PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — University of Maine at Presque Isle assistant professor of biology Scott Dobrin has been invited to give a “5-Minute Genius” talk at this weekend’s Maine Science Festival in Bangor.
The festival, to be held March 18-20, launched in 2015 and hosted more than 10,000 people at over 45 events during its inaugural year.
As one of the festival’s showcase events, the 5-Minute Genius program gives festival participants a chance to “meet the rock stars of Maine’s scientific sector as they explain their research in five minutes or less” using non-jargon terms. Each five-minute presentation is followed by a five-minute question and answer session with the audience. “I’m thrilled to present as part of the Maine Science Festival,” Dobrin said. “The festival emphasizes the fun and creative aspects of science that will be sure to inspire the attendees.”
Dobrin will discuss bee learning, from their ability to distinguish human faces and navigate mazes—and his own bee research during his presentation, “A-maze-ing Bees: Solving mazes, learning faces, and saving the honeybee.”
In his lab, Dobrin studies the effect of experience on the shape of individual neurons in the brain. Using honeybees and bumblebees as model systems, the lab is exploring how physical changes in the brain lead to differences in the ability to learn. The bee brain offers a simplified system to explore how human experience alters brain structure and, ultimately, function.
Undergraduate student involvement in the research is a major emphasis of the lab. All projects include paid and volunteer undergraduates who gain valuable experience in the process of science.
Dobrin is the only speaker from northern Maine participating. The program, the final event for this year’s Maine Science Festival, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 20 at 3:30 p.m. at the Bangor Public Library, sponsored by Emera Maine.
The other six 5-Minute Genius speakers are Dr. Habib Dagher of the University of Maine, Dr. Vivek Kumar of The Jackson Laboratory, Dr. Susan MacKay of Cerahelix, Dr. Leif Oxburgh of Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Dr. Nicole Price of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, and Dr. Aric Rogers of Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory.
For more information about the festival, visit www.mainesciencefestival.org.
