Our Vision: Premier Engineering College in the Nation, Recognized for Academic Excellence, Accessibility, Industrial Partnerships and Community Engagement
SDSU Day at the Washington Pavilion
Bringing a taste of what the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering at South Dakota State University has to offer to the Sioux Falls metro area is no small task.
Trailers, vehicles and nearly 100 volunteers made up of faculty, staff and students brought engineering to Sioux Falls for a first-of-its-kind event at the Washington Pavilion.
Friday, Sept. 20, presented an opportunity to showcase the college to around 270 eighth grade students from Whittier Middle School. The following Saturday, over 700 individuals ranging from 5 to 65-plus years old joined the college at the Washington Pavilion to see what the college had to offer.
SDSU Day at the Washington Pavilion closed Main Avenue in front of the facility, allowing various student-designed vehicles such as remote-controlled robots, NASA rovers, a Formula One race car and a quarter-scale tractor to be driven down the street.
These efforts are in part to fulfil SDSU’s land-grant mission of spreading knowledge and engaging the communities SDSU serves.
“We wanted to show the public, who does not get the opportunity to come and see the college, to see what we do,” said Sanjeev Kumar, dean of the Lohr College of Engineering. “We took the College of Engineering to their backyard.”
The hands-on activities provided by the Lohr College of Engineering engaged students and community members with the work of the college. Current SDSU students showed off their work and explained the opportunities available at SDSU.
“As much as the public, the parents enjoyed coming and looking at it, I think our students enjoyed it even more,” Kumar said. “It was great interacting with them, showing them, talking to them and explaining about their projects. I think it was a win-win situation.”
The event came about because of a casual visit between SDSU Associate Vice President for External Affairs Vernon Brown and Kumar with Washington Pavilion staff. The result of that interaction was the entire College of Engineering, along with over a dozen other SDSU academic programs, spending two days at the Washington Pavilion.
“Events of this nature foster partnerships between the university and the Sioux Falls community,” said Madelyn Grogan, director of education and museums at the Washington Pavilion. “It allows us to engage with local families and schools, strengthening ties and showcasing the university and the Washington Pavilion as a community resource.”
In addition to the academic showcases, Kumar said the free SDSU ice cream was also a big hit.
Jawdhari earns prestigious grant from the American Concrete Institute
Akram Jawdhari, assistant professor in South Dakota State University's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has earned a prestigious award from the American Concrete Institute to study the use of fiber reinforced cementitious matrix.
Jawdhari's project will work to spread awareness of fiber reinforced cementitious matrix usage in the U.S. through the development of a best practices guide. In doing so, Jawdhari and his graduate students will test the reinforcement systems in a variety of conditions which will provide a greater understanding of their characteristics.
The American Concrete Institute is a leading authority and worldwide resource for the development, dissemination and adoption of consensus-based standards, technical resources and proven expertise for those involved in concrete design, construction and materials. Jawdhari's $75,000 grant is funded through the institute’s NEx: A Center of Excellence for Nonmetallic Building Materials, which promotes the use of nonmetallic materials in the building and construction sector.
If terms like Kalman filtering, normalized difference vegetation index and recursive algorithms sound like a foreign language to you, then you’re probably not watching math videos for fun. Kamal Albousafi, a senior math major from Sioux Falls, does. “I love math,” said the outgoing Albousafi, who does admit to being a bit nerdy when it comes to math. “The deductive power to use information and data to gain insight and understanding drew me to math and statistics,” he said.
Albousafi found his nerdiness very helpful this summer as a Research Experience for Undergraduates program participant at South Dakota State University. Working under math faculty Hossein Moradi and Jung-Han Kimn, Albousafi used satellite images and dynamic modeling to predict crop health. The eventual goal is to be able to use the images and more intricate modeling to predict crop yield.
“This research has several practical applications,” he said. “For example, it could provide farmers with crop yield estimates weeks in advance, helping them make informed decisions during harvest. It could also identify potential crop health issues early on, allowing for corrective actions that might prevent devastating losses—and, in turn, help combat food scarcity.
Right at 1,000 student visits were recorded at the Sept. 18-19 Engineering Career Fair at Club 71 and loge-level spaces in Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
With 381 students visiting Sept. 18 and 620 visiting Sept. 19, the attendance breaks the mark of 859 set in 2023, when the Lohr College of Engineering first went to a two-day event. The record for a one-day event was 697 students in 2019. While some students could have visited both days, the 1,001 student visits represents over 60 % of the college’s 2024-25 undergraduate enrollment.
Sanjeev Kumar, dean of the Lohr College of Engineering, said, “The reputation of our students is well established in the industry. They know about the excellent quality of hands-on education our students receive and that the graduates of the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering are prepared to solve tomorrow’s challenges today.
Basu Invited to the prestigious engineering showcase
Saikat Basu, assistant professor in South Dakota State University's Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been invited to the American Society of Mechanical Engineering Rising Stars of Mechanical Engineering Celebration and Showcase.
The invite-only event will be an opportunity for Basu, a 2024 National Science Foundation CAREER Award recipient, to share his groundbreaking research on the flow physics inside human respiratory systems with the nation's top engineers and scientists.
“As an academic scholar, my background ranges from a civil engineering major in India to a doctorate in engineering mechanics in the U.S. with a focus on theoretical fluid mechanics. Subsequently, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher in experimental and computational fluid mechanics, applying these methods to biological and clinical problems — eventually gravitating to exploring the fluid dynamics of complex biophysical systems as an independent faculty," Basu said. “This diverse background makes the ASME Rising Star recognition particularly inspiring, highlighting the evolving possibilities of what mechanical engineering can accomplish."
Basu will give a 15-minute poster presentation at the showcase, which is being held during the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition on November 12 in Portland, Oregon, and will be conferred a “ASME Rising Star of Mechanical Engineering” certificate.
Sept. 5 was a great day to be a Jackrabbit and that was particularly true for the Lohr College of Engineering.
Sept. 5 was the date for the eighth annual One Day for State 24-hour fundraising campaign conducted by the SDSU Foundation behalf of the entire university. To quote the SDSU Foundation website, “The yellow and blue community showed up for SDSU like never before!” The tally shows 7,172 gifts from 6,068 donors for a total of $2,757,7990. The numbers for the Lohr College of Engineering are 282 donors contributing $181,844.
Sanjeev Kumar, dean of the Lohr College of Engineering, said, “What a great outpouring of Jackrabbit pride and support to start the school year. It was truly a day of unity. Whether it was alumni, faculty, student or friends of Jackrabbits, people were demonstrating tangible support for their university. I hope to thank many of them in person on Hobo Day weekend.”
The giving profile showed 60% of the funds came from alumni followed by 20% from faculty and staff, 16% from friends, 11% from parents and 10% from students.
Donors could choose where they wanted to direct their gift. The college itself was the major beneficiary with $130,100 given. Among departments, civil and environmental engineering led the way with $19,480.
Upcoming Events
Oct 12th HOBO DAY
Oct 15th SD Student Water Conference
Oct 16th Eastern SD Water Conference
Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, 1151 8th St, Brookings, SD 57007
