SD EPSCoR Impacts

SD EPSCoR Impacts for the Week of April 26, 2018:

• University of South Dakota biomedical engineering professors Etienne Gnimpieba, Ph.D., and Carol Lushbough, M.A., have been awarded a National Science Foundation I-Corps Teams Program grant. The award funds an innovative technology named the Resource Enhancement and Advanced Discovery System (READS) designed to assist users in locating the most relevant analytic tools and data using natural language capabilities. The I-Corps Teams Program grant is designed to assist the university’s researchers in developing a focus beyond their academic laboratories, and is intended to advance the economic benefits of NSF-funded research by transitioning science to the marketplace. More
• The National Science Foundation, in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), recently named 10 finalists for the fourth annual Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC). Western Dakota Tech in Rapid City is one of the finalists for their project entitled, Electrical Automation to Solve Hunger. The Electrical Automation to Solve Hunger project involves an automated system that combines raising fish for food with a method of growing crops using minimal human involvement. Each student team works with a faculty mentor and industry partner to develop STEM-based solutions. This coming June at an innovation boot camp in Alexandria, Virginia finalists will interact with entrepreneurs and experts in business planning, stakeholder engagement, communication and marketplace dynamics. More