Artificial Intelligence

Last updated May 2026

An overview

At the University of Maine, we leverage artificial intelligence to address national challenges and develop solutions that perform in the real world, where data is complex and conditions are unpredictable.

faculty members integrate AI into their research domains

active projects leverage AI to advance discovery and solve problems

national lab partnerships

Focus areas

Advancing industry

A student working in the Advanced Manufacturing Center

Developing AI-enabled machine learning tools that help model material performance, optimize production processes and improve manufacturing efficiency. These capabilities support and accelerate the design and production of next-generation materials and manufacturing technologies.

Engaged UMaine units include: Maine College of Engineering and Computing | Department of Mechanical Engineering| School of Computing and Information Sciences | Advanced Structures and Composites Center | Advanced Manufacturing Center | Process Development Center

Two people in a research warehouse look at a robot arm. One of them is holding a tablet

Lowering manufacturing costs using locally sourced materials while leveraging established partnerships with national labs to scale designs rapidly, accelerating the prototype to market journey.

Engaged UMaine units include: Maine College of Engineering and Computing | Department of Mechanical Engineering| School of Computing and Information Sciences | Advanced Structures and Composites Center | Advanced Manufacturing Center | Process Development Center

A student stands in a 3D printed boat with the 3D printer that made it in the background.

Developing AI-enabled machine learning tools that help model material performance, optimize production processes and improve manufacturing efficiency – accelerating innovation in sustainable materials and next-generation manufacturing technologies.

Engaged UMaine units include: Maine College of Engineering and Computing | Department of Mechanical Engineering| Advanced Structures and Composites Center | Process Development Center | Forest Bioproducts Research Institute | Frontier Institute for Research in Sensor Technologies

A group tours the VEMI Lab with Rick Corey to see work being done on autonomous vehicles, sensors.

Developing an end-to-end mobility solution using fully autonomous vehicles as the core transportation platform. Leveraging more than a decade of user-driven assistive technology research and AI technology to support perception, navigation and decision-making in complex physical environments. Domain-specific expertise includes computer vision and natural language processing for navigation. 

Engaged UMaine units include: Virtual Environment and Multimodal Interaction Lab | School of Forest Resources | Maine College of Engineering and Computing | Department of Mechanical Engineering| School of Computing and Information Sciences | Maine EPSCoR

Energy

Two people look at a bottle of biofuel in a research lab

Developing bio-based fuels that have the potential to power productivity in perpetuity by using renewable, domestic source materials.

Engaged UMaine units include: Forest Bioproducts Research Institute | Technology Research Center | Advanced Structures and Composites Center

An electrical grid at sunset

Creating new tools for energy systems and grid-aware infrastructure, including data centers, that will leverage data science to improve power grids and develop more resilient, large-weather-event-ready communities across the United States.

Engaged UMaine units include: Maine EPSCoR | Maine College of Engineering and Computing 

A student works at a circuit for wireless sensors that operate in extreme heat conditions found in nuclear reactors, jet engines and spacecraft.

Developing extreme-environment microsensors for advanced nuclear reactors to promote safe, effective operation. Accelerating nuclear construction with additive manufacturing through an established partnership with national labs and industry.  

Engaged UMaine units include: Maine College of Engineering and Computing | Frontier Institute for Research in Sensor Technologies | Department of Physics and Astronomy | Department of Chemistry | Department of Mechanical Engineering

Secure cyber and physical infrastructure

A person presents a talk on cybersecurity in an engineering research center

Leveraging artificial intelligence techniques to enhance hardware security and reduce confidentiality breaches in semiconductor design. Developing AI tools that will automate the detection of security vulnerabilities and provide developers with on-demand privacy recommendations that they can integrate into the software development process to help prevent privacy violations for individuals and organizations alike.

Engaged UMaine units include: Maine College of Engineering and Computing | Advanced Structures and Composites Center

A photo of a person looking at a 3D printed item

Leveraging AI and machine learning to improve monitoring, maintenance and resilience of critical transportation and infrastructure networks. Analyzing data from transportation systems, environmental monitoring and engineered structures to improve resilience, maintenance strategies, system performance and refine design.

Engaged UMaine units include: Maine College of Engineering and Computing | Advanced Structures and Composites Center

A photo of a person looking at a computer screen

Developing AI-backed solutions to enhance the security of artificial intelligence. 

Engaged UMaine units include: Maine College of Engineering and Computing | Department of Mechanical Engineering| School of Computing and Information Sciences | Advanced Structures and Composites Center

Future-ready workforce

undergraduate majors

minors

Master’s programs

Ph.D. programs

Graduate certificate

Partnering with agencies and PreK-12 schools to create systems that cultivate AI-savvy students and teachers. Developing research-backed professional development opportunities to help educators teach their students how to use AI ethically and responsibly, and how they can apply AI in real-world industry sectors like advanced manufacturing, the blue economy, and health and life sciences.

Engaged UMaine units include: College of Education and Human Development | School of Computing and Information Sciences | Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies

Sam Hess and his students, using a high powered laser microscope attempt to unlock the secrets of the influenza virus, with the potential to find a cure in the future.

Innovating multisystem, home- and school-based approaches connect PreK to Ph.D. students and educators to workforce development opportunities that will position them for success amid evolving workplace demands At UMaine, 14 AI-related degree programs and robust course offerings build the computer and information science talent Maine needs for the AI-powered economy.

Engaged UMaine units include: College of Education and Human Development | Cooperative Extension | Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies | Maine College of Engineering and Computing | Experiential Programs Innovation Central

A teacher works with a middle school student at a laptop

Advancing research and professional development to help teachers use AI to extend and improve their teaching. Developing AI tools that help teachers quickly customize coursework for their students, saving busy PreK-12 educators time and helping students, whether they’re top of their class or receive special education services.

Engaged UMaine units include: College of Education and Human Development | Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies

Discovery Science

Person working at a computer

Long-term monitoring research generates vast datasets that require advanced computational tools to interpret. UMaine’s AI researchers are developing machine learning methods capable of integrating varied datasets to uncover patterns and improve predictive models for manufacturing, energy and the environment. 

Engaged UMaine units include: School of Marine Sciences | School of Biology and Ecology | Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences | School of Forest Resources | Wheatland Lab for Geospatial Sciences | Center for Research on Sustainable Forests | Climate Change Institute | Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station | College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences

A grid appears on aerial imagery of a forest captured by a UAV in real time.

Developing AI and machine learning models to help analyze long-term datasets and detect patterns across atmospheric, ecological, and geospatial data to uncover patterns that improve understanding of how life and our planet work. This provides critical information for national security and building lasting infrastructure.

Engaged UMaine units include: School of Marine Sciences | School of Biology and Ecology | School of Forest Resources | Wheatland Lab for Geospatial Sciences | Center for Research on Sustainable Forests | Climate Change Institute | Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station | College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences

person working at a computer

Unlocking the next frontier of computation, communication and sensing with AI and nanoscale science, bringing practical quantum technology closer to reality.

Engaged UMaine units include:  Frontier Institute for Research in Sensor Technologies | Department of Physics and Astronomy | Department of Chemistry | Department of Mechanical Engineering

Environmental Intelligence

Two people work with environmental monitoring equipment in a wild blueberry field

Developing machine learning and environmental sensing tools to give farmers like Maine’s wild blueberry growers real-time insights that help them manage irrigation, fertilization, environmental stress and food safety. 

Engaged UMaine units include: School of Food and Agriculture | Cooperative Extension |  Climate Change Institute | Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station | College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences

Person stands on a tower that rises above a forest

Developing machine learning and environmental sensing tools to track trends across vast, remote landscapes that help the forest industry make data-driven decisions from spruce stand to building stud.  

Engaged UMaine units include: School of Forest Resources | Wheatland Lab for Geospatial Sciences | Center for Research on Sustainable Forests

Two people lower a research buoy into water off a boat

Developing machine learning and environmental sensing tools to analyze the world’s oceans and coastlines to help people site aquaculture farms, manage fisheries, anticipate harmful algal blooms and track changes around the globe. 

Engaged UMaine units include: School of Marine Sciences | Darling Marine Center | Climate Change Institute | Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station | College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences

UMaine AI News

Read more

US NSF/CISE: New England Regional AI and Quantum Information Science Symposium 2026

June 2–4 | University of Maine

Supported by the National Science Foundation.

The workshop will bring together researchers, industry leaders, and federal program representatives to explore emerging opportunities in applied AI research and develop new collaborative initiatives.

Objectives include:

  • Identify interdisciplinary AI research opportunities
  • Strengthen collaboration between academia, industry, and government
  • Advance proposals aligned with national AI priorities
Learn more

Questions?

research@maine.edu