News Home

DSU and EROS Sign Cooperative Agreement

SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota - - Dakota State University (DSU) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) will sign a cooperative agreement to benefit technology development and research activities at both institutions. Officials from DSU and USGS will sign the agreement on Wednesday, December 8, 2004, 3:30 p.m., at EROS (see attached map). Governor Rounds will join officials from DSU and USGS to commemorate the significance of this event. The partnership grew from a conversation initiated by Governor Rounds between DSU and USGS officials once both parties recognized their mutual interest in data security and storage issues.

This 5-year agreement will enable DSU faculty and students to work with USGS staff to develop, apply, and deliver emerging computer and information systems technology to benefit scientists, planners, educators, and decision makers worldwide. Through its National Center of Excellence in Information Assurance Education, DSU faculty and students will cooperate with USGS staff in training and education, information technology security, digital image processing, geospatial information analysis and synthesis, project management, and networking and computing systems to benefit programs within both institutions.
Founded in 1881, Dakota State University served as the first teacher education institution in the Dakota Territory. DSU's mission changed in 1989 to integrate information technology into the education curriculum. Today, DSU is South Dakota's leader in applying computer and information systems technology to higher education. Dakota State University, located in Madison, SD, is a public, four-year institution with an enrollment of 2,295 students.

The USGS National Center for EROS is a world-class data reception, processing, archiving, distribution, and research facility for remotely sensed data and other forms of geographic information. It holds the world’s largest collection of civilian remotely sensed data covering the Earth’s land surface, archiving millions of satellite images and aerial photographs. This archive, collocated with its attendant engineering and scientific expertise, provides a unique capability for developing and promoting science applications of remotely sensed data to identify, monitor, and understand changes on the landscape and across the interface between nature and society.

DSU Assistant Professor Bill Figg was one of the leaders in working with EROS to finalize this agreement. Figg says the cooperative agreement with EROS marks a new avenue in accelerated learning for DSU students. “Working with EROS will give DSU access to research opportunities that will benefit both parties and create a closer bond between the state and federal resources. We view this agreement as a vehicle to enable DSU students and faculty to work with EROS in a learning environment with measurable objectives producing research that will be functional to the EROS staff.”

Figg noted that DSU is embarking on expanded research objectives, “and the cutting edge technology at EROS facilitates new learning objectives for students.” He also stated that the close proximity of both organizations represents a natural evolution in cooperative working relationships. “This will enhance learning while supporting the EROS mission which represents a win-win environment,” Figg concluded.

For more information, please contact Donna Fawbush, Dakota State University at Donna.Fawbush@dsu.edu or Thomas Holm, USGS EROS Data Center at holm@usgs.gov