Daniel Swets Robotics Materials Award
(This page last updated December 9, 2024)
2025 "Daniel Swets Robotics Materials Award"
Application for Educators
(in PDF format).
Click for
Word format
The NASA South
Dakota Space Grant Consortium offers the Daniel Swets Robotics Materials
Award(s) for a total of up to $13,000 in memory of the unprecedented
enthusiasm and vision that Dr. Dan Swets of Augustana College brought to the
state of South Dakota in the field of robotics. Dr. Swets, founder of the
South Dakota Robotics Association (which has since evolved into other
robotics organizations), saw the value of robotics in recruiting
students into science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) at an early
age. He strove to provide those opportunities for students throughout their
educational career. Not only does this help young people in science and
engineering in general, but it also produces high quality students that NASA
is looking toward to help fulfill its mission. Dr. Swets served on the
Management Team of the SD Space Grant Consortium (SDSGC) for 15 years. SDSGC
provides this annual award to a South Dakota teacher or educator of robotics
who will carry on these traditions in memory of Dr. Swets and the three
other gentlemen who tragically lost their lives in an airplane crash on
December 9, 2011; Mr. Kevin Anderson, Mr. Joshua Lambrecht, and pilot Mr.
Brian Blake, while on their way from Sioux Falls to Rapid City, SD to assist
with a robotics program.
The grant is awarded
annually to South Dakota teachers/educators who either
have: A) taken robotics training or plan to take robotics training and want
to begin new robotics programs and teams, or B) have sustained robotics
programs/curriculum in their classrooms or at their schools.
First-time applicants to this award and teachers/educators at schools or
other educational organizations that currently don’t have robotics programs
are encouraged to apply. Past winners and teachers/educators with existing
robotics programs at their institutions are also eligible.
Questions about the award can be directed to Tom Durkin at
Thomas.Durkin@sdsmt.edu
or
605-394-1975.
The Management Team of the SDSGC
fondly remembers Dan
with additional thoughts here.
2024 grant winners (l to r): Next to Tom
Durkin of SD Space Grant Consortium, Teddie Crevier of Adventure
Elementary / Harrisburg School District, and
Raeann Mettler of
Missouri Breaks Industries Research Inc.
Photos of other winners to be posted as supplied.
(click on picture to enlarge and read summary)
2023 grant winners (l to r): Alan
Grinsteinner Hill City School District pictured with SDSGC's Tom Durkin,
Kevin Militello of Douglas Middle
School in Box Elder, Jason McNabb of West
Middle School in Rapid City, and Robert Dahlenburg of Southwest
Middle School in Rapid City.
(click on picture to enlarge and read summary)
2022 grant winners (l to r): Allison Zacher
of Whitewood Elementary School, Kevin Militello
of Douglas Middle School in Box Elder, and Aviana Knochel
of SD Discovery Center in Pierre.
(click on picture to enlarge and read summary)
2021 grant winners (l to r): Lynn Jones of the
Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls, LaNessa Hof of St. Mary High
School in Dell Rapids, David Souhrada of Smee School District in
Wakpala, and Spencer Cody of Edmunds Central School District in
Roscoe, SD
(click on pictures to enlarge and read summary)
_small.jpg)
2020 grant winners (l to r): Aminah Hassoun
of Oglala Lakota County 4-H SDSU Extension in Rapid City, Luke Erfman
of Central Meade County School in Union Center, Ryan
Gimbel of Timber Lake School, Barbara Duchini
of Little Wound School in Kyle, Tomi Jean Kusser of Hanson School
District in Alexandria, and Janver Stucky of CORETECH Robotics
Club in Freeman, SD
(click on pictures to enlarge and read summary)
2019 grant winners: Lauren Hollenbeck
of 4H Clay, Union, and Yankton Counties, Wayne Hanson
of Herreid School District, and Kathy Heinemann of Moody Co 4H Robotics
Club
(click on picture to enlarge and read summary)
2018 grant winners Susan Rolfes of Vermillion Area
Robotics Club and Alison Batie of Eureka Public School
(click on picture to enlarge and read summary)
2017
grant winners Jackie Knox of
Highmore Harrold Junior
High, Kelly Hinds of Simmons Middle School in Aberdeen, and Laurie
Elmore of SDSU Extension Harding Co. 4-H.
(click on picture to enlarge and read summary)
2016 grant winners
Hilary Risner of the 4-H SDSU Extension Program (Douglas and Bon Homme
Counties) and Jacoby Hinton of McLaughlin High School.
(click on picture to enlarge and read
summary)
2015 grant winners Michael Jones
and Jane Karp of Whitewood/Rural Meade Schools,
Susan Heggestad and Beth Knedler of Vermillion Public Library,
Marcia Kahler of St. Thomas More High School, and Donna Degen of
Southwest Middle School in Rapid City.
(click on picture to enlarge and read
summary)
2014 grant winners James Kruse of Wessington Springs Middle School,
Stephanie
Chambliss of the 4H SDSU Extension program (Charles Mix Co.),
and Brenda Waterbury of Brandon Valley School District.
(click on picture to enlarge and read summary)
2013 grant winners John Madison and
Aren Field of the 4-H program in Huron, SD. Other 2013 winners include
Jason Schlichtemeier
of Sturgis Williams Middle School in Sturgis,
Chris Stewart
of Harrisburg School District in Harrisburg, and Beth Odenbach of St. Thomas
More Middle School’s robotics program in Rapid City, SD.
(click on picture to enlarge and read summary)
2012 grant winners Ann Anderson and Kristy Messner of Belle Fourche Middle School, Belle Fourche, SD
(click on picture to enlarge and read summary)
Link to
South Dakota Space Grant Consortium
Homepage
