Flathead Valley Community College Snares AT&T $25,000 Technology & Environment Award
Award recognizes top research in the environmental impact of Information and Communications Technology on wolf population management
KALISPELL, Mont., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* today announced that a team of researchers from Flathead Valley Community College has won a 2010 AT&T Technology & Environment Award. FVCC is one of three colleges nationwide being recognized and will receive a $25,000 cash prize from AT&T.
Instructors Christina Relyea, Effat Rady, Jim Boger, Jeremy Fritz and Ruth Wrightsman led the winning research team in which a cross-disciplinary group of faculty and students will investigate the impact of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on the study and management of wolves in northwestern Montana.
Advancements in radio, satellite and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) telemetry have greatly enhanced the ability to study movements, habits and behaviors of wolves. Findings from these studies have, in turn, been instrumental in implementing public policy driving the ongoing management of wolf populations in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
Students at FVCC will work with regional experts to analyze overall benefits of ICT telemetry systems, identify potential technology breakthroughs and study the ongoing use of technology in managing Montana's wolf population.
"Managing our wolf population is important to ranchers and other Montanans. This award will help us learn more about what we can do to accomplish that. This project will involve students and faculty from natural resources, engineering, physics, political science and biology," said FVCC President Jane Karas.
Now in its 15th year, the AT&T Technology & Environment Award – formerly known as the Industrial Ecology Fellowship Program – recognizes university and college research focused on how ICT affects the environment. It is intended to stimulate research surrounding environmental issues, engineering, science and other disciplines.
AT&T judged applications from individual faculty members and teams representing higher-learning institutions from around the country. Selections were based on the strength of research showing how businesses can reduce their environmental impact through use of ICT products and services. These products and services could include mobile connectivity, wireless relay networks and two-way smart grid communications solutions.
"Communications technology has improved our lives in so many ways that it is not surprising to see it utilized to also help us manage the wolf population more effectively. It is great to see the private and public sectors collaborate on projects like this," said state Rep. Jon Sonju.
"The AT&T Technology & Environment Award is about fostering innovation among our most respected academic institutions and most promising researchers," said Adam Grzybicki, president of AT&T Montana. "The winning research project at FVCC is just the type of innovation needed to help make our planet a more livable place in the future."
For more information, visit www.att.com/connectingminds.
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