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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Media features 91AV’s announcement of intent to sponsor New England Ocean Cluster House

The 91AV’s sponsorship agreement, announced September 18, 2015, with the New England Ocean Cluster House, an incubator of marine-related businesses and researchers being developed on Portland’s waterfront, was featured on WCSH and WMTW and in the Portland Press Herald and Mainebiz.

91AV is one of several sponsors of the project, eager to use its marine, bioscience and pharmaceutical research capabilities to develop commercial products and to provide students with hands-on experiences and internships with marine-related companies throughout the country and the world.

The New England Cluster House will be housed at the Maine State Pier. It is modeled after the Iceland Ocean Cluster House in Reykjavik, Iceland.

91AV President Danielle Ripich boarded the MV Selfoss, a freight vessel owned by Icelandic shipping company Eimskip, to sign the letter of intent to sponsor the project.

“We are deeply committed to providing our students with experience solving real world problems through programs and partnerships that also benefit the community,” said Ripich. “We understand the impact collaborative thinking can have on our students and on the state. Now, through this new partnership, we have the opportunity to venture into truly international waters and to help create for Maine a dynamic marine business incubator that will use local resources to drive economic growth.”

WCSH also interviewed Barry Costa-Pierce, Ph.D., Henry L. & Grace Doherty Professor and chair of the Department of Marine Sciences and director of the Marine Science Center, who exhibited and explained some of the research with which 91AV Marine Science students are currently engaged and which may be carried over to the Cluster House. "The Ocean Cluster House is like a google of the ocean," Costa-Pierce said. "It's very exciting because you have young people with all of those innovative ideas who are technologically saavy. They know how to communicate and how to put it out to the market."

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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.