South Dakota State University

Two South Dakota State University students in the landscape architecture program competed in an international competition in Istanbul, Turkey. Jake Pytleski and Miranda Peck represented the SDSU School of Design in the International Federation of Landscape Architects conference Sept. 4-6. Pytleski's team placed third in the conference competition.

One of South Dakota State University's most historical cocurricular teams is preparing to make history at its first international tournament in March. Jackrabbits Forensics, SDSU's competitive speech and debate team, will travel to Dublin, Ireland, March 8-14 to compete in the International Forensics Association contest.

Retired NorthWestern Energy general manager Mike Sydow has been awarded the 2024 Wayne E. Knabach Excellence in Power Award. The award is given by the Center for Power Systems Studies, a group of utilities and electrical firms that work with the electrical engineering department at South Dakota State University to promote the industry through and to students and faculty. The Knabach Award is a lifetime achievement award named for a longtime electrical engineering professor. Sydow, a 1978 electrical engineering graduate from SDSU who spent his entire career with NorthWestern Energy, received the award at the center's annual banquet Sept. 30.

By the narrowest of margins - two points out of more than 2,000 - the SDSU Quarter Scale Tractor Team came up just short of winning its third consecutive national title. Competing at the 27th annual International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition at the Expo Gardens Fairgrounds in Peoria, Illinois, the South Dakota State University team placed third out of 21 teams. SDSU scored 2,164 points out of 2,405 possible points. North Carolina State won the event with 2,166 points while Kansas State was runner-up with 2,165 points. The top five teams were separated by just six points.

The following students graduated after the spring 2024 semester at South Dakota State University. More than 1,500 students completed all requirements for a degree and/or certificate program, and those requirements have been verified by the appropriate college. Overall, students from 35 states and 24 nations graduated following the spring 2024 semester. More than 70 students received two or more degrees or certificates from a college.

The following students graduated after the summer and fall 2023 semesters at South Dakota State University. Nearly 1,000 students completed all requirements for a degree and/or certificate program, and those requirements have been verified by the appropriate college. Overall, students from 36 states and 25 nations graduated following the summer and fall 2023 semesters. Nearly 40 students received two or more degrees or certificates from a college.

When it comes to electrical engineering scholarship, the program at South Dakota State University could be considered the standard of the power grid. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has announced the 2023-24 recipients of the Power and Energy Society Scholarships. For the second year in a row, SDSU dominated. The nine current selections are one better than the mark the program set last year. The list includes four repeat winners and five newcomers.

More than 3,300 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance over the sping 2024 semester at South Dakota State University by being named to the dean's list. To earn dean's list distinctions in SDSU's colleges, students must have completed a minimum of 12 credits and must have earned at least a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Students with F, I, U, RI or RU grades are not eligible regardless of system term GPA attained. Note that this report includes courses that were taken at other South Dakota institutions this term. A minimum of 12 credits within the 100-699 course range must be taken. A student who passes pregeneral education courses may still qualify, if the student has 12 other credits that do fall within the 100-699 range. Overall, 3,378 students from 40 states and 37 foreign nations are on the list. More than 1,400 students received a 4.0 GPA, and those are indicated with an asterisk. Congratulations to these distinguished scholars on earning this academic achievement.

For the second time in three years, a South Dakota State University junior has been named a Udall Scholar - one of the most prestigious scholarships in the country. Dallas Kelso, of Chadron, Nebraska, was named a Udall Scholar in tribal public policy earlier this spring. It was her second try at being named to the highly competitive award as she was named honorable mention last year. She follows Jessica Begeman as the second Jackrabbit to be named a Udall Scholar.

More than 3,300 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance over the sping 2024 semester at South Dakota State University by being named to the dean's list. To earn dean's list distinctions in SDSU's colleges, students must have completed a minimum of 12 credits and must have earned at least a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Students with F, I, U, RI or RU grades are not eligible regardless of system term GPA attained. Note that this report includes courses that were taken at other South Dakota institutions this term. A minimum of 12 credits within the 100-699 course range must be taken. A student who passes pregeneral education courses may still qualify, if the student has 12 other credits that do fall within the 100-699 range. Overall, 3,378 students from 40 states and 37 foreign nations are on the list. More than 1,400 students received a 4.0 GPA, and those are indicated with an asterisk. Congratulations to these distinguished scholars on earning this academic achievement.

The career possibilities for athletic trainers in South Dakota are expanding thanks to the efforts of a South Dakota State University clinical assistant professor. Educating future athletic trainers in the SDSU School of Health and Consumer Sciences and serving as the president of the South Dakota Athletic Trainers' Association, Mary Beth Zwart has made an impact on the profession and on her students.

Students from the South Dakota State University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions made a trip to the South Dakota Capitol Feb. 13-14, advocating for their chosen profession and offering lawmakers free health screenings.

South Dakota State University Theatre and Dance will bring a popular children's story to life with its production of "James and the Giant Peach." Performance dates and times are April 18-20 at 7:30 p.m. and April 21 at 2 p.m. at the Oscar Larson Theatre in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center on campus.

Eric Lohr, a senior majoring in music education, will present his senior recital at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 14, in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center's Founders Recital Hall on the South Dakota State University campus.

How can marching band members learn the band's formations and their own individual movements more easily? This was the basic question that Grant Sternhagen, a junior in South Dakota State University's Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, asked. The answer has led to a long-term development project that could allow marching band members to learn their spots and moves on a field by following along on their phones through an inexpensive app. And Sterhagen's proclivity to be a changemaker has only grown at SDSU, where he serves in student organizations and activities, volunteers for college events, and even lobbies SDSU and state officials for change on campus.

Two South Dakota State University students were recently selected to receive a $2,500 grant sponsored by the South Dakota Cattlemen's Foundation to support two undergraduate beef cattle research projects.

Students from SDSU's College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions presented posters at the 2023 Midyear Clinical Meeting of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). The 2023 meeting was held from Dec. 2-7. The ASHP Midyear Meeting is an annual gathering of more than 20,000 pharmacy students and professionals. Posters are presented by pharmacy professionals, residents, fellows and students on a variety of pharmacy-related topics.

At age 7, boys and girls dream about being the next Neil Armstrong, Taylor Swift or Michael Phelps. By middle school, or certainly by high school, those dreams have become faded memories for almost everyone. Liam Murray, an SDSU swimmer and mechanical engineering graduate student, is among the exceptions.

National Day of Giving can be the nonprofit equivalent of retailer's Black Friday. However, many smaller agencies don't have the manpower to engage in a robust social media campaign. For five area nonprofits, that need was addressed by students in the Fundraising and Resource Development course at South Dakota State University. The efforts helped the nonprofits raise more than $10,000 on National Day of Giving Nov. 28, according to Kim Gustafson, coordinator of the leadership and management of nonprofit organization's major at SDSU.

NASA has narrowed the field to six in its lunar soil excavating contest, and a team of students from South Dakota State University is among the group left in the hunt for a $1 million top prize. Conceived in 2020, the Break the Ice Lunar Challenge tasked innovators with creating robotic systems that can navigate the rugged terrain of the Lunar South Pole, dig up its icy soil and transport it to another location, where, in theory, water could be extracted from the soil. There were two earlier design and prototype phases in which SDSU advanced. In the latest stage, SDSU was one of 15 finalists invited to give their prototypes a 15-day test.

Over the past three seasons, South Dakota State University's softball team has transcended from a solid program into one of the top mid-major programs in the Midwest. Since the 2021 season, SDSU has lost a total of three regular season conference games and has won the last three regular season Summit League conference titles. Consistency has been key to the Jackrabbits' success, and few players have been more consistent than outfielder Lindsey Culver, who has played and started in over 95% of the games during the team's remarkable run. Culver, who is in her final year with the softball program, has applied her consistent approach to her academic career, where she has been equally successful. The only member of the team majoring in mechanical engineering in the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, Culver has been named to the Summit League's Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence and the Academic Honor Roll.

Two SDSU Wildlife and Fisheries master's students have won the John E. Skinner Memorial Fund award, presented by the American Fisheries Society (AFS). The award, presented at the AFS annual meeting which took place from Aug. 21-25 in Spokane, Washington, with 1,600 attendees, provides monetary travel awards for graduate students to attend. Administered by the AFS Education Section, students active in fisheries or related disciplines are invited to apply. Each year 10 students are selected to win.

Professional sports, whether it be playing in or working for, is a goal for many high school and college students across the country. A pair of South Dakota State University students spent this past summer interning for professional sports teams.

Men's hockey is back at South Dakota State University for the first time in four years, with students taking to the ice at Larson Ice Center for the past few months as an official club sport.

Lesly Abarca-Valladares, a senior advertising major in the School of Communication and Journalism at South Dakota State University, has been named one of the nation's most promising multicultural students for 2023 by the American Advertising Federation. Industry leaders have selected 50 of the highest-achieving diverse seniors in the U.S. to participate this spring in AAF's premier industry immersion program in New York City promoting diversity, equality and inclusion.