SDPB 1

South Dakota’s higher educationresearch centers are impacting thestate by creating jobs anddeveloping spin-off companies.

South Dakotaresearch centersprovidingimpact

Currently there are 10 Research Centers in operation. Fiveof the Centers have “graduated” or no longer receive state“Center” funding. The other five Centers are in their

third year.“Businesses partnering with the Research Centers have raised

more than $20 million in financing to commercialize researchresults,” states Mel Ustad, Director of Commercialization for theGovernor’s Office of Economic Development.For example, several researchers from the Center for

Infectious Disease Research and Vaccinology at South DakotaState University in Brookings, SD have been instrumental in thefounding of two separate start-up companies.David Francis founded Brookings Biomedical, Inc., a six year

old business that has had several substantial research contractsincluding Teijin Pharma in Tokyo and SpringPoint Project inMinneapolis, MN.“It has also serviced several small contracts to companies in

the United States and has others in the wing,” Francis states. “Inaddition, it is currently conducting a second USDA SBIR Phase Igrant. The focus of the USDA grants is swine vaccinedevelopment.”MedGene is a new company that focuses on research and

development, largely using federal SBIR grants as a vehicle. AlanYoung founded MedGene.“As a new company, I do not believe that it has been awarded

a grant yet, but individuals associated with that company, have awealth of SBIR experience and are expected to be successful inthis new venture,” Francis says.

South Dakota

2 SDPB November 2011

• $3,6 IN RESEARCH AWARDS

• 7.2:1 RETURN ON INVESTMENT

• 42 PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

• 100 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONALPRESENTATIONS

• 36 FACULTY AND RESEARCH SCIENTISTSINVOLVED

• 26 INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS WITHPRIVATE BUSINESSES AND LARGEBIOENERGY COMPANIES INITIATED

• 79 GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATESTUDENTS TRAINED

• 8 POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS,SCIENTISTS AND TECHNICAL STAFF

CBRD2011

RESEARCH

OUTPUT

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In addition, Francis notes that two individuals whoseprofessional careers were largely launched by the 2010Centers have risen to national or internationalprominence since being hired. “Ying Fang and WeipingZhang have exceeded millions of dollars in grants,”Francis states. “Dr. Fang is recognized for her work withthe porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus.Dr Zhang is a member of an international team supportedby the Gates Foundation charged with the development ofa vaccine against enterotoxigenic E. coli to beadministrated to children in developing companies.”Another research center, The Center for Bioprocessing

Research & Development (CBRD) has initiated 26industry collaborations with private businesses and largebioenergy companies and has trained 79 graduate andundergraduate students.Four new faculty have joined the

Center over the past two years. In FY11,55 graduate, 24 undergraduate and 8researchers have beenemployed and trainedthrough CBRD.“South Dakota is

a strongagricultural stateand home to someof the leadingproducers ofbioethanol in theUnited States,”states Dr. LewChristopher,Director of theCenter. “Thestate isuniquelypositionedto serve asa naturallaboratoryproviding the opportunity toproduce biofuels from avariety of available feedstock –grasses, forestry and agri-waste.”The Center consists of 120

researchers from nine departments

at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology inRapid City and South Dakota State University inBrookings. The Center was established in 2006 throughthe Governor’s 2010 Initiative for Economic Developmentto bring together the bioprocessing research anddevelopment resources together.The Center is actively involved in and supports Ph.D.

and M.S. graduate programs at both universities. Theoverall mission of the CBRD is to provide entrepreneurs,farmers, and industry in South Dakota with expertise incutting edge technologies, research facilities, education,training and administrative support. The overall goal ofthe center is to reduce national dependence on importedfossil fuels and petroleum-based chemicals by developingnew technologies that mitigate the environmental impactof greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.“Because of the unique geographical location of the

center, local industry by-products, such as agriwaste andlogging waste, and energy crops, such asnative prairie grasses and switchgrass,play a significant part in providing thefeedstock for bio-derived chemicalsand fuel research,” Christopherexplains. “By employing an integratedbiorefinery approach in the developmentand implementation of renewableenergy technologies, this research has

the potential for far-reachingimpact on thegrowing bio-economy of theBlack Hills, thestate of SouthDakota, theMidwest and thenation as a whole.”Overall, over the

past five years, Christophernotes that the Center has

obtained $13.3 million through 88awards (with an overall success rate of 33

percent) from state, federal, and industryfunding sources. SDPB

Alan Van Ormer - avanormer@prairiebizmag.com

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The ITC office is a partnership between the SouthDakota Governor’s Office of EconomicDevelopment, South Dakota Small Business

Development Center, Great Plains International TradeAssociation, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the SiouxFalls Development Foundation.Rock Nelson, the Center’s Regional Director, says the

office works closely with South Dakota companiesconsidering exporting goods or those in the process ofdeveloping an export market.“We also assist companies with exporting questions,”

Nelson notes. “Sometimes a business encounterscompliance issues on the U.S. side or foreign side. Weprovide accurate and up-to-date information on exportlaw and policy.”

Nelson developed expertise over the past 12-plus yearsthrough working with the Sioux Falls DevelopmentFoundation and Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce. Morethan 420 South Dakota companies currently export goods.Because more than 90 percent of the world’s populationlives outside the United States, the export market providesa major growth opportunity for the South Dakotabusiness community.Since he interacts so frequently with U.S. Customs,

Nelson’s office is located in the Sioux Falls U. S. CustomsBuilding. In addition to providing confidential,professional, and no-cost one-on-one consulting, ITC alsooffers international business and financial planassessments and will be hosting training seminars. TheITC works closely with the Small Business Administrationand Ex-Im Bank in providing information to clients aboutInternational Trade Export Finance Programs.

“We want to ensure that international trade for SouthDakota companies goes as smoothly as possible,” Nelsonsays. “No company is too large or too small for us. Stronginternational sales result in better bottom lines and morejobs being created for the business community here.

Foreign buyers like U.S. quality. As other countries becomemore developed, their demand for U.S. goods will grow.”South Dakota exports reached an historic peak in

2007-2008, declining to some degree with the 2008economic crisis. In recent months, export activity hasincreased.“At the peak, South Dakota businesses exported just

over a billion dollars in goods,” Nelson says. “That’s thevalue of manufactured goods exported. It doesn’t includeagricultural grains or livestock. Our goal is to significantlyincrease that figure.”

ITC services are free to businesses seeking them.Assistance is given in the form of information as well asmentorship and monitoring business transactions.“We follow the process all the way through to make

sure everything is done as it should be and to ensure theSouth Dakota business is paid for their product,” Nelsonsays. “We know there are some businesses in the state thatare afraid of international sales. Some had a badexperience with exports, including not getting paid. That’swhy we’re here, to help them get on the correct path withexport sales.“A Rapid City company who worked with us to develop

their export market now does business in more than 50countries,” Nelson adds. “They remarked that if they’dknown how easy it was to get the market established theywould have done it a long time ago. We don’t recommendthat businesses just ‘jump off the dock’ with this and try tolearn to swim.We don’t have all the answers to foreigntrade questions, but we do have a large network ofnational and international connections. Our job is toobtain accurate answers to questions on a timely basis.”

More information about ITC is available atwww.usd.edu/sbdc. SDPB

Loretta Sorensen, Owner, Prairie Hearth Publishing,LLC. sorensenlms@gmail.com.

4 SDPB November 2011

South Dakota

InternationalTrade Centerassists SDbusinessesInternational trade isn’t beyond the reach of any South Dakota business, thanks to assistance ofa statewide International Trade Center (ITC) established earlier this year.

that SouthDakota’slargest growthcluster is inbusiness andfinancialservices. Anestimated11,871 jobshave beencreated since2002.

Source: EnterprisingStates: Recovery andRenewal for the 21stCentury report

Did youKnow…

Rock Nelson is regional director