U of M College of Technology Health Programs will share space with Inland Northwest Space Alliance

The University of Montana-Missoula College of Technology http://www.cte.umt.edu/ health programs and the Inland Northwest Space Alliance http://www.inwspace.org will share space in a building on North Reserve beginning fall 2005. The move will be discussed at a press conference at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 31, in the Dinny Stranahan Research Institute located at 2925 North Reserve St. in Missoula.

COT will move its nursing, radiology, surgical technologist, pharmacy technologist, medical technologist and respiratory programs to the this satellite campus where INSA, a private nonprofit aerospace development organization, has been located since 2003.

The move will take advantage of the medical facilities at INSA and will allow the COT to expand other programs at the main COT campus on South Ave. INSA uses part of the building as a nucleus to develop space technology programs for NASA for the inland Northwest.

"This is an ideal collaboration with INSA and the very significant role that the College of Technology is playing in health care workforce development in our region," said George Bailey, INSA executive director. "I see opportunities for extensive technological and educational collaboration with the college in the future and look forward to supporting their health care education mission by involving the students and faculty in our cutting-edge research."

INSA is leading the development of the Free Flyer Research Consortium, which focuses on the development and deployment of scientific experiments on free-flying spacecrafts. These experiments include testing biomedical devices used to measure astronauts’ vital signs during flight missions and a portable screening device that detects pupil movement related to fatigue and neurological impairment brought on by drug and alcohol use.

Students in the COT’s allied health programs will take part in the clinical trials for these devices and work with INSA’s partners at the NASA Ames Research Center and Stanford University.

"We are pleased to be able to work with INSA and expand the quality of our facilities to meet the needs of our faculty and students," said COT Dean R. Paul Williamson. "This move will continue to open up new horizons for the college and provide much needed space for other programs."

Contact: R. Paul Williamson, dean, UM College of Technology, (406) 243-7851.