Montana State University Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering

What’s blue, floats and is made of concrete? Ask a team of engineering undergraduates at Montana State University, and they’ll readily answer: their canoe.

Now displayed in Norm Asbjornson Hall, the 18-foot-long craft is a monument to a standout competition season that saw the MSU team paddle to first place at a regional tournament after countless hours designing and building the craft from scratch.

Montana State students who built concrete canoe win regional competition MSU's student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers designed and built a canoe out of concrete, then raced it in Colorado to a first-place finish at the Rocky Mountain regional symposium.

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BOZEMAN — When researcher Stephan Warnat wanted to help solve a longstanding problem on the International Space Station, he turned to a group of four mechanical engineering majors.

He had learned from NASA scientists that microbial buildup sometimes clogs the space station's water pipes — a demanding challenge for astronauts to fix. A specialist in tiny sensors used to measure, among other things, water quality, he wanted to study how the microbes grow. He just needed a research device that could simulate the microgravity of low Earth orbit.

That's where the students came in.

MSU students build device to help NASA study clogged pipes on space station For their senior capstone project, a team of four engineering students designed and built a prototype device to simulate microgravity that led to MSU researchers Stephan Warnat and Christine Foreman receiving a $100,000 grant from NASA.

Please join us on Friday, Nov. 20 at 4:00 p.m. for the virtual celebration of Montana State University’s Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering Class of 2020 graduates.

Joe Shaw, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 's Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, has been appointed to serve a three-year term on the board of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.

"I'm honored and excited," said Shaw, director of MSU’s Optical Technology Center, or OpTeC. "I'm also happy for Montana's photonics community, because I think this reflects on what we've accomplished here, in terms of synergy between the university's programs and research and our state's growing photonics industry."

MSU professor appointed to board of international society for optics and photonics Joe Shaw, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been appointed to the board of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.

With two National Science Foundation grants totaling nearly $1.5 million, Montana State University will invest in two new instruments that are likely to support hundreds of researchers in expanding the boundaries of engineering, chemistry, biology and more.

The funding through NSF's Major Research Instrumentation program will allow the university to acquire a versatile, custom-made microscope for MSU's Center for Biofilm Engineering and a specialized nuclear magnetic resonance, or NMR, spectrometer.

At the CBE, the addition of a microscope worth a total of $1.5 million "is really going to push forward biofilm science not just locally, but nationally," said Heidi Smith, manager of the center's imaging facility.

MSU receives $1.5 million for cutting-edge, versatile research equipment With two awards from the National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation program, MSU will acquire a specialized NMR instrument and a powerful microscope tailored to study living samples.

BOZEMAN — It's a problem familiar to almost anyone with an email address: a seemingly innocent message asking for a password, bank account number or for you to download a file. Comply with the request — often crafted to appear to be from a co-worker or friend — and your email or bank account is hacked or your computer is infected with a virus.

Computer scientists call these cyberattacks. And attacks targeting ordinary citizens over email are just the tip of the iceberg, according to Montana State University researcher Clemente Izurieta.

"In the past few years we've seen a huge increase in the number of attacks," said Izurieta, associate professor in the Gianforte School of Computing in MSU's Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering. "This isn't just the hacker in the basement; it's organized groups attacking industrial systems, the entertainment industry, governments and the military."

That's why Izurieta is excited that MSU is partnering with Idaho National Laboratory on a new $3.1 million cybersecurity research project funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The three-year project will focus on developing new ways to detect and thwart cyberattacks.

MSU partners with federal lab on $3.1 million cybersecurity research project In partnership with Idaho National Lab, MSU computer science researcher Clemente Izurieta will lead a team focused on developing news ways to detect and report cyberattacks.

A Montana State University professor has been recognized for his plans to help integrate American Indian wisdom and cultures into engineering courses to create a more inclusive learning environment and enhance the teaching of engineering ethics.

Paul Gannon, professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering in MSU's Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, is one of three MSU faculty members selected to take part in the Montana University System’s 2020 Teaching Scholars program, which seeks to help students succeed at Montana campuses.

The theme of this year’s Teaching Scholars program is developing equity-minded pedagogies. Gannon will convene an engineering-based faculty learning community to explore ways to connect the teaching of technical subjects in engineering with both traditional and contemporary American Indian practices and knowledge systems.

Engineering professor Paul Gannon named MUS Teaching Scholar Gannon plans to help integrate American Indian wisdom and cultures into engineering courses as a way of creating a more inclusive learning environment and enhancing the teaching of engineering ethics.

Augmented reality, in which digital data is blended with sensory experience via a special headset or similar technology, has been used to train surgeons, to help fighter pilots navigate and to entertain the masses with video games like Pokémon Go. Now, researchers at Montana State University hope it can be used to help those recovering from addiction to opioid drugs.

Backed by a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, MSU computer scientists will work with health care professionals to develop a computerized system that connects patients with recovery strategies, whether they're on a bus, at work or at home.

"We're very excited about this," said Laura Stanley, associate professor in the Gianforte School of Computing in MSU's Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, who is leading the project. "We want to harness these technological advances to provide people with discreet, portable and personalized interventions that can help them deal with their cravings."

MSU researchers harness computer science for treating opioid addiction Backed by a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, the MSU researchers will work with health care professionals to develop a computerized system that connects patients with recovery strategies.

With a new state-of-the-art facility, Montana State University researchers are starting another chapter in their work to help some of the state's most iconic fish as well as agricultural producers who rely on water diverted from streams.

A recently completed artificial waterway at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Fish Technology Center on the outskirts of Bozeman will help the MSU team refine their design of small structures that allow grayling and other species to overcome irrigation structures that would otherwise block the fishes' seasonal movements.

"This is really exciting," said Katey Plymesser, assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering in MSU's Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, who is leading the project. "We can test pretty much any fish passage structure here."

MSU researchers study ways to help iconic fish, agricultural producers With a new state-of-the-art facility, MSU's Fish Passage and Ecohydraulics Research Group refines the design of fishways that allow grayling to overcome irrigation diversion structures.

The thread-like, branching fungus networks called mycelium play a key role in breaking down dead wood and leaves on the forest floor, sometimes popping up mushrooms that spread the organism with airborne spores. Increasingly, scientists are also finding ways to harness the fungal fibers' unique properties to make packaging materials and even replacements for leather.

Now, backed by a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, a team of scientists at Montana State University will explore the potential for using fungi to make a recyclable building material that could have several advantages over traditional concrete.

"It's incredibly exciting," said MSU researcher Chelsea Heveran, who is leading the project. "We're trying to take a whole new approach to making building materials."

MSU researchers receive $500,000 grant to make fungus-based building material A team led by engineering researcher Chelsea Heveran will explore the potential to use the thread-like, branching fungus networks called mycelium to make a concrete-like structural material.