SMART FIRES Year 4 Annual Meeting

Top row, from L to R: roundtable discussion; poster presenter Maggie Wertheimer and author Georgia Harrison; interacting with spectrUM’s Firecoptor display at the evening social. Bottom row, from L to R: Cultural burn specialist Anna Merritt participates in a panel discussion; SMART FIRES coloring sheets provided by the Broader Impacts team; grad students respond to audience questions following flash talks.

The Montana NSF EPSCoR SMART FIRES project convened its Year 4 ‘All Hands Meeting’ (AHM2026) on September 23–24, 2026 at the University of Montana State (UM) in Missoula, bringing together researchers, students, partners, and advisors from across the state and beyond to share progress, spark new collaborations, and deepen interdisciplinary connections.

Students took center stage, sharing their latest discoveries through flash talks and poster sessions. Roundtable discussions sparked new ideas, strengthened cross-thrust collaborations, and encouraged meaningful conversations with industry partners and community stakeholders.

Another highlight was a guest presentation and panel discussion with Anna Merritt, Indigenous leader and cultural burn specialist from Washington state, who shared valuable perspectives on cultural burning and stewardship.

The meeting also showcased engagement and outreach activities with SMART FIRES-themed coloring sheets and colored pencils in conference packets and the reception with spectrUM Discovery Area at the Missoula Public Library featuring outreach exhibits including the Firecopter and mobile fume hood displays.

Meeting participants represented the following institutions, agencies, organizations, and companies:

Edutorium of Excellence
Flathead Valley Community College
Fort Peck Community College
Little Big Horn College
Michigan State University
Montana Department of Environmental Quality
Montana Photonics and Quantum Alliance
Montana State University-Billings
Montana State University-Bozeman
Montana Technological University
The Klamath Tribes
University of Montana
USDA Forest Service