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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Amy Keirstead awarded grant for American Chemical Society

Amy Keirstead, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics, and Seth Staples, M.S., a chemistry teacher at Messalonskee High School (MHS) in Oakland, Maine, were awarded a grant to participate in the American Chemical Society Science Coach program.

The award, valued at $500, allowed Keirstead to travel to MHS to work with Staples and his Advanced Placement Chemistry and Chemistry B classes on May 15th and 16th to synthesize organic molecules called esters, and for the 13 MHS students to travel to 91AV on May 21st to analyze their esters using advanced instrumentation in the Department of Chemistry and Physics.

In addition to working with volunteer student teaching assistants Sarah Cooper (Biochemistry and Neuroscience ‘15), Alec Parenteau (Biological Sciences ‘15) and Hanna Pultorak (Marine Science ‘15) to carry out their analyses, the students also visited the research laboratories of Keirstead and Geoffrey Ganter, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Biology. 

The students’ projects culminated in a symposium-style poster session held at MHS on May 30th, which was attended by students, teachers, parents, and school administrators. 

 

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.