Confluence is the annual magazine of the College of Letters & Science at MSU and is published once per year to highlight the accomplishments of the college. The magazine is distributed to alumni, friends and prospective students. Current and past issues of the magazine can be accessed below. Please call us if you’d like to receive a hard copy of the magazine and/or be added to our mailing list.

The magazine can also be read online or downloaded as a PDF on ISSUU.

Confluence 2019-2020

Confluence cover 2019
Undergraduate Research in the College of Letters & Science

 

  • Earth Sciences Duo Takes Snow Measurement to New Heights
  • Finding the Perfect Wave: Solar Eclipse Provides Unique Opportunity for Student to Study Gravity Waves
  • A Journey of Discovery: Undergraduate Researcher Investigates Human Emotions
  • Why History Matters: Professor Mentors Next Generation of History Scholars
  • Puzzling Out the Pieces: Ancient Fossils Give Students Hands-On Research Experience
  • Filling the Gap: Archaeology Field School Seeks Answers, Provides Experience

Confluence 2018-2019

Confluence cover 2018
Interdisciplinary Research in the College of Letters & Science

 

  • Cause and Effect: Interdisciplinary Team Seeks to Stem the Spillover of Infectious Diseases
  • Risk vs. Reward: Researchers Study Decision-Making in Avalanche Terrain
  • The Skull Hunters: DNA Shows That Ancient Bighorn Sheep Similar to Modern Bighorn Sheep in Montana
  • Fighting Influenza: Psychologist and Immunologist Combine Forces to Improve Public Health
  • Victims vs. Heros: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of Narrative-Based Risk Communication
  • Holistic Knowledge: Incorporating Cultural Concerns and Priorities in International Development Projects

Confluence 2017-2018

Confluence 2017-2018
Diversity in the College of Letters & Science                          

 

  • In Her Own Time and Place: Mother of Six Earns Degree Through Liberal Studies' Online Program
  • 2017's Oldest Graduate Makes It With a Little Help From Her Friends
  • Diverse Perspectives: Statistics Students From Africa Make Connections at MSU
  • Indigenous Influences: Native American Graduate Student Studies the Ecological Past of the Flathead Indian Reservation
  • Perceptions of Gender: Graduate Student's Research, Advocacy Making a Difference at MSU
  • A Mentor and Inspiration: Non-Traditional Student Earns Geology Ph.D.

Confluence 2016-2017

Confluence 2016
College of Letters & Science Alumni: Knowledge in Action                 

 

  • A Race Against Time: CLS Alumni Win Prestigious Prize for Ice Patch Archaeology
  • Aiming for the Moon: Two Women After Graduating Three Times from MSU
  • Being Human: Anthropology Alum Receives Fellowship to Pursue Doctoral Studies at Harvard
  • A Keeper of Knowledge: A Voice for the Land and People
  • Bringing Value to Society: Chemistry Alum Part of a Team Working on a Low-Cost Lung Cancer Screening Tool
  • Staying in the Treasure State: Liberal Studies Graduate Opens Hostel
  • East Meets West: American West Scholar Earns Prestigious Postdoctoral Environmental Fellowship at Harvard

Confluence 2015-2016

Confluence 2015-2016
Letters & Science: Studying the Lands and Peoples of the North American West

 

  • Travelin' Man: MSU Geographer Hits the Road to Study the People and Places of the American West
  • Writing the West: Place, Identity and Belonging
  • Life Support: MSU-Based Research Project to Help Forests Across the West
  • Indigenous Intersectionality: Native People, Economies, Land Management and Tribal Policy
  • Less Candy, More Vegetables: Women in Montana Support War Effort
  • Is Whitebark Pine Worth Saving: Political Scientiets' Survey to Evaluate Societal Value of Tree Species
  • The Dead Zone: MSU-Led Research Finds Cause for Decline of Missouri River Pallid Sturgeon

Confluence 2014-2015

Confluence 2014
Letters & Science: Fostering Leadership Through Service and Engagement

 

  • Snow Science Research Team Uses Crowd-Source Data to Investigate Avalanche Risk
  • Bacteria, Fatty Acids and Homunculi, Oh My!
  • Matching MSU Students with Montana Communities for Meaningful Projects
  • Friends Program Welcomes International Students to MSU
  • Homelessness Matters to WRIT 101 Students
  • 1988 Yellowstone Fires Oral History Project
  • MSU Graduate Student Engages the Community Through Citizen Science Projects

Confluence 2013-2014

Confluence 2013
Letters & Science: World Class Scholars

 

  • MSU Scientist Recognized for Innovation in Brain Research
  • The Montana-Zambia Connection
  • MSU Physicist Shines
  • Michelle Meade Wins Fulbright to Australia
  • MSU Historian Wins Guggenheim Fellowship to Study Asbestos Poisoning
  • For MSU Graduate Student, Success is Rocket Science
  • MSU Statistician Receives Honorary Doctorate from Thailand University

Confluence 2012-2013

Confluence 2012
Letters & Science: Leading Research

 

  • Developing the Next Generation
  • Mountains and Minds
  • Cooley Lab: Renovation is a Boon for L&S Biomedical Researchers
  • Anthropologist’s Research Leads to New Insights into Evolution of the Human Brain, Human Behavior
  • Montana to Antarctica: Statistician Helps Researchers Examine Diverse Ecological Questions
  • By the Numbers: Social Issues and Policy Making

Confluence 2011-2012 

Letters & Science: Learning in the Last Best Place

 

  • Yellowstone National Park: A Hot Spot for Research and Learning
  • Revealing History: Unearthing Relics from the Crow Tribe’s Past
  • Trout U: MSU Helps to Preserve Fisheries & Waterways
  • Teaching Native American History from a Native Viewpoint
  • Montana’s Landscape for Dino Hunters and Snow Scientists

Confluence 2010-2011 

Letters & Science: A Student-Centered College

 

  • Native Pathways to Success
  • Bioscience Across the Pond
  • Career Advancement Within Reach
  • Bring Native American Studies to the World
  • Students Teach and Learn in Mali, Africa

Confluence 2009-2010 

Hands On: Learning by Doing in the College of Letters and Science

 

  • Microbiology Student’s Research a Breath of Fresh Air
  • Touching on the Origins of Democracy
  • Students Get Their Hands Dirty
  • English Class Pays It Forward

  • Satellite Project Launches Student Opportunities

Confluence 2008-2009 

Putting Hope Into Action: At Home and Around the World 

 

  • Lending a Helping Hand
  • Iron Men
  • Good Health, One Drop at a Time
  • Hablando Español en Bozeman
  • Health Partnerships: Building a Healthy Dialogue

Confluence 2007-2008 

Interdisciplinarity: Stitching Knowledge Together in a Patchwork World

 

  • Prehistoric Mythmaking
  • Photodynamic Collaboration
  • The Economics of Global Warning
  • Making Connections: CLS 101 Provides a Foundation for Learning
  • Astrobiology: Collaborating on the Origins of Life

Confluence 2006-2007 

Popping the Academic Bubble: L&S Scholarship Gets Real 

 

  • L&S and the Land Grant Mission of Practicality
  • Professor's Expertise Aids Pakistan
  • Growing High-Tech in the Gallatin Valley
  • Going Public: Creating A New Kind of Historian
  • Researchers Find Big Uses for Tiny Particles 

Confluence 2005-2006

World View: L&S Scholarship Spans the Globe

 

  • Tale of Two Countries
  • Microbiologist Joins Fight Against Ganges Pollution
  • New Book Give French Immigrants a Voice
  • MSU Reaches Out to the Middle East
  • Exciting, Scary and Absolutely Wonderful: Travel Study Courses Take the Classroom Abroad

Confluence 2004-2005

Yellowstone: Not Just a Pretty Place 

 

  • Yellowstone Supports Wide-Reaching L&S Research
  • Yellowstone Science Has History of its Owen
  • Wildlife Studies Need Numbers Guys, Too
  • MSU Scientists Find Ancient Virus in Yellowstone
  • Integrated Ecological Science in Central Yellowstone