News

UM Associate Professor, Tony Ward, received a National Institute of Health Science Education Partnership Award to develop inquiry-based science lessons that will prepare middle and high school students to conduct research studies on air pollutants. Teachers who are involved in the project will receive training, curriculum and air-sampling equipment to guide environmental health science education.

Two Montana Institute on the Ecosystems (IoE) Research Associates have been featured on the 'Cores of Discovery' show on Montana Public Radio. Dr. Ric Hauer, director of the IoE at UM, was featured on December 7th, 2012, and Dr. Maury Valett, an IoE research fellow discussing water quality in the Flathead River, was featured on December 21st. Tune in or listen to recorded podcasts to learn more.

Fifteen Montana University System undergraduates have received summer internships to research climate science related projects at sites throughout Montana. The Institute on Ecosystems students will work with faculty at The University of Montana and Montana State University on a variety of projects, studying everything from elk, marmots and snowshoe hares to Ponderosa pines and microscopic cyanobacteria. The students' research findings will be presented at the Institute on Ecosystems annual summit meeting in Helena on Aug. 21 to 23.

Libby Metcalf, a CREWS project lead at the University of Montana working with the Natural Resource Social Science team, was named as the inaugural Joel Meier Distinguished Professor of Wildland Recreation in the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation. This honor recognizes Metcalf’s exceptional leadership and accomplishments in research, teaching, and service in and beyond the Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management arena.

The Consortium for Research on Environmental Water Systems (CREWS) is a five-year, $20M NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 partnership between the University of Montana, Montana State University, Montana Technological University, Salish Kootenai College, Little Bighorn College, and business and government partners to study Montana’s environmental water systems and specific water quality issues. The PI is Dr.

NSF EPSCoR awards Montana a 5-year $20 million Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-1 project.

The Montana Institute on Ecosystems and partners have released the Montana Climate Assessment (MCA).

The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative is offering mini-grants to promote imagery of women in STEM through the IF/THEN Collection. The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative is an outreach program of Montana NSF EPSCoR and housed within the Science Math Resource Center at MSU.