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Two New Department Heads
Come Aboard
Sungyong “Yong” Jung, electrical engineering and computer science, began work July 1 at South Dakota State University after a 22-year career at the University of Texas at Arlington. He was associate chair of the electrical engineering department for the last seven years.
Jung earned his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from Georgia Tech in 2002 and worked at
Quellan, an integrated circuit designer, in Atlanta from 2001 to 2002.
Jung fills the shoes of George Hamer, who served as acting department head from Feb. 11, 2022, until June 21, 2024. Hamer, who has taught at SDSU for 35 years, will continue in the classroom this fall.
Jung said he was drawn to SDSU by its passion and potential to grow and its reputation. His top three priorities as department head are fairness, transparency and cooperation.
Jung, who is married to Min Hwa Jung, is originally from Seoul, South Korea. Personal interests include watching movies, exercising, listening to music and singing.
Eun Heui Kim, mathematics and statistics, began work June 22 after a 23-year career at the California State University-Long Beach. She was director of the National Science Foundation program within the Division of Mathematical Sciences from 2020 to 2023.
She succeeds Kurt Cogswell, who retired June 21 after 27 years in the department, the last 20 as department head.
Kim grew up in South Korea and came to the University of Connecticut to earn a doctorate in mathematics, which she completed in 1999. That was followed by two years of postdoctoral work at the University of Houston. She then began her career at Long Beach.
Her top three priorities for the department are to strengthen the graduate programs, enhance research infrastructure and support high-quality education, and provide a sense of belonging and inclusiveness.
In her spare time, Kim enjoys walking, running, hiking, watching Netflix and traveling.
Two South Dakota State University researchers are partnering with 20 eastern South Dakota farming operations and GEVO to pursue practices that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase farm profitability.
“Increasing the Adoption and Generation of Climate-Smart Practices to Produce Low Carbon-Intensity and Net Zero Sustainable Products” is designed to quantify the carbon intensity score for jet fuel produced from corn in South Dakota.
Hossein Moradi, an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, is co-PI with David Clay, the principal investigator. Clay, a distinguished professor and South Dakota Corn Endowed Chair in Precision Agriculture, has been conducting agricultural research for 30 years.
Moradi was new to agricultural statistic work when he arrived at SDSU in August 2018. However, the director of SDSU's Statistical Consulting Center has been working with Clay for several years.
In these projects, Moradi is using statistical models and machine learning/artificial intellence techniques to convert information from satellites and drones, combines, soil test results, weather reports, soil surveys and farmer practices into recommendations that will reduce costs and improve profitability.
Moradi boils it down: “Are there farming practices that improves soil health while minimizing the impact of agriculture on the soil, water and air?
“We’re also tracking climate data, such as mean, minimum and maximum temperature and moisture, to produce a model that will be useful to South Dakota farmers.”
SDSU's Basu receives NSF funding to Kickstart a European collaboration
Saikat Basu, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in South Dakota State University's Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, has received a supplemental National Science Foundation grant to establish a new collaboration Simon Jochems, assistant professor of infectious diseases at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.
The new supplemental funding will cover yearly visits for Basu and his Ph.D. student to Leiden over the next five years and is connected to his ongoing NSF CAREER award. Earlier this year, Basu was awarded the CAREER grant — one of the foundation's most prestigious awards for university-level researchers — to explore the flow physics of inhaled air and particles in respiratory cavities.
SDSU ranks nationally for employability in artificial intelligence
A study conducted by Vention, a global software development firm, ranked South Dakota State University’s computer science program at No. 9 in the nation in high-paying employment in artificial intelligence following graduation.
The comprehensive study of 1,790 computer science programs in the U.S. showed SDSU graduates with a degree in computer science have a 100% employment rate and some of the highest median pay in the country.
The report shows a median earning of $89,959 four years after graduation from SDSU.
Emma Roth never knew a degree in concrete industry management existed when she enrolled at South Dakota State University in fall 2021. Now she is only a semester away from graduating and has made quite an impact on the three-year-old program.
She would like to make an even bigger impact in the future—as program director. Roth, of Sioux Falls, enrolled as an animal science major but didn’t find that to her liking. Searching on the SDSU website through its list of majors, she stumbled upon concrete industry management. Given that her father works in the construction field, she decided to give it a try. Both Roth and Tim Hostettler, director of the concrete industry management program, are glad she did.
Youth Engineering and Technology Career Exploration Camp
Seventeen participants in Youth Engineering and Technology Career Exploration camp at South Dakota State University got a chance to test drive a Baja Buggy and Formula car built by State students as well as build robot cars and do other hands-on engineering activities and even play cricket with Sanjeev Kumar, dean of the Lohr College of Engineering.
The annual program is designed to build understanding, interest and enthusiasm for engineering and technology as a career.
Most of the high school students hailed from South Dakota and Minnesota, however, the camp also drew New York City resident Owen Roddy, whose grandparents live in the Flandreau area.
Other activities during the July 7-12 program included watching the college’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge excavator operate at a local quarry, tour scoreboard giant Daktronics and compete in robot competitions.
SDSU mechanical engineering student Delaney Baumberger assists Owen Roddy, a participant in the Youth Engineering and Technology Career Exploration camp, with his seat belt so he can take a lap in Big East parking lot on campus.
Dean Sanjeev Kumar along with SDSU cricket club members taught the campers how to play cricket, a ball-and-bat game similar to baseball which is very popular in many countries around the world (including India) and is gaining popularity in the US. In the recent world cup cricket competition, the US team played really well.
Students were put in groups of two to build a tower using balsa sticks in a civil activity directed by Suzette Burckhard. Once the towers were completed the groups competed to see whose tower could hold the most weight and stay standing.
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Upcoming Events
August 18th - 23rd Bridge Camp
August 23rd Move In Day
August 26th First Day of Classes
August 29th Downtown at Sundown
August 31st Levitt Event
Sept 5thOne Day for State
Sept 12th CIM Golf Tournament
Sept 18th - 20th College of Engineering Career Fair
Sept 20th - 21st SDSU College of Engineering Street fair at the Washington Pavillion
Sept 28th Jacks BEST Robotics Kick-Off
Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, 1151 8th St, Brookings, SD 57007
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