| Overall Rating | Bronze |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 25.45 |
| Liaison | Meghann Jarchow |
| Submission Date | Jan. 30, 2023 |
University of South Dakota
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
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:
Sustainable RIVER REU: “Through individual research projects with faculty mentors from the multi-disciplinary Missouri River Institute, students accepted into this program address the question of how invasive elements in the Missouri River and its uplands affect the sustainability of the river and the humans who depend on it.” Students are provided with a $5,500 stipend and more than $1,000 for food, housing, and travel.
REU Undergraduate Research in Fluorine Chemistry: “In collaboration with the Center for Fluorinated Functional Materials (CFFM), this program supports six intensive summer research experiences for undergraduate students in the department of Chemistry at the University of South Dakota that focuses on research related to fluorine chemistry. CFFM also provides six undergraduate research stipends for a total of twelve participants. This NSF award (CHE-1757652) also provides a living allowance, research support and travel to a regional and/or national fluorine conference for undergraduate participants. Research projects relate to: the synthesis of fluorinated monomers used in luminescence sensors and electronic devices; inorganic doped lanthanum fluoride upconversion nanoparticles for forensic applications; electrochemical deposition of fluorine monomers for battery technology; Fluorine-carbon bond activation and catalysis; analytical SERS detection of agrochemicals; and computational fluorine chemistry.”
Missouri River Natural Resources Intern Program: “The Missouri River Institute (www.usd.edu/mri) and National Park Service (www.nps.gov/mnrr) partner yearly to offer students a Missouri River Natural Resources Internship Program. Internships will focus on Missouri River-related scientific research, land management, inventory and monitoring, and environmental education projects.”
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:
Missouri River Institute: “The Missouri River Institute (MRI) seeks to increase interest in and knowledge about the Missouri River and its basin. The work of the MRI focuses on both the natural and cultural resources of the river. In this regard, the MRI seeks to develop and promote activities related to river issues in the areas of research, education and public outreach. The Missouri River Institute is active in Missouri River research and education. MRI faculty have extensive knowledge about Missouri River Basin issues. Our location on the 59-mile segment of the Missouri National Recreational River gives us unique access to this special section of river. This enables many opportunities for research, education and outreach.
The MRI has its own boats and sampling equipment. Agreements between private landowners and the MRI allow access to the river for research and educational purposes. The MRI uses this access to promote river research, education and public outreach about the Missouri River.
The MRI has access to a wide variety of expertise at USD. This includes faculty directly affiliated with the institute. The MRI also supports graduate and undergraduate research assistants involved in river research activities and database programming.”
Center for Fluorinated Functional Materials: “The Center for Fluorinated Functional Materials (CFFM) is supported by the South Dakota Research and Commercialization Council. It is a five-year, $2.7 million grant awarded to the Department of Chemistry to work on the discovery and commercialization of new fluorinated functional materials. Its research activities include:
• Fluorinated organic semiconductor materials for next generation flexible electronics
• Fluorinated materials for high capacity batteries
• Fluorinated macromolecules and nanomaterials for sensing
• Fluorinated photonic materials for security printing and biomedical imaging
• Catalytic fluorination
• High-value fluorinated fine chemicals
CFFM supports both cutting-edge researches and workforce development.”
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:
“Met Expectations” for the rank of professor at the University of South Dakota includes the criteria of “Leadership role(s) in interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary research teams”, according to the Faculty Handbook.
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 Sustainability & Environment department has guides on finding literature, citation, making infographics, doing presentations, and crafting research papers posted on the University of South Dakota’s library website.
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.