$400,000 Grant Helps Furnish
Northern's Applied Technology Center

MSU-Northern College of Technical Sciences has been awarded $400,000 as part of an Applied Technology Center Enhancement (ATC) Grant. This is a federal grant to help finish and equip Northern's ATC with instrumentation and computer and electronic testing equipment, to enable applied technology research to be done, and to enhance outreach and distance technical education capabilities. The intent of this grant is to strengthen the infrastructure of the ATC.

The mission of the ATC is to serve as a local and regional education resource hub utilizing the most modern education and learning technologies and resources and to provide technical education, training, and research opportunities to researchers and students in the power application areas. A more fully equipped ATC will help meet Montana's growing high tech demands for workers in technical and business related fields. This grant will be very instrumental in enhancing the training and research opportunities at MSUN.

Until recently, Montana has lagged behind other states in investment in workforce training and two year postsecondary education. The addition of the ATC and the programs offered because of the new building will hopefully reverse this negative trend and increase the number of skilled workers to replace the aging workforce.

"At some point in the future, we also hope to implement a position in the building that is a director/coordinator for research activities to the private sector and state and federal agencies," said Greg Kegel, Dean of the COTS. MSUN receives requests from people outside the university with research ideas that could be tested at the ATC. This new position would take a lot of stress from the shoulders of the faculty members, who already have a full workload. The Department of Environmental Quality would like to see emission testing being performed in the new facility.

Tony Preite, Director of Department of Commerce, Dean Greg Kegel, Chancellor Alex Capdeville & Governor Brian Schweitzer hold the symbolic key that was presented to the campus by Governor Schweitzer.

With the completion of the Applied Technology Center (ATC) on the MSU-Northern campus, many of the College of Technical Sciences (COTS) faculty are preparing themselves for all the activities and equipment in the new building.

Some of the new equipment includes a new Faro digital coordinate measuring machine, HAAS Tool Room Lathe, Machining Center, and a Gantry Router. This equipment allows students access to modern industrial grade tools and processes. The new equipment elevates the learning opportunities at Northern to an industrial level from rapid reverse engineering to accurate and repeatable measurements and from easy prototyping to mass production set ups. The recently commissioned equipment was first introduced to the students on January 11th, and their anticipation was voiced loud and clear with many, "when do we get to use it?" and, "can it do this or that?" Now Northern students are translating their ideas into reality in a more efficient and industrial related manner. Over the holiday break faculty members spent three weeks of intensive training on the new equipment and are now translating that training into active classroom lessons that allow students to explore the possibilities.

Dean Kegel and Governor Schweitzer
dream of the potential of this new facility.

The faculty in the COTS anxiously awaited the shipment of a Chassis Dynometer, which has been in production since last spring. This machine will perhaps be the most significant addition to the new building and is over a $1,000,000 project. Teledine plans to set up and train faculty on a new oil lab in the ATC that is valued at nearly $1,000,000. The COTS has also received six state of the art hydraulic trainers, which students will use to carry out different training scenarios.

All of the new equipment in the ATC will give students the ability to do things never done before at Northern and give them valuable real life experience in preparation for entering the workforce