FY 2002 PROGRAM PLAN
SOUTH DAKOTA SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM
In the coming year, the South Dakota Space Grant
Consortium (SDSGC) will progressively continue to leverage our growing resources
through linkage of research, educational outreach, and public service efforts.
Our goals and planned projects for the coming year are described below.
Many of SDSGC's members and affiliates work well together
in promoting and conducting research and education at the university and K-12
levels. We plan to expand
activities with the five new affiliates that joined the Consortium during the
past year, as well as with the other members and affiliates that continue to
engage in good collaboration. It is
hoped that by the end of FY2002, all SDSGC members and affiliates will actively
participate and contribute to Consortium activities.
For example, it is our intent to host an upcoming quarterly meeting of
the SDSGC, inviting all Consortium members.
At this meeting, we plan to use the excitement of the proposed National
Underground Science Laboratory at Homestake, described below, to entice
Consortium members to define and fill various roles associated with outreach at
the proposed lab.
As presented at
the poster session of the National Council of Space Grant Directors Meeting in
Fairbanks, SDSGC was involved this past year 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.
In the upcoming year, SDSGC plans on using the existing outreach network
contained within the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program and the
NASA EPSCoR Program for this purpose.
In keeping with SDSGC's leadership role in the
State/Regional/Local/Tribal Government Involvement (SRLT) Committee’s efforts
focusing on ways to involve more State/Regional/Local/Tribal Government in Space
Grant Consortia activities and to improve the effectiveness of such
partnerships, SDSGC will continue to make in-roads with such entities in SD to
enhance the mutual exchange of science, technology, and education.
SDSGC will strive to find new ways of bringing in additional outside
funding and matching dollars for Consortium and NASA EPSCoR activities, to
include writing outside grants for Space Grant projects.
Such outside funding and the new projects associated with that funding
will be used as a measure of our success in building educational, research, and
public service projects in SD.
The
SDSGC will continue to focus its educational and research activities on earth
system science. This is especially relevant in South Dakota because of the close
linkage that many of the state’s inhabitants still have with their natural
environment. We believe that South
Dakota’s inherent environmental and ecological heterogeneity provides an
excellent opportunity to develop projects that can be directly linked to the
programmatic interests of NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise.
An example of this is South Dakota’s NASA EPSCoR funded proposal
“The Use of Remote Sensing for Monitoring, Prediction, and Management of
Hydrologic, Agricultural, and Ecological Processes in the Northern Great
Plains”. 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.
The focus of the remote sensing research at our three member
universities will continue to be on applications to agriculture and natural
resources, which comprise the largest economic activities in our state.
We will continue to place special emphasis on our
on-going outreach to Native Americans through our ties with the Tribal Colleges
and several of the Native American K-12 schools in South Dakota.
We
look forward to searching out NASA-supported science and engineering programs
that haven't yet been implemented in South Dakota, and collaboratively promoting
those programs to students, teachers, and the general public in our State.
An example of this is the FIRST Robotics Program, which is currently on
line to accommodate nine high school teams from within the state of SD.
There are numerous other NASA-sponsored learning opportunities that would
result in bringing more bright young people into the science and engineering
world of NASA if more people in our state were aware of them. We look forward to
facilitating this awareness by helping to get the word out on these
opportunities and providing technical and administrative assistance.
Note:
For more detailed information on SDSU's work plan for FY2002, the reader is
directed to the Nov. 10, 2001 memo from SDSU's Kevin Dalsted included in this
report and budget request package submitted to NASA on Nov. 30, 2001. Likewise, Augustana College's "Augustana/NASA Space
Grant Budget Notes" for FY2002 are also included in this package.
1)
Research Infrastructure
As
a "capability enhancement" state in NASA’s Space Grant College and
Fellowship Program, development of research infrastructure within South Dakota
is a primary focus of Consortium activities.
We feel that the environment in South Dakota for continued research
infrastructure development is favorable.
Specifically related to NASA research, this is evidenced by South
Dakota’s successful initiation into the NASA EPSCoR Program this past year
<nasaepscor/>.
In addition to SD’s core grant for strengthening research
infrastructure in the state, we will work in collaboration with our partners on
the following two projects funded under NASA EPSCoR:
· "Cross-Calibration of Landsat and IKONOS Sensors for Use in Precision Agriculture”. This project will 1) develop and evaluate rules for identifying the “best” sensor for given agronomic applications, 2) conduct cross-calibration of Landsat TM, Landsat ETM+, and IKONOS sensors, using standard reflectance measurements, within wheat, grass and soybean fields, and 3) conduct outreach to share results with interested parties, namely agricultural producers, crop consultants, industry and service agencies.
·
"Leaf Area Index for Fire Chronosequences of the Black Hills
and Southern Siberia: A Comparative Study".
This project will collect fundamental Leaf Area Index (LAI) ground
validation data sets and establish the relationship between spectral data and
LAI along fire and thinning chronosequences in two conifer-dominated ecosystems:
the boreal forest of southern Siberia, and the Black Hills ponderosa pine forest
of western SD. The project will build upon existing LAI measurements in
Russia and provide comparison measurements in the Black Hills region to
determine the broad scale applicability of satellite-based LAI derivations for
conifer forests.
The SD NASA EPSCoR Program acknowledges the importance of
building and maintaining effective linkages with NASA collaborators to help
assure that input and output is provided at both the state and federal level and
that the
development of NASA EPSCoR research infrastructure within SD is in areas of
strategic importance to NASA's mission.
We plan to continue our collaboration with NASA personnel in follow-up to
the 23 trips made by SD researchers to form collaborative linkages during the
two-year SD NASA EPSCoR Preparation Grant period. The close ties several
scientists from our SDSGC universities have to the USGS Earth Resources
Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center, which is a key Consortium member located
in Sioux Falls, SD, enhance these research efforts.
Our Summer Faculty Fellowship program greatly augments this connection to
the EROS Data Center.
In
addition to using SDSGC Program Initiation Grant (PIG) funds described below in
the “Higher Education” section of the Program Plan, we will also use about
$30,000 from SD’s NASA EPSCoR core grant to seed meritorious PIG projects.
The research landscape within South Dakota universities and colleges is
now extremely fertile due to a renaissance that started here about six years
ago. Consequently, properly
placed research seeds to initiate new and creative projects can be expected to
grow in this environment and thereby provide additional impetus for the research
renaissance in South Dakota.
We
will remain involved with the Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium (UMAC) Public
Access Resource Center (PARC) project, which is related to Space Grant by virtue
of subject area, and disseminate the practical products of this research to a
broad audience via this partnership.
The
“Opportunities for State, Local, Regional and Tribal Governments to Utilize
NASA and Commercially Developed Data and Capabilities” BAA and
the NASA geospatial specialist connection with Land Grant Universities will
continue to be investigated by SDSU. If
SDSU does or doesn’t get the geospatial specialist activity going in FY
2002/2003, Kevin Dalsted will spend time working on this issue in collaboration
with the USDA Cooperative Extension Service and the College of Agriculture at
SDSU.
SDSGC
will continue to provide administrative assistance for meetings of the Western
Research Alliance <http://w-research-alliance.org/>. 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.
Technical and financial
support will be 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.
SDSM&T
will continue research into carbon sequestration potential in South Dakota.
SDSGC
will continue providing limited funding to stimulate the publication of
scientific papers and for presentations at research conferences.
Two
Science Data Buy proposals to the Stennis Space Center have been granted to SDSU
in the past. SDSU anticipates
looking to additional data buys for eastern South Dakota in conjunction with the
NASA EPSCoR project. SDSU has
continued their connection to JPL in the event that an SAR data buy opportunity
might arise for potential use with the precision agriculture activities.
2)
Higher Education
SDSGC
member universities will continue providing graduate, undergraduate, and faculty
development fellowships as in previous years. Total awards in these areas over the FY02 project year will
be approximately $65,034. When
relevant, we will encourage both students and faculty to present/publish the
results of their research that is supported by Space Grant fellowships.
The number of publications/presentations will be used as a measure of
success.
We plan to continue supporting and funding the SDSGC
Program Initiation Grant (PIG) program in 2002. We will also continue our
current programs to involve faculty and students from SDSGC’s Tribal College
affiliates in new and ongoing research and education projects with other
Consortium institutions. PIG
projects are envisioned to be awarded for a total of $8,500 plus whatever
additional matching can be provided. We
look at PIG projects as a mechanism to build additional research collaboration
among Consortium affiliates. Future
research and technology development projects that arise from PIG project seed
funding can be used as a measure of success of the SDSGC PIG program.
If
SDSM&T's proposal under NASA's KC-135 Reduced Gravity Student Flight
Opportunity competition is funded for the Spring or Summer 2002 flight program,
the SDSM&T team will conduct an experiment titled “Photon Propulsion for
Gossamer Spacecraft”. This
experiment 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>.
An extensive outreach program is planned.
Regardless of whether the project is selected for flight, the experiment
will be conducted as a senior design project for the Mechanical Engineering
student team members.
Graduate
and undergraduate students will continue to participate in research efforts at
GIS-Remote Sensing and Image Processing Laboratories supported by our
Consortium.
SDSGC
will continue maintaining and updating its "Educational Opportunities
(Higher Ed.)" website <EdOpp-HigherEd.htm>.
Several
students at SDSM&T have expressed interest in applying to the 2002 NASA
Academy. If selected, SDSGC intends
to support at least one student to the Academy.
SDSGC
will continue it's recent successful affiliation with Badlands Observatory, a
privately owned facility dedicated to Astronomical Research & Education in
Quinn, SD <bo.htm>. It is host to an f/4.8
Newtonian Telescope with a
26" diameter mirror, the largest telescope in the local three-state area.
Badlands Observatory participates in the international Spaceguard Foundation, in which participating observatories
around the world are cataloguing all of the Near Earth Objects (asteroids) 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. SDSM&T
and USD will continue forging astronomical education and research partnerships
with Badlands Observatory. SDSM&T
and Badlands Observatory will offer a Spring 2002 college course at SDSM&T
titled “Advanced Observational Astronomy” (Physics 385).
3)
K-12 Outreach
The
important activities to enhance interest in science and engineering topics and
careers among elementary and secondary students in South Dakota will continue
with the assistance of SDSGC's full time Deputy Director and Outreach
Coordinator at SDSM&T, as well as with those involved in outreach activities
at Augustana College and SDSU.
The
eighth annual “South Dakota/NASA Space Day 2002” will be hosted by SDSU in
Brookings on April 5, 2001. In addition to the regular variety of Space Day
exhibits and activities, former Astronaut Dr. Edward G. Gibson will be the featured speaker. Space Day 2002 will
be held in conjunction with the regional science fair at SDSU to capture synergy
from the two events, which both emphasize science and fun.
Attendance, diversity in exhibits, and public feedback will be used a
measure of success. <http://www.engineering.sdstate.edu/~erc/SGC/spaceday.htm>
SDSGC will again participate in the 2002 "Student
Signatures in Space" Program and will maintain good working relationships
with the two NASA Educator Resource Centers (ERC's) in South Dakota to help
assure their continuing use by teachers and students.
SDSM&T
will continue to maintain and update SDSGC's useful "Educational
Opportunities (K-12)" website <http://www.sdsmt.edu/space/EdOpp-K-12.htm>
for SD teachers, students, and parents.
Teacher
workshops in GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing technology will be held across the
State of South Dakota during the summer of 2002 under the UMAC EdPARC project.
SDSGC
will help sponsor SDSM&T’s Space and Earth Camps for high school teachers
to be held in the summer of 2002. Topics
in the Space Camp include 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; etc. Observing sessions will focus 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) will be
available. The workshop is tailored for teachers, students, and amateur
astronomers.
With
support from SDSGC, the "Earth Systems Connections" project <http://www.tandl.vt.edu/esc/>
will continue; a collaborative, hands on, elementary curriculum project funded
by NASA where 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, will continue to work with the two
pilot schools in SD: Little Wound School in Kyle and Woodrow Wilson Elementary
School in Rapid City.
SDSGC
will continue its support for the "Scientific Knowledge for Indian Learning
and Leadership" (SKILL) Program on SDSM&T's campus as well as student
participation in the local chapter of the American Indian Science and
Engineering Society (AISES).
Educational
outreach and mentoring of high school students at "Badlands
Observatory" will provide solid astronomy-related learning experiences for
local students.
Augustana
College's annual Science Day will provide high school juniors and seniors a day
filled with hands-on science opportunities/experiences.
Special invitations will be sent to Native American and female students
in order to break down the stereotypes that science has sometimes produced.
SDSU
will offer the annual Aerospace Career and Education (ACE) Camp in July 2002,
with an eye toward locating additional funds and increasing attendance.
Nine
high schools throughout the state will participate in the 2002 FIRST Robotics
program, funded by NASA and supported by SDSGC. Mentoring universities for the high school teams include the
following Consortium members: SDSM&T, SDSU, and Augustana College.
SDSU’s Dr. MaryJo Lee will continue her efforts to
recruit minorities and underserved populations into fields of science,
technology, engineering, and math. She
successfully coordinated the SDSU/Success Academy program last spring, which is
expected to continue in 2002. This
year, the program will bring high school freshmen and sophomores from Flandreau
Indian School to SDSU’s campus for technical workshops with university
professors, a meal, and fun activity. Dr.
Lee will continue to look for related external funding to support her efforts.
Middle and high school science teacher-training workshops
in GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing technology will again be offered in the summer
of 2002. While these activities are
primarily sponsored by the UMAC EdPARC program, SDSGC has also shared resources
in terms of providing funding and instructors from Consortium personnel.
4)
Other Public Service
SDSGC
will support programs at the Children's Science Center in Rapid City and to
school/youth groups by providing staff to conduct 1) astronomy or Starlab
Planetarium shows, 2) presentations on remote sensing and the International
Space Station, to show children how space-based
technologies are an integral part of our everyday lives and how an education in
science, math, and engineering can help in their future careers, and 3)
presentations on SDSM&T's KC-135 reduced gravity student flight
opportunities.
We
will maintain support to the Black Hills Astronomical Society (BHAS) and related
Star Parties that are open to the public at Hidden Valley Observatory during the
summer <BHAS.htm>.
SDSGC
will continue supporting StarDate's PBS radio broadcast in South Dakota as part
of the McDonald Observatory astronomy program.
Press
releases and various informational presentations about Consortium activities,
noteworthy celestial events, aerospace programs, etc. will continue to be
published and released to the public by SDSGC.
Bob
Polcyn is anticipated to be accepted as South Dakota’s Solar System Ambassador
by the Solar System Ambassador Program at the first of the year.
He will make several presentations to the public and school children on
space and the solar system in 2002.
Due
to the success of this year’s program, SDSGC will again provide a course
entitled “Introduction to Astronomy and Current Events in Space” in the Fall
of 2002 through the Community Education Program in Rapid City.
Maintaining
SDSGC's extensive website <>
provides an excellent service available to the public.
5)
Fellowships and Scholarships
The
Consortium will continue to support research and educational endeavors of
faculty and graduate/undergraduate students at its member institutions.
At least two Summer Faculty or Graduate Fellowships to the USGS EROS Data
Center will be supported. Likewise,
we will continue to provide fellowships to faculty or students at Tribal College
affiliates in South Dakota. A
number of graduate and undergraduate fellowships and scholarships will be
provided. The total awards in these areas will be approximately $65,034.
6)
Administration
The
Consortium will be represented in 2002 at all the National Council of Space
Grant Directors' meetings, the Space Grant Western Regional Meeting, and the
National Space Grant Conference.
Dr.
Sherry Farwell, Dean of Graduate Education and Sponsored Programs at SDSM&T,
will continue as the Consortium Director. To coordinate and manage our various
efforts in more effective ways, Mr. Tom Durkin will continue to serve as SDSGC's
full-time Deputy Director and Outreach Coordinator at SDSM&T.
Dr. Kevin Dalsted will continue as the Associate Director at SDSU. Dr.
Daniel Swets remains the Associate Director at Augustana College, but has
assigned temporary replacements for certain duties as he will be away for six
months at the University of Mauritius on a Fulbright
lecturing/research grant. Randy
McKinley will serve as the USGS EROS Data Center Coordinator for Space
Grant Consortium activities.
With
the help of teleconferencing and the Digital
Dakota Network (DDN) interactive TV technology with nodes located throughout the
state, we plan to continue meeting at least quarterly to more effectively
coordinate and evaluate program progress.
The
leadership of the SDSGC will build on our success to date and explore new ways
to stimulate further participation by the Tribal College affiliates in
Consortium activities. We will
continue focusing on competitive allotment of SDSGC funds and the goal of
nurturing projects that can attract external support.