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Dakota State University Received US West Foundation Grant

Madison -- Dakota State University has received $29,990 in two grants from the US West Foundation to educational activities related to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The funding will be used to conduct two regional (SBIR) conferences during the next year and to deliver an Internet based SBIR proposal preparation and Technology Entrepreneurship Certification (TEC) program. The activities are design to deliver educational materials to technology based small businesses and entrepreneurs throughout the 14 state US West service area.

The first SBIR educational conference will be held September 25, 1997 in Sioux Falls. The conference will concentrate on how to win SBIR awards from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Eric Craine, President of Western Research in Tuscon, Arizona and one of the most successful NIH SBIR competitors in the country, will be the main presenter at the conference.

Since 1994 Dakota State University has maintained the Internet site for the Project SBIR West Regional Council and the proposed Internet based educational programs will expand the activities of the Internet site. As part of the program, Dakota State University will be working with other universities throughout the 14 state region to deliver a graduate course on SBIR proposal preparation. The course is intended for graduate students interested in starting a technology based company or has a research idea they would like to pursue.

Several graduate students in South Dakota have utilized the assistance of the South Dakota SBIR Center to start research based companies. Two examples are Microconversion Technologies in Brookings and ChT Engineering Systems in Rapid City. Three South Dakota State University engineering graduates are developing new electronic sensor products at Microconversion Technologies. Two recent South Dakota School of Mines and Technology engineering graduates are developing innovative ground probing radar technologies at ChT Engineering Systems.

The US West funded SBIR education projects will build on these successes in South Dakota and extend the efforts to a 14 state region. A portion of the funding will be used to provide stipends to graduate students interested in participating in the SBIR program. For more information on the upcoming SBIR educational conferences or the SBIR graduate course please contact Dr. Melvin Ustad at 605-256-5555.

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