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South Dakota Students Selected for Supercomputing Program

Four South Dakota students have been selected as a result of a national competition to participate in a national Cyber-infrastructure Student Engagement Program organized by the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR). South Dakota State University students Adam Anderson, Philip Albu, Joseph Schmidt, and Dakota State University student Dylon Kiley will all participate in the program.

The program engages students in a year-long experience designed to provide them with opportunities that explore cyberinfrastructure (CI) and high performance super-computing applications. By expanding the awareness of, and ability to access and deploy these resources and services, the students will be provided the skills to become champions and mentors within South Dakota’s CI community for expanding computational science. These CI resources and services can be provided on and between campuses; by federal agencies; as well as through other state, regional, national and international CI providers.

The student participants attended a kick-off/orientation meeting at Clemson University in February, and have begun regularly scheduled on-line training programs that run through September. Successful completion of the training program will qualify the participants to attend the Super Computing 2012 Conference on November 10-16 in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they will participate as certified “Technical Student Volunteers.” At the culmination of the program, the students will be asked to evaluate their campus CI capabilities based on what they’ve learned. This evaluation will serve as a resource for the South Dakota CI community to continue to expand the state’s computational science capabilities.

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USD chemistry professor earns plaudits for extraordinary research

From the University of South Dakota University Relations

VERMILLION, S.D. -- A chemistry professor at the University of South Dakota is being lauded for his outstanding research with both NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Ranjit Koodali, Ph.D., an associate professor of chemistry at the University of South Dakota, is in the process of helping NASA develop structures that will make it possible for people to live on the moon. He is also developing a process cited by the NSF to rapidly create a novel material that generates hydrogen in the presence of water and sunlight. The results of this research could lead to further developments of an alternative fuel source using solar energy.

Thanks to a $207,485 grant from NASA, Koodali’s research focuses on the design of a multi-functional structural composite insulation system for lunar habitats. According to Koodali, this project will directly address NASA's Exploration System Mission Directorate (ESMD) to develop a sustained human presence on the moon and Mars, and to promote exploration and commerce. The goal of this research includes developing and evaluating the performance of constituent insulating nanomaterials, and fabricating and testing load-bearing, high-thermal-insulation composite panels assembled from selected constituent materials. The project will be carried out through collaboration of faculty members and students from USD, the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, NASA research scientists, the Kennedy Space Center and industrial partners.

Additional research by Koodali, “Mesoporous Material Transforms Solar Energy Into Fuel,” has been cited in the NSF FY2013 Budget Request to Congress. “Mesoporous Material Transforms Solar Energy Into Fuel” is part of the Research Infrastructure Improvement Award’s PhotoActive Nanoscale Systems, and involves developing a method to rapidly create a novel material that generates hydrogen in the presence of water and sunlight. The research expands the understanding of how to generate fuel using visible sunlight rather than ultraviolet light. Because the hydrogen generation occurs at room temperature, the process easily scales up to large production volumes. Applications of the new material range from removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the mitigation of environmental pollution. The complete NSF FY13 Budget Request to Congress is available for viewing online at: www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2013/pdf/EntireDocument_fy2013.pdf.

"The NSF is a key steward of federal funding for scientific research in the U.S.," said Laura Jenski, Ph.D., Vice President for Research at USD. "Having Dr. Koodali’s important research highlighted in this way is an honor for USD and underscores the valuable research happening at South Dakota universities."

Koodali is a member of the South Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and he serves as the graduate program director for the USD Chemistry Department. He also serves on several university committees, including University Research Council, University Scholarship Committee, and the University Strategic Planning Committee. In addition, he also serves as the secretary of the Sioux Valley section of the American Chemical Society (ACS). He will serve as the program chair of the Energy and Fuel Division of ACS for the year 2014. A photo of Dr. Koodali is available for download at

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About The University of South Dakota

Founded in 1862, The University of South Dakota is designated as the only public liberal arts university in the state and is home to a comprehensive College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, the state's only School of Law, School of Medicine, the accredited Beacom School of Business and the College of Fine Arts. It has an enrollment of more than 9,900 students taught by 400 faculty members. More information is available at www.usd.edu/press/news.

This material is available in an alternate format upon request. Please contact University Relations at 605-677-5759. If you are a person with a disability and need a special accommodation to fully participate in any university activity or event, please contact Disability Services at 605-677-6389 as soon as possible, but no later than 48 hours before the event, so that appropriate arrangements may be made.

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Dr. Ranjit Koodali's Research Cited in NSF's Budget Request to Congress

Dr. Ranjit Koodali, Associate Professor of Chemistry at USD, and a member of SD EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Award's PhotoActive Nanoscale Systems (PANS) has had his EPSCoR RII research cited in NSF's FY13 Budget Request to Congress as an example of the transformative science and engineering that NSF is funding.

The highlight is presented on p. 15 of the budget overview. (.pdf)

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Career and Technical Education branches beyond the single skill

Amanda Remick is not teaching a debating class. She’s not teaching a writing class or a logic class, either, but all of those skills can surface within a few moments of her “Introduction to Agriculture, Foods and Natural Resources” course.

The course, in the Stanley County School District, falls into the category called Career and Technical Education. It’s a category that Ashley Parker, media relations manager with the Association for Career and Technical Education, says often carries a reputation for being narrowly skills-based – and not rigorously academic. That, she says, is no longer accurate.

Parker, who’s based in Washington D.C., was visiting Pierre last week to talk about CTE.

Read More On the Capital Journal Website

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Winter 2012 SD EPSCoR Update Now Available

Winter 2012 SD EPSCoR Update Now Available Online: http://bit.ly/wh6gCx (.pdf)

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Turman Named Board of Regent's System Vice President of Research and Economic Development

From www.sdbor.edu

PIERRE, S.D. – Paul Turman, who has led academic assessment, institutional research, and student success initiatives for the South Dakota Board of Regents, is the public higher education system’s new vice president of research and economic development.

“Dr. Turman brings a keen understanding of public higher education to this task. He also recognizes the important role that higher education plays to enhance and support economic and workforce development in South Dakota,” said Jack Warner, the regents’ executive director and CEO. “Paul has been with the regents’ staff since 2006; we are very pleased to have one of our own assume these responsibilities going forward.”

As vice president, Turman will lead the public university system’s focus on research and development initiatives and serve as the board’s point person on multiple efforts to translate more university-based research into positive economic development for South Dakota.

Turman has a history of successful research, having published 32 peer-reviewed research articles, in addition to three co-authored books and five book chapters. He has presented 57 manuscripts at professional conferences and been recognized for contributions to research in his discipline, receiving 12 top manuscript/article awards since 2000. Turman continues to serve a variety of roles in national, regional, and state organizations related to his discipline and higher education, while also continuing to serve on the editorial boards for three scholarly journals.

A native of Fort Pierre, S.D., Turman was associate professor of communication studies at the University of Northern Iowa prior to returning to his home state to work for the Board of Regents. While at Northern Iowa, he received awards for outstanding research, teaching, and the advising of student organizations. He holds a Ph.D. in communications studies from The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as well as bachelor and master’s degrees from South Dakota State University.

Turman succeeds Gary E. Johnson, the regents’ vice president of research since 2008, who plans to retire this year after a distinguished career devoted to public- and private-sector research and the academic world.

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Preparing For Life After Graduate School Workshop Highlights

Students pursuing STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) advanced degrees in South Dakota had an ideal opportunity to further their knowledge with the Preparing For Life After Graduate School Workshop. The workshop, which was geared towards career development, held in Chamberlain, SD was as a joint effort between SD EPSCoR and the American Chemical Society (ACS) to teach graduate students and postdoctoral scholars about STEM career ioptons and how to prepare for them.