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Sen Subramanian has been named dean of the College of Natural Sciences at South Dakota State University.

Four electrical engineering students at South Dakota State University students earned scholarships from a national organization for the current school year. The recipients are seniors Kalen Meyer and Luke Rasmussen, both of Rock Rapids, Iowa; and juniors Nicholas Erickson of Pierce, Nebraska, and Drake Rogers of Milbank.

For pharmacist Dean Schmiedt, it was right time at the right place. Shortly after graduation from South Dakota State University, the federal government enacted new regulations requiring that skilled nursing homes have a pharmacist review patients’ medications monthly. . His boss at Lovdahl’s Drug, in Little Falls, Minnesota, wasn’t interested in doing that task. Schmiedt, a 1973 ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ grad, picked up the work as a side job. He ended up becoming a full-time independent consultant pharmacist and a leader in the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. Earlier this fall, Schmiedt, of Fort Ripley, Minnesota, was honored by ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ’s College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions as its 2024 Distinguished Alumnus.

Looking at slides of blood cells, fecal matter and urine has taken on an entirely different perspective this school year thanks to new state-of-the-art equipment in the medical laboratory science lab at South Dakota State University. In July, the program received 28 microscopes and an innovative slide scanner as part of a $750,000 award from the South Dakota Department of Health, which was handling workforce development funds from the Centers for Disease Control, according to April Nelsen, the medical lab science clinical coordinator who put a proposal together for the health department.

South Dakota State University President Barry Dunn has bestowed presidential medallions upon three ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ Foundation leaders for their contributions to the university. The recipients were Steve Erpenbach, president and CEO of the ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ Foundation; Keith Mahlum, vice president for development; and Tim Dwire, vice president for finance and operations.

As a Davis-Bahcall Scholar, current South Dakota State University freshman Mackenzie Hollenbeck traveled more than 5,000 miles this summer going to some of the top science centers in the world. But the one that really grabbed her heart was only a little more than 100 miles from her family’s Edgemont ranch. The biology major was among eight South Dakota students who were chosen to participate in the Davis-Bahcall Scholars Program, which is designed to help rising university freshmen and sophomores entering science, technology, engineering and math fields develop an understanding of where their passions could take them.

Two retired South Dakota State University nursing professors were honored by their college for lifetime achievements at a scholarship celebration on campus Oct. 25. Carol J. Peterson, 85, of Brookings, was the inaugural recipient of the College of Nursing's Living Legacy Award. She served as the dean of the ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ College of Nursing from 1977 to 1987, when she became the vice president for academic affairs, a position she held for 22 years. Lois Tschetter, 72, of Brookings, was honored with the College of Nursing’s annual Distinguished Service Award. Tschetter retired in 2019 after a 36-year career at ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ.

South Dakota Pharmacists Association has selected South Dakota State University pharmacy educator Emily Van Klompenburg, of Bruce, as its Distinguished Young Pharmacist. Van Klompenburg, a 2015 Pharm.D. graduate from South Dakota State University, received the award at the association’s annual conference in Brookings Sept. 13. The award goes to a pharmacist less than 10 years in the practice who has participated in professional programs and community service.

Longtime South Dakota State University pharmacist Jodi Heins of Sioux Falls has been named pharmacist of the year by the South Dakota Pharmacists Association. Heins, a professor in the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions at ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ, received the Hustead Award at the association’s annual gathering in Brookings Sept. 13.

Two South Dakota State University students in the landscape architecture program competed in an international competition in Istanbul, Turkey. Jake Pytleski and Miranda Peck represented the ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ School of Design in the International Federation of Landscape Architects conference Sept. 4-6. Pytleski’s team placed third in the conference competition.