DSU to celebrate 40 years of technology-focused mission

February 23, 2024

On Feb. 29, 1984, then-Governor Bill Janklow signed House Bill 1357, changing Dakota State’s mission to include technology in all programs. The yearbook at the time called this “A Brand New Day.”

Forty years later, the University is a cyber powerhouse of the plains, with distinctive programming in cyber education and research, including the first AI degrees in the region, and moving forward to the future with a proposal to start exploring quantum computing. To celebrate these accomplishments, the University is planning an event on the 40th anniversary of the signing.

The public is invited to campus on February 29, 2024, at 4 p.m. in The Beacom Collaboration Center for a program and reception.

The guest speaker for the event is Dr. Travis L. Scholten, Technical Lead for the Public Sector at IBM Quantum. IBM was pivotal in the early years of the mission change, providing training and curriculum to start DSU on the path to where it is today.

Scholten focuses on large, strategic activities with government entities to identify opportunities for leveraging quantum computers and advances in quantum computational science to drive technical and economic impact. In addition, he sits on the Board of Directors of the Unitary Fund, a non-profit working to create a quantum technology ecosystem that benefits the most people, and is the creator of The Quantum Stack, a Substack on quantum computing.