South Dakota Mines Dedicates Vanderboom Laboratory for Entrepreneurial Research

South Dakota Mines will celebrate the official ribbon-cutting of the Vanderboom Laboratory for Entrepreneurial Research (V-Lab), a renovated research facility on campus that expands critical lab and office space for faculty, students and research partners.

The ribbon ceremony will take place on Monday, Sept. 22, at 1 p.m.

Originally constructed in 2006 as the Ascent Innovation Center, the 40,000-square-foot building once served as a hub for business startups and technology companies. In the mid-2010s, the incubator was at capacity with a waiting list for tenants looking for a spot. When Elevate Rapid City relocated its operations to its current location on East Main Street, the opportunity arose for the university to purchase the building for its growing research programs.

Senate Bill 97, passed by the state legislature in 2022, provided $5.25 million in general funds for Mines to purchase the facility, while an additional $2 million gift from Steve and Julie Vanderboom is supporting renovations to transform the building for research endeavors.

“The Vanderbooms’ generosity is helping us transform this facility into a hub of innovation and collaboration,” said South Dakota Mines President Brian Tande, Ph.D. “Their gift not only expands the research capacity of our campus, it also strengthens the opportunities for our students, faculty and partners to tackle real-world challenges. This investment will accelerate discoveries that drive economic growth, support industry and prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers.”

Steve, a 1974 Mines graduate in civil engineering, founded Pace Analytics in Minneapolis in 1978. He served as CEO for 41 years and then as executive chairman. Julie completed a successful career in nursing and nursing management. By 2021, Pace had become the largest privately held environmental and pharmaceutical testing business in the nation with more than 60 laboratories and 3,400 employees. Steve received a Lifetime Achievement Award in the environmental industry as well as the Mines Distinguished Alumni Award in 2021.

In 2022, the Vanderbooms donated $1 million to expand and renovate the office of student success, which is also named in their honor. 

Today, the V-Lab houses the Office of Research, the Office of Professional Education, the Arbegast Materials and Processing lab, the Direct Write lab and the Center for Sustainable Solutions. The university also leases space to a few tenants, including Novum Nano and Raven, to assist with offsetting facility costs. Approximately 7,000 square feet remain available for additional lab and research space.

The future vision for the V-Lab is to create a hub for university research, particularly applied research.

“Quality research space on campus is in short supply and in high demand,” said Laurie Anderson, Ph.D., vice president of research. “To advance our research agenda and train the next generation of scientists and engineers on modern equipment, we need this space to support our efforts.”