Dr. Per Garder has been promoted to the rank of full professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maine. Garder, who has been with the university since 1992, holds his master’s and doctorate from the Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden. He teaches courses in transportation engineering, advanced roadway design, urban transportation planning, and transportation and safety.

His research interest is focused on forecasting, designing and evaluating facilities with emphasis on traffic safety and environmental aspects. Garder has been conducting research on the effect of continuous rumble strips along highways, safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, the effect of different intersection layouts, driver stress evaluation in intelligent transportation systems, conflict studies and studies on the value of time.

Dr. Michael Peterson has been promoted to the rank of associate professor with tenure in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maine. Peterson will continue to serve as the graduate coordinator in the Mechanical Engineering Department.

He holds his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering with an automotive design specialty from General Motors Institute, and a master’s and doctorate in theoretical and applied mechanics from Northwestern University. Peterson has industrial experience as a structural acoustics analysis engineer with General Dynamics and as a manufacturing engineer with General Motors.

At UM since 1999, he teaches the senior capstone design sequence, material selection in design, and mechanics courses. His research areas include non-destructive testing and materials characterization and biomimetics.

Peterson has brought in more than $4 million in research grants.

The Maine Small Business Development Centers State Office based in Portland has named Diane Hahn director of training and communications. Hahn was previously a business management assistance counselor at the Maine SBDC Service Center in Wiscasset. An MBA graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she will be responsible for Maine SBDC client training and education, business counselor and staff development, and the organization’s marketing and communications programs. Maine SBDC operates eight service centers and 20 outreach offices throughout the state.

Bill Purser has joined Guilford of Maine as director of operations for its Newport yarn-making facility. Bill came to Guilford of Maine from its sister company, Intek, in North Carolina where he was quality assurance manager. Prior to working at Intek, Bill held several positions at Burlington Industries. He has a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology manufacturing from East Carolina University.

Joanne Dichard, a staffing specialist with WorkSource Staffing Services for more than two years, has been promoted to executive recruiter to manage a new service offered by the Bangor-based firm called executive search. Dichard has extensive experience in areas of human resource and business management and has a master’s degree in business administration from Husson College.

Banknorth Insurance Group has named Geoffrey T. Smith senior vice president of its newly created Risk Management Department. Smith, who has 24 years in risk management and insurance, will be based out of the South Portland office and will oversee the new department, which will serve business customers as well as the company itself. Smith, who is in the process of moving to Maine from Chicago to take the post, previously served as director of banking and risk management at Brunswick Corp., a leading manufacturer of recreational products. Banknorth Insurance Group is the largest insurance group in New England and the 37th largest in the country with offices throughout Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Several appointments at Bar Harbor Banking and Trust Co. have been announced.

Michael W. Bonsey has been promoted to senior vice president and credit administrator. He is responsible for loan policy, credit quality control and the bank’s managed assets function. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting at the University of Maine at Augusta and has extensive commercial banking experience that spans 15 years with Maine banks. Prior to joining the bank in 2000, he was a vice president and relationship manager with Key Bank.

Richard H. Bansley III has been promoted to information systems officer in the bank’s MIS department. His responsibilities include management of network infrastructure, maintenance of operating system resources, and personnel supervision. Bansley was a chief petty officer in the Navy when he retired in 1995 and worked at TRW prior to joining the bank in 2000. He earned his associate’s degree in business management from Husson College.

David S. Cohen has joined the bank as vice president and controller. His responsibilities include preparation and analysis of financial statements for internal and external reporting, and overseeing the corporation’s finance and accounting functions. Cohen has 13 years of financial management experience, including 11 years with F&M Bank, and most recently as vice president and controller of Century National Bank in Washington, D.C. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Maryland.

Timothy J. Politis of Scarborough has been named chief executive officer for the Maine Veterans’ Homes. Prior to this position, Politis served as chairman of the Maine Veterans’ Homes Board of Trustees. He was first appointed to the board in 1997 by Gov. Angus King.

A Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War, he served in the Marine Corps Reserve until 1979 as the commanding officer of Delta Company 1/25, then located at Brunswick Naval Air Force Base in Topsham. A Chartered Life Underwriter, he also maintained insurance and financial planning practice in Portland for the last 20 years.

As the new sales manager for Mid Maine Communications, Jon Henderson will be responsible for heading up the Bangor, Portland, and Augusta sales teams. He brings with him several years of telecommunications including two years in direct sales with Mid-Maine. Henderson will be based out of Mid-Maine’s Portland sales office and will be responsible for statewide sales growth.

Deborah A. Giguere has been named executive director of the Good Samaritan Agency. Prior to this appointment, Giguere was director of programs and services. She is a graduate of the University of Maine with a bachelor’s degree in social work. Giguere has more than 25 years experience in the field of social work, 16 of which were at the Good Samaritan Agency.

Richard R. (Rick) Veinotte has been promoted to manager of engineering at Madison Paper Industries in Madison. Veinotte began his career at Madison Paper in 1991 as a maintenance engineer. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and an associate’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Maine at Orono.