Three faculty members awarded for their advanced research

Andrew Shim

“I’m looking out there for what’s really needed to hopefully make an impact upon our society, and right now I’m looking at the seniors,” Shim said.

The research that Shim, associate professor of kinesiology and sports medicine, is being awarded for applies to his device that aims to help senior citizens become strong enough to do everyday activities.

“Everybody falls,” Shim said. “I want to get to the point where we can prevent that from happening.”

Shim said he keeps waiting for the phone to ring to have someone say that they made a mistake and ask for the award back. To him, the award is very humbling but it does not detract him from what remains to be done, he said.

“It’s a nice reminder of those times where you went through all that hard work and you were wondering where that payoff is, but my payoff is when I see my device working for some elderly woman who is saying thank you because she could not get out of her chair six months ago,” Shim said.

Director of Chemistry Mary Berry’s goal is to create better opportunities for the researchers in South Dakota that will present them with a bigger presence in the national scene.

“Depending on your own perspective, you might think that that part of my work is more important than what I am involved in individually in terms of my effort to bring South Dakota research in the physical sciences to another level,” she said.

Berry explained her job as making sure that the program keeps the resources it needs in order for it to continue.

“We would like to make sure that this research group is able to sustain itself,” Berry said.

“We want to be able to keep the resources to keep students involved in the projects because I am sitting at my computer and the students are the ones making these things happen.”

After hearing who won the President’s Research Awards year after year, Berry said that it is an honor to be a part of that group.

“I’m glad that the university cares about research and that they give these awards to people every year,” she said. “I’m glad to be part of that group that was selected for an award this year.”

Mark Dixon

Mark Dixon, associate professor of biology, said the main purpose of his research is to gain knowledge about ecosystems for management and conservation.

“We’re really just trying to understand how nature works in these particular systems with the payoff being that people can understand better how to manage them or get some idea of how they are going to change in the future,” Dixon said.

The opportunity that the University of South Dakota has to take part in this particular work is a success, Dixon said.

“It’s a neat opportunity for USD to have a role in the science that’s being gathered on the Missouri River and to potentially have an impact on how it’s managed and continue being a player in the things that are going on with the Missouri,” he said.

Thankful for the award, Dixon said he feels honored and also appreciates the atmosphere at USD.

“It’s such a great place to do work on large rivers because there is a beautiful section of the Missouri River right in our backyard,” Dixon said.