The Open Space Institute will give Montroy $5,000 toward her project of creating an educational exhibit about the Hudson River that “integrates real-time data, digital art and science,” according to Clarkson University. The exhibit, once completed, will be on public display at Beacon Institute’s gallery space at 199 Main St. in Beacon.

“The McHenry Award is an amazing opportunity for me to put my skills and knowledge to the test with this challenge to inspire people about the importance of the Hudson River,” Montroy said. “I’m incredibly thankful to be awarded this honor.”

The Barnabas McHenry Hudson River Valley Award is presented yearly by the Open Space Institute (OSI) for graduate and undergraduate students to partner with regional nonprofits to complete projects that “celebrate the scenic and historical value of the Hudson River Valley, educate local and academic communities, promote awareness, and invoke change,” according to Clarkson. The Award was first created in 2007 to honor the extensive contributions of environmental philanthropist and conservationist, Barnabas McHenry.

Montroy, who last year earned a bachelor’s degree from Clarkson in digital arts and sciences and communications, will combine her undergraduate work and current graduate focus of data analytics to design, develop and execute the project.

“The project goal is to create an exhibit that will inspire connection with the Hudson River by effectively communicating important aspects of river function—including the impact of human influences—via scientific visualization,” a prepared statement from Clarkson reads.

Montroy will work closely with a select supervisory team of Clarkson University faculty. Clarkson's Institute for a Sustainable Environment will provide an additional $5,000 to help develop this interdisciplinary faculty team.

The scientific visualization for the exhibit will be based on real-time data from Beacon Institute’s River and Estuary Observatory Network (REON). REON measures physical, chemical, biological and atmospheric data from points in New York’s Hudson, Mohawk and St. Lawrence River watersheds via an integrated network of sensors and cyber infrastructure.

“The integration of real-time data will provide a level of immediacy for students to interact with the exhibit in a meaningful way and educate a tech-savvy generation about the importance of river science,” the school’s statement reads. “With this support from Open Space Institute, the exhibit will provide an opportunity to impact all visitors with new knowledge and respect for the Hudson River, how it functions and how all of our actions impact the health of the river.”