Meet Maine Sea Grant’s New Coastal Processes Postdoctoral Research Associate

Taylor joined Maine Sea Grant in 2025 as a Coastal Processes Postdoctoral Research Associate working on the NOAA Climate Resilience Regional Challenge: Resilient Maine project, a statewide initiative led by the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF). This collaborative effort supports the state’s Maine Won’t Wait Climate Action Plan and is conducted in partnership with Maine Sea Grant, University of Maine researchers, state agencies, communities, and others. The project focuses on preparing Maine’s coastal communities for challenges like coastal flooding and sea level rise.

Taylor serves as a technical resource on coastal ecosystem processes, bringing expertise in hydrodynamic modeling and field-based coastal research. Her work will support decision-making in communities facing issues related to climate hazards, coastal storms, and resiliency planning.

A Maine native,Taylor has attended the University of Maine since 2014 and completed her PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering in May 2025. Her doctoral research examined how currents, tides, and freshwater flows affect the transport of harmful algal blooms, bacterial contamination, and microplastics in Maine’s complex coastal systems.

“I’m very excited to be staying at UMaine and working with the Maine Sea Grant team, as well as some of my colleagues in the Civil Engineering Department. I’m from Maine and want to see science be put into action to protect our coastlines and communities from future storms and long-term changes, like sea level rise.”

In her free time, Taylor enjoys visiting coastal towns like Camden and Belfast, where she frequents farm markets, coffee shops, and local co-ops.

Posted 27 July 2025