Prospective Students

If you are a motivated student interested in using leading-edge technology to study the animal form and function in relation to locomotion, please consider applying for admission to the Flight Laboratory and the  Ecology and Evolution program at the University of Montana.  The Flight Laboratory focuses primarily on the biomechanics and physiology of bird flight using laboratory and field techniques in a comparative, ecological and evolutionary context.  However, topics other than bird flight can certainly be successfully pursued.  Other past and present research themes include gigantism in sea spiders, refuging in trout, exaggerated weapons in beetles and insulative properties of nests.

The Flight Laboratory is housed at the Field Research Station at Fort Missoula, which consists of 1100 m2 (12,000 sq. ft) of fully-modernized space with 10 laboratories, 8 offices (5 with double-occupant capacity), 6 rooms for animal housing, a surgical procedure room, and two environmental rooms.  Outdoor resources include four aviaries, each 92 m2 (1000 sq. ft), approximately 60 ha of fields surrounding the main building and 40 ha of old-growth ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) bottomland forest situated on the Bitterroot river and within easy walking distance.  Missoula is surrounded by natural areas that are ideal for pursuing field research.

For further information about pursuing graduate study in the Flight Laboratory, please send an e-mail to Bret Tobalske personally so that he can look specifically for your folder.