All RCA Contacts | Research and Creative Activity

Office of Research and Creative Activity Contacts

Mailing Address
NDSU Dept. 4000
P.O. Box 6050
Fargo, ND 58108-6050

Delivery Address
1735 NDSU Research Park Dr
Fargo, ND 58102

Phone
701.231.8045

Contact Us

Office of the Vice President

Colleen Fitzgerald Vice President for Research and Creative Activity 701.231.6542 colleen.fitzgerald@ndsu.edu	Amy Kain Assistant to the Vice President 701.231.6542 amy.kain@ndsu.edu
Fred Hudson Communications Manager 701.231.5174 fred.hudson@ndsu.edu

RCA Faculty Partnerships

Broadening Participation Fellows

Hollie Mackey
NDSU associate professor of education
hollie.mackey@ndsu.edu

Febina Mathew
NDSU associate professor of plant pathology
febina.mathew@ndsu.edu

Undergraduate Research Director

Ying Huang
NDSU Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Welch Faculty Fellow Professor
ying.huang@ndsu.edu

Uncrewed Autonomous Systems (UAS) Fellow

Xin (Rex) Sun
NDSU Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering associate professor
xin.sun@ndsu.edu

North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute

The NDWRRI is one of 54 institutes known collectedly as the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR). Founded in 1965 by authority of Congress (Water Resources Research Acts of 1964, 1972, 1984, and 1990), the NDWRRI is administrated through the United States Geological Survey.

Learn more about the NDWRRI

Xinhua Jia
Director
NDSU Professor AES Ag & Biosystems Engineering
(701) 231-6453
xinhua.jia@ndsu.edu

Becky Hellman Tangen
Business Manager(also serves NDSU RCA and ND EPSCoR)
701.231.5872
becky.hellman@ndsu.edu

Innovation and Economic Development

Designs, leads, and manages economic development; leverages opportunities for industry partnerships; and develops and delivers programming that nurtures and grows the region’s entrepreneurial startup ecosystem.

Contact this office at ndsu.businessdev@ndsu.edu.

Cindy Graffeo
Innovation and Economic Development Director
(701) 231-6441
cynthia.graffeo@ndsu.edu

Strategically leverages and aligns campus and regional resources, opportunities, and assets in order to foster and support economic development, startups, entrepreneurship, and innovative efforts campus- and state-wide.

NDSU Research Foundation

Established on May 30, 1989, the NDSU Research Foundation facilitates the commercialization of intellectual property developed by NDSU faculty, students, and staff. The Foundation supports NDSU in teaching, research, and public service missions by enabling NDSU faculty to become involved in research, product, and business endeavors and by making interactions with business and industry to expand NDSU's ability to commercialize research discoveries with domestic and international for-profit business organizations.

Learn more about the NDSU Research Foundation

Zane Gernhart
Executive Director
(701) 231-6743
zane.gernhart@ndsu.edu

Manages the full life cycle of technology transfer activities generated by NDSU inventors, including managing, encouraging, and supporting the development, disclosure, and protection of NDSU’s intellectual property, technology transfer, and patent applications. Manages the NDSURF intellectual property portfolio and liaises with local, state, regional and national technology organizations.

Joycelyn Lucke
Assistant Director for Business Development
(701) 231-5624
joycelyn.lucke@ndsu.edu

Authorized signature for industry sponsored awards, non-financial agreements, and subawards; industry-sponsored award negotiation; industry sponsor liaison.

Sharon May
Innovation and Economic DevelopmentAdministrator-Export Controls
(701) 231-6455
ndsu.exportcontrols@ndsu.edu

McKenna Tysdal
Business Development and Licensing Administrator
(701) 231-6681
mckenna.tysdal.1@ndsu.edu
Receipt and recording of invention disclosures, federal compliance for reporting and tracking of inventions developed with federal funds.

Business Development and Licensing Associate
Receipt and initial assessment of invention disclosures; internal outreach.

North Dakota EPSCoR

ND EPSCoR provides leadership and coordination to broaden and diversify ND's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce pathway from elementary through graduate school; supports and grows statewide STEM research efforts and competitiveness at participating institutions of higher education; and conveys the impact of STEM research, outreach, and workforce efforts to ND stakeholders.

Learn more about ND EPSCoR

General email: ndepscor@ndus.edu

Jolynne Tschetter, Ph.D. Executive Director (701) 231-7516 jolynne.tschetter@ndsu.edu	Sheridan McNeil Director of Tribal Partnerships (direct report of VPR Fitzgerald) (701) 231-8606 sheridan.mcneil@ndsu.edu
James Doolittle Project Manager/Administrator 701-231-8264 james.doolittle@ndsu.edu	Kathleen Wahlberg, MBA Programs Coordinator (701) 231-8618 kathleen.wahlberg@ndsu.edu
Becky Hellman Tangen Business Manager (also serves NDSU RCA and ND Water Resources Research Institute) 701.231.5872 becky.hellman@ndsu.edu	Jenni Hitt Administrative Coordinator 701-231-8400 jenni.hitt@ndsu.edu
POSITION OPEN >> Project Coordinator

Research Operations

The Research Operations team provides oversight for the facilities managed by RCA including the Research 1, Research 1 Addition, and Research 2 buildings. Core Research Facilities provide centralized shared university resources including instruments, labs and expertise to support research and education. Two recharge centers are operated under Research and Creative Activity: The Electron Microscopy Core (comprehensive imaging and analysis services) and the Research Operations Recharge Center (tools for materials synthesis and characterization, microfabrication, device packaging, and testing).

Scott Payne Interim Director of Research Operations (701) 231-8234 scott.payne@ndsu.edu	Greg Strommen Engineering Technician 701.231.5339 greg.strommen@ndsu.edu Cleanroom Microfabrication, Materials Characterization
Fred Haring Fabrication Technician Class 10k Cleanroom Operations, MCAL 701.231.5336 frederik.haring@ndsu.edu Cleanroom Device Packaging/Assembly, Testing	Jim Bahr Senior Engineer Materials Research Operations, MCAL 701.231.5927 james.bahr@ndsu.edu MCAL Materials Synthesis, Scale-up, and Characterization
Becky Hellman Tangen Business Manager (also serves ND EPSCoR and ND Water Resources Research Institute) 701.231.5872 becky.hellman@ndsu.edu	Angela Evans Building Operations Coordinator angela.evans@ndus.edu
Electron Microscopy Core Scott Payne Director (701) 231-8234 scott.payne@ndsu.edu Operation and maintenance of the microCT and scanning and transmission electron microscopes, including specialized analytical techniques such as energy-dispersive spectroscopy for elemental analysis and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS).	Jayma Moore Laboratory Manager (701) 231-8435 jayma.moore@ndsu.edu Instrument operation, preparation of biological and materials samples for light and electron microscopy (including fixation, dehydration, critical point drying, embedding, staining, and sputter coating), and ultramicrotomy (ultrathin sectioning at 60-80 nm) for transmission electron microscopy, as well as office management, scheduling, and billing.

Research and Faculty Development

The mission of the Research and Faculty Development unit is to enhance NDSU's ability to compete for external funding by providing resources, training, and assistance related to developing successful research programs. Activities of the research development office include announcing funding opportunities, managing the SPIN database subscription and offering training and support for users of the system, developing and coordinating grant writing workshops and professional development opportunities for faculty, managing internal funding programs such as travel awards and research support services, support for broader impacts, and developing proposal writing resources and tools.

Contact this office at ndsu.researchdev@ndsu.edu.

Heidi Grunwald
Associate Vice President for Research Development
heidi.grunwald.1@ndsu.edu

Lauren Bittara
Research Development Coordinator
lauren.bittara@ndsu.edu

Research Integrity and Compliance

Research Integrity supports Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use (IACUC), Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) operations; oversees financial conflicts of interest reviews; provides veterinary animal care and consultation; and subject matter expertise on promoting research integrity and compliance with federal regulations.

Director of Research Compliance and Security Search in progress
Kristy Shirley Research Integrity and Compliance Manager 701.231.8995 kristy.shirley@ndsu.edu Maintenance and assessment of RIC activities, Conflict of Interest Committee, Unmanned Aerial Systems compliance, Responsible Conduct of Research questions.	Neil Dyer Attending Veterinarian 701.231.7830 neil.dyer@ndsu.edu IACUC protocol development, animal procedure and surgical consultation, animal health monitoring, training oversight & development.
Tania Molden Research Integrity and Compliance Administrator - IACUC and IBC Administrator 701.231.8114 tania.molden@ndsu.edu IACUC and IBC protocol development and processing, animal facility oversight, animal welfare education.	Andrea Ludwig Research Integrity & Compliance Administrator - IRB 701.231.8908 andrea.ludwig@ndsu.edu Contact for questions and matters relating to the IRB protocol development and processing, and human subjects protections education. Provides back-up support for other Research Integrity & Compliance needs, including the IACUC, IBC, and COIC.

Strategic Research Initiatives

The Strategic Research Initiatives team provides proposal development services support to faculty developing large collaborative and multi-stakeholder proposals; manages the research recognition program; implements strategic programs and the deployment of resources to help build NDSU’s research portfolio; advances R&D efforts through programming such as research leadership, team science, and convergence; and assists with federal relations that advance NDSU’s research mission.

Sheri Anderson Associate Vice President for Strategic Research Initiatives 701.231.6573 sheri.anderson@ndsu.edu	Cassie Johnson Proposal Development Manager 701.231.9490 cassandra.j.johnson@ndsu.edu
Kirstin Saulsbury Project Coordinator 701.231.1863 kirstin.saulsbury@ndsu.edu

Val Kettner Associate Vice President 701.231.9608 val.kettner@ndsu.edu Authorized signature for proposals/awards (AOR); provides overall leadership for SPA; policy development; non-industry award negotiation; sponsor liaison.	Amy Scott Assistant Director 701.231.8976 amy.scott@ndsu.edu Novelution system sponsored research module implementation lead; Authorized signature for proposals/awards (AOR); non-industry award negotiation; assistance with pre-award and non-financial post-award issues; sponsor liaison.
Cindy Eleson Budget & Program Officer 701.231.5259 cindy.smelsereleson@ndsu.edu Budget review; assistance with proposal forms; electronic proposal submission; guidance on federal submission portals.	POSITION OPEN >> Award and Proposal Officer Authorized signature for proposals/awards (AOR); lead proposal reviewer; non-industry award negotiation; assistance with pre-award and non-financial post-award issues; sponsor liaison.
Rebecca Sandell Award & Budget Officer 701.231.8898 rebecca.sandell@ndsu.edu Budget review; assistance with proposal forms; electronic proposal submission; assistance with budget revisions and PI changes; assistance with no-cost extensions and advanced spending requests.	Shelly Sandstrom Award Intake Officer 701.231.7258 shelly.sandstrom@ndsu.edu Facilitate award processing; assistance with no-cost extensions and advanced spending requests; resource for proposal/award processes; webpage maintenance.
Christy Gallagher-Lein Research Informatics Analyst (701) 231-8573 christy.gallagher-lein@ndsu.edu Statistical proposal/award reports; Power BI interactive report creation/maintenance; NSF HERD Survey data collection and reporting.