The Provost's Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series 2016-17

All lectures are free and open to the public

Cara Nelson

Global Challenges in the Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration

Associate Professor, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences

4 p.m. Thursday, March 16, 2017

UC North Ballroom, University Center

Dr. Cara R. Nelson is an Associate Professor in the Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences Department at University of Montana’s W. A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, the Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Ecological Restoration Thematic Group and the past Chair of the international Society for Ecological Restoration.  Dr. Nelson’s research focuses on increasing knowledge about ecological processes and their application to restoration of terrestrial ecosystems.  Specifically, she and her students study ecosystem responses to abiotic and biotic disturbances, the efficacy and ecological impacts of ecological restoration, and the science behind the selection of native plant materials for repairing degraded ecosystems.  Dr. Nelson teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in ecological restoration and restoration ecology, as well as courses in sampling methods for assessing the efficacy and effects of management activities.  She is active in efforts to improve the quality of restoration practice and meet current global restoration targets.  

Julie Bullard

The Development of the Young Child's Brain: Why the Environment Matters

Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning

5 p.m. Tuesday, November 15, 2016

UC North Ballroom, University Center

Dr. Julie Bullard is an early childhood professor at the University of Montana. During her 35 years in the early childhood field, she has taught in preschool and elementary school, has been a childcare director and Head Start administrator, and university professor and administrator.  She is considered an innovative teacher and has received two national awards for her teaching, research, and service; the Carnegie Professor of the Year for Montana in 2011 and the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE) Outstanding National Early Childhood Teacher Educator of the year in 2015.
Julie has a passion for the importance of the early learning environments on young children’s development and learning.  She has presented national and state workshops on the topic, written many articles, and has published a textbook, Creating Environments for Learning: Birth to Age 8. The book is used throughout the United States and internationally and has been translated into several languages. 
Dr. Bullard firmly believes that all young children deserve quality early learning environments that will allow them to develop to their full potential. She has been on numerous state and national committees to develop standards and to advocate for this.  For example, she was on a committee that wrote the national early childhood higher education standards.  She has been involved in the development of the Montana early childhood knowledge base, infant–toddler guidelines, preschool standards, kindergarten standards, and early childhood higher education standards. As a result of these efforts, she has received the Montana Early Childhood Service Award and the McCarthy Public Service Award.  Julie received her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with an elementary and early childhood emphasis from Montana State University. 

Mike DeGrandpre

From Sewer Pipe to the XPRIZE: The Evolution of a Chemical Sensor

Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

5 p.m. Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Dell Brown Room, Turner Hall

Mike DeGrandpre became fascinated with science and chemistry after ruining his mother’s card table with an incendiary chemical reaction at the age of 10. He enrolled in chemical engineering at Montana State University in 1981 and then went on to obtain a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle in 1990. His research at UW was focused on fiber optic-based chemical sensors. He used this knowledge as a post-doctoral scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to develop a successful CO2 sensor (the “SAMI”) for marine applications. He came to UM in 1996, to oddly enough, continue his ocean-focused research. The SAMI sensor technology has been a career-long endeavor, with the development and commercialization of related sensors while also using the sensors in aquatic environments, improving our understanding of the global carbon cycle and ocean acidification. His current research is focused on the Arctic Ocean carbon cycle and development of an autonomous alkalinity sensor. 

 

Past Distinguished Faculty Lectures