The Gil and Marilyn Alexander Travel Award:
The Investigation of the Biological Properties on the Ayurvedic Plant Bacopa monnieri. Michelle Nemetchek, Big Sky High School, Missoula, MT

The James Cusker Travel Award:
The Utility of Ustilago bullata to Control Cheatgrass Invasions. Stacia Hill, Big Sky High School, Missoula, MT.

1st Honorable Mention:
Difference of Particulate Matter at Roundabouts and Stop-Controlled Intersections. Kyle Brester, Big Sky High School, Missoula, MT.

2nd Honorable Mention:
Wolbachia pipientis in Montana Spiders. Emily Sterbis, Big Sky High School, Missoula, MT.

The four students above are invited as Official Montana Delegates to the NJAS Annual Meeting in Boston, next February. The Honorable Mentions need to find funding, but will be given assistance by Big Sky Science Department. A Big Sky science teacher to be named next year will accompany the delegates.

The Science & Society Symposium

Friday April 13, 2012
10:30 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
The Thornton Building
65 E Broadway (parking one block NE)
Uptown Butte, MT

(Download pdf flyer)

What role does science play in our everyday lives? Please join a series of discussions – about technology, our relationship to the environment, and evolution education – led by speakers from across Montana.

Cathy Whitlock, Ph.D., Montana State University
“Past Climate-Vegetation-Fire Linkages in the Western U.S. and Beyond” (10:30 A.M.)

Stella Capoccia, Ph.D., Montana Tech
“International Conservation? The Agenda of Western Priorities for East African Wildlife.” (11:30 A.M.)

David Strong, Ph.D., Rocky Mountain College
“Cultivating Science; Questioning Technology” (1:00 P.M.)

Christopher Preston, Ph.D., University of Montana
“Ethics, Deep Principles, and Emerging Technologies” (2:00 P.M.)

Phil Jensen, Ph.D., Rocky Mountain College
“God in the Biology Classroom: A History of the Creation-Evolution Controversy” (3:00 P.M.)

Carmen Hauck, Big Sky High School, Missoula, MT
“Teaching Evolution in the High School Classroom” (4:00 P.M.)

Friday April 13, 2012
10:30 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
The Thornton Building
65 E Broadway (parking one block NE)
Uptown Butte, MT

I am writing to announce this year’s call for papers for participation in the Annual Meeting of the Montana Academy of Science. It will be held April 13th and 14th 2012 on the campus of Montana Tech, UM-Butte. The annual banquet and poster session will be held on Friday evening. As the student presentations will take place on Saturday, attendance on Friday is optional. See the attached paper for more information about the program.

Students who would like to present a poster Friday night should indicate so when registering for the meeting.

Students who wish to be scheduled for a 10 minute presentation in the Junior Academy Sectional may submit an abstract to MAS by March 30. In addition, the author and title of these abstracts must be emailed to me (cchauck@mcps.k12.mt.us).

Please follow the instructions on the Call for Papers document (pdf).

Students who would like to enter the paper competition should submit their papers to me electronically no later than March 6, 2012 (deadline extended). The paper(s) should be of standard scientific format: Title page, abstract, acknowledgments, table of contents, introduction, methods, data/results, discussion, & references. A sample paper is available on the MAS website. All students who submit papers will be scheduled for a 10 minute talk. Students who submit the top papers will be scheduled to give longer presentations in the Senior Academy Sectional.

Please submit student paper(s) to:

Carmen Hauck
Big Sky High School
cchauck@mcps.k12.mt.us (no faxes)
406-728-2400 ext.8663

Many high school students have participated in this program since its initiation, over 20 years ago, and have found it to be an excellent experience. I know that the senior members of the Academy look forward to the student’s involvement. Please consider encouraging participation by your students.

Carmen Hauck,

Director, Montana Junior Academy of Sciences

P.S. If you know of colleagues who may have interested students, please pass along the link to this site.

MAS has been awarding small research grants to undergraduate and graduate students since 2009. Grants of up to $500 are available. This year’s deadline is February 17, 2012. For instructions on how to apply, see our MAS small grants page.

We at the Montana Academy of Sciences extend our congratulations to Jerome for his successful work on pyrethroid insecticides.

Schleier III, J.J., and R.K.D. Peterson. 2012. The joint toxicity of type I, II, and non-ester pyrethroid insecticides. Journal of Economic Entomology 105: 85-91. (Subscription required.)

Abstract:
Evidence suggests that there are separate binding domains for type I and II pyrethroid insecticides on the voltage gated sodium channel of the nerve cell axon, but there are no studies that have examined the mixture toxicity of nonester pyrethroids and type I and II pyrethroids. Therefore, we examined the effect of nonester pyrethroid (etofenprox), type I (permethrin), and type II (cypermethrin) pyrethroid insecticides alone and in all combinations to Drosophila melanogaster Meigen. The combination of permethrin + etofenprox and permethrin + cypermethrin demonstrated antagonistic toxicity, while the combination of cypermethrin + etofenprox demonstrated synergistic toxicity. The mixture of permethrin + cypermethrin + etofenprox demonstrated additive toxicity. The toxicity of permethrin + cypermethrin was significantly lower than the toxicity of cypermethrin alone, but the combination was not significantly different from permethrin alone. The toxicity of permethrin + cypermethrin + etofenprox was significantly greater than the toxicity of both permethrin and etofenprox alone, but it was significantly lower than cypermethrin alone. The mixture of permethrin and etofenprox was significantly less toxic than permethrin. The explanation for the decreased toxicity observed is most likely because of the competitive binding at the voltage-gated sodium channel, which is supported by physiological and biochemical studies of pyrethroids. Our results demonstrate that the assumption that the mixture toxicity of pyrethroids would be additive is not adequate for modeling the mixture toxicity of pyrethroids to insects.

For more information and application materials, see our Small Grants page, under Funding and Awards on the top navigation bar.

The Gil & Marilyn Alexander Travel Award

The Effects of Caffeine on Precision Target Shooting. Mackenzie Enich, Big Sky High School, Missoula, MT.

The James Cusker Travel Award

Investigating the use of Ustilago bullata as a Biological Control Agent for Bromus tectorum: Is Genetic Variation Present within Various Ustilago bullata Populations on MPG Ranch? Stacia Hill, Big Sky High School, Missoula, MT.

First Honorable Mention

The Investigation of the Biological Properties of the Ayurvedic Plant Bacopa monnieri.

Michelle Nemetchek, Big Sky High School, Missoula, MT.

Second Honorable Mention

Is There a Difference in Academic Performance Between American Males and Females. Amy Galipeau, Sentinel High School, Missoula, MT.

2011 Mershon Award:  Dr. Nick Natale, University of Montana

2011 Science Mentor of the Year:  Dr. Nate Bickford, Great Falls University

Undergraduate Best Research Scientist:  Matt Weaver, University of Montana (Presented both poster and oral presentation on the topic, “Will cation binding in the G-quadruplex cavity lead to enhanced efficacy?”

Best Undergraduate Poster:  Alex Mackin, University of Montana Western – “Geometric realization of (13,3) and (13,4) round robin
tournaments.”

Best Graduate Poster:  Scott Steiger, University of Montana – “Synthesis of a divalent isoxazole-dihydropyridine for use as a potential drug to combat multiple drug resistance.”

Best Undergraduate Oral Presentation:  Josh Beaulaurier, University of Great Falls – “Commercially made fish feeds could potentially be exposing VHSV to P. herring and causing different growth in the pacific herring.”

Best Graduate Oral Presentation: Richard McCosh, Montana State University – “Preparation of an atlas of the ovine hypothalamus for colocalization of key signaling peptides in reproduction.”

Congratulations to all our 2011 award winners for a job well done!

You can also download a pdf:
MAS-ACS Program 2011

There will be four presentations, in addition to a tour of the greenhouse at Montana Tech and some reclamation sites. After lunch there will be a “refereed” discussion for an hour.

Please join us on Friday!

More information:

The weed symposium has two primary goals: first is the sharing of revegetation efforts on superfund sites using native plants. Second is weed management as it relates to those revegetation efforts, specifically how to effectively coordinate weed control efforts among the numerous responsible entities so that revegetation efforts are not jeopardized.

Time: 9:30-3:30 Lunch provided

Date: 04/15/11

The agenda will include:

- A presentation by Dr. Ray Calloway, a Plant Ecologist specializing in native systems invaded by exotics

- A presentation of the current revegetation projects being conducted by the Kriss and Rick Douglass

- Possibly a revegetation site tour (snow conditions permitting)

- A presentation by DOT engineer Phil Johnson, a prominent revegetation manager

- A presentation from the local weed coordinator

- A facilitated discussion to strategize coordination of weed control efforts