Speeches, etc.

University President Celebrates New Facility Opening

By Aimee Dodge

3/26/2010

University of Maine President, Robert Kennedy, celebrated the opening of Orono Spectral Solutions new facility today. Kennedy praised OSS and the many other spinoff businesses that have been produced through research at the University.

Kennedy announced that Maine ranks first in the United States for spinoff businesses created, the University of Maine being the leader in creating new businesses from research done on its campus. Orono Spectral Solutions “is an excellent example of the kind of opportunity that can grow from university research,” stated Kennedy, during his speech.  Orono Spectral Solutions started in UMaine’s Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology. Kennedy went on to say that the LASST lab is a great incubator for ideas and that “the lab’s interdisciplinary nature fuels the kind of collaborative thinking that can lead to the big ideas that can become economic development opportunities.”

Orono Spectral Solutions is a small, high tech company currently supported through several contracts with the Department of Defense. They focus on developing innovative absorbent materials and sampling methods which enable trace level detection of chemical/biological agents in both air and water backgrounds. Currently, the company is pursuing commercial opportunities in the areas of air and water quality monitoring.”OSS is making its mark in the sensor industry, which is a critical research area with concern to homeland security and human health.

President Kennedy sounded sincere when he said that the University of Maine is proud of its association with OSS. The creators of OSS live only a mile away from the campus where they created their successful business. “Orono Spectral Solutions represents a great example of how we can , as a state, finds ways to keep the best and the brightest right here in Maine.” 

For more information about Orono Spectral Solutions visit their website: http://www.ossmaine.com/index.php