Black Hills Pilot Project

Purpose of the Initiative

December 2005 Project Launch

News from Lead and DUSEL

The objective of the N2TEC Rural Pilot Project in the Black Hills region of South Dakota is to demonstrate the ability to effectively network innovators, entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurial communities to develop new technology-based businesses and expand existing businesses in rural regions. The N2TEC High Performance Region model is being piloted in the Black Hills communities and will expand to other regions throughout South Dakota and nationally.

N2TEC has selected the Black Hills of South Dakota to conduct this pilot project during 2005 and 2006. The Black Hills HPR [High Performance Region] Index number indicated that it was in a position to benefit from the expertise, resources, and facilitation of the N2TEC Institute and its HPC team. The HPR Index, developed by N2TEC partner Delore Zimmerman of CEO Praxis in North Dakota, is based on Seven High-Performance Community Action Strategies: connectivity, entrepreneurship, job growth from within, global awareness, industry clusters, inter-firm collaboration, and regional collaboration. A High Performance Community is a place where individuals, companies, organizations, and government agencies are enabled to be fast, flexible, focused, networked, customized, and global. Completing the HPC Index provides a snapshot of a community’s readiness for innovation and technology-based development.

The project is is aligned with the state’s 2010 Initiative to produce opportunity and economic development for the state. The N2TEC Institute Black Hills Team is led by Kathleen Allen, President, N2TEC Institute, Timothy Stearns, Vice President, Edward Caner, Director, N2TEC Summer Institute program, and Mel Ustad, Director of Commercialization for the State of South Dakota. The Eco-system for this intitiative is extensive and includes all the the major organizations and decision-makers in the state.

N2TEC High Performance Regional Initiative in the Black Hill is launched.

On December 5, 2005, N2TEC Institute officially launched its High Performance Regional Initiative in the Black Hills by presenting the 24 technology opportunities the team had uncovered after an intensive search and effort to match potential technologies with skills and resources in the Black Hills Region. Six technologies were presented in depth for consideration by the many Black Hills community leaders in attendance. They ranged from biomass to nano-technology. Two of the technologies had already been subjected to in-depth feasibility analysis by teams from the University of Southern California and California State University at Fresno.

Next steps involve the communities deciding which opportunities they would like to pursue. Then N2TEC will develop commercialization teams consisting of qualified graduate students, faculty, and community members who will conduct technical and market feasibility analysis to determine potential market applications of the selected technologies. Should a feasible business model be determined, the team will move into the business plan stage to prepare the resources and infrastructure needed to launch a business or expand an existing business's product line. For a graphical view of the N2TEC process, click here.

MBAs from the University of Southern California Team with South Dakota Scientists on New Nano-Ink Technology

This fall, three MBAs from USC's Marshall School of Business Greif Entrepreneurship Center teamed with three scientists from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology to explore the feasibility of launching a company that would supply pre-fabricated microwave devices (kits) to design engineers to accelerate the prototyping of products. Sean Mirshafiei, David Schneider, and Asim Hameed bring years of experience in electronic materials, chemical engineering, and operations to the SDSMT technical team consisting of Dr. Shawn Decker, Director of the Center for Accelerated Applications at the Nanoscale, and Dr. Keith Whites, Professor and Steven P. Miller Endowed Chair, Dept. Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Prototyping consumes about 20 percent of microwave device product development and is an iterative and costly process that is not compatible with a fast-moving marketplace. The product life cycle for microwave electronics has shortened dramatically, so the ability to enter the market quickly is critical to success and increased revenues. The NanoWave solution will deliver kits that eliminate the labor-intensive milling process and whose attributes can be incorporated into texisting design software, thereby simplifying transfer from prototype to volume manufacturing.

The commercialization team in now entering the business plan phase and expects to launch a company by fall 2006.