South Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research

The National Science Foundation has awarded South Dakota EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) a five-year, $20 million Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) award. SD EPSCoR is a significant component of South Dakota’s efforts to increase its research capacity and its ability to successfully compete for federal research funding. This new RII award is an extension of a three-year $6.75 million NSF RII award that SD EPSCoR received in 2006.

When announcing the award South Dakota EPSCoR Director and RII project director, James A. Rice said, “This award represents a significant public/private partnership that is based on the recognition that a strong research enterprise requires investment in science, math and pre-engineering education and workforce development in addition to the research itself.”

The NSF EPSCoR program assists states with establishing a self-sustaining academic research enterprise with the competitive capability that will contribute to the states' economic viability and development. SD EPSCoR's mission is to strengthen research and education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through support of faculty, facilities, research projects and education programs. SD EPSCoR contributes to an increase in science literacy and drives science-based economic development and workforce development across South Dakota.

SD EPSCoR is a partnership of the SD Governor's Office of Economic Development, the SD Office of Commercialization, the SD Board of Regents, and South Dakota State University, Augustana College, Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Oglala Lakota College, Sinte Gleska University, Sisseton Wahpeton College, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, and the University of South Dakota.

“By design, the EPSCoR program is collaborative in nature, recognizing that we can best advance the research agenda through strong partnerships among state and federal agencies, as well as with public, private, and tribal institutions of higher education,” said Jack R. Warner, the Board of Regents’ executive director and CEO. “In this way, we achieve more than any one entity can do alone.”

The primary research theme in the project is PhotoActive Nanoscale Systems (PANS). PANS is a collaboration consisting of over 40 faculty from the participating colleges and universities. Its goal is to produce commercially viable materials that can convert solar energy into electricity or use light to control how materials react with each other.

“Advancing the research agenda is crucial to South Dakota’s economic future, and a major priority for the Board of Regents,” said Regents President Terry Baloun. “This grant award will help us build on the research work that has been so strongly supported in the past by our legislature and Governor Rounds.”