SOUTH DAKOTA SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM

The South Dakota Space Grant Consortium (SDSGC) conducts programs in six main areas. The Consortium’s activities in these areas during the past year are summarized below.

 1. Research Infrastructure

 As a “capability enhancement” state in NASA’s Space Grant Program, development of research infrastructure within South Dakota continues to be a primary focus of SDSGC activities.  Highlights in research areas over the past year include:

·        In December 2000, submitted SD NASA EPSCoR proposal entitled: “The Use of Remote Sensing for Monitoring, Prediction, and Management of Hydrologic, Agricultural, and Ecological Processes in the Northern Great Plains”. This overall proposal package contained three separate, yet related research proposals.  Research proposals 2 and 3 were funded for $223,100/year and $164,000/year respectively, along with a $125K/year NASA EPSCoR core grant for improving research infrastructure within South Dakota.  This effort resulted in the establishment of the SD NASA EPSCoR Program, with the headquarters office located at SDSM&T and Dr. Sherry Farwell as the Program Director.

» Proposal 1 - "Improved Precipitation Estimation in the Northern Great Plains by Remote Sensing Approaches”.  (Not funded)

» Proposal 2 - "Cross-Calibration of Landsat and IKONOS Sensors for Use in Precision Agriculture”.  (Funded)

» Proposal 3 - "Leaf Area Index for Fire Chronosequences of the Black Hills and Southern Siberia: A Comparative Study".  (Funded)

 The SD NASA EPSCoR strategic plan was guided by the following desirable actions:

- To establish new contacts and strengthen existing linkages with NASA Centers, NASA researchers, and the USGS EROS Data Center.
- To promote participation from the State’s major research institutions, State agencies, and relevant businesses in SD that are interested in strengthening our scientific and technological enterprises.
- To develop the State’s scientific talent and infrastructure for enhanced competitiveness in research, development, and technology-based economic development.
- To encourage greater participation by under represented groups, especially Native Americans, in scientific education and research.
- To build greater public and political support in SD for the overall science, engineering, and technology enterprise.
- To communicate the benefits of current and future NASA programs to the progress and development of SD, the Northern Great Plains Region, and the Nation.

The SD NASA EPSCoR “Team” of researchers agreed to pursue a research strategy centered on: 1) the establishment of quantitative links between geospatial information technologies and fundamental climatic and ecosystem processes in the Northern Great Plains (NGP), and 2) the development and use of coupled modeling tools, which can be initialized by data from a combined satellite and surface observational network, to provide reliable predictions and management guidance for hydrologic, agricultural, and ecological systems of the NGP.
<nasaepscor/>

 Collaboration with relevant NASA scientists has occurred and will continue.

·        As presented at the National Council of Space Grant Directors Meeting in Fairbanks, SDSGC was very involved with efforts within and outside the state of SD regarding the proposed National Underground Science Laboratory at the Homestake Mine.  A 5-year, collaborative proposal has been submitted to the National Science Foundation to convert the Homestake Gold Mine in Lead, South Dakota, which is scheduled to close in December 2001, into a National Underground Science Laboratory (NUSL) <http://mocha.phys.washington.edu/NUSL/>.  During the past 30 years, scientists have developed an amazing way to view the Universe with deep underground neutrino "telescopes".  Results from the first solar neutrino experiment, which was initiated by Dr. R. Davis and his colleagues over 30 years ago with a neutrino detector 4,850 feet underground at the Homestake Mine, have stimulated the "solar neutrino problem" and multiple investigations worldwide.  The results obtained from this growing cadre of underground detectors now promise new insights into the Standard Model of Elementary Particles and Forces.  In addition to subterranean physics, a whole range of "underground science" has become evident during the past few years.  Specific subterranean research topics include solar, atmospheric, long-baseline, supernova and high energy astrophysical neutrinos, double beta decay, and dark matter searches; precision and sensitive assay of radionuclides (with applications to enforcement of disarmament treaties and environmental effluent studies); materials science and engineering; nuclear astrophysics cross-section measurements; hydrology, seismology, rock mechanics and other topics in geoscience; microgravity experiments via long drop tubes; and the study of the evolution and subsistence of biological organisms under extreme environmental conditions.  There is also considerable industrial interest in underground laboratories because of materials activation issues, cosmic-ray-induced error rates in microelectronics, quantum computing, and the production and storage of ultra-pure materials.

      The imminent cessation of mining by Homestake/Barrick, the mine's maximum 8,250 foot depth, its multiple underground levels every ~150 feet from the surface to 8,250', its geologic stability in a seismic-quiet area, and an extensive physical plant, combine to make a compelling argument for the location of the NUSL at the Homestake Mine site.  The proposal to NSF is a collaboration between the Consortium for Underground Science and the State of SD and its universities, with strong support from the Governor and Legislature.  The State of SD is in final stages of legislatively-approved negotiations with Homestake Mining Company/Barrick to obtain title to specific portions of the Homestake site.  With assistance from the SD congressional delegation, federal indemnification is being sought for both Homestake/Barrick and the State.  The proposal lays out a conceptual design and corresponding budget for renovating the existing infrastructure into a laboratory, developing capabilities to host multiple underground science experiments at several depths, and developing a corresponding surface facility to support the overall scientific endeavors at the NUSL.  Laboratory caverns would be built-to-order as scientific proposals are approved. 

With proximity to Mt. Rushmore and the fact that most people find understanding the Cosmos so exciting, NUSL has the potential to directly engage more Americans than any other U.S. research science site.  In addition to an extensive outreach program for tourists, NUSL will provide on-site and distance education curricular experiences for K-Ph.D. students, distance education opportunities for the general public, astrophysical data outreach to scientists around the world, and special participation opportunities for individuals and institutions in regional and national EPSCoR states and Puerto Rico.  In its interpretative activities, NUSL will recognize the special significance of the Black Hills to the Native American community and will use both its special place and the excitement of its science to reach out to all communities, especially those underrepresented in U.S. science and technology. 

The existing outreach network contained within the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program and the NASA EPSCoR Program will be relied upon extensively for this purpose.  A conference on underground science opportunities at the proposed NUSL was held in Lead, SD on October 4-7, 2001.  This initial conference focused on: 1) Physics, 2) Earth Science, and 3) Outreach.  SDSGC provided significant assistance in organizing the Outreach component of the conference by helping secure panel presentations in the following areas: a) K-12 Education, b) Undergraduate Education and Research, c) Educational and Research Opportunities for Young Scientists at the NUSL, and d) Visitor Center/Tourism.  A separate Geomicrobiology Workshop will be held on Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 2001 in Lead, SD. Again, officials from the SDSGC and the SD NASA EPSCoR program will be directly involved in this Geomicrobiology Workshop. 

·        SDSGC provided administrative assistance for two meetings of the Western Research Alliance.  The objective of this broad based organization is to provide a regional forum for academic researchers, entrepreneurs, state and federal agencies, and local economic developers who are interested in the promotion of research, technology transfer, and business development.  The WRA meetings held during 2001 focused on Life Sciences and Electronics. Officials from the SDSGC and the SD NASA EPSCoR program worked closely with the WRA to attract the National SBIR Conference to Rapid City.  This National SBIR Conference was held on Oct. 24-26, 2001. 

·        SDSGC also provided support for the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Pre-Conference Session for Student and Faculty Entrepreneurs held at the campus of SDSM&T on October 23, 2001.  Experts from South Dakota and around the country that have participated in the SBIR Program met with over 200 middle school, high school, and university students and faculty to discuss how to start and grow a technology business.  They were also introduced to business related careers in science, math and other technical fields.  This event was held in conjunction with the National SBIR Fall Conference in Rapid City. 

·        Technical and financial support was provided for GIS-remote sensing and image processing laboratories at member universities and educational affiliates, including Native American Tribal Colleges.  This support is for research and educational projects involving GIS and remote sensing curriculum development, precision agriculture, algorithm development for NDVI data, plant science, climate change, and land surface processes. These projects involve interaction with the USGS EROS Data Center (EDC) located in South Dakota. 

·        SDSM&T investigators continued both basic and applied research into carbon sequestration.  The South Dakota Carbon Sequestration Project provides a traceable method to determine the Carbon Emission Reduction Credits (CERCs) for registered land. A CERC is only valuable as a commodity if it can be quantified through a scientifically defensible methodology that is reproducible and traceable.  The C-Lock process provides both of these qualities for the CERCs estimated to be produced by individual landowners.  A practical, science-based system has been developed by combining the experiences of scientists from the SDSM&T Institute of Atmospheric Sciences with satellite remotely-sensed data and soil carbon data, along with advanced numerical modeling techniques, to determine an estimate of the specific CERCs for individual parcels of registered land.  The system also includes an assessment of the uncertainty in the validation process so that a safe fraction of the CERCs can be certified for future sales-based bidding.  The researchers are now at the stage of conducting sensitivity analysis to determine the minimum reporting detail required to arrive at accurate incremental carbon storage.  

·        SDSU and SDSM&T continued active participation in the Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium (UMAC) activity with precision agriculture and remote sensing and in the Public Access Resource Center (PARC) project.  Scientists from SDSGC were involved in the Educational PARC (EdPARC) components of this NASA-funded project by providing two teacher-training workshops in GIS, GPS and remote sensing technology in June 2001 in Rapid City at Douglas High School and in Sioux Falls at the USGS EROS Data Center. 

·        Badlands Observatory in Quinn, SD (an educational affiliate of SDSGC) has become nationally recognized as it successfully continued its Near Earth Object (NEO) asteroid observations and identification in participation with the international Spaceguard Foundation.  Participating observatories around the world are cataloguing all of the NEO’s that may represent a global impact hazard to the Earth. The dark skies in western SD, combined with the extremely sensitive research-grade telescope at Badlands Observatory, places the observatory in the company of some of the world's best astronomical research facilities.  It is host to an f/4.8 Newtonian Telescope with a 26" diameter mirror, the largest telescope in the local three-state area.  Observations are reported to the Minor Planet Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.  Since beginning operations last year, the Badlands Observatory has discovered a total of 24 new mainbelt asteroids have been discovered to date by Badlands Observatory, along with 101 NEO confirmations. With support from the SDSGC, both SDSM&T and USD have both begun forming astronomical education and research partnerships with Badlands Observatory.  <bo.htm> 

·        SDSGC funded the curriculum development of a Spring 2002 course offered by SDSM&T and Badlands Observatory titled “Advanced Observational Astronomy” (Physics 385). 

·        Professional and financial support for the new biocomplexity research theme, which is part of South Dakota’s NSF EPSCoR program. 

·        Ongoing collaborative support for the preparation of the final technical report on the Upper Missouri River Basin (UMRB) Hydrology Pilot Project continued this year.  The goal of this interdisciplinary project is to study links among hydrology, weather and climate using the Black Hills as a laboratory to provide an understanding that can be applied across the central region of the North American continent. 

·        SDSGC provided limited funding to stimulate the publication of scientific papers and for presentations at research conferences. 

·        SDSU was the successful recipient of the following NASA EPSCoR project in South Dakota: “Cross Calibration of Landsat and IKONOS Sensors for Use in Precision Agriculture”.  SDSU also participates in both the steering committee and the technical advisory board tied to the SD NASA EPSCoR activity. 

·        SDSU was a successful recipient of an IFAFS/USDA project in collaboration with Montana. This project is entitled “Modeling and Visualizing Remote Sensing and Terrain Data for Research and Education in Precision Agriculture.” 

·        SDSU participated in a NASA-funded ESIPS project on mapping weeds in soybeans. 

·        SDSU participated in a Raytheon-funded Team Express project through UMAC in which farmers were able to download imagery of their farms via PCDirect and apply these data through various techniques. 

·        Presentations made by Augustana College for remote sensing included:

ü      B. C. Reed, D. Swets, L. Bard, J. Brown, J. Rowland, "Interactive visualization of vegetation dynamics," in Proceedings, International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Sydney, Australia, August 9 - 13, 2001.

ü      Bill Delfs and Daniel L. Swets, Demonstration: "Rocket Fuel: mixing solid and liquid fuels," Space Days 2001: A Space Odyssey in South Dakota, Rapid City, South Dakota, 2001.

ü      Levi Bard and Daniel L. Swets, Presentation: "Phenology viewed from satellite images," Space Days 2001: A Space Odyssey in South Dakota, Rapid City, South Dakota, 2001.

ü      Levi Bard and Daniel L. Swets, Poster: "Visualization of Satellite Phenology," 2001 South Dakota State Legislature "Undergraduate Student Research Activities Poster Session," Pierre, SD, February, 2001.

2. Higher Education 

·        An eight-member undergraduate student team (and supporting faculty and staff) from SDSM&T proposed and are currently developing an experiment to fly aboard NASA’s KC-135 reduced gravity aircraft in the Spring/Summer 2002.  The project, titled “Photon Propulsion for Gossamer Spacecraft”, compares two different “solar sail” systems using short wavelength-near visible laser light and long wavelength microwaves as the means of propulsion <http://www.hpcnet.org/space>.  SDSM&T also submitted a proposal for the Summer 2001 KC-135 flight program, which was not selected for flight.  That experiment was titled "Cement Hydration Assessment in Reduced Gravity Environments (CHARGE)". 

SDSM&T’s March 2000 KC-135 project results were presented at the April 2001 SD Academy of Science and published as: Keefner, J., Monheim, A., Glover, L., 2001, "Deployment of a membrane reflector in Zero-G", Proceedings of the 86th Annual Meeting of the South Dakota Academy of Science, v. 80.  In February 2001, this project was also presented as a poster at the State Legislature, Student Research Poster Session in the State Capitol Rotunda in Pierre, SD. 

·        SDSGC supported the Spring-2002 Advanced Observational Astronomy course (Physics 385) offered by SDSM&T and Badlands Observatory. 

·        SDSGC's Director or Deputy Director attended all National Council of Space Grant Director's meetings during 2001. 

·        SDSGC maintained its "Educational Opportunities (Higher Ed.)" website.
<EdOpp-HigherEd.htm> 

FACULTY and STAFF TRAVEL SUPPORT

            SDSM&T

Ø      Tom Durkin, SDSGC Deputy Director, Joint Conference of the SD Science Teachers Assoc. and SD Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Huron, SD (February 1-2, 2001)

Ø      Tom Durkin, DENR Ground Water Quality Conference, Pierre, SD (March 19, 2001)

Ø      Dr. Sherry Farwell, SDSGC Director, National Council of Space Grant Directors Meeting, Washington D.C. (March 20-23, 2001)

Ø      Tom Durkin, ESIP Meeting, Grand Forks, ND (July 24-25, 2001)

Ø      Tom Durkin, National Council of Space Grant Directors Meeting, Fairbanks, AK (Sept. 4-9, 2001)

Ø      Several meetings and trips were supported by Space Grant to allow Sherry Farwell and Tom Durkin to travel to SDSGC meetings, Native American schools, EdPARC meetings, SD EPSCoR Student Research Poster Session at State Capitol, etc. 

SDSU Faculty and staff travel support:

Ø      Travel support for Dr. Alfred Andrawis to attend the Optical Fiber Communication Conference in Anaheim,

Ø      Dr Sung Shin presentation at Univ. of Wyoming conference,

Ø      Mary O’Neill to present signatures in space document to Corsica school children,

Ø      Four staff members to Space Day in Rapid City,

Ø      Dr. Alfred Andrawis, partial support to discuss educational collaboration with South Korea,

Ø      Kevin Dalsted, Western Regional SGC meeting, near Warm Springs, OR,

Ø      Mary O’Neill, St. Francis, SD, to discuss science education with teachers.

Ø      Kevin Dalsted, Washington, D.C. to discuss NASA BAA for potential geospatial specialist. 

Augustana College

Ø      Levi Bard, South Dakota State Legislature Poster session (March 1, 2001),

Ø      Dan Swets, Levi Bard, Marlys Van’t Hul, and one other, 2001 South Dakota Space Days (May 4, 2001),

Ø      Jetty Duffy-Matzner, Proposed National Underground Laboratory conference (Oct. 5, 2001) 

·        SDSU faculty a) participated in a workshop on precision agriculture technologies at SDSU in August, b) attended the ND/SD NSF EPSCoR meeting in Brookings, SD, and c) attended the Sioux Falls Area Research Association meeting in Brookings and joined the association. 

·        SDSU’s Kevin Dalsted presented a poster at the Spring UMAC meeting in Grand Forks titled “Using Remote Sensing for Weed Mapping”. 

·        Augustana College conducted the following Higher Education Activities: 

ü      Palieolimnology and the effects of land use on sedimentation and erosion rates.  Activities included the collection and analysis of lake sediment cores to document historical changes in water quality and erosion rates.  A start was made on the correlation of data from the cores with various land disturbance activities throughout this century including timber harvest, fires, and floods.

ü      NDVI Smoothing.  Activities included the implementation and maintenance of efficient algorithms for NDVI signal smoothing.

ü      Seasonality metrics.  Activities included the implementation of algorithms for extracting seasonality metrics from NDVI time-series data.

ü      Cluster computing.  Activities included the parallel implementation of smoothing and metrics algorithms using a cluster computing approach.

ü      Visualization tools development.  Activities included the development of web-based tools to assist in the visualization of parameters used in smoothing and metrics algorithms.

ü      MODIS project recompete.  Associations with scientists at the USGS EROS Data Center and Boston University were established to pursue the NASA recompete for the production of MODIS products.

ü      MODIS Source Data Study.  A project was initiated with Augustana College, the USGS EROS Data Center, and Boston University to analyze the relative merits of various source data for use in MODIS product development.  The study is considering the use of EVI, NDVI, NBAR NDVI, NBAR Greenness, LAI, and PSN as source data.

ü      MODIS Phenologic Metric Technique.  A project was initiated with Augustana College, the USGS EROS Data Center, and Boston University to analyze various existing and proposed techniques for metrics calculations from time-series data, particularly the start-of-season metric.  The study is looking at the Boston University maximal curvature method, the EDC backward-looking moving average method, the half-max method, the DeFries time of greatest increase method, the Moulin method, and the Augustana slope-based method. 

3. K-12 Outreach 

The Consortium's full-time Deputy Director/Outreach Coordinator at our lead institution (SDSM&T) and part time Outreach Coordinators at SDSU, Augustana College, and the USGS EROS Data Center develop and coordinate the Consortium's K-12 programs. Highlights from the past year include: 

·        SDSGC maintained "Educational Opportunities (K-12)" website for SD teachers, students, and parents <EdOpp-K-12.htm> 

·        A “space odyssey” came to Rapid City's Civic Center on May 4-6^th as the South Dakota Space Grant Consortium sponsored "SD/NASA Space Days 2001".  About 4,500 students and members of the public attended this special annual event which promotes the benefits enjoyed every day as a result of space science, earth science, and technology.  Thousands of students were shown practical examples of the fruits of these sciences while at the same time, learning the importance of studying math, science, and engineering.
<SpaceDay2001Home.htm> 

Astronaut Colonel Charles "Sam" Gemar, a native South Dakotan, was the featured speaker, captivating thousands of students with fascinating accounts of his experiences as a NASA Astronaut.  About 30 educational exhibits were on display, including tours through the International Space Station (ISS) traveling exhibit from JSC.  Tours exposed people to what it is like for astronauts and cosmonauts to live and work inside the ISS.  Starlab Planetarium shows were offered, as were four teacher-training workshops on Mars Exploration, Small Bodies in the Solar System, educational displays by the NASA Educator Resource Centers in SD, and a workshop on Lakota Perspectives on the Environment from Mother Earth to the Heavens. 

·        Tom Durkin of SDSM&T participated in the Meade County rural school system's "Learning Olympics" in May 2001 by giving six presentations on space and earth science to several hundred rural school students in Union Center, SD. 

·        SDSGC helped sponsor two, one-week Earth and Space Camps for high school teachers held at SDSM&T in June 2001.  Topics in the Space Camp included planets and planetary geology; lives of stars; classification, morphology and origin of galaxies; meteorites; comets; the electromagnetic spectrum; origin and evolution of the solar system and the universe (and other topics).  Observing sessions focused on constellation recognition as well as developing astronomical object location, identification, and description skills. An 18" JMI Newtonian reflector, SBIG CCD camera, and a 4" refractor (along with any scopes participants would like to bring) were available. Planetarium software (The Sky) and other interactive software were utilized (Redshift 4 and Exploring the Planets). This class was tailored for teachers, students, and amateur astronomers. 

·        In cooperation with UMAC and NASA’s EdPARC program, SDSGC helped organize and present two, intensive one-week teacher-training workshops titled “Earth Science Tools for Educators” held at Douglas High School in Box Elder, SD and the USGS EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, SD.  About 60 teachers attended the two workshops in June 2001.  The workshops focused on GIS, GPS, Remotely Sensed Imagery (Satellite and Aerial), and Curriculum Integration and Standards.  Instructors from SDSGC (SDSU and SDSM&T) and several K-12 teachers combined to team-teach these well-received workshops. 

·        SDSGC helped Cornerstones Career Learning Center promote a Summer Career Camp titled "Introducing Real Outdoor Careers to Kids" for about 60 students in various school districts in the Huron, SD area.  One of the sessions included a talk on astronomy and featured Ron Dyvig of Badlands Observatory. 

·        SDSGC solicited participation from several K-12 schools in Project Starshine 3, in which students polished mirrors for the Starshine 3 satellite launched in October 2001.  In addition, Starshine 3 contains clusters of experimental solar cells.  Data on these solar cells is collected by a computer designed and built at SDSM&T by the Center of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing and Production (CAMP) and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. The data is radioed to the ground with a transmitter built by Cynetics Corporation, an industrial affiliate of SDSGC.  Amateur radio operators (hams) receive these transmissions at 145.825 MHz as 9600 bps packets.  SDSGC helped fund the SDSM&T and Cynetics portions of the Starshine project. 

·        Continuation of the collaborative elementary curriculum project titled "Earth Systems Connections" <http://www.tandl.vt.edu/esc/> funded by NASA and developed at Virginia Tech, University of Colorado, and SDSM&T.  Daily discoveries are made by researchers showing that the Earth's physical, chemical, biological, geological, economic and cultural systems are intimately intertwined.  Earth Systems Connections is a hands on, multifaceted, interactive mathematics, science, and technology curriculum where elementary students are challenged to explore how many of the Earth's systems operate and connect with one another.  SDSM&T's Dr. Lee Vierling, the PI of the project, has incorporated Little Wound School and Woodrow Wilson Elementary School (Rapid City, SD) into the project as pilot schools.  SDSGC provided funds for the addition of Native American video clips into the curriculum of this project, an exciting way to get Lakota culture into a nationally-available curriculum for elementary children. 

·        Augustana College Science Day - Science Day provides high school juniors and seniors a day filled with hands-on science opportunities/experiences.  The day is designed to encourage students to study and understand the sciences and to eliminate the fear that the word science sometimes portrays.  This year Augustana College hosted 411 students.  A special invitation went to Native American and female students in order to break down the stereotypes that science has produced.  To entice these targeted groups to attend, Augustana College waived the tuition normally associated with student attendance.  As a result of this event, two students receive $8,000 scholarships to attend Augustana College and to major in the sciences. 

·        As evidenced by extensive participation in the 2001 "Student Signatures in Space" Program, enthusiasm for the space program remains very high among SD's K-12 school students with an estimated 1,800 signatures by students, teachers, and parents.  Schools in Rapid City, Armour, and Sioux Falls, SD took part in the program. 

·        SDSGC supported "Scientific Knowledge for Indian Learning and Leadership" (SKILL) Program on SDSM&T's campus.  SDSM&T also supported student participation in the local chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). 

·        SDSGC maintained working relationships with the two NASA Educator Resource Centers (ERC's) in South Dakota to help assure their continuing use by teachers and students.  One ERC is located at Black Hills State University's Center for the Advancement of Math and Science Education in Spearfish and the other at the Kirby Science Center in Sioux Falls. 

·        SDSU’s Aerospace Career and Education (ACE) Camp 2001 was held in July with 12 high school participants. 

·        SDSU supported the College of Engineering Visitor’s Team, which traveled to six nearby high schools to conduct half day demonstrations of hands-on science. 

·        SDSGC supported the SDSU/Flandreau Indian School Success Academy in which the freshman class came to SDSU six times during the Spring Semester for various science and technology half day workshops, a meal, and a fun evening activity.  SDSU currently plans to have both the freshman and sophomore classes from Flandreau Indian School visit SDSU this spring. 

·        In October 2001, SDSGC began recruiting nine high schools throughout the state to participate in the 2002 FIRST Robotics program.  This action has secured schools for almost all of the available slots.  Mentoring universities include the following Consortium members: SDSM&T, SDSU, and Augustana College. 

4. Other Public Service 

·        Support was provided to the Black Hills Astronomical Society (BHAS) and related summer Star Parties open to the public at Hidden Valley Observatory and Badlands Observatory.  SDSGC created and maintains public service websites for BHAS, <BHAS.htm>, Hidden Valley Observatory, and Badlands Observatory. 

·        SDSGC continued its support of StarDate, a daily PBS radio broadcast in South Dakota as part of the McDonald Observatory astronomy program.  This broadcast provides a very effective means of informing the public about the Consortium's resources. 

·        In August, SDSGC’s Booth was provided at Ellsworth AFB Airshow “Dakota Thunder 2001”. 

·        Mr. Bob Polcyn of Hot Springs, SD applied this year to become South Dakota’s Solar System Ambassador.  The announcement is expected in January 2002.  Mr. Polcyn presented several talks throughout the Black Hills area on astronomy, the mathematical aspects of astronomy, the first human landing on the moon, and the solar system.  Presentations were made to a retirement community, the general public, and high school, middle school, and elementary school children (which included several sessions as part of an After School Enrichment Program). 

·        SDSGC’s Tom Durkin, with assistance from Black Hills Astronomical Society members, presented a course entitled “Introduction to Astronomy and Current Events in Space” through the Community Education Program in Rapid City.  Over 20 adult members of the public attended this four-session course during October 2001.  Due to the success of this course, it is planned to become an annual event sponsored by SDSGC. 

·        Space presentations by SDSGC personnel were given to several school groups and library youth groups in 2001. 

·        Numerous press releases and various informational presentations about Consortium activities, noteworthy celestial events, aerospace programs, etc. were published and presented to the general public. 

5. Fellowships and Scholarships 

SDSGC supported a number of graduate and undergraduate students through fellowships, scholarships, and assistantships. We have established a Diversity Enhancement Fellowship program to provide research and educational opportunities for faculty and students at Tribal Colleges and other Native American institutions in South Dakota. The total amount of Consortium support for faculty and students through these avenues exceeded $50,000 over the project year. 

SDSM&T Graduate and Undergraduate Student Fellowships:

Ø      Patrick Kozak - SDSM&T Geological Engineering graduate student sponsored by Space Grant.  Specialty: remote sensing using Landsat and AVIRIS, field spectroscopy.  Presented several papers at professional conferences throughout the year.

Ø      T. Bull Bennett – SDSM&T AEWR graduate student sponsored by Space Grant.  Specialty: sustainability of a large, managed bison ranch using a variety of methods including remote sensing.

Ø      Gwen Lone Wolf - SDSM&T AEWR graduate student sponsored by Space Grant.  Specialty: remote sensing of prairie dog habitats.

Ø      Rachel Smith - SDSM&T Atmospheric Science graduate student sponsored by Space Grant.  Specialty: remote sensing methods for detecting post-fire biomass recovery.

Ø      Kristopher Jensen – SDSM&T Electrical Engineering graduate student sponsored by Space Grant.  SDSM&T’s Project Manager for FIRST Robotics Project.                   Specialty: control systems.

Ø      Scott Miller – SDSM&T Geology graduate student sponsored by Space Grant.

Ø      Chad Griswold - SDSM&T Materials, Engineering and Science (MES) graduate student sponsored by Space Grant.  Specialty: Composite materials.

Ø      John Keefner – SDSM&T Geological Engineering undergraduate student sponsored by Space Grant.  Student Team Leader for SDSM&T’s KC-135A project. 

SDSM&T Graduate Student Summer 2001 Fellowships at USGS EROS Data Center:

Ø      Patrick Kozak – “Analysis of Decision Tree (C5) and Regression (Cubist) image classification methods for airborne imaging spectrometer data”

Ø      T. Bull Bennett – “Multispectral Analysis of Ecosystem Response to Large Ungulate Grazing” 

SDSU Graduate Assistantships and Undergraduate Summer Research Positions: 

Ø      Jon Kleinjohn – SDSU Plant Science graduate student sponsored by Space Grant.  Specialty: remote sensing and precision agriculture.

Ø      Anna Netterville – SDSU Rural sociology/AEWR graduate student sponsored by Space Grant.  Specialty: Data base management and rural sociology.  Outreach education coordinator (former).

Ø      Charnel Petersen - AEWR graduate student sponsored by Space Grant. Specialty: Remote sensing for biodiversity.  Outreach education coordinator (present).

Ø      Jeremiah Langdon - SDSU Physics undergraduate student sponsored by Space Grant.

Ø      Carrie Neville - SDSU Electrical Engineering undergraduate student sponsored by Space Grant. 

SDSU Faculty Summer 2001 Fellowships at USGS EROS Data Center:

Ø      George Hamer - SDSU Assistant Professor, Computer Science Dept. – “Computer clustering and algorithm problem solving to support modeling systems” 

Augustana College Fellowships and Scholarships:

Ø      Jeri Peterson, undergraduate fellowship, “Cluster computing,” with Dr. Daniel Swets, Augustana College.

Ø      Tim Stavenger, undergraduate fellowship, “Cluster computing,” with Dr. Daniel Swets, Augustana College.

Ø      Levi Bard, undergraduate fellowship, “Recycled computers,” with Dr. Brad Reed, EDC.

Ø      Rob Terrel, undergraduate fellowship, “Server optimization,” with Dr. Daniel Swets, Augustana College.

Ø      Andrea Christensen, undergraduate fellowship, “Seasonality metrics,” with Dr. Brad Reed, EDC.

Ø      Matt Buckrey, undergraduate fellowship, “Impacts of Land Disturbance on Erosion and Water Quality via Paleolimnological and Remote Sensing Analysis,” with Dr. Craig Spencer, Augustana College. 

6. Administration 

·        SDSGC held three quarterly meetings of institutional members since the last reporting period and these meetings were often attended by several affiliate members.  To facilitate participation, one of those meetings was held over South Dakota's Digital Dakota Network telecommunications system with nodes located throughout much of the state.  The two other meetings were face-to-face.  We continued to focus on competitive allotment of SDSGC funds and the goal of nurturing projects that can attract external support. 

·        SDSGC continued it's work as lead entity for the National Council of Space Grant Directors "State/Regional/Local/Tribal Government Involvement (SRLT) Committee".  SRLT efforts focus on ways to involve more State/Regional/Local/Tribal Government in Space Grant Consortia activities and to improve the effectiveness of such partnerships. The intent is: (1) to increase knowledge about NASA and Space Grant in State offices; (2) to encourage governing entities to utilize Space Grant as a NASA point of entry for aerospace information and assistance, and (3) to build appropriate partnerships (when and where appropriate) that will help Space Grant projects be farther-reaching, more self sufficient, and less dependent on NASA funding for long term success (i.e., to build a stronger portfolio of funding sources). 

In March 2001, the SD Department of Transportation's Office of Aeronautics officially signed on as a State Government affiliate of SDSGC. 

·        SDSGC's Deputy Director, Tom Durkin, gave formal slide presentations on the SDSGC to: 1) conferees attending the Annual SD DENR Ground-Water Quality Conference in March 2001 in Pierre, SD, 2) two UMAC EdPARC teacher-training workshops in June 2001 in Rapid City and Sioux Falls, 3) the “Leadership Rapid City” group in October 2001, and 4) several campus groups. 

SDSGC’s Director and Deputy Director were successful in adding the following four new industrial/corporate affiliates, and one State government affiliate to the Consortium in 2001, bringing total membership up to 30 organizations:

Ø      State Office of Aeronautics, SD Department of Transportation

Ø      Cynetics Corporation

Ø      QSS Group, Inc.

Ø      Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc.

Ø      Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC)

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