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Research
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Black Hills State University Research News Even as the water is being pumped from the former Homestake Mine, the Center for the Conservation of Biological Resources (CCBR) at Black Hills State University, is taking an active role by conducting genetic analysis of microbes found in water samples taken from the Sanford Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (SUSEL). Jake Miller, a pre-medicine student from Pierre, along with Dr. Cynthia Anderson, associate director of the CCBR, are sequencing bacterial and archaeal clones of samples taken from the former Homestake Gold Mine. The research will try to identify new microorganisms from samples of the water at the 1,000-foot level, the 3,000-foot level and the 4,850-foot level. In the CCBR lab, Miller and Anderson compare the genetic sequences of the samples to known organisms searching for undiscovered organisms. The genetic analysis, which will continue through the next few months, is part of a research project by Dr. Sookie Bang from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Results from this study are expected in about a year. |
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DSU Professor Receives Grant A
Dakota State University associate professor in computer information
systems has received a grant for at least $45,000 from National Security
Agency's Department of Information Assurance Scholarship Program.
NSA, which protects all classified information stored or sent through U.S. government equipment, hires professionals who make sure government systems remain impenetrable.
DSU
increases grant funding |
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School of Mines Successful in EPSCoR CompetitionThe project “Lattice-Mismatched III-V Epilayers for High-Efficiency Photovoltaics” has been chosen as one of 12 projects selected for funding by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) in fiscal year 2008.
The project, led by principal investigator Dr. Scott Ahrenkiel, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology physics professor, will study the management of defects in lattice-mismatched materials. According to Ahrenkiel, the project will seek to develop greater control of defect generation in multilayer thin-film materials used for the direct conversion of sunlight into electrical energy.
The DOE will invest up to $5.2 million in the 12 projects. In an effort to ensure America remains the world leader in scientific research and innovation, universities selected will pair with a DOE national laboratory to maximize expertise. The School of Mines will pair with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Space Grant Consortium Receives Grant The South Dakota Space Grant Consortium will receive an additional $177,000 to support a new research and education partnership involving the School of Mines, Oglala Lakota College and Dakota State University. NASA's Consortium Development Competition was open to the 17 Non-Designated Consortia, representing states that currently receive the lowest levels of NASA research and development funding. NASA selected five proposals for funding including the SDSGC project.
The SDSGC project is “A Proposal to Increase Minority Participation in Higher Education in STEM Disciplines Responsive to NASA needs – A Multi-Institution Effort.” The program will directly coordinate with programs currently conducted at the School of Mines that provide research and educational experiences to American Indian high school and college students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines and with programs at Dakota State University (DSU) that promote increased participation of women in STEM disciplines. Students Recognized with Giant Vision Awards More than half of the winners at the 4 th Annual Governor's Giant Vision Business Plan awards competition held recently have ties to the School of Mines . During the competition, businesses and student teams from across South Dakota were selected to compete with a formal business, formal business presentation, poster session and 90-second elevator speech. The competition awarded cash prizes to five business entries and three student teams. Two teams each earned second place awards and $2,500 cash prizes in the Student Division: DJ Kjar (m.s. technology management, Custer) and Jason Howe (m.s. electrical engineering 07, The Woodlands, Texas) for Valde Robotics, which specializes in designing and manufacturing urban environment unmanned aerial vehicles; and Chris Flack (mechanical engineering, Rapid City) and Jordan Johnson (mechanical engineering, Rapid City) for Krystal Klear Kart Bodies, with an innovative design for clear go-kart bodies. School of Mines Takes Third Place at International Competition -- Released April 8, 2008 The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology captured third place at the Aero Design West remote-controlled airplane competition in Fort Worth , Texas . The team also received trophies for the best design report and most payload. The School of Mines took first place overall at the 2005 and 2006 competitions. The Aero Design Competition challenges engineering students to conceive, design, fabricate and test a radio-controlled aircraft that can take off and land while carrying the maximum cargo. This gives students the opportunity to apply the knowledge learned in the classroom on a practical problem. For more information, visit http://students.sae.org/competitions/aerodesign/west/ . CAAN to Realign Mission -- Released April 7, 2008 The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology's Center for the Accelerated Applications at the Nanoscale (CAAN) is shifting its mission from nanotechnology to concentrate on printed electronics. Printed electronics represents a paradigm shift in the manufacture of electronic devices. In general, the term refers to literally "printing" or "writing" electronic circuitry onto flexible substrates such as plastics, paper and textiles. Commonly, the electrically functional "inks" used to do this are based on nanomaterials, which is how the Center first got involved with the field several years ago. It is expected that printed electronics will result in widespread and very low-cost electronics with applications not typically associated with conventional (i.e., silicon-based) electronics, such as flexible displays, smart labels, animated signage, and active clothing. Initially, the Center will focus on two of the three foundational platforms of the technology to include electronic materials development integrated with manufacturing processes as well as device prototyping.
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SDSU research: Making electricity by mimicking plants
BROOKINGS, S.D. — Trying to mimic the way leaves convert sunlight to energy can lead to better ways of making electricity.
Assistant professor Brian Logue in South Dakota State University's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry said that's one focus of his research. South Dakota EPSCoR, the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, funds Logue's project. The EPSCoR program is designed to strengthen research and education in science and engineering.
Logue's work is included in an EPSCoR grant of $6.75 million for collaborative work involving researchers at SDSU, the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and the University of South Dakota. Logue is one of several researchers focusing on research infrastructure in Photo Active Nanoscale Systems (PANS). The main purpose is developing photovoltaics, or devices that will directly convert light to electricity. Learn more about PANS at a South Dakota EPSCoR Web site, http://www.sdepscor.org/NEW%20PANS/PANS.html . SDSU research lab helps date Antarctic ice core
BROOKINGS, S.D. — Scientists nationwide are studying an ice core from Antarctica to learn about changes in Earth's atmosphere — and SDSU will help provide the crucial timeline to pinpoint those changes over time.
Collaborating as part of the National Science Foundation's West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide (WAIS Divide) Ice Core Project, a South Dakota State University team is one of three research labs working to date the ice core year by year.
SDSU study: Distillers grains can boost reproduction rates
BROOKINGS, S.D. — Research from South Dakota State University shows that cow-calf producers can boost reproductive rates by feeding dried distillers grains plus solubles, or DDGS, in late gestation heifer diets.
The study by researchers in SDSU's Department of Animal and Range Sciences was published online on March 14, 2008, in the Journal of Animal Science.
Chanda Engel, now with Oregon State University's Klamath Basin Research and Extension Center, did the research as a graduate student under the direction of SDSU Extension Beef Reproduction Management Specialist George Perry and former SDSU Extension Beef Specialist Trey Patterson.
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USD - Spring Research Newsletter Physical Chemistry Professor at The U Nets NSF Grant VERMILLION, S.D. -- A professor at The University of South Dakota was instrumental in securing a large grant that will help pay for an instrument of science that will support several innovative research projects at The U. Ranjit T. Koodali, Ph.D., an assistant professor of physical chemistry at USD, recently learned that his project, “MRI: Acquisition of a Powder X-ray Diffractometer for Materials Chemistry Research and Education at The University of South Dakota” will receive a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that will help pay for a new powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD) for the department of chemistry at The U. The amount of the NSF grant is $163,000 and will be payable over the next three years. Koodali said the purchase of an XRD will aid chemistry education and research projects at USD ranging from inorganic synthesis of nanostructured materials, mechanistic investigations, oxidation catalysis and luminescence upconversion to environmental remediation. “X-ray diffraction has become a popular technique for the analysis of a wide range of materials that include metals, plastics, minerals, pharmaceuticals and ceramics, to name just a few,” Koodali explained. “The acquisition of a powder XRD is critical to the overall growth of the chemistry department, particularly to the success of the new Ph.D. program in materials chemistry.” With the new XRD, The University of South Dakota will be the only institution in the state of South Dakota to have two state-of-the-art X-ray diffractometers: a powder XRD and a single crystalXRD, which was recently installed at The U. Koodali also served as project director when the chemistry department acquired a liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer through a similar major research instrument NSF grant in 2006.
Professor of Biology at The U Awarded $1.8 Million Grant for Groundbreaking Evolution ResearchThe National Science Foundation awarded Dr. Paula Mabee, professor of biology at The University of South Dakota, a highly competitive grant to pursue research in evolutionary biology. Mabee will use the grant, scheduled for $1.8 million over three years, to try to answer important questions regarding the development of organisms over time. Her goal is to discover previously unknown connections between evolutionary change, genes and the developmental processes in which the genes play a role. “It represents a new and forward-looking move for evolutionary studies, and I am really excited by the opportunity,” said Mabee.
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