News

The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded $35 million through the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Research Incubators for STEM Excellence Research Infrastructure Improvement (E-RISE RII) to boost research competitiveness, build partnerships across academic institutions and non-academic sectors and create workforce development opportunities.

A regional technology hub focused on photonics and smart sensors, of which Montana State University is a founding member, will receive a $41 million federal grant to help create tech jobs across Montana.

Access to presentations from the 2024 NSF EPSCoR Annual PI meeting. These presentations provide helpful information on ESPCoR funding opportunities.You can access meeting presentations web page here.

NSF EPSCoR has awarded three new E-CORE RII awards to SD, NH, and ME.

Kristen Intemann, Professor of Philosophy and Director for the Center for Science, Technology, Ethics, and Society (C-STES) at Montana State University (MSU), is working with graduate students in Land Resources and Environmental Sciences (LRES) at MSU to construct maps to analyze which communities and Tribal Nations are particularly impacted by both wildfire smoke and smoke from prescribed burns in Montana and across the U.S. This project is a product of the Social Psychology, Economics, and Ethics (SPEE) thrust of the SMART FIRES project.

SMART FIRES researchers at the University of Montana have begun to build the "Supervan," a rapidly deployable mobile laboratory with enough space and power for scientific instruments that measure, track, and sample prescribed fire and wildfire smoke.

Dr. Rob Walker, a professor in Montana State University’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry since 2009, has been appointed Distinguished Professor for 2024 in the university’s College of Letters and Science. It is the highest honor the college bestows upon a member of its faculty in recognition of contributions to the college, MSU and the scholarly community.

Learn more about Libby Metcalf, her work on EPSCOR projects, and what inspired her to pursue a career in science!

Staff from the Science Math Resource Center facilitated SMART FIRES activities for over 200 fifth grade students as part of MSU Family Science Day.

Students from Polson and Ronan High Schools on the Flathead Reservation visited the University of Montana on January 29, 2024, for a day of smoke and fire science with SMART FIRES. During a morning field trip to spectrUM Discovery Area, UM’s hands-on science center, the students explored the concept of the fire triangle and experienced a matchstick “forest” simulation, activities from the USFS’s FireWorks curriculum.