South Dakota C research centers providing impact South Dakota’s higher education research centers are impacting the state by creating jobs and developing spin-off companies.
urrently there are 10 Research Centers in operation. Five of the Centers have “graduated” or no longer receive state “Center” funding. The other five Centers are in their third year. “Businesses partnering with the Research Centers have raised more than $20 million in financing to commercialize research results,” states Mel Ustad, Director of Commercialization for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. For example, several researchers from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Vaccinology at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD have been instrumental in the founding of two separate start-up companies. David Francis founded Brookings Biomedical, Inc., a six year old business that has had several substantial research contracts including Teijin Pharma in Tokyo and SpringPoint Project in Minneapolis, MN. “It has also serviced several small contracts to companies in the United States and has others in the wing,” Francis states. “In addition, it is currently conducting a second USDA SBIR Phase I grant. The focus of the USDA grants is swine vaccine development.” MedGene is a new company that focuses on research and development, largely using federal SBIR grants as a vehicle. Alan Young founded MedGene. “As a new company, I do not believe that it has been awarded a grant yet, but individuals associated with that company, have a wealth of SBIR experience and are expected to be successful in this new venture,” Francis says.
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South Dakota
ON 1983
November 10
CBRD 2011 RESEARCH OUTPUT
Microsoft released Windows – In 1980, Microsoft signed a contract with IBM to design an operating system, MSDOS, for a personal computer that IBM was developing. On Nov. 10, 1983, Microsoft released Windows, an extension of MSDOS with a graphical user interface.
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In addition, Francis notes that two individuals whose professional careers were largely launched by the 2010 Centers have risen to national or international prominence since being hired. “Ying Fang and Weiping Zhang have exceeded millions of dollars in grants,” Francis states. “Dr. Fang is recognized for her work with the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus. Dr Zhang is a member of an international team supported by the Gates Foundation charged with the development of a vaccine against enterotoxigenic E. coli to be administrated to children in developing companies.” Another research center, The Center for Bioprocessing Research & Development (CBRD) has initiated 26 industry collaborations with private businesses and large bioenergy companies and has trained 79 graduate and undergraduate students. Four new faculty have joined the Center over the past two years. In FY11, 55 graduate, 24 undergraduate and 8 researchers have been employed and trained through CBRD. “South Dakota is a strong agricultural state and home to some of the leading producers of bioethanol in the United States,” states Dr. Lew Christopher, Director of the Center. “The state is uniquely positioned to serve as a natural laboratory providing the opportunity to produce biofuels from a variety of available feedstock – grasses, forestry and agri-waste.” The Center consists of 120 researchers from nine departments
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$3,6 IN RESEARCH AWARDS
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7.2:1 RETURN ON INVESTMENT
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at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City and South Dakota State University in Brookings. The Center was established in 2006 through the Governor’s 2010 Initiative for Economic Development to bring together the bioprocessing research and development resources together. The Center is actively involved in and supports Ph.D. and M.S. graduate programs at both universities. The overall mission of the CBRD is to provide entrepreneurs, farmers, and industry in South Dakota with expertise in cutting edge technologies, research facilities, education, training and administrative support. The overall goal of the center is to reduce national dependence on imported fossil fuels and petroleum-based chemicals by developing new technologies that mitigate the environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. “Because of the unique geographical location of the center, local industry by-products, such as agriwaste and logging waste, and energy crops, such as native prairie grasses and switchgrass, play a significant part in providing the feedstock for bio-derived chemicals and fuel research,” Christopher explains. “By employing an integrated biorefinery approach in the development and implementation of renewable energy technologies, this research has the potential for farreaching impact on the growing bioeconomy of the Black Hills, the state of South Dakota, the Midwest and the nation as a whole.” Overall, over the past five years, Christopher notes that the Center has obtained $13.3 million through 88 awards (with an overall success rate of 33 percent) from state, federal, and industry funding sources. SDPB Alan Van Ormer - avanormer@prairiebizmag.com
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26 INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS WITH PRIVATE BUSINESSES AND LARGE BIOENERGY COMPANIES INITIATED
42 PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
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100 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATIONS
79 GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TRAINED
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36 FACULTY AND RESEARCH SCIENTISTS INVOLVED
8 POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS, SCIENTISTS AND TECHNICAL STAFF
November 2011
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South Dakota
International Trade Center assists SD businesses Rock Nelson is regional director
International trade isn’t beyond the reach of any South Dakota business, thanks to assistance of a statewide International Trade Center (ITC) established earlier this year. he ITC office is a partnership between the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development, South Dakota Small Business Development Center, Great Plains International Trade Association, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation. Rock Nelson, the Center’s Regional Director, says the office works closely with South Dakota companies considering exporting goods or those in the process of developing an export market. “We also assist companies with exporting questions,” Nelson notes. “Sometimes a business encounters compliance issues on the U.S. side or foreign side. We provide accurate and up-to-date information on export law and policy.” Nelson developed expertise over the past 12-plus years through working with the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce. More than 420 South Dakota companies currently export goods. Because more than 90 percent of the world’s population lives outside the United States, the export market provides a major growth opportunity for the South Dakota business community. Since he interacts so frequently with U.S. Customs, Nelson’s office is located in the Sioux Falls U. S. Customs Building. In addition to providing confidential, professional, and no-cost one-on-one consulting, ITC also offers international business and financial plan assessments and will be hosting training seminars. The ITC works closely with the Small Business Administration and Ex-Im Bank in providing information to clients about International Trade Export Finance Programs. “We want to ensure that international trade for South Dakota companies goes as smoothly as possible,” Nelson says. “No company is too large or too small for us. Strong international sales result in better bottom lines and more jobs being created for the business community here.
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Did you Know…
that South Dakota’s largest growth cluster is in business and financial services. An estimated 11,871 jobs have been created since 2002.
Source: Enterprising States: Recovery and Renewal for the 21st Century report
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Foreign buyers like U.S. quality. As other countries become more developed, their demand for U.S. goods will grow.” South Dakota exports reached an historic peak in 2007-2008, declining to some degree with the 2008 economic crisis. In recent months, export activity has increased. “At the peak, South Dakota businesses exported just over a billion dollars in goods,” Nelson says. “That’s the value of manufactured goods exported. It doesn’t include agricultural grains or livestock. Our goal is to significantly increase that figure.” ITC services are free to businesses seeking them. Assistance is given in the form of information as well as mentorship and monitoring business transactions. “We follow the process all the way through to make sure everything is done as it should be and to ensure the South Dakota business is paid for their product,” Nelson says. “We know there are some businesses in the state that are afraid of international sales. Some had a bad experience with exports, including not getting paid. That’s why we’re here, to help them get on the correct path with export sales. “A Rapid City company who worked with us to develop their export market now does business in more than 50 countries,” Nelson adds. “They remarked that if they’d known how easy it was to get the market established they would have done it a long time ago. We don’t recommend that businesses just ‘jump off the dock’ with this and try to learn to swim. We don’t have all the answers to foreign trade questions, but we do have a large network of national and international connections. Our job is to obtain accurate answers to questions on a timely basis.” More information about ITC is available at www.usd.edu/sbdc. SDPB Loretta Sorensen, Owner, Prairie Hearth Publishing, LLC. sorensenlms@gmail.com.