Spinning Chair Helps UM Hit Research Record $149.9 Million

In a world where motion sickness is no joke, a new device is turning heads—and stomachs. Find out how it’s helping our military pilots.

THE YAW-PLANE ROTARY CHAIR AND ITS $6.3 MILLION IN GRANT MONEY

While the "Spin and Puke" is a delightful nickname, UM News Service tells us that University of Montana scientist Brian Loyd prefers “yaw-plane rotary chair.” And it got the attention of both the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense.

In 2024, Loyd and fellow UM scientist Andy Kittelson landed a three-year, $4.8 million grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research. Their goal: develop new ways to help Navy pilots combat motion sickness. They also earned another $1.5 million Department of Defense grant to help military personnel with traumatic brain injuries regain their balance.

ASSISTING PILOTS AND BEYOND

Their work may assist people far beyond the military, including older adults struggling with dizziness, inner-ear dysfunction, balance and gaze control. Brian was quoted in the release as saying, “We are recruiting people who get motion sickness and seeing if we can reduce it. The work is important for a lot of reasons, but, of course, we’d love to help give our pilots an advantage.”

ANOTHER RECORD YEAR BY OVER $6 MILLION

The motion-sickness studies are just one part of UM’s robust research enterprise, which in fiscal year 2025 posted yet another record for expenditures at $149.9 million. The high mark from the previous year was $143.8 million.

READ MORE: University Of Montana Boosts Youth Journalism With Big Grant

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE?

Scott Whittenburg, UM vice president for research and creative scholarship, said the new record reflects broader participation across campus from units seeking federal grants. Inn the UM News Service release, he was quoted as saying, “We’re seeing more involvement from units that historically have not pursued external funding. While our overall increase this year is modest, the growth is coming from more places across campus, and that’s encouraging.”

An example of this is UM Information Technology, who decided to pursue grants and  landed $3.4 million to help boost the University’s IT research infrastructure.

Keep up the great work, Griz!