DATE: September 24, 2001

TO: Board of Regents

FROM: W. Franklin Gilmore,  Chancellor, Montana Tech of The University of Montana

RE: Campus Report for the September 27-28, 2001 Board of Regents Meeting

         Montana Tech received a $4,500 Conservation Treatment Award from Save Our Sculpture to refurbish the Marcus Daly Statue originally sculpted in 1906. The award is made possible with the support of Target Stores and the National Endowment for the Arts.

         Montana Tech will team with PFM Manufacturing who was awarded a National Science Foundation Small Technology Transfer award for the project STTR Phase I: A Rapid-Deployment, 3-D, Seismic Reflection System to develop the subsurface imaging system. A key component of the system will be the patented Land Tamer, an all terrain vehicle they build. Professors Marvin Speece and Curtis Link, Geophysical Engineering, will collaborate with PFM to design the new system.

         Dr. Rick Douglass and Amy Kuenzi recently co-published Antibody to Sin Nombre Virus in Rodents Associate with Peridomestic Habits in West Central Montana in the latest issue to the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Dr. Douglass subsequently had another hanta paper published in the same journal.

         Montana Tech launched an Internet portal under the direction of Dr. Karl Burgher.

         In May, Drs. Bill Spath and John Amtmann spearheaded the second annual hosting of the American College of Sportmedicine's Health/Fitness Instructor Certification Exam, drawing candidates from all over the northwest. There are only two sites in the northwestButte and Seattle, WA. .

         The MSP Wellness program, a collaborative program run by the SH/IH Department and the Department of Corrections, is in its 6th year of operation. Dr. Amtmann completed his doctoral dissertation on the program, and has published three papers describing the results of this original program. He presented the results of this research at the 64th Annual International Conference of Correctional Educators in July.

         Roger Jensen, along with Professor Emeritus Julie Norman, co-authored a grant to NIOSH, which awarded the SH/IH Department over $60,000 for the year. The money is used to fund professional development, student scholarships, lab equipment, research, and program development.

         Dr. Terry Spear, Safety, Health, & I.H., presented a paper at the Inhaled Particles Symposium at Robinson College in the United Kingdom. The symposia is held every 5 years.

         In October, Dr. Courtney Young will present a plenary talk at the 4th International Conference on Materials Engineering for Resources at Akita University in Japan.

         In early October, faculty, students and Bureau of Mines employees will make presentations at the 18th annual Montana Water Conference sponsored by the Montana Section of the American Water Resources Association in Missoula.

         Roger Jensen presented two papers at the 15th Annual International Occupational Ergonomics and Safety Conference. Both papers were published in the proceedings.

         Dr. Chris Gammons, Geological Engineering, was awarded a $140,000 grant from the EPA-EPSCOR program to investigate the causes of diurnal metal cycling in streams and rivers of SW Montana. He is collaborating with co-PI's Johnnie Moore, UM-M, David Nimick, U.S. Geological Survey, and David Hobbs, Montana Tech. This is set to begin this fall with funding for two years.

         Dr. Chris Gammons and M.S. student Pam Newbrough recently published a paper entitled Experimental investigation of water-rock interaction and acid mine drainage in Butte.

         The American Chemical Society Student Affiliates chapter at Montana Tech has been selected to receive an Honorable Mention award for its activities conducted during the 2000-01 academic year.

         The 2nd Annual Montana Tech Career Fair originally to be held on September 13, 2001 with over 60 companies participating was rescheduled for September 25.