Dear Friends,
Signs of spring are everywhere across camp save for the impact of ever present South Dakota weather. As I write this, we are at the end of a three-day spring snow storm-great for our need for moisture. Nonetheless, the campus is busy.
The South Dakota Space Grant Consortium will receive an additional $177,000 from NASA to support a new research and education partnership involving SDSM&T, Oglala Lakota College (OLC), and Dakota State University. NASA selected five proposals for funding. The program will directly coordinate with programs currently conducted at SDSM&T that provide research and educational experiences to American Indian high school and college students in STEM disciplines and with programs at Dakota State University (DSU) that promote increased participation of women in STEM disciplines. This proposal was spearheaded by Dr. P.V. Sundareshwar, Dr. Carter Kerk, and associates at OLC and DSU.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced it will invest up to $5.2 million in basic research projects with 12 universities from across the country. 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. These research projects, ranging from advanced solar cells to hydrogen energy systems, are a part of DOE's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), a federal-state partnership program designed to lead the world in meeting the nation's growing energy needs through increased competition in energy-related research and development across the nation. The School of Mines was the only South Dakota institution to receive an award.
The 4th Annual Governor's Giant Vision Business Plan competition was held on Tuesday. 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. Half of the winners had ties to the School of Mines. Two teams each earned second place awards and $2,500 cash prizes, DJ Kjar and Jason Howe for Valde Robotics which specializes in designing and manufacturing urban environment unmanned aerial vehicles; and Chris Flack and Jordan Johnson for Krystal Klear Kart Bodies, with an innovative design for clear go-kart bodies.
Placing second in the Business Competition was Jody Sperlich of Dakota Fire Systems, Inc. with its design and manufacture fire suppression and protection gel delivery systems received a $10,000 prize. Mechanical Engineering students Treavor Hendrickson and Jeff Schnabel supported this project through a senior design project.
Of special note is the third place finish in the Business division by Jordan Krell and Krell Safety Products (KSP) for Smart Swim, a patent-pending drowning alert system. Jordan is a senior Plankinton High School and will join the fall 2008 freshman class.
The competition is sponsored by South Dakota individuals and businesses including Brad Wheeler, of Wheeler Mfg., Lemon, SD. Brad is a 1974 mechanical engineering graduate of the School of Mines and was also instrumental in establishing the competition. Governor Rounds made presentations Tuesday evening in Sioux Falls at the Washington Pavilion. Professors Stuart Kellogg and Butch Skillman served as advisors to these projects and represented the SDSM&T community at the event.
Dr. Dan Dolan, faculty advisor for the School of Mines SAE Aero Design team returned from the team's this week with a report of outstanding results. The Regular Class design report was the best of the competition. The team's Regular Class plane lifted 32.63 pounds - 5.32 pounds more than Kansas State's second place effort. Dr. Dolan reports that "the plane flew so well that nobody had any idea how much weight it was carrying." He added that, "In designing a plane for such incredible lifting capability, though, we gave up the possibility to fly with no weight in the plane and thus did not get the 10 points for the Empty Weight bonus flight and we ended up bringing home the Third Place Overall trophy for the Regular Class." The full results of the competition are available at: http://www.sae.org/servlets/pressRoom?OBJECT_TYPE=PressReleases&PAGE=showCDSNews&EVENT=AERO&RELEASE_ID=742.
The 2007-08 Division I & II Men's Basketball Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes have been announced with more than 135 student-athletes recognized with this prestigious honor. South Dakota School of Mines junior Brandon Smith made the list. Brandon is a Mechanical Engineering major from Amenia, N.D.
Up and coming campus events include:
Tonight is the second night of the Drama Club's spring production, "Hamlet II", by Sam Bobrick--a comedic twist based on Shakespeare's play. The public is invited to one of the next two nightly presentations at 7:00 pm, April 11th, and 12th in the Surbeck Center Ballroom. The performance is free to School of Mines students, faculty and staff and $5 to the general public.
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) program will be hosting the 5th Annual Girls' Day, April 15, 2008. This is a pre-college program geared toward middle school girls state-wide. Their day will be filled with hands on workshops provided by faculty, staff, and students. Girls will also hear inspiring and encouraging messages about pursuing careers in STEM areas.
The campus will welcome prospective students and their families on Saturday, April 19th for Junior Preview Day. For more information or to register, visit http://sdmines.sdsmt.edu/jr.
The School of Mines' presents its spring concert on April 19th at 7:30 p.m. in the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Theatre. The concert is free and open to the public, and features the School of Mines Concert Choir under the direction of James Han and the Symphonic Band under the direction of David Mitchell.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments. I can be reached at charles.ruch@sdsmt.edu.
Chrles Ruch