image: Montana State University earth sciences professor Madison Myers, pictured in her lab Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Bozeman, Mont. has received an early career award from the Geological Society of America.
Credit: MSU photo by Colter Peterson
BOZEMAN – For students and faculty alike, the beauty and intrigue of Yellowstone National Park is one of many draws to Montana State University. For Madison Myers, an MSU volcanologist, it is the perfect place to blend science, teaching and public service.
Myers, an associate professor in MSU’s Department of Earth Sciences, conducts research on the volcano that underlies Yellowstone. Often, Myers said, people nervously ask her when the volcano will erupt – something it hasn’t done in 70,000 years. She can confidently reassure them.
“There’s a lot of precedent in the field of volcanology to communicate to people how we monitor these systems, why we can't necessarily predict an eruption, but also what hints we see when a system leads to unrest,” Myers said. “The same is true for Yellowstone, but with the added message that it's not going to erupt anytime soon.”
Effectively communicating science and mentoring the next generation on the importance of this skill is one of Myers’ many interests in her work at MSU. It was also part of the impetus for her colleagues nominating her for an early career award from the Geological Society of America’s Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology and Volcanology Division, which Myers will receive this month at the organization’s annual meeting. The award recognizes distinguished contributions to the field with an emphasis on multidisciplinary and field-based work. Myers is the first recipient from MSU since the award was established in 2015.
“It comes as no surprise that the GSA is honoring Dr. Myers for her contributions,” said Julia Haggerty, head of the Department of Earth Sciences. “Those of us who are lucky enough to watch her in action see that from the classroom to the lab to the side of the volcano, she is always innovating. She’s an exemplary scholar and teacher deeply committed to building community, and she has absolutely earned this recognition.”
Myers arrived at MSU in 2018 and was instrumental in facilitating the university's entry into the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory in 2020. The consortium brings together nine collaborating institutions to monitor the geological and volcanological elements of Yellowstone, collecting data on everything from earthquake frequency and locations to the configuration of magma underneath the park’s thermal features. The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory is one of several around the U.S. that monitor volcanoes in Alaska, Hawaii and the Cascade Range, which includes Washington’s Mount St. Helens and Oregon’s Mount Hood.
In 2021, Myers’ work earned her a prestigious CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. CAREER funding is designed to help establish promising young scientists in their areas of expertise, and it helped Myers outfit her lab with state-of-the-art equipment for measuring and simulating the makeup of magma. This equipment allows for detailed examination of the minerals that erupt from volcanoes, which record changes within the magmatic system much like how tree rings record weather and temperature patterns.
The CAREER award also allowed Myers to bake another of her passions directly into her lab’s offerings: providing hands-on research opportunities for undergraduate students. With the number of students who choose MSU in part because of its proximity to extraordinary environments like Yellowstone, she wanted to allow them to pursue and expand their scientific interests firsthand.
For the last few years, she has hosted a research experience for undergraduates, or REU, program during the summer. With only three positions available, Myers said it was so popular it regularly received 100 applications. Her group, the MOnSTER lab – Magamatic Onset, Storage, Triggering and Eruption Research – worked with each undergraduate researcher to develop on-the-ground projects, including updating the geologic maps of Yellowstone.
Myers’ students, for their part, need little motivating, she said. With a field as dynamic as volcanology, and with such prominent applications for public safety, she said they bring with them a ready passion and interest for both science and its communication. Students often contribute to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Caldera Chronicles, which translate and communicate Yellowstone science to the public.
In her time at MSU, Myers has been nominated for multiple awards recognizing her work promoting gender equity and inclusion in science, technology, engineering and math; student mentoring; and undergraduate research. The university’s location, she said, not only makes it a perfect place to do her research, but also ideal for fostering the curiosity and confidence of young scientists.
“We’re situated in a remarkable geologic region. We have rocks that are 3 billion years old and as young as 70,000 years old,” she said. “The trend in the United States right now is that Earth science majors are on the decline, but we have 250 students in our department, with over half immersed in the geology curriculum. Students are very excited to put their hands on what they see in textbooks, and through the support of undergraduate research grants on this campus, see that there's a range of what you can do in science. It’s a great place to teach and mentor the next generation of scientists.”
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