Staff
Also see: SMART FIRES team
SMART FIRES PI/PD
Montana State University
Rob is the principal investigator and program director of Montana NSF EPSCoR’s SMART FIRES project and a professor and head of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Montana State University. He provides leadership for a statewide, multidisciplinary collaboration that integrates fire science, optical sensing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to improve understanding of prescribed fire behavior, smoke emissions, and community impacts. Walker co-conceived SMART FIRES and leads efforts to build research capacity, expand participation, and support science-driven fire management strategies across Montana
SMART FIRES Co-PI
University of Montana
Libby (Elizabeth) is a co–principal investigator for the Montana NSF EPSCoR SMART FIRES project and lead for its Social, Psychological, Economic, and Ethical (SPEE) research.
She is the dean of the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana and a professor of forestry and conservation. A nationally recognized scholar in the human dimensions of natural resource management, her work focuses on how people and communities interact with wildfire, prescribed fire, and other environmental systems.
Within SMART FIRES, Libby leads research on the social and community impacts of prescribed fire and smoke, helping integrate scientific, technological, and human perspectives to inform decision-making and outreach across Montana.
Project Manager
Montana State University
Ben Williamson is the Project Manager for Montana NSF EPSCoR’s SMART FIRES project, working with a statewide team to coordinate research on prescribed fire and smoke science, and supporting project communications, fiscal administration, and annual reporting across partner institutions.
Ben has spent over a decade building and managing programs at the intersection of environment, energy, and climate. Before joining SMART FIRES, he served as Project Manager for the Mountains and Plains Thriving Communities Collaborative, partnering with underserved communities across EPA Region 8 to strengthen community capacity around environmental and energy priorities. Prior to that, he spent five years as Executive Director of a research and policy incubator in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. He has also conducted community-based research on land use and climate mitigation in western Ghana.
Ben holds a B.S. in Ecology from the University of Montana and an M.A. from the Yale School of the Environment.
Project Administrator
University of Montana
Erika has worked for the University of Montana since 2022. As Project Administrator (PA), she helps to facilitate all aspects of project management including annual reporting, outcome tracking, internal communications, implementation of project objectives, project outreach, event and meeting coordination, and representing the project and jurisdiction at national NSF events. She also works closely with external evaluators, project partners, and fiscal administrators. She works in this same capacity on another NSF award involving UM and the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Fiscal Administrator
Montana State University
Susie has worked as a Finance Professional at Montana State University since 2000 supporting state and federal granting programs which include the National Science Foundation, the State of Montana, the Office of Naval Research, Airforce, and NASA. In her position she is responsible for developing and maintaining advanced accounting management structures to accommodate and support the specific needs of multi-programmatic federal and state agencies to ensure compliance with all mandated relevant laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
Fiscal Administrator
University of Montana
Rayleen has worked at the University of Montana in finance positions since 2009. The last 10 years she has worked in research administration as the fiscal and operations director for several research centers, Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group (NTSG), Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Policy (CNREP), Center for Integrated Research on the Environment (CIRE) and assisting with NSF EPSCoR. Her many years of working with evolving UM policies and federal guidelines have enabled her to effectively guide these research centers and their agency partners into a stable fiscal environment that supports growth.
Fiscal Administrator
University of Montana
Rhonda has worked in research administration at the University of Montana since 2001, supporting units such as NSF EPSCoR, the Institute on Ecosystems, the Center for Integrated Research on the Environment (CIRE), and the Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group (NTSG). Her experience reflects steady advancement through roles involving budget analysis, grant support, and fiscal oversight, along with years of hands‑on work resolving accounting issues and navigating evolving federal guidelines. She has a strong background with long‑term, multi‑partner awards like NSF EPSCoR and understands how to maintain continuity and keep complex projects moving smoothly. As a Fiscal Manager, she oversees the daily financial coordination needed to support complex, multi‑partner awards. She stays in close communication with campus units and partner institutions to coordinate fiscal actions, prepare documentation, and ensure compliance with university and agency standards.