Dakota State researchers granted awards

October 19, 2022

Five Dakota State graduate students have been awarded in-house funding through the Graduate Research Initiative (GRI) program.

Both online and on-campus students were able to submit research proposals, which were reviewed by a team of graduate faculty and doctoral students. A blind jury process was used to review the proposals. Those selected receive a $500 stipend for data collection, analysis, or results dissemination.

“A primary role of graduate education is to teach students how to be strong researchers. That is especially true for our doctoral programs,” said Dr. Mark Hawkes, Dean of the Graduate Studies program. “We see the GRI program as one way to encourage their research activity and provide incentives to good research.”

This process benefits students in two ways.

“Through faculty supervision, students see that research is often a very collaborative process involving many professionals, often from different academic backgrounds,” Hawkes stated.

This experience follows the graduate students out into their careers, he added.

“Graduate students who leave as strong researchers and problem-solvers are what employers look for, and this reinforces our reputation as a University ready to take on the world’s challenges in computer and information sciences.”

Student winners, and their faculty advisor, include:

1. Kalee Crandall, Ph.D. in Information Systems (PhDIS), with Dr. Cherie Noteboom, Advisor. “Influencing Student’s Career Choices: Parent’s Perceptions of Information Systems.”
2. Benjamin Hou, PhDIS, with Dr. Omar El-Gayar, Advisor. “Designing Knowledge Management Information System Architecture to Support Knowledge Intensive Aerial Surveying Projects.”
3. Badr Harfoush, PhDIS, with Dr. Omar El-Gayar, Advisor. “A Qualitative Analysis of the Critical Success Factors Associated with Business Intelligence Systems Implementation and Delivery.”
4. Jonathan Lancelot, Ph.D. in Cyber Defense (PhDCD), with Dr. Kevin Streff, Advisor. “Tesla’s Lane Assist and Physical Security and Safety Action Research Test.”
5. Ali Shaheen, PhDIS, with Dr. Omar El-Gayar, Advisor. “Deep learning in Agriculture at edge: An Exploration of Ensemble Models, Compression, and Hyper Parameter Tuning.”