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Discovery and development: SDSU researchers battle back against turkey virus

Researchers in South Dakota State University's Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory were the first to identify a new strain of avian metapneumovirus — a highly contagious disease that is currently causing significant problems for the U.S. poultry industry — and are now working toward developing a safe and effective vaccine.

Engineering the flow: SDSU models liquid argon inside DUNE

A pair of South Dakota State University researchers are modeling the flow of liquid argon through the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) being built a mile under South Dakota’s Black Hills.

Liu honored by engineering educators

Yucheng Liu, head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, has become a Distinguished Member of the American Society for Engineering Education. He is in the first cohort to receive the title as this is a new designation for the organization, which seeks to advance engineering education at all levels of the profession. Liu has been a member since 2011 and has held offices in the organization since 2019.

Construction management and paper dolls

In the tough and gritty world of construction, paper dolls would seem to be as out of place as steel-toed boots at a ballet performance. However, when four construction management students attended a recent skills competition, paper doll construction was among the activities. Of course, the South Dakota State University students weren’t putting dresses or bonnets on their dolls. In fact, their dolls weren’t even what Pinterest would call paper dolls. Their paper dolls were cut-out, scaled pieces of paper that represented tilt-up concrete panels on cast-on-site projects. The students and 16 others from other Midwest universities were taking part in the Region 4 Skills Summit sponsored by the Associated Schools of Construction.

Forum created to PItch entrepreneurial ideas

PItch Day at SDSU, an opportunity for faculty members to share their entrepreneurial ideas, was revived Nov. 1 after being inactive for a number of years. The current effort is the vision of the South Dakota State University Division of Research and Economic Development and the Research Office in the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering. It featured six presenters — four from engineering, one from the College of Natural Sciences and one from the School of Psychology, Sociology and Rural Studies. Rajesh Kavasseri, associate dean for research in the Lohr College of Engineering, served as moderator. He said the presentations at the Research Park at South Dakota State University are expected to continue on a quarterly basis.

Jackrabbit in the Spotlight / Statistician Simpson finds beauty in numbers, relationships

Statistics doctoral student Andrew Simpson has found great success in the complicated field of large-scale number crunching and data analysis. He already holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics (2021) and a master’s degrees in statistics (2022). In 2026, he should complete his third degree from South Dakota State University with a doctorate in computational science and statistics with a statistics specialization. He has presented at a national conference and had a paper printed in an academic journal.

Class gets firsthand look at renewable natural gas facility

Seniors in Michael Twedt’s Renewable Energy Systems class got a close look at what it takes to bring renewable natural gas to a viable market during a tour of NorthWestern Energy’s renewable natural gas receipt facility at the north edge of Brookings Nov. 19. The 24 mechanical engineering majors got an opportunity to “see the working systems that we discuss in class,” Twedt said. That included monitoring equipment to ensure the methane that originates at area diaries has been processed to pipeline quality and odorizing equipment to give odorless gas its rotten egg smell.

Why is federated learning important for 5G networks?

Jun Huang, assistant professor in South Dakota State University's Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to alleviate network efficiency and data privacy concerns related to wireless communications networks.

STEM outreach from high school to kindergarten

National STEM Day on Nov. 8 saw three executive members of the SDSU Robotics Club at Renberg Elementary School in Sioux Falls for demonstrations. Presentations were made to about 125 students in three age groupings. The fourth and fifth graders took on the egg drop challenge with each team receiving an equal amount of supplies. They had to design creative solutions to protect their eggs during the drop.

Finalists named for dean of College of Natural Sciences

The search committee for the dean position at South Dakota State University’s College of Natural Sciences has named three finalists, who will be on campus over the next two weeks.