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Andrew Sternhagen, an electrical engineering major at ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ, is working under the guidance of electrical engineering assistant professor Xiaojun Xian to create a sweat biosensor. The Brookings native, who just completed his freshman year, is one of 12 selected in December 2024 as a Future Innovators of America.

ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ respiratory care faculty have developed free-to-access cross-training videos on respiratory health-related topics.

ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ is one of 12 universities nationwide to be selected by NASA to prepare a project for the Moon to Mars eXploration Systems and Habitation Academic Innovation Challenge sponsored by NASA’s Mars Campaign Office. NASA sought proposals from accredited engineering programs this spring and announced July 7 that proposals from 12 universities had been accepted for projects supporting space habitats and deep space exploration missions.

A ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ program designed to train the next generation of agricultural innovators and leaders was approved during the recent South Dakota Board of Regents meetings in Brookings. The global agricultural leadership master’s degree program is a condensed, 14-month professional curriculum that will provide students with the background and skills they need to contribute to the vitality of agriculture and to the economic growth of rural communities in South Dakota while enhancing the lives of people worldwide.

Gazala Ameen, assistant professor of plant-pathogen interactions at ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ, has been awarded the 2025 Early Career Award by the American Phytopathological Society’s North Central Division.

Wenfeng An, a professor and pharmaceutical science researcher at ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ, is engaged in research that has potential to lead to the development of vaccine for a variety of cancers.

In the past several months, faculty from ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ's College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions have published nine articles in peer-reviewed journals.

A unique opportunity has been given to 14 undergraduate students by the ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. The students were awarded grants that will allow them to conduct a research project under the mentorship of a college faculty member.

Gabby Robbins, an incoming junior construction management major at ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ, has received the coveted Beavers Scholarship for students pursuing a heavy construction career. Created in 1977 by construction companies and individuals engaged in heavy engineering construction, the Beavers Charitable Trust will generate $1.8 million in grants in 2025. Some of that goes to support heavy construction education programs, such as the one at ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ, and some goes directly to students like Robbins, who received a $10,000 award.

For the second consecutive year, ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ finished just short of winning the International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition. The ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ Quarter-Scale Tractor Team, competing as the Jackrabbit Tractor Company, finished in a tie with Kansas State for second place. North Carolina State defended its 2024 title, finishing 26 points ahead of its Midwest competitors scoring 2,316 points out of a possible 2,405. The 28th annual event was May 30-June 1 at the Expo Gardens Fairgrounds in Peoria, Illinois, with 23 teams competing from across the United States and Canada.