Confluence

On this episode of Confluence, we visit with Ph.D. student Rebecca Durham, one of the Bertha Morton award winners for 2022-2023. She is working on a unique dissertation that blends her scientific interests with her significant talent in poetry. Having published research in Botany and completed an MFA in Poetry, Rebecca began the Doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies program here at UM. In this conversation, Rebecca talks about the intersection of art and science.

This episode of Confluence is the second in a two-part series honoring our graduate student veterans during Veterans Week. Thomas Basolo retired from the military in 2017. In this episode, we discuss his study in social work, his service ethic, and his support for other veterans who are struggling with a variety of issues as they acclimate to civilian life, especially addiction.

On Confluence, we are proud to celebrate these veterans who bring their commitment to service, their discipline, and their support of their fellow human beings to their work as graduate students. The world is a better place when our veterans get the support they need to grow and develop when their service to our nation’s military is done. We are delighted to share their stories with our listeners.

This episode of Confluence is our discussion with Ph.D. student Elizabeth Barrs. In a delightful conversation, Barrs shares about her journey to the graduate program after a 20-plus-year career as an army military officer. We also discuss the validation of winning the Richard Drake Writing Award in 2022 for a chapter of her dissertation on aid to Armenia during the infamous genocide.

This is the first of a two-part series honoring our graduate student veterans during Veterans Week. On Confluence, we are proud to celebrate these veterans who bring their commitment to service, their discipline, and their support of their fellow human beings to their work as graduate students. The world is a better place when our veterans get the support they need to grow and develop when their service to our nation’s military is done. We are delighted to share their stories with our listeners.

In this episode of Confluence, we talk with Haley Omeasoo, a Ph.D. student in Anthropology here at UM whose recent research presentation won top prize at UM’s GradCon. In the conversation, Haley talks about her research on fracture patterns in cases of domestic violence, her journey from the Blackfeet Nation to UM, and her continuing mission to combat the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women.

In this episode, Confluence talks with Dr. Cory Palmer, a UM professor in his 10th year here. Dr. Palmer has a fascinating background, having spent time in Hungary as an undergraduate. He later returned to the Central European University for his Ph. D., where he tapped into that nation’s distinctive intellectual tradition in mathematics, including the quirky and charismatic figure, Paul Erdos.

In Episode 71, Confluence talks with Bertha Morton Award winner and native Montanan Anastasia Halfpap, a Ph.D. student in the Mathematical Sciences program at UM. During our conversation, Halfpap discusses finding a family in the mathematics department, her journey from math prodigy to flourishing Ph.D. student, and the value of the simply beauty of math.

In Episode 70, Confluence talks with Dr. Elizabeth Metcalf, the Joel Meier Distinguished Professor of Wildland Management and Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs at UM. Dr. Metcalf shares about her past research in recreation conflict, her current work in developing recreation plans with rural Montana communities, and how UM has changed over the past decade.

This episode is the third in a 3-part series exploring the power of collaborative work in natural resource conservation and highlighting the role of three dynamic, independent female scholars at UM.

In this episode, Confluence interviews Michelle Terwilliger, Ph.D. candidate in Forestry and Conservation Sciences at UM. Terwilliger is winner of the P.E.O. award which honors female graduate students making a distinctive contribution to education. In our conversation, Terwilliger discusses her work with Montana EPSCoR where she manages a statewide research program. Terwilliger also describes her love for research, the complexity of infinitely variable human beings, and the community of researchers at UM. This episode is the second in a 3-part series exploring the power of collaborative work in natural resource conservation and highlighting the role of three dynamic, independent female scholars at UM.

This episode of Confluence celebrates Ada Smith, Ph.D. candidate in Forestry and Conservation Sciences at UM. Recently, Smith was announced as a winner of a the P.E.O. award, a national organization that honors a female graduate student making a distinctive contribution to education. Listen in to hear about Smith's previous research on Indigenous food sovereignty with Gitxaala Nation in northern British Columbia and the decolonizing research approach she used, which she has brough into her work here at UM. Now, Smith is working with ranchers in Montana on the challenges of adapting to climate change.

This episode is the beginning of a 3-part series exploring the power of collaborative work in natural resource conservation and highlighting the role of three dynamic, independent female scholars at UM.

This episode celebrates the success of two recent graduates of UM’s program in Public Health, Julie Cahoon, who completed her Masters last December, and D’Shane Barnett, who completed his doctorate in Spring 22. Listeners will hear about their academic and research journeys, which demonstrate the value of resilience in pursuing their graduate degrees. They share details on how their team deployed Indigenous Research Methods to draw on existing cultural strengths in Native communities to create public health interventions on addiction.