Grant to the University of Montana from Toyota U.S.A. Promotes High School Science Education

A new grant awarded to The University of Montana http://www.umt.edu/ will arm high school students with advanced instrumentation so they can test the air quality in their homes and communities.

The three-year $240,600 grant from the Toyota U.S.A. Foundation went to UM’s Center for Environmental Health Sciences http://www.umt.edu/cehs/airtox.html . The center will use it to expand its Air Toxics Under the Big Sky program, which promotes real-world research at the high school level in the field of atmospheric chemistry.

The expanded program will offer students greater access to University-based mentors through classroom visits, laboratory tours and increased distance-learning opportunities for areas outside Missoula, including Corvallis, Libby, Whitefish, communities on Idaho’s Nez Perce Indian Reservation and a remote Native village in Alaska.

The technology outreach and education program trains students to take air samples to better understand the factors that affect indoor air quality and our health. Throughout the school year, students will work alongside UM scientists to investigate the air quality within their homes and then present their findings during a public symposium at the end of the academic year.

More detailed information about the program is online at http://www.umt.edu/cehs/airtox.html.

The grant resulted from UM’s historic Invest in Discovery campaign, which raised more than $100 million for scholarships, fellowships, faculty positions, academic programs, and new and renovated facilities.

Other program funding comes from a Science Education Partnership Award offered through the National Center for Research Resources, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact: UM Center for Environmental Health Sciences, 406-243-4294.