MontPIRG Students Lobby Legislators in Helena, MT

MontPIRG students, including the Missoula College's own Brian Davis, testified in committee at the state capital to lobby legislators to raise the net metering cap and expand net metering across the state. 

(Above: Brian Davis)

The Montana Public Interest Research Group (MontPIRG) is a student directed, non-partisan, non-profit organization located on UM campus since 1981, and is dedicated to affecting tangible, positive change through educating and empowering the next generation of civic leaders. 

MontPIRG Students in Helena, MT

(2nd from the Left: Brian Davis)

In addition to earning up to 3 upper division credits, MontPIRG interns learn from the best and most dynamic activists Montana has to offer. MontPIRG alumni have gone on to leadership positions in student government, major non-profit and advocacy organizations, state government, the state legislature, political campaigns, and have even held senior positions at the White House.

If you are interested in MontPIRG please visit their website. 

White House Unveils America’s College Promise Proposal: Tuition-Free Community College for Responsible Students

Nearly a century ago, a movement that made high school widely available helped lead to rapid growth in the education and skills training of Americans, driving decades of economic growth and prosperity. America thrived in the 20^th century in large part because we had the most educated workforce in the world.  But other nations have matched or exceeded the secret to our success. Today, more than ever, Americans need more knowledge and skills to meet the demands of a growing global economy without having to take on decades of debt before they even embark on their career. 

Today the President is unveiling the America’s College Promise proposal to make two years of community college free for responsible students, letting students earn the first half of a bachelor’s degree and earn skills needed in the workforce at no cost. This proposal will require everyone to do their part: community colleges must strengthen their programs and increase the number of students who graduate, states must invest more in higher education and training, and students must take responsibility for their education, earn good grades, and stay on track to graduate. The program would be undertaken in partnership with states and is inspired by new programs in Tennessee and Chicago. If all states participate, an estimated 9 million students could benefit. A full-time community college student could save an average of $3,800 in tuition per year.

In addition, today the President will propose a new American Technical Training Fund to expand innovative, high-quality technical training programs similar to Tennessee Tech Centers that meet employer needs and help prepare more Americans for better paying jobs. These proposals build on a number of historic investments the President has made in college affordability and quality since taking office, including a $1,000 increase in the maximum Pell Grant award to help working and middle class families, the creation of the $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit, reforming student loans to eliminate subsidies to banks to invest in making college more affordable and keeping student debt manageable, and making available over $2 billion in grants to connect community colleges with employers to develop programs that are designed to get hard-working students good jobs.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

NSF ATE Project: "Sustainable Energy Technology Program Enhancement at Missoula College: Partnering for Success" off to a good start.

The New Year brings promise for Energy Technology's future with an industry panel round table luncheon and a planning meeting with our Blackfeet Community College partners.

 Industry panel with representatives from I.E. Recycling, Missoula Electric Co-op, Ravalli Electric Co-op, NCAT, Satic and Saturn, along with our local staff and friends from Blackfeet Community College.

Cheri Kicking Woman, Peter Mcdonough, Nicky Phear, John Pickens, Lola Wippert, Cheryl Madman, Marla Ollinger and Bradley Layton pause for a pose after their meeting at the Payne Native American Center.

Computer Science Education Week

December 8-14 is Computer Science Education Week. In recognition of the importance of computer programming everyone is encouraged to spend one hour writing code. The Hour of Code website has an introduction to computer programming that’s both fun, free, and appropriate for all levels of learning. Join this international effort to address the shortage of computer programmers by encouraging everyone to learn an hour of code. Details can be found at 
http://hourofcode.com/us 

Hewlett Packard Information Session - 12/4/2014

George Milliken, Director of Helion Cloud Engineering, will talk about Hewlett Packard, including company overview, personal background and industry experience with HP, and HP's key initiatives in cloud computing.

On campus interviews are slated for December 5th.

George Milliken is a 30 year veteran of the computer industry who lives in Thompson Falls, MT.  Previously, Mr. Milliken served as Director of SaaS Service Management at CA Technologies, Inc. from 2009 to May 2013. Prior to joining CA Technologies Mr. Milliken consulted in enterprise transformation efforts at Pacific Gas & Electric. He has founded and sold two companies; farm9.com, an Internet Security MSP, and Napier Corporation, a consulting firm. Mr. Milliken is an expert in Oracle database technology and started his career as a developer (C and SQL).

WHEN – WHERE – CONTACT
Information Session: Thursday, December 4th, 2014, 5:00 PM, ISB 110
On-Campus Interviews: Friday, December 5th, 2014, Career Services – EL154
Contact: Janay Whisman – 243-2239 with questions about signing up for an interview!

 

Outstanding Students Selected for 2014 Mortar Board

The Department of Applied Computing & Electronics announced its most outstanding students from the 2014 graduating class. Energy Technology graduate Tim Chester, Information Technology graduate Jeremy Haacke, and Electronics Technology graduate Chad Whiteley were selected as Mortar Board recipients. Mortar Board is a national honor society recognizing graduating students for their exemplary scholarship, leadership, service and distinguished academic achievements.

(pictured L/R Steve Shen, Tom Gallagher, Chad Whiteley, Penny Jakes, 

Jeremy Haacke, Tim Chester, Brad Layton)

Undergraduate Research: Driving Electrolumiescent Panels

Electronics Technology student Chad Whiteley delivered the results from his research project Driving Electrolumiescent Panels, in a symposium presentation at the 2014 Undergraduate Research Conference in April. Whitelely's project investigated methods for powering and controlling EL panels. Whiteley completed the project under the direction of faculty advisor Dr. Steve Shen.

Undergraduate Research: Realistic Synthetic EHR

Information Technology student Russell Klein delivered the results from his research project, Generating the Demographic Attributes of the Realistic Synthetic Electronic Health Record, in a poster presentation at the 2014 Undergraduate Research Conference in April. Klein's project is a part of a larger research project with international partner Massey University aimed at developing Realistic Synthetic Electronic Health Records (RS-EHR) for secondary uses such as training and system development. Russell (right) is shown below with his faculty advisor Tom Gallagher (left).

ACE IT Students Tour Data Center

Applied Computing & Electronics IT students spent the afternoon touring the Data Center for Washington Companies. Discussions revolved around cloud architecture, virtualization, and the IT triangle platform strategy of Compute - Network - Storage.  A big thanks to Tim, Eric, Andy, and Chris for hosting these UM students.

 

Solar Potential for Missoula Schools

Solar Potential for Missoula Schools

U.S. DOE and Solar Foundation have a new report that shows that schools provide a great opportunity for rooftop solar. The report includes an interactive map that shows which schools in each state have solar and those that are the best candidates for solar. Pretty cool. 

(It looks like the system that Eric Scott installed at Hellgate High has not yet been reported)

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/09/18/3569005/seia-solar-report-schools/

Hydrogen Fueling Station Heading to Storage

NRGY 242 Solar Thermal and Wind Systems students Jesse Cooney, Adam Coppock, Dustin Armstad, Ryan Carson and Joe Bauer (in truck) deconstruct the hydrogen fueling station. Not pictured: Kevin Bissett, Cory Monroe, Ernest Orr, Will Stahlman and Timothy Chester.

The University of Montana's hydrogen fueling station, which was constructed and commissioned from 2006 - 2010 has served as a flagship for the Energy Technology Program. The brainchild of former Missoula College Dean R Paul Williamson, the hydrogen fueling station is currently being refurbished as part of the new Missoula College building in Hellgate Canyon. Overall goals include: giving Sustainable Energy Technology students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working with renewable energy technologies, work towards a carbon-free energy future, and to provide hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles such as those being developed by Toyota and Honda. In the past, the fueling station has been used to provide hydrogen for technologies as diverse as the ZEUS mining vehicle and a lighter than air wind turbine. Another potential use is to provide lift for NASA's Borealis Project.

Energy Technology Students Participate in Local Hands-On Learning Experience.

Up on the roof in Zootown

 

Charlie Moore, Micah Nelson, Bo Bo Khant (owner Bo Bo Electric) Adam Coppock, and Tim Chester `14 pose on the roof after a successful training session.  Special thanks to Marc Olson `12 for organizing this weekend opportunity.Charlie, looks like you could use some shades too!

If you've been following our blog, you likely know what a challenge it is to offer hands-on learning experiences within an online program. As we move into the future, we hope to partner with local installers nationwide who are willing to exchange their knowledge and expertise for students eager to put their hands and minds to use towards a clean, secure, energy future.

Missoula College Energy Technology at the Houston Discovery Green

 

Energy Technology Students, Reeve Tinnell, and Caleb Irvin pose with Energy Technology Professor Bradley Layton and Geosciences Student Norlan "Raphael" Hagen with their plug-in electric vehicle, "Mountain Magic" at the Discovery Green in Houston during the 2014 Shell Eco-marathon. Pictured behind them is their mobile wind turbine, which was used to make off-grid power while at the event.

Cisco Honors Professor Jakes

The Cisco Networking Academy recently announced Professor Penny Jakes as an Expert Level instructor. This award recognizes her achievements as one of the top 10 percent of instructors globally. The announcement applauded her participation in professional development opportunities, attention to student needs, student performance, and use of Cisco resources to improve student achievement.

2014 John Ruffatto Award goes to Layton

Assistant Professor Layton (bottom left), who directs the Sustainable Energy Technology Program is pictured here with other faculty, staff, and community members who were honored during the 2014 Charter Day Celebration. He is the first Missoula College faculty member to win the John Ruffatto Award.

During his acceptance delivery, Layton thanked over thirty local and regional companies who made this award possible. University of Montana Royce Engstrom (seated) led the ceremony. The award was delivered by School of Business Administration Dean Larry Gianchetta.

Montana Cyber Triathlon Slated for May 3

The First Annual Montana Cyber Triathlon competition is slated for May 3. The Montana Cyber Triathlon is a single-day competition consisting of a digital forensics puzzle, a data analytics puzzle, and a penetration testing puzzle. The goal of the competition is to find a “coin” hidden somewhere on the University of Montana campus. The answers to each of the three parts of the Cyber Triathlon will lead students to the Cyber Coin. The first team to solve all three parts of the Cyber Triathlon and find the Cyber Coin, wins.

Can you solve a mystery? Would you like a forensic investigative challenge? Can you find clues in emails, instant messages, and encrypted files? Do you like prizes? Come join the fun.

For more information: www.umt.edu/cyber-triathlon University of Montana Missoula, MT

UM Shell Eco-Marathon Vehicle Update

Shell Eco-Marathon vehicle on pace for a showing in the Missoula St Patrick's Day Parade.

University of Montana students Caleb Irwin (Energy Tech), Norland "Raphael" Hagen (Physics), Reeve Tinnell (Energy Tech) and Micah Nelson (Energy Tech) pose with "Mountain Magic" which they are preparing for the 2014 Shell Eco-Marathon. 

Seated are Washington Middle School students Luke O'Leary, Clayton Polancheck, and Blake Layton who are testing the ergonomics of the the seat and steering. 

Team members not pictured: Joe Mickels-Silva, Grant Myhre, Andrew Machain, Merrill Bradshaw, Taiga Gamell

Energy Technology Capstone Instructor Bradley Layton hopes to have the vehicle up an running for the 2014 St. Patrick's Day parade.

Missoula College Energy Technology Program seeking additional industry, academic and non-profit partners

Well, if you haven't heard by now Missoula College is part of a recently-formed consortium of two-year colleges in Montana, known as TAACCCT SWAMMI. (Trade Adjustment Act Community College Career Training, Strengthening Workforce Alignment in Montana's Manufacturing and Energy Industries. This was the result of a successful proposal to the Department of Labor.

As part of our commitment to our students, we are seeking additional input from potential industry, academic and non-profit partners. If you or your organization would like to contribute or partner, please contact Bradley Layton or Vida Wilkinson.

CyberSecurity - KPAX Feature

A security training seminar held at UM's Cyber Innovation Lab was recently highlighted in a feature story by KPAX News. Information security is like "a big puzzle and that's essentially what you do with forensics and security is you try and put the pieces together," forensics analyst Dianne Burke explained. Professor Burke is currently leading the course "Securing Desktop and Mobile Devices" a requirement for the professional certificate in Network and Information Security. More details on the feature can be found online from KPAX:
http://www.kpax.com/news/cyber-security-class-comes-to-missoula/

Montana Chapter HIMSS Student Members

The Montana Chapter of Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMMS) is recruiting student members. The prime mission of HIMMS is "to promote networking and educational opportunities to future HIT professionals". HIMMS is currently offering scholarships for student membership. See http://www.montanahimss.org/services/services.html for details. February 21 is the deadline.