2026–27 SMART FIRES MSU Research Seed Award
Forecasted
2026–27 SMART FIRES MSU Research Seed Award supports Montana State University faculty-led prescribed-fire research and capacity building to advance fire science and expand student research opportunities.
Funder: Montana NSF EPSCoR
Due Dates (Anticipated): September 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Up to $25,000 per award; published award period spans eight months
Summary: Supports MSU faculty-led research and capacity building in prescribed-fire science aligned with SMART FIRES goals.
Key Information: Applicants must be MSU faculty who are not currently funded by SMART FIRES.
Description
Montana NSF EPSCoR’s Research Seed Award supports transformative research and capacity building at Montana State University aligned with SMART FIRES—Sensors, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence in Real Time Fire Science. The project develops and deploys technologies to understand prescribed-fire behavior and its impacts on Montanans, particularly rural and tribal communities. Its research spans fire and smoke science, smart optical sensors, social psychology, economics and ethics, and artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The program seeks novel prescribed-fire research that increases research productivity, attracts external funding, and expands research access for graduate and undergraduate students. Support can cover equipment, research personnel, field data collection and analysis, research travel, and collaboration costs. Priority goes to projects with potential for publications, follow-on grants, or strong education and workforce outcomes, alongside an emphasis on broadening participation.
