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Growth under the goal to foster innovation and increase RSCA.

South Dakota State University recorded a 17% increase in research expenditures over five years, driven by the university’s Imagine 2023 strategic plan. President Barry Dunn recognized this growth in research, scholarship and creative activity (RSCA) at his Sept. 20 State of the University address.

“These numbers represent a growth of our university’s research and creative activity output and encourage us to continue investing in this area of our university in the future,” Dunn said.

From Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 through FY23, the university’s annual awards grew from $45.7 million to $140 million in total. Research expenditures also increased to $74 million in 2023, a 17% growth over five years. The growth and other advancements align with the university’s Imagine 2023 strategic plan Goal 3: Foster Innovation and Increase Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity.

“Research and scholarly work are critical to the success of all land-grant universities. It is our job to help solve today's complex problems and create new knowledge that enhances society and the communities we call home,” he said. “At ������Ƶ, we are thinking boldly. We have a role and responsibility in helping to solve the critical problems and issues facing our global society.”

Other acknowledgments include:

• Renovation and construction of 528,000 square feet of research and creative space in the five-year timeframe. Some of these spaces include the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center, the Raven Precision Agriculture Center, Harding Hall and recently Lincoln Hall and Berg Agricultural Hall.
• Collaborative efforts and support of bioprocessing research led by ������Ƶ and South Dakota Mines through the recently opened Poet Bioproducts Center at the ������Ƶ Research Park on the east side of campus. Funding was supported by the South Dakota state legislature, donors through the ������Ƶ Foundation, Poet and others. He said, “The facility will use biological systems to transform agricultural materials into high-value inputs and end-use products.
• A center led by Dr. Adam Hopped received a nearly $11 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to create a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (CoBRE) at ������Ƶ. The center will develop new biomedical research capacity to enhance research related to inflammation at the cellular or molecular levels.
• Amber Letcher of the School of Education, Counseling, and Human Development led a multi-state team to provide services to prevent opioid abuse in rural South Dakota communities. To date, over 7,000 individuals across 63 communities have participated in the prevention webinars.
• The National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program named ������Ƶ, along with other universities, is a partner in a $14 million grant to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Great Plains region. Rajesh Kavasseri and Todd Letcher in the College of Engineering serve as ������Ƶ’s institutional leads for the program.

Text edited from a transcript excerpt from the State of the University address, delivered on Sept. 20, 2023, by ������Ƶ President Barry Dunn at South Dakota State University.

2023

• - ������Ƶ researcher turning switchgrass into bioplastics
  - ������Ƶ team set to lead AIM-AHEAD project
  - ������Ƶ animal science professor honored with a national award
  - Study shows region's live bait trade as a potential pathway for invasive species 

• - ������Ƶ Researchers develop AI-powered model to predict stock market trends
  - Invasive carp continue to be an ongoing threat to South Dakota
  - ������Ƶ researcher receives NSF grant to study disinfection byproducts in drinking water
  - ������Ƶ grad explores the feasibility of Earthsships in Brookings County

• - POET Bioproducts Center officially opens
  - Innovate SoDak receives additional funding from EDA
  - Precision ag and profitability: ������Ƶ researchers seek to understand farmers’ viewpoints
  - ������Ƶ researchers reveal possible treatment for sulphur mustard in new study.

• - Novel algorithm allows farmers to monitor crops in real-time
  - Could spent coffee grounds provide an alternative to plastic packaging? 
  - ������Ƶ researchers working to restore native plants to national parks 
  - WATCH: Restoring the River Otter

• 
  - What's behind Minnesota's moose population decline?
  - ������Ƶ to spearhead NSF-backed fertilizer development project
  - ������Ƶ researcher seeks to improve organic vegetable yields
  - ������Ƶ to improve electrical grids in rural communities

• - Researchers' algorithm allows for more accurate air quality forecasts
  - ������Ƶ's play therapy program works to improve children’s mental health
  - Butzin earns NSF CAREER award
  - Q&A with Steven Wingate

• 
  - School of Design redesigns historic train station
  - Can avocados help curb a plastic waste problem?
  - Cover crops contribute to soil health, study shows
  - Can wild foods positively contribute to a person's diet?

• - David Reynolds, Solving a music mystery
  - Restoring the River Otter
  - Basu Lab awarded grant to study fluid mechanics of transport in dense cancerous tumors
  - Snow to cyanide: The many research applications of mass spectrometers

• - ������Ƶ awarded $1.28 million USDA grant to study barriers of ag conservation practices
  - Cole-Dai awarded NSF grant to study and collect Greenland's ice cores
  - Anderson earns CSCA Federation Prize
  - Roambee partners with Lohr College of Engineering

• • Basu and team draw inspiration from pigs to design novel air filters technologies;
  • Fossil records can help with future conservation efforts;
  • ������Ƶ Poll explores trust in physicians, COVID-19 booster shots;
  • ������Ƶ researcher investigates perceived challenges toward conservation practices
• • Basu to develop nasal spray and oral inhaler testing platform;
  • Fu using AI to predict traffic delay times;
  • Seniors present research at legislative poster session;
  • Santos analyzes economic conditions in South Dakota;

2022

• • Virus-laden droplets increase COVID-19 severity;
  • Diversified crop rotation;
  • Gene mutation discovery;
  • Biomaterial for corneal implants
• • Research refines senior’s career path;
  • NSF research leads to doctoral work;
  • Scientists improving prairie restoration;
  • Small rural businesses need internet

2021

• 2021 Annual Research Report

  Research in health, engineering, political science and agriculture take spotlight in the 2021 annual research report. The featured researchers started with ������Ƶ seed funding and built programs that have since secured federal funding. In 2021, the university also expanded possibilities with the opening of the Raven Precision Agriculture Center and the POET Bioproducts Innovation Institute's groundbreaking.

• • POET Bioproducts Institute transitions research to the marketplace;
  • Compound from soybeans to improve animal health;
  • Rosemary compound may help postpartum dairy cows;
  • New instrument to help scientists examine molecular interactions
• • Lopez to help unravel rare inflammatory genetic disorders;
  • Tummala to advance curcumin formulation for colon inflammation;
  • Intensively managed grazing can increase profits, improve the environment;
  • Chemistry researchers uncover how cancer uses sugar to evade immune cells;
• • Prasad first ME faculty member to receive NSF Career Award;
  • USGS EROS brings Landsat scientists to Research Park;
  • Palliative care for cancer patients in west central South Dakota;
  • Researchers assess social media use during Jan.6 event
• • ������Ƶ researchers to track chemicals in counterfeit drugs;
  • Community Practice Innovation Center to connect patients with resources;
  • HRSA project focuses on recovery from meth addiction;
  • SD teachers learn how mRNA vaccines work;