Board of Regents approves new institute at Montana State to address national security

BOZEMAN - The Montana Board of Regents today approved Montana State University's proposal to establish a new institute to help address the nation's security needs through applied research, technology development and education for the next generation of leaders.

The Institute for National Security Research and Education, or INSRE, will serve as a hub at MSU, connecting existing national security work with other related research and providing high impact educational experiences for students. INSRE will foster communication, mentoring, networking and collaboration, and, importantly, it will provide infrastructure to support national security-related work that is both classified and "controlled unclassified" in nature.

INSRE is expected to build upon MSU's ongoing partnerships with the federal departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Energy and Homeland Security. Funding from these entities, and others, helped national security research programs at MSU amass more than $60 million of the record $258 million in research expenditures in fiscal year 2024, according to Alison Harmon, MSU's vice president for research and economic development.

"The Institute for National Security Research and Education will be an intellectual hub where MSU faculty and researchers connect to share ideas on national security-related research," Harmon said. "INSRE will also be a means to communicate with students about opportunities for hands-on education, internships and careers.

"Additionally, INSRE will provide the necessary operational and outreach expertise to support specialized scholarship and productive relationships with both government agencies and industry partners," Harmon added. "I expect INSRE to spark and foster new technological innovations and their commercial translation for practical use by U.S. armed forces and American society."

More than a dozen MSU centers, organizations and laboratories are involved in national security research, including MSU's Software Engineering and Cybersecurity Laboratory, TechLink, MilTech, the Applied Research Lab, the Office of Technology Translation Research, the Western Transportation Institute, the Stretch-Broken Carbon Fiber Lab, the Applied Quantum CORE, the Center for Biofilm Engineering, the Spectrum Lab and the MSU Innovation Campus. Academic departments and organizations with involvement include the Gianforte School of Computing; the departments of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Physics; and Gallatin College MSU.

Already, MSU provides opportunities for mentoring and training students and faculty to be leaders in national security, and INSRE will amplify those efforts, said Bob Mokwa, MSU's provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

"INSRE will provide advanced mechanisms for faculty to leverage support of national security research and education," he said. "INSRE will foster an environment where interdisciplinary research, critical thinking and innovation converge to meet the dynamic security challenges of tomorrow."

The institute's work with classified projects will benefit students by enhancing MSU's ability to acquire security clearances for those students who are interested in careers in science and engineering related to national defense and cybersecurity, Mokwa said.

"INSRE will provide professional development opportunities that empower students and faculty to apply their technical skills to real-world challenges, driving impactful solutions," Mokwa said. "Furthermore, INSRE will connect MSU to a network of universities, industry partners and national security agencies interested in curriculum development and expansion related to technology assessment."

"In short, INSRE will strengthen national security by delivering cutting-edge technologies and by developing educated, well-prepared leaders," Harmon said. "As a result, INSRE will safeguard the future of Montana and the nation."