The East River Technology Corridor spans the eastern half of South Dakota, from Aberdeen in the north to Vermillion in the south and is part of the larger I29 corridor that extends from Fargo, North Dakota to Kansas City, Missouri.  It is along this corridor that regional development is taking place that will bring new technology businesses to the heartland.  In eastern South Dakota where N2TEC Institute is working with state and local leaders to support technology entrepreneurship, the communities of Aberdeen, Brookings, Madison, Mitchell, Sioux Falls, and Vermillion participated in an in-depth study to determine the resources and needs in the community.  The East River Technology Corridor enjoys significant strength in technologies in the alternative energy space (it is home to Poet, one of the largest energy companies)  as well as in the healthcare area.  The development of the Sanford Health Children's Research Institute through an unprecedented gift from T. Denny Sanford, is working to solve childhood diseases in conjunction with the new Sanford Children's Hospital and multiple clinics to be developed in North America.

In this region, N2TEC Institute has worked with South Dakota EPSCoR to help researchers look at applications for the technologies they are developing and find effective solutions for the commercialization of those technologies. For the past three summers we have conducted 9-week boot camps to undertake feasibility studies of technologies being developed at regional universities and businesses.You can learn more about the 2008 Summer Institute here.