Acadia Engineering & Research

09/03/2026

Proud to share that Acadia Engineering & Research founder Shawn Collins is a co-author on a new peer-reviewed paper in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism: “Effects of 6-OHDA-Mediated Chemical Denervation of Sympathetic Axons in Inguinal Subcutaneous White Adipose Tissue,” published August 25, 2026, with Dr. Andre Khalil and the CompuMAINE Lab at the University of Maine and the Townsend Lab.

Open access: doi.org/10.1111/dom.71251

07/14/2026

🎉 Congratulations to our founder, Shawn Collins, on completing the NSF I-Corps Spark program!

Shawn spent the past several weeks deep in customer discovery, including 12+ interviews and building out a validated business model canvas. That kind of evidence-based approach is at the core of how Acadia builds.

Proud of the work. Onward to the next!

Last week, we welcomed eight teams from across Maine to our latest National Science Foundation (NSF) NE I-Corps Hub cohort. Over the next five weeks, these teams will step outside the building and into their markets, conducting customer discovery interviews to test assumptions about the projects and...

06/04/2026

Our founder Shawn Collins was just featured twice in one week. The CompuMAINE Lab at UMaine, an R1 Research Institution, spotlighted Shawn as he pursues his master’s in Biomedical Engineering. UMaine News also covered his senior capstone team’s athletic shoe replacement indicator, a device that measures real-time structural changes in running shoes to help athletes make smarter, healthier decisions about replacement timing.

Shawn leads controller programming and testing on the project. This is applied engineering doing real work in the world.

CompuMAINE spotlight: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/compumaine-lab_compumaine-member-spotlight-we-are-happy-activity-7468013201050435585-8HfA

Full UMaine story: https://umaine.edu/news/2026/04/umaine-students-developing-athletic-shoe-replacement-indicator-to-reduce-injury-risk/

University of Maine students are designing a device to help runners determine when their athletic shoes should be replaced to help prevent injuries like stress fractures, shin splints and inflammation. The project team, made up of four senior biomedical engineering students, is developing an athleti...

05/29/2026

Our founder Shawn Collins had the chance to attend the Dirigo Labs Cohort 5.0 Demo Day in Waterville last night, and it was something worth talking about.

As someone from central Maine, this was a side of our state he had not seen before. The level of innovation happening right here in our own backyard was eye opening, and the energy in the room was real.

Watching founders take the stage, present their companies, and walk away with funding and support was genuinely inspiring.

Congratulations to all of Cohort 5.0 and the entire Dirigo Labs team.

05/28/2026

Make sure to catch the event and watch these talented participants compete tonight!

The Dirigo Labs 2026 Pitch Competition is Thursday night in Waterville!

12 innovative Maine startups will compete live in Waterville for $25,000 in prizes sponsored by Skowhegan Savings Bank.

We have flyers up at Buen Apetito and our guests have been asking about it. Free to attend but you must rsvp (we will be there cheering everyone on!)

Stop by Buen Apetito, mention this post and the dirigo labs 2026 pitch event so you can get 5% off this week😎

Thursday, May 28th · 5:00–8:00 PM
Greene Block + Studios · 18 Main Street, Waterville

Learn more: www.dirigolabs.org/2026-pitch-competition
Reserve your spot: www.eventbrite.com/e/1987069884515

Dirigo Labs

05/26/2026

We are excited to attend the pitch event! We have been looking forward to the event all week.
Make sure to come and support 11 Maine startups to see what they are building next. The event features the Dirigo Labs 2026 Pitch Competition in Waterville, where founders will compete live for $25,000 in prizes.
📍 Greene Block + Studios, Waterville
📅 Thursday, May 28 | 5–8:20 PM
Register today: https://lnkd.in/g-X4FHKa

05/23/2026

Introducing the Mind Behind Acadia Engineering & Research: Meet Shawn Collins, Founder

Every great venture starts with a person who refuses to stop asking “what if.” At Acadia Engineering & Research, that person is Shawn.

Shawn Collins is a Navy veteran, biomedical engineer, and entrepreneur who has spent his career building things that matter. With a background spanning biomedical engineering, bioinstrumentation, mathematics, and botany, and an MBA focused on strategy and economic development, Shawn brings a rare depth of thinking to every problem he takes on.

He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Maine, with plans to continue into doctoral research, and he brings that same academic rigor to everything Acadia develops.

Behind the engineering credentials is someone who genuinely loves this state, this community, and the idea that innovation can happen right here in Maine.

We’re just getting started. 🌲⚙️

05/22/2026

Small force circuits are helpful to set a threshold for all kinds of neat things like watering a plant.

05/21/2026

We're proud to announce that our founder, Shawn Collins, was featured in both UMaine News and the Bangor Daily News for his work developing an athletic shoe replacement indicator as part of his biomedical engineering capstone at the University of Maine.

This is the kind of innovation Acadia Engineering & Research is trying to achieve.

https://umaine.edu/news/2026/04/umaine-students-developing-athletic-shoe-replacement-indicator-to-reduce-injury-risk/

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/05/02/state/state-education/umaine-students-design-device-runners-replace-shoes/

The device is designed to help help runners prevent injuries like stress fractures, shin splints and inflammation.