The Honors College at the University of Maine is a community of nearly 800 students who, along with nearly 100 faculty members, are committed to taking intellectual risks through exploring questions both within and outside their academic disciplines in the course of a four-year curriculum. The College is committed to both broadening and deepening the academic experience of its students, providing them with the resources and skills needed to critically engage important questions and issues.
For those students who graduate from the Honors College, their journey ends with the writing of their Honors thesis. Over the course of the senior year, they work with a faculty mentor completing independent research or a creative project in their discipline. At the end of the two-semester experience, they present the thesis to their thesis committee of five faculty members and professionals in their field. For these students, this is the culmination of their work at the University of Maine and a springboard to future opportunities and achievements.
“The intense supervision of my Honors thesis was the most important academic experience of my life. My advisor’s personal guidance and insistence that I couple precise research with creative and original thought has served as a benchmark for me for over thirty years.” – James E. Tierney ’69, Attorney General of Maine (1980-1990)
The first four theses were written in 1937, in recent years the number has approached 100. We plan to populate this digital archive with many of the over 1300 theses that have been written in those over seventy-five years.
For more information, contact the Honors College at honors@maine.edu or 207-581-3263.
Honors Theses from 2019
The Effect of Elevation on Factors Influencing Adult Body Size of Asynarchus Nigirculus, Mykayla Hagaman
The Good Family, James Hannigan
Determining Key Residues of the Lyt-R Domain in the Streptococcal CpsA Protein, Mohammad Hashmi
An Analysis of the Fourth Amendment and the Role of the Plain View Doctrine in Cell Phone Privacy, Katie Hess
Faking Orgasm: Interviews with College Women About How, When, and Why They Pretend to Experience Orgasm, Lanie Howes
A Glimpse of Whimsy: Short Children's Stories, Emma Hutchinson
A Shoulder Mechanisms for Assisting Upper Arm Function With Distally Located Actuators, Michael Jones
Incorporation of Civilian Care in Emergency Medicine: Retainment of Training and Familiarization of Resources at the University of Maine, Courtney Jurson
An Analysis of Stress in Undergraduate Nursing Students at the University of Maine, Samantha King
Fire and Blood: Behavior and Thermoregulation in Small Nocturnal Mammals, Tal Kleinhause-Goldman Gedalyahou
Construction of a CpsA Double Mutant to Determine the Function of the Lyt-R Domain, Klarissa Klier
Effect of Hydroculture Methods on Tomato Root Morphology and Anatomy, Lia MacLellan
Interglacial Expansion of Alpine Glaciers in Garwood Valley, Antarctica, Laura Mattas
The Tower of London Becoming a Tourist Attraction in the 19th Century, Catherine McDonald
The Impact of New NIH Requirements on the Preclinical Research Sex Disparity --- A Meta-Analysis, Nicole McGrath
The Most Critical Resource: How Climate Change Fuels the Crisis in Syria and the Implications for the World at Large, Edward Medeiros
Effects of Government Reform and Creative Clusters on Chinese Entrepreneurship, Robert Mills
Heard it Through the Grapevine... Winery Owners Explain the Role of Sustainability in Maine's Emerging Industry, Michaela Murray
Perceptions of Emergency Room Nurses Regarding Needle Exchange Programs, Theresa Murray
The Future of United States Digital Copyright Law, Andrew Nadeau
Synthesis of a Fluorescently Tagged Bioactive Probe Specific to Neutrophils in a Zebrafish Model, Sadie Xiaohua Novak
Land Cover Composition, But Not Weather, Affects Female Wild Turkey Roost Site Selection, Kaj Overturf
The Effect of Embryonic Arsenic Exposure on the Sensorimotor Behavior of Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Laura Paye
Alternative Worlds: 3 Short Stories, Katie Perry
The Attachment Theory: A Content Analysis of the Objectives of the Servant Heart Training Modules, Grace Pouliot
Awakening From a Dream, Liam Reading
Overwinter Survival Rate of Moose (Alces Alces) Calves in Relation to Habitat Composition, Bridget Re
Evaluation of the Attachment Theory Program in Sierra Leone, Africa, Alexander Reppond
Understanding Volume Transport in the Jordan River: an Application of the Navier-Stokes Equations, Gwyneth E. Roberts
Synthesis and Application of Cellulose-Based Hydrogels for Anti-Biofouling in Marine Environments, David Rondeau
Migrant Farm Work in the State of Maine: Meeting the Community Needs of Maine's Working Immigrant Population, Olivia Ruhlin
A Study of the Impacts of the Citizens United Supreme Court Decision on Electoral Outcomes in U.S. House of Representatives Races, Asher Sizeler-Fletcher
Exploring Semantic Hierarchies to Improve Resolution Theorem Proving on Ontologies, Stanley Small
Evaluating a Doppler Radar Monitor for Assessing Honey Bee Colony Health, Ana Eliza Souza Cunha
The Fiscal Effects of Public Investment in College Education, Jacob Spaulding
Arsenic Remediation of Maine Drinking Water, Austin Steward
Determining the Key Residues for Capsule Production in the GBS CpsA Protein, Anna Struba
Explaining the Resilience of the Balochistan Insurgency, Tiffany Tanner
The Snake Goddess Dethroned: Deconstructing the Work and Legacy of Sir Arthur Evans, Lindsay Taylor
CpSA Protein-Protein Interactions in Group B Streptococcus, Ben Tero
Interactions of Gold Thiolates with Protein Disulfides, Anna Tyrina
Health Campaign Plan: Increasing Familial Conversations About Organ Donation, Olivia Vibert
Investigating Ions’ Effects on the Fluorescent Protein Dendra2, Benjamin Waterman
The Relations Between Anxiety Symptoms and Friendships in Adolescence, Phoebe Welcome
Asian American Politics: A Case Study of Hmong Americans in St. Paul, MN, Thilee Yost
Honors Theses from 2018
Use of Renewable Cellulose Nanofibrils and Water-Barrier Layers in the Production of Snack Packaging, Thoalfakar Saheb Alsaady
Recovering Legacy Geological Data into a Geospatial Database Product: An Example from Baja California Norte, México, Alexander C. Audet
Barriers to Employment and Overcoming Economic Integration Challenges for Foreign-Born Workers in Maine, Cleo Barker
Language Modality for Deaf or Hard of Hearing Preschoolers: Maine Parents' Decision-Making, Sarah Basquez
The Underrepresentation of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Legal Occupations, Maria Beaulieu
The Impact of Active and Passive Ownership on Total Shareholder Return and Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance of Companies, Abigail J. Bennett
A Comparative Analysis of Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky’s First and Sixth Symphonies, Isabel A. Bohrer
Antineutrino-Induced Charge Current Quasi-Elastic Neutral Hyperon Cross-Section on Argon In Argoneut, Samuel M. Borer
Pay for Performance: Do Higher Expense Ratios of Levered and Inverse ETFs Lead to Lower Tracking Error?, Grant Carrier
Designing a Stress Free Vet Visit: A Systematic Review, Naedia Clarke
Panoptic Schooling’s Confused Lessons: A Philosophical Investigation of Discipline in the School, Donncha Sean Peadar Coyle
A Look into Millstone Nuclear Power Plant: Attitudes on Sustainability and Prevalence of Epizootic Shell Disease, Emily Craig
Prosthetic Gods, Taylor C. Cronin
The Connection Between Cyberbullying and Teenage Suicide: An Honors Thesis, Sierra Crosby
The Keys to Disney’s Magic and Success, Jordan M. K. Daley
The Effects of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid on Abundance and Nymphal Infection Prevalence of Black-Legged Ticks in Maine, Spencer Christian DeBrock
Trauma and Attachment in Sierra Leone, Alli DellaMattera
Context Effects on Ambiguous Idiom Comprehension in Older and Younger Adults, Amy de Silva
Constructing Identity Through the Lens of Fashion: An Honors Thesis, Cara P. Doiron
Finalizing the Genome Annotation of Model Cluster E Mycobacteriophage Ukulele via RNA-Seq Analysis, Jackson R. Foley
From Grey City to Metropolitan Icon: Basque Cultural Revival and Urban Redevelopment in Bilbao, Spain, Kaylie Gazura
Twenty-Five Years of Change in Spruce Grouse Occupancy at Their Southern Range Margin in Maine, USA, Christopher J. Gilbert
A Characterization of Poultry Flocks and Poultry Producers in Maine, Alice Gluchanicz
Environmental Impacts on Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nesting on Edisto Island, South Carolina, Faythe J. Goins
Effectual Versus Predictive Logics in Entrepreneurial Decision-Making: Differences Between Experts and Novices in the State of Maine, Rebecca Lynn Hatt
Facilitating Meaningful Interpersonal Connections Through a Virtual Space, Gene Herrschaft
Risk and Resilience: Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Factors Influencing Adolescent Peer Rejection and Depression, Tyler Hicks
A Content Analysis of Addition and Subtraction from the Math Teacher's Manuals for Orono, Maine and Santiago, Chile, Jordan Houdeshell
Identification of TNFAIP8L1 Binding Partners Through Co-Immunoprecipitation and Mass Spectrometry, Audrey Hoyle
The Production, Characterization, and Upgrading of Biochars into Activated Carbon, Kasey Johnston
Forecasting Labor Force Participation at the Regional Level in the United States: The Case of Maine, Maryam Kashkooli
Determining the Role of Saly in Streptococcus Pyogenes Immune Evasion Using Fluorescence Microscopy, Taaniel Kiidli
Assessing the Impacts of Commercial Clearcut on Freshwater Invertebrate Communities, Nicholas J. Kovalik
To Speak in the Cave, Stephen Thomas Krichels
The Difficulties Faced by the U.S. Army’s Fund Balance with Treasury Account Reconciliation System, Danielle Lelio
The Affective Disturbance of Ethanol Withdrawal on C57BL/6J and C57BL/6NJ Mice, Eric L. LeVasseur
The Hum of Distant Novas, Emily Jane Lewis
Motivation & Meaning in Maine’s Thrift Culture, Johanna Lunn
The Electoral College: A System “for the People?”, Maria Maffucci
Red Abalone Hemocyanin as an Alternative Hapten-Carrier for Vaccine Production, Isaiah N. Mansour
The Efficiency of Melatonin in Inhibiting Haemonchus Contortus Development, Stephanie M. McAvoy
Probing the Nature of Student Reasoning Using Modified Chaining Tasks, Ryan Moyer
An Analysis of V-Notching in the Maine Lobster Fishery, Kathleen A. Murphy
Design and Construction of Trail of the Senses, A Universally Accessible Outdoor Trail System at Hirundo Wildlife Refuge, Jessica M. Oriente
From Unrest to Occupation, Cameron J. Ouellette
Intra-Annual Fjord Circulation: Seasonal Variation in Fjord Physics and Biology and the Impacts of a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood, Brigitte E. Parady
The Hyde Amendment: An Obstacle to Seeking Abortion Care in Maine?, Olivia Pennington
Exploring the Economic Resilience in the United States Through State GDP Output, Mariya Pominova