Miles Community College (MCC), in collaboration with Chief Dull Knife College (CDKC), received a POWER grant award of $494, 562 to assist with workforce training in Colstrip, and other Eastern Montana communities affected by the coal-related layoffs.
Miles Community College is partnering with Mr. Tyler J. Krutzfeldt of Mont Vista Co., Dr. Collin Shaw from Montana State University Bozeman, and Chris French, a national remediation expert, to provide a field demonstration and symposium on advanced technologies in remediation (ATR) and agriculture in Colstrip and Eastern Montana to share specific knowledge on ATR applications and new careers associated with advanced technologies in remediation.
Dr. Colin Shaw has more than fifteen year of experience teaching geology in the field including five years as the Geology Field Course Director at Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman, and the Undergraduate Scholars Program Director at MSU. Dr. Shaw has an M.S. from the University of Colorado and a Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico. Dr. Shaw’s research projects include: The Cordillera Blanca Detachment Peru, an NSF-funded project investigating shear-zone-scale processes, crustal strength, and geodynamics of a major active extensional fault in the Peruvian Andes and Lone Peak Rock Glacier, Montana - study of strain localization and glacier kinematics of the debris-covered glacier at Big Sky, Montana. Collaborators include Dr. Kimberly Casey, (NASA - Goddard).
Mr. Chris French, C.E.G. has nearly four decades experience in earth and environmental science with a focus on site remediation and redevelopment in the Fortune 100 corporate sector. Mr. French’s technical expertise includes oversight of environmental information/data management, hydrogeology, contaminant fate and transport, RI/FS, remedial design and construction, brownfields redevelopment and sustainability. Mr. French has also worked in precious metals exploration and water resource assessment using aerial photogrammetry and remote sensing techniques. He holds a B.A. in Geology from Amherst College and an M.S. degree in Environmental Science from Rutgers University. He holds a continuing professional education certificate in Geomatics and Remote Sensing from Rutgers and is a Certified Engineering Geologist and Registered Geologist in the state of California.
Mr. Tyler J. Krutzfeldt is the Director of Investments of Mont Vista Capital LLC. Mr. Krutzfeldt was a market risk expert and trader at J.P. Morgan (Washington Mutual), ADM, and the Washington Department of Financial Institutions. Mr. Krutzfeldt holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a former Board Member of Miami CFA. He received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Applied Agricultural Economics from Texas Tech University, and spent his youth on a ranch in Southeastern Montana.
The Advanced Technologies in Remediation (ATR) Field Demonstration and Symposium will be held on Wednesday, July 18 from 8:30 am – 1:30 pm at Colstrip City Hall in Colstrip, MT. The day will begin by having participants meet at Colstrip High School at 8:30 a.m. to caravan to the location site for a field demonstration. At 9:30 a.m. the field demonstration will wrap up and the group will proceed to the Colstrip City Hall for a coffee break before the Innovation Symposium begins at 10:30 a.m. The cost is $25 per person and includes lunch. The day will focus on advanced technologies in remediation and agriculture, including LiDAR and drone technologies, photonics, and geographic information systems (GIS) mapping. The class size is limited to 40 participants.
Miles Community College is happy to help introduce new technologies that can help agricultural producers and assist with water and soil remediation projects. This ATR Field Demo and Symposium is extremely timely to events around coal in the Colstrip area. The information shared and gathered will spark interest for many ranchers and farmers, and will introduce potential new workforce needs in this region of Montana. Miles Community College (MCC) is excited to partner with national and state experts to demonstrate new advanced technologies in remediation, such as drone and LiDAR technologies which offer multiple applications in eastern Montana as well as feature their use in remediation and other environmental applications.
Please contact Carolyn Kimball at 406.874.6164 or kimballc@milescc.edu to register for the ATR Field Demonstration and Symposium.
