Markus Frederich, Ph.D., Associate Professor in Marine Sciences
Dr. Frederich's research projects focus on cellular markers for temperature, hypoxia and salinity stress in marine invertebrates, especially crustaceans. He is specifically interested in the enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase, a "cellular master switch" which regulates most of the energy metabolism. His research uses methods of physiology and molecular biology and will provide a better understanding of environmental limits for survival at the cellular and organismic level.
Jerome Mullin, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry
The primary focus of Dr. Mullin's current research involves investigation of the photophysical and electrochemical characteristics of newly synthesized members of a class of compounds called metalloles, substances that display unusual fluorescence properties that make them intriguing candidates for use in the development of electro-optical devices (e.g., organic light emitting devices, or OLEDs) and/or chemical sensors. His work also involves environmental chemical analysis, such as the determination of metals, particularly heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, in natural samples such as marine, fresh-water, and terrestrial sediments. Dr. Mullin is an analytical chemist by training, and his work makes extensive use of such techniques as UV-Vis spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, gas and liquid chromatography, and cyclic voltammetry.
Kathryn Ono, Ph.D., Associate Professor in Marine Sciences
Dr. Ono researches marine mammal behavioral ecology and biology. Specifically, she is interested in the use of rivers by seals for foraging, and anthropogenically-linked disease and pollutants in Maine seal populations.
James Sulikowski, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in Marine Sciences
Dr. Sulikowski's research focuses on the biology and physiology of fish. This research is centered on elasmobranchs (sharks, skates, and stingrays) and includes such topics as interspecies competition, movement patterns, reproduction, maturity, and age and growth. Recent interests have also included investigating the composition, movements, and spatial/temporal distribution of fishes and fish communities within the Saco Bay Estuary system, with an emphasis on Atlantic Sturgeon and other charismatic species.
Charles Tilburg, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Marine Sciences
Dr. Tilburg's research focuses on the circulation of estuaries and the coastal ocean. He is particularly interested in the physical factors that govern the distribution of river plumes, the transport of crab and fish larvae, and across-shelf transport on the continental shelf. His work involves a combination of field observations, remote-sensing techniques, and numerical modeling. Recent interests specifc to SPARTACUS include the effect of land use and precipitation on water quality in the coastal ocean and the analysis of data from the Saco River Coastal Observing System (SaRCOS) to examine the fate of the Saco River plume.
Stephan Zeeman, Ph.D. Professor and Chair of Marine Sciences
Dr. Zeeman's research covers the areas of phytoplankton ecology, primary production, remote sensing, GIS, satellite tracking, food web dynamics, habitat selection, and water quality. Specific to SPARTACUS he is interested in the impact of land cover on nutrient dynamics and impact on coastal phytoplankton including Harmful Algal Blooms, and also the transport of pollutants, including pathogens, from rivers to the coastal waters. His lab is developing a time series of land use/land cover data sets from Landsat imagery to be related to hydrology and nutrient discharge.The lab currently monitors nutrients, fecal indicator bacteria, chlorophyll, phytoplankton and zooplankton.