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South Dakota and North Dakota Take The Lead in Nanotechnology: Good Models For Montana to Follow?
Here are two sites that illustrate how The State of South Dakota is supporting
Higher Education in research including nanotechnology.
http://www.sdbor.edu/publications/PressReleases/2004/documents/072104research.pdf
http://www.sdbor.edu/publications/PressReleases/2003/121003research.htm
(See below for full text.)
Their nano-effort is the same center that they are seeking NSF funding
for and thus the same center I proposed we (Montana) join.
That still is in the
works. Needless to say, this is something that MT should do more of
and, of course, is a direction that CAMP has expressed an interest in as
well as MetE and Chem. I would like to see the latter happen and hope
to work in that direction. I would like to call for a meeting sometime
in mid-August for all those interested in the campus nano-initiative to
discuss.
Also, this is a reminder to go to the PNL website (http://www.pnl.gov) and
register for N4 which is the university/industrial consortium in
nanotechnology.
ND has a Center for Nanotech– http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/cnse/
SD is developing one.
PNL has the consortium of industry & university and is primarily ID, WA
and OR.
Where is MT in this mix?? Embarrassly left out!
Thanks for your attention.
Courtney Young
ASARCO Professor
Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
Montana Tech
Butte, MT
W: (406)496-4158
F: (406)496-4664
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2010 Research and Commercialization Council approves grants
PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Mike Rounds announced today that four university-based research
centers will be funded by nearly $2.8 million in state funds in a first-ever initiative aimed at
growing the state’s economy by targeting investments in specialized research at South
Dakota public universities.
"This is an exciting step for South Dakota," said Gov. Rounds. "University research and
development are a catalyst for economic development, and these grants are the state’s seed
money, investing in areas that have the most likelihood for commercialization."
The four 2010 Research Centers, the location of their research activity, and first-year
funding are:
∗ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Vaccinology, SDSU
Department of Veterinary Science, $780,000 – This center will foster
research leading to the development of novel therapeutic and diagnostic
technologies and products for infectious diseases in humans and domestic
animals. Research targets include vaccines for diarrheal diseases of livestock
and humans, an improved vaccine for Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory
Syndrome (PRRS), and improved diagnostic tests for Transmissible
Spongiform Encephalopathies, such as BSE in cattle and Chronic Wasting
Disease in deer. The center’s principal investigator is David H. Francis.
∗ South Dakota Signal Transduction Center, USD Cardiovascular
Research Institute, $900,000 – Cardiovascular disease and cancer are the
most frequent causes of death in modern society. This center will examine
the pathways that regulate cell growth and differentiation, cell death,
response to stress, and the maintenance of constant physiological conditions.
Understanding the abnormalities that can occur in cells will lead to improved
detection and treatment of a range of serious heart and cancer conditions.
The principal investigator is Martin Gerdes.
∗ Center for Accelerated Applications at the Nanoscale, SDSMT
Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, $585,000 – The
National Nanotechnology Initiative is expected to create new applications
based on special properties that exist when materials are scaled down to
near-molecular dimensions. This center will focus on research in the areas of
nanoparticles and associated nanosensors, with particular emphasis on South
Dakota mineral development. Principal investigator is Jon Kellar.
∗ Center for the Research and Development of Light-Activated Materials,
USD Department of Chemistry, $503,741 – The center will perform both
basic and developmental research on materials with light-activated
properties. The research is important to medical applications such as human
tissue bonding, drug delivery, and anti-tumor agents, and is important to
developing phosphors for sensors, new laser materials, and thin films that
impart special properties and characteristics to the materials they coat. The
center’s principal investigator is Stanley May.
"These proposals will make a substantial initial impact on the state’s research infrastructure
and personnel," Rounds said. A total of seven new senior scientists, eight post-doctoral
students, seven Ph.D. students, eight graduate associates, and 11 technicians will be brought
into the state university system in the first two years of this grant activity. Another 24
university scientists, whose salary is supported by their respective institutions, will also be
associated with the projects.
The council selected the four research centers after reviewing 11 proposals submitted by
faculty at South Dakota public universities.
Members of the 2010 Research and Commercialization Council are: Jason Dilges, James
Hagen, Homer Harding, and Tad Perry, all of Pierre; Kathryn Johnson, Hill City; Pat
Lebrun, Rapid City; David Link, Sioux Falls; Brad Wheeler, Lemmon; and Lisa Bryan,
Spearfish.
Office of the Governor
500 E. Capitol Ave.
Pierre, SD 57501
(605) 773-3212
CONTACT: Mark Johnston or Stephanie Tveidt, (605) 773-3212
*********************
Regents’ System Strengthens Commitment to Research
MADISON – As the next step toward a goal of strengthening the state’s economy through focused university research, the South Dakota Board of Regents is creating a Research Affairs Council to provide leadership and coordination for the higher education system’s research agenda.
The council will set goals, monitor progress, and evaluate the public universities’ research performance, as well as cooperate with a related state initiative to commercialize intellectual property. The council is composed of the chief research officer or president’s appointee from each of the six public universities. The state director of South Dakota’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), among others, will serve in an ex-officio capacity.
"This council’s purpose is to catalyze more research in South Dakota," said Regents President Harvey C. Jewett. "Developing a strong state-funded research capacity within the public university system requires cooperation among campuses, as well as with other research-based organizations and various entities on the state and federal level."
This effort is particularly timely given Gov. Mike Rounds’ budget proposal for next year, Jewett said. Last week, the governor recommended $3.7 million for a state-funded research infrastructure. Most of those funds would help hire additional research faculty members, pay for graduate assistants, and acquire needed laboratory equipment and space.
This week, the regents received two research-focused reports: one on the status of research in the South Dakota public university system and another on a federal program designed to spur research activity in states like South Dakota with underdeveloped capacity.
The status report notes that South Dakota’s public university system was created primarily to teach students, not to conduct research. "The infrastructure necessary for a vibrant university research enterprise is lacking or underdeveloped compared to almost every other state system of higher education in the country," the report said.
If South Dakota is to become a recognized leader in research and technology by 2010, a goal of Gov. Rounds’ 2010 Initiative, the report says "serious infrastructure building" in the higher education system is necessary.
A principal source of funding for academic research is the federal government. However, the $22.5 million in federal funds South Dakota receives for academic research and development ranks it the lowest of all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Even on a per capita basis, South Dakota remains in last place. South Dakota gets most of its federal research dollars from only three sources: the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Agriculture. The report notes that South Dakota’s "funding profile is less diverse than most other states."
One bright spot is research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which since 1989 has been sustained in large part through the EPSCoR program. South Dakota has made significant improvements over the past decade, with the number of active NSF grants in the state steadily increasing from 42 to 1988 to 100 in 2002.
Gov. Rounds’ 2010 Initiative has set a goal of improving South Dakota’s ranking in NSF funding to 30th nationally. To achieve that goal, the report says South Dakota would need to show a four-fold increase in number of grants and a three-fold increase in the amount of NSF funding.
News Release
Contacts: Robert T. Tad Perry, Executive Director
Janelle Toman, Director of Information and Institutional
Research
T: 605.773.3455
F: 605.773.5320
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