NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSI TY | News Scan to read more. Faculty win grant to expand Nora eventually be housed in the new Staael Evert Human Performance Lab building replacing Lincoln Hall. Through this initiative, Northern expects to advance the ideas of 25 entrepreneurs and launch 10+ startups resulting in 50 new digital jobs in northeast South Dakota in the first three years. The CEO of the ADC, Michael Bockorny, stated, “NSU and ADC are strategic partners working together to build a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem with an intentional emphasis on tech. NSU is creating the Startup Center, and the ADC has invested in new facilities to launch the Business Innovation and Technology (BIT) Center, an accelerator program. Working in concert with each other, the Northern Startup Center and the ADC BIT Center will diversify Aberdeen’s economy, enhancing the current agriculture and manufacturing reliance, and addressing the threats of automation and climate change to those industries. Economic diversification has long been a goal of the ADC, and this is a major step in the direction of this multi-year effort.” Aberdeen Area Community Foundation (AACF) Board Chair Heath Johnson said the AACF is proud to have helped facilitate this grant for such an important project for the Aberdeen area. “The project addresses many of the Knight Aberdeen Fund’s strategic priorities for Aberdeen, including supporting NSU and its connections to the community as well as promoting economic development, talent attraction and retention, and a vibrant downtown,” Johnson said. “This has exciting potential for our community.” Read more about the Startup Center and the collaboration of NSU, ADC and CORI at northern.edu/ news/northern-state-university-willreceive-15-million-federal-grantsand-matching-dollars-support. T WO Northern State University faculty members have won a South Dakota EPSCoR grant that will fund an expansion of Northern’s Nora Staael Evert Human Performance Lab—a project that will benefit NSU students, athletes and the entire region. Drs. Chelsee Shortt and Jessica Talmage won the Research and Development Innovation Grant to expand the Nora Staael Evert Human Performance Lab in the NSU Barnett Center. The $200,000 grant is made possible thanks to funds from the South Dakota Board of Regents, plus critical matching funds from the NSU Foundation, as well as in-kind graduate assistantships. The result will replace Northern’s current outdated equipment with more advanced technology. “It puts us on the map in terms of having a state-of-the-art lab,” said Shortt, Assistant Professor of Human Performance and Physical Education/ Sports Sciences Department Chair. The new equipment will include a motion capture camera system and force plates for biomechanical analysis, Biodex dynamometer for strength analysis, electrocardiogram (EKG) for cardiac analysis, updated treadmill and ergometric bicycle for metabolic testing, and a sport physiology system with GPS and heart rate monitor for on-the-field physiological analysis. A second room within the Barnett Center will be added to serve as a Biomechanics Lab, housing the new motion caption camera system and force plates, which Talmage said is the “gold standard.” “You can’t get any better than what we’re going to be getting,” said Talmage, Assistant Professor of Human Performance. All of the changes will provide handson learning for students to better prepare them for future careers in sports science or allied health graduate programs. Shortt said the field is moving to more datadriven decision-making, and the new equipment will allow Northern students to qualify for competitive graduate assistantships and programs. “We really wanted to give the students the opportunity to learn what the new technology is and how the field of sport sciences is really growing and developing,” she said. Talmage added, “It’s essentially going to open up way more doors for our students after graduation to apply for jobs.” The lab expansion will also enhance undergraduate research capabilities, as well as the health and performance of NSU students and studentathletes. “The coaches and Athletics are very supportive of us expanding our lab,” Shortt said. “I think they’re excited for the opportunities, that are coming.” So far, progress on the project includes renovation of Barnett Center 59A. The accordion door has been replaced with an actual wall separating the two spaces, and all equipment has been removed in preparation for the new equipment. The equipment for the biomechanics lab has been ordered, with hopes that it will be delivered by the end of the year. The other equipment (Biodex and Polar Sensors) is in the process of being ordered pending BOR approval. The hope is to have the expanded lab up and running by spring 2023. Once complete, the goal is for the lab to be available to individuals and athletes not just on campus, but from the community and region as well. “We’re going to be the sports science lab of the north,” Shortt said. Dr. Chelsee Shortt Assistant Professor of Human Performance and Physical Education/ Sports Sciences Department Chair Dr. Jessica Talmage Assistant Professor of Human Performance NORTHERN TODAY 9 FALL 2022
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