Overview

Cross-Sectional Partnership: Building for the Future … 2001-2004

The EPSCoR program seeks to improve the science and technology infrastructure in the State of Montana. The $13,500,000 award runs from February 2001 through January 2004 and is divided nearly equally between Montana State University (MSU) and The University of Montana (UM) with a subcontract to Montana Tech-Butte.

Short-Term Goals of the Montana EPSCoR Program

• Develop three target areas to serve as a science and technology foundation for economic development: Biomolecular Structure and Function, Nanotechnology, and Integrative Analysis of Complex Biological Systems
• Provide a highly skilled science and technology workforce involved in each of the three target areas
• Establish new initiatives in education and outreach that have a significant regional and national impact

Long-Term Goals of the Montana EPSCoR Program

• Expand the science and technology capacity of MSU and UM
• Expand the positive economic influence of MSU and UM beyond the areas surrounding these universities to other areas of the State

While Montana has already established a strong foundation for future success, the EPSCoR program has played a central role in transforming Montana's academic research and development infrastructure from one of limited capacity to one that is nationally competitive and flourishing.

Program Highlights

Due to the commitment, dedication, and talents of many individuals throughout the State, we have made great gains toward reaching our objectives and goals. Many successfully executed programs have been funded by Montana EPSCoR, such as:

• New Faculty Hire Program

  To date, we have hired a total of 34 highly qualified and competitive new faculty members who will contribute greatly to building Montana's science and technology capacity in research within our three target areas. Each faculty member hired also augments the research and technology mission through the mentoring and instruction of students in the sciences.

• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program

  The SBIR Phase 0 program has been decidedly successful in stimulating small startup companies (the major business type within Montana) to partner with university scientist/technical experts to help grow their companies by developing competitive SBIR Phase 1 proposals. More than 95 percent of these SBIR Phase 0 grants have resulted in Phase 1 submissions to Federal agencies, and to date, at least 50 percent of these SBIR Phase 1 proposals have been funded.

• Diversity Program/Minority Outreach Program

  Montana EPSCoR has been actively engaged in a program to expand outreach efforts to encompass underrepresented minorities within our State. The MSU EPSCoR program has worked in partnership with the Montana Native American Tribal Colleges to bridge tribal college faculty and students with MSU faculty and researchers, and to enhance critical information technology equipment at these colleges.

  The UM EPSCoR program has produced two successful education and outreach programs. The Summer Diversity program is a 10-week undergraduate laboratory/field research program. The students come to experience Montana, learn more about the advantages of attending graduate school, and examine career opportunities through laboratory and field research training with world-class researchers as their faculty mentors. The second program, initiated in 2001, is a long-distance videoconference class with instruction by UM pharmacy faculty to San Francisco State University students. The UM EPSCoR program has also partnered with the Native American Center of Excellence program to develop faculty positions and research and technology opportunities for Native Americans.

• Undergraduate Program

  The undergraduate program continues to be successful at directly integrating more than 387 undergraduate students in meaningful research experiences.

• Ph.D. Graduate Recruitment Program

  The graduate program has enhanced the universities' graduate student numbers by funding the recruitment of more than 67 dynamic graduate students into our universities' laboratories.