Collins, King Invite Energy Secretary to Visit University of Maine

Press Release

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today sent a letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry formally inviting him to visit the University of Maine. The visit would allow Secretary Perry to survey the ongoing work the University is doing in conjunction with DOE and key partners in the public and private sectors. Secretary Perry had previously indicated his willingness to visit UMaine to Senator King during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in January.

"The University of Maine is home to world-class facilities, including the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, which is an interdisciplinary research, education, workforce training, and economic development center home to some of the nation's leading testing and research facilities for wind energy, wood composites, and other technologies," Senators Collins and King wrote. "The Center includes the new Alfond W2 Ocean Engineering Laboratory, a one-of-a-kind wind and wave testing facility that simulates deep water ocean conditions with applications for offshore energy development and ocean-based industries."

In January, UMaine and DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) established a partnership to support innovation in Maine's forest products industry, launching a collaborative model that brings together ORNL's expertise in additive manufacturing and composites with UMaine's focus on forest bio-based composites and other composite structures. The partnership is an important first step in responding to the recommendations offered by the federal Economic Development Assessment Team, which came at the request of Senators Collins and King to grow Maine's rural economy and strengthen the forest products industry.

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