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A New Kind of Finger Print
by: Dave Graves
SDSU doctoral student Andrew Simpson has been chosen as one of 15 students to present his poster at the Joint Statistical Meeting of the American Statistical Association in Toronto Aug. 5-10.
Simpson, a first-year doctoral student in statistics, received a $1,000 travel award to attend the conference for having the best paper in the Statistics in Defense and National Security section. Simpson, of East Bethel, Minnesota, explained that the American Statistical Association sponsors contests in about 15 subject areas. Winners are invited to make presentations at the international gathering.
Last fall, Sanjay Sharma, a 1993 graduate of South Dakota State University and the current CEO of Roambee Corporation, made it a personal goal "to bridge the gap" between Silicon Valley and SDSU. Through an emerging collaboration with the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, that gap is beginning to close.
Over the past few months, Rajesh Kavasseri, associate dean for research for the Lohr College of Engineering, Sanjeev Kumar, dean of the Lohr College of Engineering, Sharma and the senior design leads at Roambee, have been working closely to identify academic research projects that will fit the needs of Roambee's expansive business portfolio.
An "internet of things" monitoring company, Roambee offers real-time, multi sensor, visibility solutions to monitor in-transit shipments and field equipment to eliminate business disruptions and financial risk. Sharma, who holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from SDSU, founded the company in 2013 to offer better supply chain solutions for companies, which now includes Oracle, T-Mobile, Hawei and many others.
"It's an exciting time for the Lohr College of Engineering to partner with a company as innovative as Roambee," Kumar said. "We are committed to providing our students with hands-on, industry specific learning opportunities and this partnership fulfills that to a 'T.'"
As Kavasseri notes, the supply chain market is a relatively untouched research topic but—as was found out following the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic—one of the more crucial aspects of the U.S. and world economies. Understanding how to fit the needs of a changing supply chain market is a new—but important—academic focal point for engineering research.
"Right now, we are really trying to understand the nature of (Roambee's) problems and seeing how our research could lead to practical industrial benefits," Kavasseri said. "This is an emerging collaboration that we are very excited about."
Currently in the project exploratory phase, Kavasseri is hopeful that graduate students in the college will soon begin to tackle projects related to supply chain issues that will positively affect the industry.
"This is a highly specialized field that is not traditionally taught in academics," Kavasseri said."But these are real-world problems that require real-world solutions and it’s exciting to see the Lohr College of Engineering at the forefront."
Basu, Team Draw Inspiration from Pigs to Design Novel Air Filter Technologies
by: Addison DeHaven
Saikat Basu, an assistant professor in mechanical engineering, and colleagues from Cornell and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign hope the structure of a hog’s snout can be copied in designing a more efficient ventilation filter for humans.
At South Dakota State University's Celebration of Faculty Excellence, Stephen Gent was named the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering's Outstanding Researcher.
Gent has led a National Science Foundation-backed Research Experience for Undergraduates program each summer. Gent is also currently involved in a $464,998, NSF-backed project with colleague Mark Messerli, an associate professor in the Department of Biology and Microbiology, that investigates how electricity generates force to move water through the tiniest spaces in the human body.
Pi Day 2023 came a little late, but just in time for students and faculty who needed to sweeten their day March 21. Pi Day normally is observed March 14 to coincide with 3.14, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. With SDSU on spring break March 14, the Math Club moved the Pi Day observance to March 21. That didn’t seem to affect the students, or faculty’s, appetite for Pi Day. With the help of donations from faculty, the Math Club purchased 54 pies, which were sliced up and served between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the lobby outside the math department offices in Chicoine Architecture, Mathematics and Engineering Hall. All but four were served. In addition, 19 cans of food were collected for Jack’
This was the first year for SDSU to observe Pi Day since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Science Fair
The 68th annual Eastern South Dakota Science & Engineering Fair attracted 260 projects and 387 high school and middle school students from a good chunk of east and central South Dakota to Club 71 in Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium March 28. The Lohr College of Engineering was among the event sponsors and Dean Sanjeev Kumar was present certificates of achievement for top engineering projects.
Malya Chakravarty, an eighth-grader at Mickelson Middle School in Brookings, explains how resources are wasted from her project “Gaps in Consumer Perception of Food Waste.” Looking on is Melody Jewell, senior lecturer in chemistry/biochemistry and a science fair judge.
Brookings High School student Sampada Nepal, left, and Anika Hooda submitted a project “Assessing the Viability of Using Spent Coffee Grounds to Make Cellulose-Based Biodegradable Food Packaging Films.”
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