NDSU researchers testify at ND State Legislative Committee
NDSU researchers Ryan McGrath and Armstrong Aboah joined NDSU VPR Colleen Fitzgerald, NDSU alumni Paul Steffes and others in testifying at the North Dakota Senate Appropriations – Education and Environmental Committee in support of SB 2003. If passed, the bill will provide additional funding for the ND Economic Diversification Research Fund (EDRF), which funded research in the state at a total of $5.5 million during the past two years.
NDSU invested its $2.5 million into a suite of programs across a “Innovations to Practice” pathway. These included an Infrastructure Program to support acquisition of instrumentation and equipment that creates industry engagement, furthers research, and provides student training opportunities; a Faculty Development Program designed to increase faculty research competitiveness and develop new partnerships; a Technology Acceleration Program to fast-track ideas and technologies toward commercialization; and an Experiential Learning Program that supports students through undergraduate research opportunities, community-engaged programs, and other professional development opportunities. In addition, NDSU and UND created the University Collaboration Research Program (UCRP), an initiative that funded collaborative projects involving faculty from across North Dakota.
McGrath's work, funded through the URCP, is studying the treatment of age-related disease and disability through a honey/pomegranate antioxidant supplement. Initial findings suggest blood pressure and the rate of muscle force development may benefit from such supplementation.
Armstrong's research, funded through TAP, aims to reduce the number of work zone fatalities by increasing driver awareness through an AI-driven visual and audio alert system. He plans to work with the North Dakota DOT to pilot and evaluate the effectiveness of the research.