National Security Cooperative
At South Dakota Mines, we are a strategic partner for government and industry.
We are focused on addressing critical national security challenges. Through innovative research and workforce development, we fast-track the implementation of next-generation capabilities to meet the needs of the Department of Defense and industries that support the critical infrastructure of our nation. Applying convergent approaches, we are at the forefront of innovation to support national defense objectives.
South Dakota Mines (SDM) is just one of the many reasons the Black Hills were recognized as a Great American Defense Community in 2024. Home to Ellsworth Air Force Base and Camp Rapid, the South Dakota National Guard Joint Force Headquarters, SDM works closely with military leaders and industries supporting the defense ecosystem.
Core Competencies
Deterrence
Additive Manufacturing and Advanced Materials
- Metals processing technologies including cold spray, laser additive manufacturing, plasma surface engineering, and friction stir welding
- Materials development and processing of plastics, natural biopolymers, and composites
- Surface treatment and coating technologies
Cyber and Data Infrastructure
- Manufacturing technologies for security printing, artificial electromagnetic materials, adaptive optics, photovoltaic cells, microwave frequencies, and chemical sensing
- 2D nanomaterials for quantum computing and quantum communications technologies
- Sensors for autonomous cyber-physical systems
- Adaptive and real-time physical attack detection and recovery in autonomous cyber-physical systems
- UAV swarms for autonomous operations
- Microwave sensing and direction-finding systems
Survivability of Forces
- Wound healing technologies
- Advanced materials for cold weather applications
- Resilient materials and manufacturing
- Biological agent neutralization
- Microwave sensing and direction-finding systems for civil and military applications
Supply Chain
Domestic production of critical components
- Sustainable recovery of Earth’s resources
- Next-generation mining: highly autonomous vehicles, extreme environments, in-situ recovery, and workforce creation
Artificial Intelligence
- Predicative analytics, anomaly detection, natural language processing, and image analysis
Energy and Natural Resources
- Solid-state energy systems
- Bioelectrical systems
- Converting waste into biofuels
- Developing sustainable resources through renewable energy sources, smart grids, and steel recycling
- Alternative energy generation, including a focus on solar PV/Thermal energy generation as well as waste heat energy recovery
- PFAS and emerging contaminants mitigation
- Aquatic ecology
- Bioprocessing technologies to create specialty chemicals from renewable sources; develop biodegradable plastics to optimize crop growth
- Carbon capture and mineralization
- Conversion of CO2 into products
- Advanced technologies and data analytics to create smart energy systems that optimize the generation, distribution, storage, and consumption of energy
- Molecular modeling and simulation to address problems relevant to energy and the environment
University Research Labs & Centers
- Arbegast Materials Processing and Joining Lab (AMP)
- Center for Sustainable Solutions
- Center for Solid-State Electric Power Storage
- Center for Understanding and Disrupting the Illicit Economy (no link available)
- Composite and Nanocomposite Advanced Manufacturing-Biomaterials Lab
- Composites and Polymer Engineering Lab (CAPE)
- Mining Hub
- Quantum Materials Institute (no link available)
People
Vice President for Research |
Deterrence
Grant Crawford
|
Chemical and Biological Engineering Professor and Director of CAPE Lab |
Nanoscience and Biomedical Engineering Department Head and Professor and Director of Quantum Materials Institute |
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor |
Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Professor and Director of Center for Understanding and Disrupting the Illicit Economy |
Supply Chain
Mining Engineering and Management Professor |
Chemical and Biological Engineering Professor |
Mining Engineering and Management, Assoc. Professor |
Energy and Natural Resources
|
Chemistry, Biology, and Health Sciences Professor and Director of Center for Solid-state Electric Power Storage |
Chemistry, Biology, and Health Sciences Assoc. Professor and Director of Center for Sustainable Solutions |
Chemical and Biological Engineering Professor |
Geology and Geological Engineering Assoc. Professor |
Workforce Development
This upper-level course offers Department of Defense leaders an opportunity to collaborate with talented student teams to develop innovative solutions to their most pressing national security problems.
As a member of DIBC, university researchers work with DOD to deploy solutions that address supply chain issues, develop an industrial workforce, sustain critical production, and commercialize research and development efforts to rapidly scale emerging technologies to build a robust, resilient defense industry base.
Senior-level students work on real-world problems faced by defense industry partners and military installations, providing prototypes for testing and possible implementation.
South Dakota Mines unit of the senior division of the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps is the headquarters for the Mount Rushmore Battalion. The unit is administered by commissioned and non-commissioned officers of the U.S. Army.
Since 2012, South Dakota Mines has offered this internship program connecting high school and undergraduate students to research. The students spend the summer conducting cutting-edge research in state-of-the-art laboratories with renowned scientists and engineers in STEM fields that complement their interests and areas of study.
Outreach & Collaborations
|
Black Hills Defense Symposium This annual event brings together industry and military leaders, and local community members to discuss important defense issues. South Dakota Mines is an active participant, serving as subject matter experts on several topics important to national security. |
State Partnership Program The South Dakota National Guard, as part of the State Partnership Program, included South Dakota Mines in an exchange with Suriname to include civilian-to-civilian academic exchanges and incorporate the university in planned engineering operations. |