by Robert Tatina
Dr. Schulte is featured in this Newsletter as the 2025 recipient of The SDAS New Researcher Grant. We welcome him into membership and congratulate him on being one of our grant recipients. To learn more about this newest member of the Academy, read on.
Dr. Zachary Schulte is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD. Dr. Schulte studied chemistry and physics at the University of South Dakota and earned his B.S. in chemistry in 2016. While there, Dr. Schulte conducted research with Dr. Stanley May investigating and tuning NaYF4:Ln3+ upconversion nanocrystals for anticounterfeiting applications. Dr. Schulte then went on to join Dr. Nathaniel Rosi’s group at the University of Pittsburgh studying metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and hybrid MOF materials for a wide range of applications, including sensor technologies, gas separations, gas capture and sequestration, drug delivery, and energy technologies. Receiving his PhD in 2022, Dr. Schulte published six papers, co-authored a book chapter, and presented his research at regional and national symposia over his tenure at Pitt.
Dr. Schulte joined the faculty at Augustana as a visiting assistant professor of chemistry in the fall of 2021 before earning a full-time, tenure track position as the department’s physical chemist. In this role, Dr. Schulte exercises his passions of teaching and research with undergraduate students. He has instructed courses in general, inorganic, and physical chemistry and emphasizes a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CUREs) model for labs in his advanced courses. His current research interests focus oninvestigating the photophysical properties of lanthanide MOFs (Ln-MOFs) for their potential use in bioimaging or sensor applications. He is specifically interested in how additional functionalization of the bridging ligands affects the energy transfer processes between the ligand and the metal ion within Ln-MOFs. Besides the South Dakota Academy of Science’s New Researcher Grant, Dr. Schulte has been awarded research funds through the Augustana Froiland Research Fellowship Program and South Dakota INBRE. Dr. Schulte further supports undergraduate students as a faculty mentor for the Student Members of the American Chemical Society at Augustana and serves as department leader for tutoring and supplemental instruction. Dr. Schulte also proactively organizes and participates in scientific outreach opportunities in the Sioux Falls area. When not in the classroom or in the lab, Dr. Schulte enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, biking or playing team sports and spending time with his wife and children.
At its annual meeting in April, the Academy elected the following:
President: Paula Mazzer (DWU)
Vice President: Paul Johnson (SDSU)
Treasurer: Adam Sturlaugson (USF)
Secretary: Abigail Martens (SDSU)
Fellow of the Academy: Tim Mullican (DWU)
Paula Mazzer accepted the gavel from Tom Montoya (SDSM&T) who becomes a Past President. Adam Sturlaugson replaces Jeff Palmer (DSU) who adroitly handled Academy financial transactions since 2011. Abigal Martens follows in the footsteps of Secretary Donna Hazelwood (DSU) who served the Academy as it Secretary and its memory for 25 years. Yes, a quarter of a century! Tom, Jeff and Donna, your past service to the Academy is greatly appreciated.
The following are the award-winning oral presentations and posters from the 2025 meetings. Each presenter receives a monetary award. Congratulations to these young scientists.
First place: Graduate Oral Paper
Gram-positive bacteria are primed for surviving lethal doses of antibiotics and chemical stress. Manisha Guha1, Abhyudai Singh2, and Nicholas C. Butzin1,3. 1Department of Biology and Microbiology; South Dakota State University; Brookings, SD; 2 Electrical & Computer Engineering; University of Delaware; Newark, NJ; 3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; South Dakota State University; Brookings, SD.
Second place: Graduate Oral Paper
Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Short Chain PFAS from Granular Activated carbon. Joseph T. Hilsendeger, Dakota A. Remington (UG), Kenneth M. Benjamin, Lori J. Groven, Travis W. Walker. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City. SD.
First place: Undergraduate Oral Paper
ACTIVE CHITOSAN FILMS WITH MINT EXTRACT FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD PACKAGING. Laura Jensen (UG), Tania Martinex Castillo, Kelsey Gilcrease, and Tsvetanka Filipova. Chemistry, Biology, and Health Sciences, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD.
- First place: Graduate Poster
ALIX Plays a Role in Modulating Pyroptotic Cell Death by Controlling Gasdermin-D Function in Human Cells. Sylvia Otchere and Gergely Imre. South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD.
- Second place: Graduate Poster
- ENZYME CATALYZED SYNTHESIS OF BIOMATERIAL PRECURSORS: A GREEN BIOTECHNOLOGY ALTERNATIVE TO FOSSIL DERIVED PLASTICS Kritika Thakur1, Yash Sharma2, and Rajesh K. Sani1,2, Tanvi Govil1. 1Karen M. Swindler Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, 2 Department of Chemistry, Biology, and Health Sciences, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD.
- First place: Undergraduate Poster
MITIGATING PLASTIC POLLUTION IN AGRICULTURE THROUGH BIODEGRADABLE MULCH FILMS. Antonia Gibbs1, Jasmeet Kaur2, Chirag Abrol2, Heidi Sieverding3, Dr. Tanvi Govil1, Dr. Rajesh Sani1,2. 1Karen M. Swindler Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, 2Department of Chemistry, Biology, and Health Sciences, 3Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, South Dakota Mines, Rapid City, SD 57701, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD.
- Second place: Undergraduate Poster
The complete mitochondrial genome of Loxosceles reclusa Gertsch & Mulaik, 1940 (Araneae, Sicariidae). Ariene Nicole Underhile and L. Brian Patrick. Department of Biological Sciences, Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell, SD.
Appearing in your email every January, April, July and October is a copy of this Newsletter. But something is missing…It’s news from you.
The major purpose of this Newsletter is to share information about the Academy and its members. To facilitate this, I need your help in the form of short essays about your research, about developments in your field, about science in the news, and about your vision for the Academy. Send those essays to me at Robert.Tatina@dwu.edu.
The South Dakota Academy of Science Newsletter is published quarterly by the South Dakota Academy of Science. Submissions, and comments about content should be addressed to Robert Tatina, Editor (Robert.tatina@dwu.edu).
