Inaugural Centers and Institutes Day at Montana State set for March 23

BOZEMAN - Montana State University is hosting a new event to recognize the interdisciplinary hubs that contribute to its extensive research endeavors. The inaugural Centers and Institutes Day, hosted by MSU's Office of Research and Economic Development, will be held Monday, March 23, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Strand Union Building ballrooms.

The free event aims to help colleagues connect with each other and is also open to interested community members and stakeholders. It will include opening remarks from MSU Vice President of Research and Economic Development Alison Harmon; a panel discussion with faculty, students, and a community stakeholder; and presentations from representatives of the centers and institutes. There will also be time for mingling and a catered lunch.

Organizers request that attendees RSVP for the event by Thursday, March 12, to ensure an accurate headcount for catering. People can RSVP at https://www.montana.edu/calendar/events/56747.

MSU's centers and institutes provide a valuable intellectual home for those pursuing research in areas of broad interest to MSU, bringing together researchers from a variety of disciplines to address critical problems, said MSU's associate vice president for research, Carl Yeoman.

"Centers and Institutes Day will provide an opportunity for our newest faculty and students to find their interdisciplinary homes," Yeoman said, "and to showcase some of the ways Montana State University is improving lives in Montana and beyond."

MSU hosts more than 20 centers and institutes, where communities of scholars investigate research areas from national security to community health.

A sampling of those featured at the event includes the Center for Biofilm Engineering, which conducts government and industry-sponsored research for applications of biofilms in health care; manufacturing and other industries; QCORE, the only organization in the western U.S. to house two distinct quantum computers, superconducting and photonic, under one roof; and the Institute on Ecosystems, which brought together researchers and agencies from Montana, Wyoming and Idaho to create the Greater Yellowstone Climate Assessment.

"We hope the event will provide an opportunity for participants to see the breadth of our research centers and institutes, learn more about why they exist and what they do, see real world examples of the great work we are doing regionally and find opportunities to become engaged," Yeoman said.

An agenda for the day is listed below.

• 11 a.m. - noon: Lunch at center-hosted tables and roundtable with center directors

• Noon: Welcome and opening remarks by Vice President of Research and Economic Development Alison Harmon

• 12:15 - 12:45 p.m.: Panel discussion
  • Nick Lux - professor, Department of Education
  • Liz Johnson- assistant professor, Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing
  • Kristen Legg - National Park Service manager
  • Dylan Maxwell - graduate student working with OpTeC
  • Aspen McKee - undergraduate student working with the Montana Space Grant Consortium and Montana NASA EPSCoR

• 12:50 - 2:20 p.m.: Center presentations
  • Water Center
  • Thermal Biology Institute (TBI)
  • Institute on Ecosystems (IOE)
  • Center for Science, Technology, Ethics and Society (C-STES)
  • Institute for National Security Research and Education (INSRE)
  • Quantum Core (QCORE)
  • Technology Transfer Office (TTO) /TechLink
  • Montana Office of Rural Health (MORH) / Area Health Education Center (AHEC)
  • Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE)
  • Montana Idea Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE)

• 2:30 - 3 p.m.: Mingle, questions and discussion
  

More information about MSU's centers and institutes is available at https://www.montana.edu/research/Centers_and_Institutes.html.