Montana Water Center

FACULTY-led RESEARCH

stimulating innovative water-related research

Each year, faculty from across Montana's University System are provided expertise and financial support by the Montana Water Center. Approximately $40,000 of funding is awarded to faculty members on a competitive and annual basis. These funds are used to help conserve, understand, and communicate the importance of our state's water resources. Please read below to learn more about current faculty researchers and their projects. 

(Current faculty projects are funded by USGS grant G21AP10628-03. Funded faculty please credit the Montana Water Center and this grant number in any papers, presentations, and outreach materials.)

2025-26 Grantees

dr. Nick Hagerty and Dr. sungmin cheu: Economic Modeling of Irrigation Water Demand to Advance Watershed Planning in Montana 

dr. muchen sun: Using Ambient Noise Tomography and Machine Learning Techniques to Track Groundwater Levels across Western Montana

2024-25 Grantees

drs. andrew felton and anna schweiger: from probes to pixels -scaling-up soil water content monitoring across montana

Dr. kayhan ostovar: Freshwater species of concern as bio-sentinels of pfas contamination

Dr. Payton Gardner: Using Environmental Tracers to Estimate Distributed Groundwater Discharge, Source and Residence Time 

2023-24 Grantees

drs. adam sigler, mari eggers, and michelle grocke: Exploring water quality in Montana groundwater and understanding associated drivers of human health risk 

Dr. Arica Crootof: Understanding Irrigator Decision-Making to Design for Drought in the Upper Missouri Headwaters  

2023-24 Water Research faculty fellow

dr. Anthony Bertagnolli

2021-23 Grantees

dr. sarah church and dr. adam sigler: Diffusion of information from volunteer water monitoring and the effect on public trust in science

dr. brian chaffin: The Next Generation of Water Policy to Support Farms and Fish in Montana

dr. danielle ulrich and dr. Brian Smithers: The effect of whitebark pine forests on snowpack and streamflow

2020 GRANTEES

Dr. Catherine Kirkland: Aerobic granular sludge - assessing PFAS adsorption to enhance wastewater treatment and water quality

DR. Tianyu Zhang and dr. daqian Jiang: Developing a new model for bioelectrochemical denitrification

Dr. William Kleindl and dr. Sarah Church: Developing a Rapid Wetland benefit assessment (wBA) for Montana state and tribes

Dr. ashley ballantyne and dr. jim elser: Vanishing Glaciers & Emergent Lakes - constraints on aquatic ecosystem metabolism

2019 GRANTEES

DR. eric sproles: cloud-based tools to predict monthly streamflow in western MT

DR. lisa eby and dr. benjamin colman: costs and benefits of beaver dam analogs for climate change resilience

Dr. art woods and dr. rachel malison: Effects of changing stream temperatures on Montana stonefly communities

2018 GRANTEES

DR. jeremy crowley: geothermal groundwater discharge

DR. katherine zodrow: Passive Solar Evaporation Islands

Dr. hongyi li: artificial and natural water storage

2017 Grantees

Dr. Jia Hu: influence of Juniper on Streamflow

Dr. Laurie yung: Improving climate information

dr. payton gardner: Hydrologic connectivity in groundwater

Dr. Ben Colman: Floating treatment wetlands

2016 GRANTEES

DR. ALYSIA COX: LINKING MICROBIAL DIVERSITY AND WATER QUALITY

DR. LINDSEY ALBERTSON: FLOW, TEMPERATURE, AND INVERTEBRATES

DR. Robert payn: Beaver mimicry and water storage

2015 Grantees

Ellen Lauchnor: Using beneficial bacteria and biofilm engineering to help filter wastewater and improve water quality 

Jamie McEvoy: ASSESSING NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Ben Poulter: WATER: THE CURRENCY OF THE WEST