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The abridged story of a South Dakota wheat breeder whose determination, persistence and personal sacrifice changed the world.

Selections for the fourth class of Future Innovators of America Fellowships have been announced by the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering.  The eight recipients and the department which selected them are:  • Maxwell Donelan, mathematics and statistics  • Tennille Eremas and John Akujobi, both computer science • Keaton Ranslem, civil engineering • Connor Matthies and William O’Connell, both mechanical engineering • Eli Otten and Gabrielle Robbins, both construction and concrete industry management.

AeroFly, a Brookings-based aerospace company bred from Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ research, has been selected by NASA to test and advance its innovative technology. If successful, it could help enable the first long-term presence of humans on the moon and may even allow for deep space exploration.

A controlled feeding study led by Moul Dey, professor in the School of Health and Human Sciences at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½, shows that older adults who ate fewer ultra-processed foods naturally consumed fewer calories and lost weight and abdominal fat. They also showed improvements in insulin, nutrient-sensing hormones and inflammation.

Zhiguang Wang, a researcher from Ä¢¹½´«Ã½'s Ness School of Management and Economics, is investigating artificial intelligence's ability to predict stock market returns.

Rakesh Kaushik, a recent Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ graduate from the Department of Dairy and Food Science, has received the 2025 Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award from the SDSU Graduate School.

Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ associate professor Saikat Basu published a study that explains how secondary deep lung infections — like pneumonia — can develop after a throat or nasal infection.

Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ associate professor Rachel Willand-Charnley received an endowment from Bill and Nancy Wadsworth earlier this year. The funding will help Willand-Charnley accelerate cancer research at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½.

Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ers from Ä¢¹½´«Ã½'s Department of Biology and Microbiology and the BioSystems Networks and Transformative Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Center – Insights into Inflammation (BioSNTR-II) have identified a protein — ALIX — that can help boost cells' self-healing abilities.

Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ researcher Swas Kaushal is part of a new generation of scientists blending technology and agriculture — and his work is gaining global attention through two major travel awards.