Montana Tech faculty and staff are actively involved in a wide range of research projects. We are proud to honor their accomplishments as they continously achieve excellence.
Distinguished Industrial HygienistLorri Birkenbuel, Associate Professor in the Safety, Healthy & Industrial Hygiene Department at Montana Tech, was named the 2021 Distinguished Industrial Hygienist by the Pacific Northwest Section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (PNS-AIHA) at the Northwest Occupational Health Conference this Fall. Professor Birkenbuel, who serves as the Montana Local Educational Officer with the PNS-AIHA, was recognized by her peers for her outstanding contributions to the profession of Industrial Hygiene.
Lorri began teaching courses in the undergraduate Occupational Safety and Health program and graduate Industrial Hygiene programs in 2016. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she has served as the faculty advisor for the Big Sky American Society of Safety Professionals student chapter. She has directed leading-edge research on respiratory protection practices associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Before returning to Montana Tech, the SHIH alumna managed environmental health and safety professionals teams for a multinational energy company.
Frank F. Aplan AwardProfessor Emeritus Hsin-Hsiung Huang received the prestigious honor of the 2022 Frank F. Aplan award. Dr. Huang taught and performed research in the Metallurgical & Materials Engineering Department at Montana Tech for 40 years before his retirement in 2021. Dr. Huang specialized in process analysis and modeling and created StabCal, a thermodynamic calculation and process simulation software package that is used by industry throughout the world. Dr. Huang and his wife, ShuMing, make their home in Butte and have two sons, Nicolas and Oliver.
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of ScienceDr. Marisa Pedulla was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. Faculty emeriti, Beverly Hartline Ph.D., was named to the 2021 cohort of Sigma Xi fellows. Sigma Xi is the scientific research honor society.
Dr. Pedulla received her B.S. in Chemistry with a bioscience option at the University of Pittsburgh with coursework including studies in French and Japanese. She received her Ph.D. in Biology at the University of Pittsburgh in the laboratory of Dr. Graham Hatfull. After a brief postdoctoral position at Washington State University, she ran the Phage Genomics facility at the Pittsburgh Bacteriophage Institute and co-developed phage discovery program with Dr. Graham Hatfull. She brought phage discovery to teachers and students across Montana beginning as an assistant professor of Biology at Montana Tech in 2005. Over 6,000 students have participated in her phage discovery program.
Walter O. Mason AwardAmy Verlanic received the Walter O. Mason Award at the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) - 40 Years of Good Trouble: Equity, Access, and Success annual conference in Atlanta, GA. The Walter O. Mason Award is the highest honor awarded by the COE. It recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to college opportunity programs and the advancement of educational opportunities for low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities.