Speakers

While at SD Mines, I have focused on a variety of collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects focusing on sustainability and the environment. The focus of my research mimics the shift in environmental engineering towards multi-disciplinary environmental challenges that utilize collaborative expertise from various science and engineering disciplines. My research focus includes:

• Life cycle assessment (LCA) and holistic triple-bottom line analyses with applications towards agricultural and environmental engineering processes;
• Fate and transport of uranium from historical legacy mine sites and insitu solution recovery (ISR) uranium operations;
• Hydrologic and water quality impacts resulting from the mountain pine beetle outbreak in the Black Hills;
• Anaerobic digestion and bioenergy production for agricultural and domestic waste treatment;
• Food energy water (FEW) nexus challenges for the northern Great Plains.

I joined SD Mines after completing my Ph.D. and post-doctoral studies at Penn State, where I investigated biogeochemical interactions within contaminated subsurface environments. My post-doctoral research focused on the effect of natural organic material on the biological reduction of uranium contaminated ground waters [through biotic reduction of soluble U(VI) to insoluble U(IV)]. I completed my BS in Civil Engineering, and MS degree in Environmental Engineering from Virginia Tech. Between my studies at Virginia Tech and Penn State, I worked as an environmental consultant for five years where I designed environmental remediation systems for water, wastewater, and hazardous waste applications.

I have taught a wide range of engineering courses at SD Mines, at both the graduate and undergraduate level, and have participated in several teaching workshops, particularly those integrating active and problem based learning and new environmental engineering concepts into the classroom. I continually strive to provide SD Mine’s environmental-focused students with relevant, real world case studies and assignments to better prepare them to handle tomorrow’s complex environmental problems in addition to developing new courses that broaden their environmental and sustainability knowledge base.

Vickie Ozburn’s mission, she says, as director of IEEE Region 4 is to use her leadership talents to inspire, encourage, and collaborate. She has more than 30 years of experience in leadership, project management, engineering management, quality, software engineering, and production. Ozburn says she enjoys working on projects that allow opportunities to reach across markets to dream, design, and build without limits. She works within an Avionics business unit, where they enable safe flight through their products and services. Her focus is on keeping passengers, flight crews, and militaries safe, connected, and informed.

A member of the IEEE Computer Society, Ozburn has been an active IEEE volunteer for more than 17 years. She has held several leadership positions on committees within her section and region. The committees set strategies and goals for the region. Ozburn prides herself on bringing forth many creative ideas and initiatives and, more importantly, laying out explicit courses of action and steps to assist IEEE members. She is a founding member of the IEEE Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Section’s Women In Engineering Affinity Group.

As a member of the IEEE Board of Directors, she dedicates her time and effort to promoting and growing membership and engaging IEEE members to use their skills and diversity of thought to address real-world problems.

Ozburn received the IEEE Cedar Rapids Section’s Ted A. Hunter Award for outstanding individual service in furthering the section’s purposes and objectives. She was honored with the 2016 Collins Aerospace Enterprise Women’s Champion of the Year Award and the 2013 Women’s Forum Contributor of the Year Award.

Ryan Oines is the Chief Operating Officer at the USD Discovery District in Sioux Falls, SD. In this role, he leads the business and financial operations for the planned future development of 26 privately developed buildings with facility construction estimated to exceed $314M. Additionally, from 2020 to 2022, he worked with the Technology Readiness Acceleration Center (TRAC) at the University of South Dakota. As a TRAC mentor, Ryan assisted in developing a program that paired USD graduate students with faculty and industry inventors and supported the development and commercialization of novel technologies through education, innovations, and entrepreneurship.

Prior to his role at the USD Discovery District, Ryan was the Interim Vice President at the Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship where he led facility and program operations, and strategic partnerships. Before accepting the role of Vice President, he was an entrepreneur-in-residence at Zeal where he led Zeal’s initial participation in Falls Angel Fund I in 2016, a fund dedicated to helping promising, early-stage companies in South Dakota scale into successful businesses.

He has spent the last 25 years launching and assisting multiple start-up companies in the region and has a special interest in financial operations, strategic business development, and working with entrepreneurs. In 2002, Ryan worked with the Seattle-based start-up, Monet Mobile Networks, to launch North America’s first CDMA wireless data network in Sioux Falls, SD.  In 2010, he co-founded Logical Energy Solutions, LLC, a wind energy repairs & maintenance provider based in Sioux Falls, SD leading business and financial operations. Mr. Oines has proven experience in business operations and raising start-up capital.

Thomas Coughlin, President, Coughlin Associates is a widely respected digital storage analyst as well as a business and technology consultant.  He has over 35 years in the data storage industry with engineering and management positions at high profile companies.

Dr. Coughlin has many publications and six patents to his credit.

Tom is also the author of Digital Storage in Consumer Electronics:  The Essential Guide, which is now in its second edition with Springer. Coughlin Associates provides market and technology analysis as well as Data Storage Technical and Business Consulting services.  Tom publishes the Digital Storage Technology Newsletter, the Media and Entertainment Storage Report, the Emerging Non-Volatile Memory Report and other industry reports.  Tom is also a regular contributor on digital storage for Forbes.com and other blogs.

Tom is active with SMPTE (Journal article writer and Conference Program Committee), SNIA (including a founder of the SNIA SSSI), the IEEE, (he is past Chair of the IEEE Public Visibility Committee, Past Director for IEEE Region 6, President Elect for IEEE USA and active in the Consumer Electronics Society) and other professional organizations.

Tom is the founder and organizer of the Annual Storage Visions Conference as well as the Creative Storage Conference. He was the general chairman of the annual Flash Memory Summit for 10 years.  He is a Fellow of the IEEE and a member of the Consultants Network of Silicon Valley (CNSV).  For more information on Tom Coughlin and his publications and activities go to www.tomcoughlin.com.

Tyler Tordsen is the President & CEO of the Sioux Metro Growth Alliance, South Dakota’s largest regional non-profit economic development organization. In this role, Tyler oversees the day-to-day operations of SMGA’s staff and mission in its efforts to serve its 16 member municipalities, 4 counties, and multiple chambers of commerce, economic development offices and more in the greater Sioux Falls MSA.

Before taking his new role with SMGA, Tyler spent eight years serving in the Office of U.S. Senator Mike Rounds as the Southeast Regional Director and State Director of Tribal Affairs. His duties included helping South Dakotans through issues arising with the federal government, promoting communication to and from the Senator’s office and overseeing the operations and management of Senator Rounds’ Sioux Falls office.

He is a lifelong South Dakotan who was born in Sioux Falls, grew up in Rapid City and is an enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe. He has a Bachelors of Science in political science and economics from the University of South Dakota, where as an undergraduate he served as the president of the USD Student Body, Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, and Tiospaye Student Council.

Tyler was elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives for District 14 in 2022, is a member of the House Education and House Judiciary Committees, and was appointed to the 2024 Select Committee on Legislative Relationships with Ellsworth AFB. He also served as a commissioner to the Midwestern Higher Education Compact representing South Dakota, along with being selected as a 2023 National Conference of State Legislatures Youth Homelessness Fellow. In October 2023, Tyler was chosen as a “50 Under 50” of up-and-coming conservative state legislators in the nation by the American Legislative Exchange Council. He serves on the Sioux Falls YMCA Board of Directors, the USD Alumni Association Board of Directors, and is also a member of Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary Club and the Sales and Marketing Executives of Sioux Falls. Tyler, his wife Erika, and their two sons Emmett and Atlas currently live in Sioux Falls.

As the third-generation president of DeGeest Corporation, Derek DeGeest understands the complexities of manufacturing. But it’s his vision for the future that quickly led to the company becoming a technology leader through software development, data analytics, automation, and the use of robotics throughout the manufacturing process.

Leveraging this robotic and software experience, Derek brought a new robot technology to North America and became President of LestaUSA after forming a partnership with Lesta Srl to become the sole distributor, integrator and manufacturer of Lesta self-learning robotic finishing technology. Derek led DeGeest Corporation to become a NRTL certified facility for integrating Class I Div 1 self-learning robots. DeGeest is now growing a distribution network to help bring finishing automation to more general industry manufacturers.

Besides leading his companies, Derek’s role has evolved to take on a more consultative focus in automation and robotics by creating multi-year automation plans for customers, participating in speaking events, and sharing success stories on his podcast Manufacturing a Stronger Standard in an effort to move the manufacturing industry forward.

As a lifelong advocate for the success of manufacturing, Derek remains active in his community and routinely partners with area schools and technical colleges to encourage young people to choose rewarding careers in manufacturing. Derek is a board member for the Build Dakota Scholarship Program created by business leaders and lawmakers to address South Dakota’s workforce shortage. In 2019, he was recognized in Washington D.C. as the Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Person of the Year for South Dakota.

Matt Francis, Ph.D., is the founder and President/CEO of Ozark Integrated Circuits, Inc. (Ozark IC). Dr. Francis earned his BSEE ('03), BS Physics ('04), MSEE ('07) and PhD ('09) degrees from the University of Arkansas. At Ozark IC, he leads the development of high-temperature semiconductor computing solutions for energy, defense, aerospace, and space applications. He has been a remote payload specialist for Ozark IC's payloads on the International Space Station. Dr. Francis is an expert in the scalable design, manufacturing, and assembly of extremely reliable single-board computers, from silicon/silicon carbide semiconductors to advanced packaging, ceramics, and tests for reliability - including their complex supply chains. Through R&D funding from NASA, DARPA, DOE, US DAF, and commercial partners, Ozark IC has designed, manufactured, and demonstrated one of the widest ranges of semiconductor-based solutions for remote sensing and actuation from -180 to 800oC. Under his leadership, Ozark IC has been recognized as a leader in the rugged computing space, evidenced by wins in the MassChallenge accelerator Gold award (2020), the Army XTech Hypersonic Manufacturing Prize (2nd prize, 2022), and the American Made Geothermal Prizes (Set! and Geophone Prizes, 2021-2023).

Dr. Francis also serves as a Region Director (Region 5 USA Southwest), as the IEEE-USA representative to the IEEE Industry Engagement Committee, as past chair of the IEEE MGA Chapter Operations Support Committee, and as a Council Member for his city (Elkins, AR). Dr. Francis is passionate about entrepreneurship and growing the next generation of scientists and engineers. He is an IEEE STEM Champion, volunteering weekly with his IEEE Local Group robotics club. He is an advisor to science-based startups through the Science Venture Studio, and in 2022 he was selected as the recipient of the IEEE-USA Entrepreneurship Achievement Award for leadership in Entrepreneurial Spirit for furthering both entrepreneurial growth and spirit in the US, as well as his service in mentoring small-businesses in the deep-technology space. He is one of the co-founders of the IWRC series, which began in Little Rock, AR in 2023, and is co-founder of Scaling Up Regional Economies in Arkansas (SURGE-AR), a 501c3 designed to advance semiconductor and science-based technology in Arkansas in the CHIPS+ era.

Susan Feindt is the Senior Vice President of Ecosystem Development at Natcast. Prior to Natcast, Feindt was an executive and senior technical fellow at Analog devices where she led technology strategy and innovations, specializing in advanced process and device development. Feindt’s career at ADI spanned thirty-six years where her leadership, mentorship and technical innovations resulted in the commercialization of numerous technologies. She has served on multiple industry and academic advisory boards, including as vice-chair of the Department of Commerce CHIPS Industrial Advisory Committee (IAC). Feindt earned her B.S. from M.I.T. At Natcast, Feindt will focus on defining membership strategy, prioritizing program offerings and advocating for the semiconductor ecosystem’s interests.

Dr. Stacy Manni has been promoted to Director of the AFRL Regional Network – Midwest. Manni joined the Midwest Regional Network in December 2022 as the Deputy Director and has been integral to building it from the ground up. She led the development of the Midwest Regional Network’s strategic initiatives, which include building partnerships and promoting research & development, technology transitions and workforce development.

Manni brings a strong background in coordinating technological, scientific, and research-related activities; assessing and capitalizing on technological opportunities; steering program functions and programmatics; and managing high profile budgets and contracts. Prior to joining the Midwest Regional Network, Manni was a Senior Physical Scientist and International Program Officer for the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Southern Office of Aerospace Research and Development (SOARD) in Santiago, Chile.

In recognition of her work in this role, she received an Air Force Exemplary Civilian Service Award, her second in over her 12 years with the Air Force. Manni is an Army combat veteran and has a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Kent State University.

Dr. Sandra Richardson is the Section Head for the Research Capacity and Competitiveness (RCC) Section in the Office of Integrative Activities (OIA) at the U.S. National Science Foundation. In this role, she serves as a member of the OIA senior leadership team in the Office of the NSF Director and is responsible for carrying out of RCC's mission to support the development and enhancement of STEM research capacity and competitiveness of individuals, institutions, states, territories, and regions historically underserved by NSF research and development funding. Dr. Richardson joined OIA after serving as the Acting Deputy Division Director in the Division of Undergraduate Education in the NSF Directorate for STEM Education and Program Lead for the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. While serving as a NSF Program Director, she planned and administered programs aimed at advancing research and training in undergraduate education, including managing hundreds of grants to comprehensive, primarily undergraduate, minority-serving, research-intensive, and two-year institutions across the Nation.

Her research and scholarly interests have been motivated by the intersection of her personal, professional, and scholarly experiences as a student, teacher, research professor, and academic. In addition to STEM education, her research includes examining effective tools for undergraduate mathematics curricula, mathematics teacher education, and broadening the participation in undergraduate and graduate STEM majors and STEM careers.

Dr. Richardson has been recognized nationally for her mentoring, teaching, leadership, and service to the STEM and STEM education communities, including being the recipient of several NSF Special Act awards, a 2022 National Honoree of Mathematically, Gifted & Black, a recipient of a University Excellence in Teaching and Research Merit Award, and a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute. She is Chair of the Federal EPSCoR Interagency Coordinating Committee.

Dr. Richardson enjoys family time, traveling, board and card games, sports, and participating in community service with her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.