Dr. Jason Johnston joins the math and science faculty as a wildlife ecologist. Jason is a Presque Isle native who earned a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College, a Master’s from the University of Delaware, and his Ph.D. from the University of Maine (Orono) in Biological Sciences in 2007. He has served as teaching assistant and instructor at the latter two Universities. His area of concentration is birds in forest environments with the hermit thrush as a particular subject of concentration.

In Jason's message to the school, he said: "I look forward to working with students at UMPI both in the classroom and in the field. Presque Isle is perfectly situated for hands-on wildlife ecology field activities – as part of formal classes and through independent research projects.  Whether you are planning a career in wildlife ecology, or just want to know more about the world outside your back door, I am anxious to show you. I plan to continue my field research on forest birds, and will be looking for enthusiastic students who want to learn more about topics ranging from ecophysiology to forest conservation biology." 

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Dr. Shawn Robinson, Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Dr. Shawn Robinson comes to UMPI’s math and science faculty from the University of Western Montana and Rutgers University.  Shawn took his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina in 2001.  His dissertation was Equivariant Schubert Calculus.  He has delivered scholarly talks in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  His papers in the American Journal of Mathematics and the Journal of Algebra explore algebraic and combinatorial aspects of representation theory and geometry.  Shawn will teach both mathematics and physics at UMPI. 

"When I'm not teaching or doing mathematics, I enjoy skiing and hiking with my wife, Cristina, and our four year-old daughter, Carolina.  I also dabble in home restorations and renovations, and I am particularly interested in new, environmentally friendly materials and techniques." said Shawn. We will ask Shawn how much math involved in home restorations and renovations.