| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 54.81 |
| Liaison | Jennifer McLaughlin |
| Submission Date | May 26, 2023 |
South Dakota State University
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Jennifer
McLaughlin Sustainability Intern Facilities and Services |
Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
A brief description of the student sustainability research program:
FY20
The North Central Regional Sun Grant Center (NCRSGC) at SDSU offered undergraduate research awards for summer SDSU undergraduate students. Undergraduate research proposals submitted through this competition must address one or more aspects of the Sun Grant Initiative mission, but broad areas of research are applicable to this call. Research areas of interest include but are not limited to: 1. Sustainability 2. Development or testing of bio-based products 3. Biochemical and thermochemical conversion processes OR 4. Biomass feedstock development and production.
The Biology & Microbiology Department offered an REU in Bioenergy.
This interdisciplinary REU site invites ten undergraduate students in plant science, chemistry, biology, engineering, or economics to learn research skills and to work independently on research projects related to bioenergy. The program is structured into four different focus areas: feedstock development and production, bioprocessing, environmental sustainability, economic, societal and global impacts of
bioenergy production. The research projects will introduce the participating students to the whole spectrum of bioenergy research from feedstock genomics, to new technologies in bioprocessing and the conversion of bioenergy crops into biofuels, to ecological and environmental sustainability of agricultural bioenergy crop production, but will also consider the societal and economic impacts of global bioenergy production. The program encourages nationwide applications from motivated students from diverse backgrounds. Students will be selected according to their transcripts and research interests. Students who are admitted to the program will be supplied with a stipend, housing, meals and airfare. Under-represented minorities and students from colleges with limited access to research opportunities are particularly encouraged
to apply.
FY21
The North Central Regional Sun Grant Center (NCRSGC) at SDSU offered undergraduate research awards for summer SDSU undergraduate students. Undergraduate research proposals submitted through this competition must address one or more aspects of the Sun Grant Initiative mission, but broad areas of research are applicable to this call. Research areas of interest include but are not limited to: 1. Sustainability 2. Development or testing of bio-based products 3. Biochemical and thermochemical conversion processes OR 4. Biomass feedstock development and production.
FY22
The North Central Regional Sun Grant (NCRSG) at SDSU offered undergraduate research awards for summer SDSU undergraduate students. Undergraduate research proposals submitted through this competition must address one or more aspects of the Sun Grant Initiative mission, but broad areas of research are applicable to this call. Research areas of interest include but are not limited to ; 1 Sustainability 2. Development 3. Biochemical and thermochemical processes OR 4. Biomass feedstock development and production
Does the institution have a program to encourage academic staff from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
A brief description of the faculty sustainability research program:
FY20, FY21, FY22
The Sun Grant program provides funding for research focused on bio-renewable energy and products.
Has the institution published written policies and procedures that give positive recognition to interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research during faculty promotion and/or tenure decisions?:
A copy of the promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
In the Tenure, Promotion and Rank Adjustment Criteria and Guidelines section of the Faculty Handbook, it states: Interdisciplinary research/scholarship is highly valued, critical to many disciplines, and should not be penalized or downgraded in the evaluation process. Multi- investigators or authors should not be disadvantaged, even given a relatively small percentage of contributions to a project/publication. Importantly is the need to establish the critical component the candidate provided to an interdisciplinary project/publication/grant.
Does the institution have ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning?:
A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research:
The library continues to maintain the sustainability research guide launched in April 2019 (last updated October 18, 2022). Thirty-six sustainability titles were added plus 81 U.S. documents and 28 open access titles for a total of 145 sustainability resources acquired by the library. 123 are electronic and 22 are physical.
Website URL where information about the institution’s support for sustainability research is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.