances that make biodiesel production harder, the students studied a process called glycerolysis to help improve the reaction. They also designed and built a system using materials that can safely handle biodiesel, and created detailed CAD drawings for both standard and custom-made parts. Their polished abstracts will now be included in the University Day proceedings, giving them a lasting record of their work and a valuable addition to future resumes, portfolios, and applications.

Two juniors, Samuel Pike and Abhi Reddy, also attended the event and presented research on a UV-Visible spectrometer that helps them study how atoms and compounds interact with light. They observed emission lines from gas tubes and tested different solutions to see how those substances absorb color, with one solution also absorbing some purple light. The results showed that different solutions absorb specific colors. Reddy said he “loved talking with university professors and getting their insight, which will add to my research.” Pike said he enjoyed “talking with college students and getting their perspectives on how they do their lab work and seeing what they thought of our work, which is above the high school level.”

Both Reddy and Pike presented their results at the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Winter Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, from January 17 to 19, 2026.