The arches were two carbon-composite tubes designed as bridge supports for the “bridge in a backpack” technology developed at UMaine’s Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center. The arches are typically filled from the top with concrete to form supports for bridges — such as for the Neal Bridge in Pittsfield, where the technology was recently employed. Construction workers at the plaza instead filled the two arches from the bottom.

“It burst out the side of the cylinder because of the pressure, and that initiated a collapse of the first arch,” said Dana Humphrey, dean of the College of Engineering. “And then that first arch shifted a little bit, and that caused the second arch to also, basically, crack and the concrete spilled out the bottom.”

The site was littered with pieces from the two broken arches Friday afternoon, as well as scaffolding that had originally held the tubes erect. One of the scaffolds had been knocked down by the arches’ fall.

“The technique being used to fill the arches didn’t work the way that we wanted it to work,” Humphrey said.

Humphrey said there is nothing wrong with the arches or the technology, just the technique the contractor used to fill them. He said the arches, though typically used on bridges, are designed for the position they had been placed in the plaza. Humphrey didn’t know the cost of the arches or the project.

“We were hired to put them up, and obviously something failed,” said Blaine Door, one of the contractors working on the project.

Construction of the arches will be abandoned until next year. In the meantime, construction on the rest of the plaza will continue. Workers will repair sidewalks and put the Wingate Hall bell in a display case in the plaza as part of an art piece the arches were originally going to be a part of. Money for the project is coming in part from the construction of the engineering and science building, the Advanced Engineering Center and the AEWC, as well as part of the landscaping budget for the Advanced Manufacturing Center.

“I’m sure we’ll have a different technique for how to fill them [next year],” Humphrey said.

The DOE selected the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Minnesota to develop land-based wind energy along with UMaine, which will use the money to build three different wind turbines. The department selected the three as part of a competition to determine who should lead the development of wind-based power in the United States. UMaine will help lead a wind energy consortium — which includes 32 Maine companies — to develop Maine’s wind energy infrastructure. The entire development effort involves 38 organizations.

“The Department of Energy has a goal to reach 20 percent electricity from wind in the United States by 2030. In order to reach that goal, one of the things that the Department of Energy did is develop this competition to create a consortium of universities and private companies that would help achieve those goals,” said Habib Dagher, director of the Advance Engineered Wood Composite center.

UMaine will build and test wind turbine prototypes while the companies in the consortium will help construct and assemble the final product. The companies involved in the project — named DeepCwind — include Bath Iron Works, Cianbro Inc. and Bangor Hydro Electric Co., Dagher said he expects as many as 300 students will get involved with the project.

“The goal here is to help develop cost-effective technologies for floating wind turbines that would be placed 20 miles plus beyond the horizon in the gulf of Maine,” Dagher said.

Dagher said he spoke to U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu on June 5 — a meeting Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, help set up — and told him there is almost as much deep-sea wind power off the U.S. coast as the country uses each year.

Chu asked Dagher where he got his information from and Dagher said it was from the DOE. The United States uses 3,500 terawatt hours of electricity each year.

Collins was instrumental in helping to pass the additional $5 million as a grant from the DOE, Dagher said. Congress approved the grant Thursday.

“[Collins] has said that she believes that the University of Maine is leading the way in deep-water offshore wind research,” said Kevin Kelley, communications director for Collins.

“The more energy — specifically clean energy — that we’re able to produce here in Maine and here in the United States will reduce our reliance on foreign oil, which is good for our economy — especially here in the state of Maine where 80 percent of homes use home heating oil for heat in the winter, which is expensive — and also in terms of national security,” Kelley said.

Dagher said Maine has about 130 gigawatts of wind power in deep waters, or water more than 200 feet deep and less than 50 nautical miles from the coast.

“To put that into perspective; a gigawatt is equal to a nuclear power plant,” Dagher said.

If Dagher’s predictions are correct, Maine could profit from more than just new jobs. According to Kelley, Maine could sell extra power to surrounding states, further reducing oil dependence and boosting Maine’s economy.

The DOE expects the project to generate about 15,600 jobs and cost about $1 billion per year during the next 20 years. Dagher said the number of in-state jobs created hinged on the full involvement of Maine’s energy companies.

UMaine plans to institute a masters program some time in the future for renewable energy in the environment.

Dagher said the turbines would be unseen from shore.

“It’s a great day for Maine and a great day for the University of Maine,” Dagher said.

Maine produces 95 percent of New England’s on-shore wind power, according to a press release from Governor John Baldacci’s office. Baldacci has endorsed the DOE’s wind energy plan for Maine.

Kennedy announced the recent creation of a university-wide workgroup to look at ways to improve the university and streamline its programs. The workgroup is made up of Kennedy, Provost Susan Hunter and the leadership of the Faculty Senate.

“This is one of the most important jobs we’ve undertaken,” Kennedy said. “This institution is the future of the state.”

Kennedy also announced an increase in private gifts to the university compared to last year from $91.5 million to $106 million, and said the extra money will help fund two professorships and one faculty chairperson.

Kennedy praised the work of Habib Dagher, professor of civil and structural engineering and director of the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites center, saying Dagher was “UMaine’s own stimulus package.”

Kennedy said the university’s graduate student population increased this year, which has helped to offset the impact of decreased first-year student enrollment. He said UMaine’s graduate population increased by about 200 students this year as compared to last year.

“I think it says a lot about our research program,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said there is a “vital need to focus on our students and their needs” this year.

“Financial aid issues related to our economy are making it difficult for students,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy praised the work of faculty in today’s tough economic times and said he was “struck by how the campus has changed for the better over the past two years.”