In the late 70’s the US Congress and Senate noted that nearly all federal funding for University research in science and engineering was concentrated in just a few states. Those same states were also experiencing the most economic growth. They also noted that the educated youth from the more rural, non-research orientated states were migrating to the growing, research rich states. During the Federal R&D budgeting process, the National Science Foundation (NSF) was asked to look into this issue and suggest an approach that would disperse federal research funding more broadly without reducing the quality of science and engineering research being conducted.

NSF’s recommendation was to establish the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). Initially seven states with small populations and low personal income were invited to submit proposals to receive funds of approximately one million dollars each spread over five years. SD was one of the seven invited but did not receive an award. Five years later the exercise was repeated but now 18 states were invited to submit proposals. Each state was asked to form a statewide steering committee. SD adopted the slogan Research Excellence: A Critical Hallmark (REACH), and thus the REACH Committee was formed. SD again failed to receive an award. However, in 1987 after significant discussion and team building, SD developed a true statewide approach that was acceptable to NSF and was funded. This initiated a great period for SD, which continues to bear fruit.

I have been privileged to serve as chair of the REACH Committee these 20 years and have seen the state’s capacity to conduct quality research continue to grow as this newsletter’s stories indicate. More importantly, the SD science and engineering community has grown as more scientists and engineers have chosen SD as their home.
—Al Kurtenbach
REACH Committee