When Helen Wilson was looking for an opportunity to get hands-on research experience over the summer, she cast a wide net with her search. Ultimately, a desire to advance the science of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, along with the opportunity to hike and camp in the mountains, drew her to Montana State University.

MSU is known for encouraging undergraduate immersion in scientific discovery. The university dedicated 2019-20 as its Year of Undergraduate Research, and this past March, MSU announced another four recipients of the Goldwater Scholarship, the nation’s premiere scholarship for undergraduates in STEM fields, bringing MSU’s Goldwater total to 82. Now, that scientific immersion continues courtesy of the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates program.

“It’s been a really great experience,” said Wilson, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering at the University of Delaware. “As I’m looking ahead and considering grad school, I wanted to see how research works at another university, and this has been a great fit.”

Like the hundreds of other universities that participate in the 10-week summer program, MSU pairs faculty researchers with students who apply from around the country. Students get a living stipend and are reimbursed for travel through funding from NSF. In exchange, they help faculty with work in the lab or the field, a valuable opportunity to familiarize themselves with the research process.

MSU runs six REU programs in the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering and the College of Letters and Science, including the one Wilson is part of in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Each program hosts about 10 students, for a total of roughly 60 participants each summer. And the Center for Biofilm Engineering and the Thermal Biology Institute at MSU recently received a $400,000 grant from the NSF to start a new REU this summer that involves studying life in extreme environments like the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park.

Wilson was selected to work with electrical engineering professor Anja Kunze, whose research focuses on understanding the complex electrochemistry of the brain and developing new treatments for brain disorders. Wilson’s summer task is to help develop a device that can filter out vesicles, tiny sacs that transport matter within and among cells and are thought to act as indicators of certain diseases, according to their size. The project involves designing and fabricating networks of tiny channels made of silicone on glass slides. “This is different than anything I’ve done before,” she said.

According to electrical engineering professor Kevin Repasky, who coordinates the department’s REU, exposing the participants to something new is one of the central goals of the program. “For a lot of students, this is their first time doing research,” he said. “It’s giving them a sense of what research is all about.”

Research, Repasky said, is the foundation of innovation in fields as diverse and important as next-generation energy resources, national security and medicine. “All of those require skilled people, a strong and diverse workforce. These REU programs are meant to start students down that road of becoming leaders in these fields that are crucial for the country."

Nationally, the REU program offers students a much wider range of research options than might be available at their home universities. That’s as true for the many MSU students who participate in REUs around the country as it was for Lupe Serrano-Gaines, who came to Bozeman this summer from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Working with Bradley Whitaker, assistant professor in the electrical and computer engineering department, as well as collaborators at Billings Clinic, Serrano-Gaines is helping develop a computer program that can predict future rates of COVID-19 infection in communities based on current reported cases.

“Programming is something I’ve always been interested in, and this has been a great way to get that experience,” said 28-year-old Serrano-Gaines, a Navy veteran majoring in chemical engineering. “It’s giving me more diverse skills that I can take to a job.”

Serrano-Gaines said she would recommend the REU program to any student who is interested in research, especially if they’re considering graduate school and are curious what that’s like. "It's an amazing opportunity,” she said.

Mallory Molina, who studies black holes in dwarf galaxies at Montana State University, was awarded a 2021 Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in June.

In addition to recognizing the academic achievements of the awardees, the competitive Ford Foundation Fellowship Program — administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine — is grounded in a mission to increase diversity on college campuses.

“The Ford expects you to not only do research but to increase the diversity in higher academia, using the diverse human experience to enrich the academic experience,” Molina said. “It speaks to how both my research and my equity and inclusion efforts are valuable. That means a lot to me. Equity and inclusion work has always been a very strong component of who I am as a researcher.”

Molina is one of 26 postdoctoral Ford Fellows for 2021 and the first postdoctoral fellow at MSU. The fellowship includes a $50,000 stipend and an invitation to attend the Conference of Ford Fellows in October. It will support Molina’s ongoing inclusion initiatives and fund a year of astrophysics research with Amy Reines in the Department of Physics in MSU’s College of Letters and Science.

Molina knew they wanted to be an astronomer at age 4, when a visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston opened their mind to myriad questions about the universe. But early in their academic career, Molina considered abandoning the dream.

“It wasn’t because I didn’t like astronomy,” Molina said. “It was because I felt isolated and alone.”

As a Mexican American, Molina was met with negative comments and cultural bias from peers as an undergraduate student at Ohio State University. The young university student craved a supportive community within the field, people to engage in conversations about the things they were learning and share in the struggles.

Molina was discouraged and the situation didn’t improve in graduate school. The Sloane scholar was contemplating dropping out of Pennsylvania State University when they reached out to their academic inspiration: their father, David, who grew up in Mexico City and is now chair of the economics department at the University of North Texas. Molina’s father pushed them to find other solutions, both for themself and students who come after.  

“If someone leaves because they don’t like astronomy, fine,” Molina said. “But it’s not fine if they leave because they think no one cares.”

Determined to create the space they sought, Molina founded an equity organization at Penn State in 2016. Towards a More Inclusive Astronomy now has four chapters, including one at MSU.

Molina’s research is focused on supermassive black holes in the smallest of galaxies — known as “dwarf” galaxies based on their size. As more is understood about the mechanics of black holes and how they influence their environments, researchers are finding that they are critical to how those galaxies are built and change over the eons, Molina explained.

Black holes are areas of space with such intense gravity that even light is drawn in. Rather than looking for direct visual cues, people who study black holes look for their interactions with objects around them in a sort of reverse logic that Molina said only serves to make them more interesting.

“They’re not like stars; you can’t go and easily pick them out in the night sky,” Molina said. “And yet they are central to how galaxies evolve.”

Molina is conducting a follow-up to confirm the results of Reines’ radio-based study into supermassive black holes, which revealed that many of them were not anchoring the center of their dwarf galaxies as expected. The follow-up relies on visual light data from telescopes, rather than radio waves. Molina is also looking for signs of black holes in dwarf galaxies through other methods, such as visible emission lines.

Matter influenced by the gravity of a black hole forms into what is known as an accretion disk, a swirling flattened spiral of material not unlike the rings of Saturn. Gases around the black hole are bombarded with energy coming from the accretion disc, and electrons are stripped from elements such as iron. Iron 10, for example, has lost nine of its electrons, releasing light in the process which astronomers can observe as an emission line.

According to Molina, only two phenomena in the universe are powerful enough to produce an iron 10 emission line — black holes and exploding stars known as supernova. But only the black holes can sustain that sort of energy.

Molina found this emission line in the first black hole they confirmed from Reines’ findings, then again in a black hole identified in a paper on a dwarf galaxy merger by Erin Kimbro, a post-baccalaureate researcher who received her undergraduate degree in physics from MSU in 2020. Now Molina has more questions to answer about the nature of the emission line and how it relates to black holes in dwarf galaxies.

“Even in massive galaxies with massive black holes, you have a hard time detecting this line,” Molina said. “And yet it was really strong in these two objects. It blew my mind a little bit. It was not something that I would have ever expected.”

In addition to their extensive research, Molina works with the Women+ in Physics group to build mentoring programs and a library of materials for students and meets with prospective students to talk about campus diversity efforts and resources to make sure all students know they have a place at MSU.

“Nobody should feel like they can’t do physics or astronomy because they are not being supported,” Molina said.

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission will hold a work session on July 27 at 2 p.m. This is an information session during which the commission will have the opportunity to discuss and ask questions on the following items:

Licensing

• Process for Selecting Auction Organizations

Wildlife

• Mountain Lion Plan Process
• Mule Deer Adaptive Harvest Management Plan

Public comment will not be taken for this meeting. To listen to the meeting, click on the link provided on the commission webpage  https://fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/commission.

Montana State University is seeking volunteers to help welcome students to campus during this year’s Move-In Weekend, Aug. 21-24.

There are two different volunteer positions. Greeters will welcome new students and families upon arrival, confirm parking passes are visible on car dashboards and direct students to their buildings and available moving carts. The second position, cart manager, will help load student belongings into carts directly from cars and go with students to their rooms to help unload their items.

Those interested in helping can register by visiting montana.edu/reslife/moving_in.html. Two-hour volunteer shifts are available between 6:45 a.m. and 7 p.m.

For questions, contact Emma Dyksterhouse in the Office of the President at 406-994-2345 or president@montana.edu.

If someone had told writers that the pandemic would sorely affect their livelihood, they might have argued that opinion. However, COVID-19 has arrived and convinced everyone of its plans. Publishers Weekly listed canceled events related to writers on February 1st, 2021. This news was not pleasant for many writers looking forward to connecting at those events.

The success of hospitality marketing writers depends on that of the hospitality business. With the latter being the first to get shut down, writers had nothing to offer the public. The four segments of hospitality business all crumbled simultaneously. Ergo, writers that have built their brand around the industry suffered greatly.

This article looks into the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitality marketing writers, and here are five of them:

1. The decrease in earning potential
Demand often determines supply, and with the pandemic and lockdown in effect, hotel reviewing jobs vanished. Families got holed up in their homes while travel restrictions were in full swing. Fewer people were looking online for hotels since they couldn’t travel or leave their houses anyway.

The pandemic hit hospitality businesses and their writers the worst. Amanda Dudley, a lecturer working in the college essay writing service, confirmed that lockdown has drastically reduced the frequency and quality of work available to hospitality marketers. There was indeed a little demand for hospitality services; hotels functioned at low capacity and writers couldn’t visit them. It meant there was nothing to review, and so hospitality writers had no way to earn.

2. An uncertain future
Experts at McKinsey predict the pandemic’s impact will linger in the hospitality industry till 2023. Many hospitality businesses are leaking money right now and hiring writers to help publicize their businesses doesn’t seem to be a solution. This situation has caused many hospitality marketing writers to panic.

There will be no need for luxury resort marketing if luxury resorts aren’t in business. And since nobody knows when things will normalize, the future does not look rosy for these writers. Some have resorted to writing free articles and reviews to keep their creative juices flowing. Others are considering abandoning hospitality marketing for other writing niches.

3. Reduced Relevance in Society
Some writers monitor trends around their area of writing to create content. Reporting on these trends usually drew businesses and private individuals to their pages. Hoteliers looking to dominate the industry often focused on hostel industry trends to know what is new.

Since the pandemic became part of our reality, it continues to bring its impact. News channels have been awash with every new setback and triumph in the battle against COVID-19. While that may be good news for journalists, it isn’t pleasant for hospitality writers. There are no trends to pick up on with hospitality businesses closed, so there is nothing to write about. It seems the public has its attention focused on the pandemic that relegated these writers and their crafts.

4. A drop in traffic in tourism and hospitality blogs
The part of people who often go to the blogs and websites of hospitality marketing writers usually travel a lot. So avid travelers and adventurers are the target audience. But there is no reason for people to visit travel blogs with the current restrictions placed on tourism.

So the target audience for these writers suddenly vanished into thin air. With their audience’s attention turned to survival, travel blogs started to fall down the pecking order. Hospitality blog owners whose sites were their livelihood source had to either downsize or pay their writers less.

5. Loss of credibility
Before March 2020, many hospitality marketing writers made new year predictions about the hospitality industry. These predictions were primarily products of intricate calculations, trend-watching and information from the industry’s sources. It is a practice that worked for many writers before now.

The pandemic came without warning and proved all predictions wrong. No resort marketing company foretold anything like that would happen in 2020. So, many individuals that invested time and money in the hospitality business in 2020 took losses. As a result, some people stopped looking to these writers and platforms for reliable information in the industry. This reduced trust affects hospitality writers and will take some time to get stabilized.

6. Affected brand strategies
Many hospitality marketing writers have built a brand around the hospitality business. They have websites, blogs, marketing materials, posters, and brand elements that mirror the industry. They have been reviewing recreational centers, hotels, and tourism sites for years and their audience knows them as reliable sources of hospitality news.

However, the financial crunch that the pandemic brought caused some of these writers to start writing articles outside their sphere of influence. They took on these jobs as a means to hold on to their dwindling audience. But while they gained a few more clicks, they lost their blogs’ seamlessness and connection with their original strategies.

The Bottom Line
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected writers in the hospitality industry. But thankfully, the restrictions are being lifted, and writers love it. It may take a while before customers start patronizing hospitality businesses again, but there is light at the tunnel’s end.

The COVID-19 vaccine is out, and more people are getting vaccinated. This has sparked a new trend called Vaccine Tourism which could be the lifeline that hospitality writers need. It is too early to predict, but this may well be the break that will improve hospitality writers’ condition.

MISSOULA – DNA results received Wednesday confirmed the bear killed by wildlife officials last Friday was the same bear who fatally attacked a camper in Ovando early on the morning of July 6.

The DNA samples from the bear, saliva sample at the scene of the attack and samples from two chicken coops that were raided in the area all match up.

Montana is bear country and recreationists can be bear aware by following some simple guidelines:

• Carry bear spray and be prepared to use it
• Avoid surprise encounters by traveling in groups, making noise and being aware of surroundings, particularly in areas with limited sight lines and recent bear sign (tracks, scat and turned over rocks and logs)
• Keeping a clean camp by securing attractants, keeping food securely stored
• Find a list of bear-resistant containers on the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee's website www.IGBCOnline.org

For more information on bear aware guidelines, go online to FWP’s Bear Aware webpage.

The Downtown Bozeman Association is proud to present the 21st Annual Music on Main summer concert series this summer in Historic Downtown Bozeman.  Music on Main will be located on Main Street from Rouse Avenue to Black Ave. The fun will last from 6:30 PM till 8:30 PM on Thursday evenings from July 22 to August 12. 

 
Bring the kids from 6:30 PM to 8 PM for the Coca Cola “Kid’s Zone” on South Bozeman Avenue with carnival games, hula hooping and more. Grab a bite to eat from one of our many rotating food vendors, stop by some of our local non-profit booths providing an array of family activities, step into a few of the downtown stores that stay open late and of course enjoy outstanding live music from popular local and nationally recognized bands.  Also, enjoy the county’s Water Bottle Fill Station parked each week on the side of First Security Bank. Remember to bring your reusable water bottle and stay hydrated for free with Bozeman’s crisp mountain water!

 
The music begins at 7:00 PM and lasts until 8:30pm.  The 2021 Line-Up, Sponsors and Event Policies are below. CLICK HERE for Music Samples for each band and more information!
 
• July 22 – G-PHAT with special guest Dan Tyminski
• July 29 – Paige & the Peoples Band
• August 5 - Vella
• August 12 – The RT’s
 
Music on Main is a FREE community event hosted by the Downtown Bozeman Association and nearly 100% funded by our business sponsorships! Our 2021 Music on Main MAJOR SPONSORS; Kenyon Noble, Pendleton Whiskey (&Young’s Market Company), Element Bozeman, Coca Cola & Coors Light, Rocking R Bar, and 94.7 “The Moose.” The 2021 SHOW SPONSORS; MacKenzie River Pizza Co., The American Legion, Pub 317, Crystal Bar, El Camino, Main Street Market, Copper, Pour House, Sweet Pea Festival and First Security Bank. Our GROUPIE SPONSORS; First Interstate Bank, Gallatin College, Fins and Feathers, NBC Montana, Smoke, Fire and Coal, Pita Pit, and 5 on Black. And, don’t forget our BACK-UP SINGERS; Plonk, SCS Unlimited, Sime Construction and Venture Church.

The Downtown Bozeman Association, the City of Bozeman and the Bozeman Police Department would also like to remind the public of the rules and regulations regarding the Open Container Waiver for the 2021 Music on Main summer concert series:
The Open Container Waiver allows for anyone over the age of 21 to have an open container of alcohol within the "event area" purchased by one of the licensed beverage establishments within the "event area" ONLY. The "event area" includes; Main Street from Black to Rouse Avenues and side-streets to the alleys during the Music on Main event from 6pm to 9pm on Thursday nights from July 22 – August 12, 2021 ONLY.  Anyone with an open container outside of these perimeters before 6pm or after 9pm will be subject to a $100 open container ticket issued by the City of Bozeman. 

There are also NO glass or aluminum containers, NO pets and NO coolers allowed in the event area.  And, Breathe Easy Bozeman. Music on Main is a Smoke and Vapor-FREE Event!  Smoking is ONLY allowed in designated areas outside the event-area so we can continue to provide a fun and safe environment for everyone attending.  For assistance quitting tobacco contact 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

For more information contact Downtown Bozeman Association at 586-4008 or check out our website at www.downtownbozeman.org.  Have fun at this year’s Music on Main and please be safe!

Academic Technology and Outreach and the Department of Earth Sciences at Montana State University will offer a series of non-credit courses for both traditional K-12 teachers and alternative educators focusing on teaching about soils, slopes and streams and how different Earth processes impact human lives.

Registration is now open for the fully online courses, which run July through September. Participants who complete the three-course series can earn Montana Office of Public Instruction units and a digital badge.

This three-course series is designed for educators from diverse backgrounds, including those at the K-12 level, instructors at nonprofit organizations, staff and administrators of after-school and outdoor programs, and other educators who want to learn more about Earth surface processes and how to teach students about them.

The courses will be taught by Jean Dixon, an associate professor in the Earth Sciences department, and Robyn Gotz, an instructor in the department and the Master of Science in Science Education program. Dixon’s research and teaching focus on the movement of soils and sediments at the Earth's surface, as well as sustainability and natural hazards. Gotz has a background in Earth sciences, geoscience education and online education and engagement.

The courses are listed below:

• "Soils, Slopes and Streams 1: Content Knowledge" runs Aug. 2-22. It will focus on soils, streams and slopes and related Earth processes that impact humans. This course is self-paced, so students may complete the materials at their own schedule. It is free and available to all. 
• “Soils, Slopes and Streams 2: Pedagogy” runs Aug. 16 through Sept. 14 and will focus on integrating content with pedagogy through coursework and reflections. This course is self-paced and contains approximately four hours of content to be delivered via MSU’s online learning management system Brightspace (D2L). The fee is $25, and “Soils, Slopes and Streams 1: Content Knowledge” is a prerequisite.
• “Soils, Slopes and Streams 3: Workshop” will guide participants through developing course-related teaching activities during four interactive class sessions. This course will be delivered via Brightspace (D2L). Participants should plan for two to three hours of reading and preparation in total for the live sessions. The fee is $145. “Soils, Slopes and Streams 1: Content Knowledge” and “Soils, Slopes and Streams 2: Pedagogy” are prerequisites. 

Upon satisfactory completion of all three courses, participants can earn 22 OPI units and will be issued a digital badge. Learn more about digital badges at MSU at http://ato.montana.edu/badges.

For more information or to register, please visit ato.montana.edu/continuinged/ or contact Academic Technology and Outreach at 406-994-6550 or ato@montana.edu.

Academic Technology and Outreach at MSU works across the university to support and advance its land-grant mission through unique and innovative opportunities for online learning; continuing, professional and lifelong learning; and outreach and engagement.

Bozeman, MT— On July 13, 2021 after careful consideration the City Commission declared a Stage 2 Drought for the City based on Bozeman’s current drought conditions. This stage calls for mandatory outdoor watering restrictions to begin.
 
During a Stage 2 drought, the goal is to reduce total system-wide water usage by 20%. Outdoor watering restrictions, which include lawns and gardens, are in effect starting on July 16. Lawn watering is limited to two days per week and is prohibited between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Residents should follow the watering schedule included below:

 
•      Single residential properties with odd-numbered addresses: Saturday, Wednesday
•      Single residential properties with even-numbered addresses: Sunday, Thursday
•      All others (multi-unit, HOAs, commercial, industrial, government): Tuesday, Friday.
 
Trees, shrubs, perennials and other garden plants may be watered by hand held hose or low-volume spray irrigation any day of the week, but may not be watered between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
 
Mayor Cyndy Andrus says, “We have been closely monitoring our water supply and water use in Bozeman over the last few months anticipating appropriate steps to address current drought conditions. These conditions are changing quickly, and the time has come for all of us to take action to ensure a healthy water supply for our community. Limiting water use and encouraging conservation efforts will help maintain this critical resource now and into the future.” 

 
Water Conservation Manager Jessica Ahlstrom says, “During the summer, fifty percent of city-wide water use goes to watering lawns and landscapes.  Reducing lawn watering to two days per week and forgoing watering during the heat of the day will help ensure that the city sustains existing water supplies in order to meet the needs of essential uses throughout the summer.  We will continue to carefully monitor our local water supplies and make adjustments to the watering restrictions as needed.”

 
The City of Bozeman’s water supply sources include Hyalite Creek, Sourdough Creek, and Lyman Spring.  The City’s Water Conservation Division monitors for drought by tracking local data such as stream flow, reservoir volume, and snowpack, as well as national climate data.  Streamflow and reservoir levels in Bozeman’s municipal watershed are currently below normal and national drought indices indicate that Gallatin County is experiencing severe to extreme drought conditions.  These conditions, combined with an exceptionally hot and dry summer weather patterns is impacting the City’s water supply and resulting in significantly high water demand due to increased landscape irrigation.

 
In addition to watering restrictions, stage two drought surcharges will go into effect. Water users across the city should prepare for possible increases to future water bills.
 
The Water Conservation Division asks that residents stay up to date with changing drought conditions. If conditions continue to worsen and a Stage 3 drought is declared, a lawn watering ban would go into effect and additional outdoor watering restrictions would likely be put in place.  To learn more Bozeman’s drought stages and about ways you can decrease water usage at home visit: https://www.bozeman.net/government/water-conservation.

 
Check out the City’s drought meter in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle every Friday or go to the City’s website.