About Us
The University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center is a world-leading, interdisciplinary center for research, education, and economic development encompassing material sciences, manufacturing, and engineering of composites and structures. The Center is housed in a 100,000 ft2 ISO 17025-accredited testing laboratory with more than 220 full and part time personnel.
Since 1996, the Center has:
- Financially supported more than 2,300 positions for undergraduate and graduate students
- Served more than 500 industrial and governmental clients, including 150 Maine companies
- Formed 15 spinoff companies through licensing agreements of patents or trade secrets
- Received more than 40 national and international awards
The Center has gained national and international reputation from major research and development projects, such as:
- The VolturnUS 1:8, the first grid-connected floating offshore wind turbine in the US and the first in the world made out of concrete and composite materials
- The inflatable composite arch bridges Bridge In A Backpack® technology, now approved in the AASHTO Code
- The first Modular Ballistic Protection System (MBPS) approved by the US Army to protect troops in tents from blast and ballistic threats
- The development of coated wood technology for blast and hurricane resistant wood buildings
- The longest carbon-fiber composite vessel built for the US Navy
The Center is led by its founding Executive Director, Dr. Habib Dagher, P.E. Dr. Dagher is a world-leading advocate for developing advanced structural systems which simultaneously optimize structures, materials, and construction. Dr. Dagher holds more than 25 patents and has received numerous awards, including:
- The 2015 White House Transportation Champion of Change
- The Carnegie Foundation Maine Professor of the Year
- The Distinguished Maine Professor Award, which is the highest award given to a faculty member at UMaine
- The American Society of Civil Engineers Charles Pankow Innovation Award
Dr. Dagher earned his Ph.D. in structural engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as two Masters Degrees in Structural engineering and engineering mechanics and joined the University of Maine faculty in 1985.