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Transforming America’s Critical Sectors: Creating Economic and Industrial Opportunities in the Great Plains

Join us for a one-day, groundbreaking symposium that brings together industry leaders, researchers, educators and students to explore how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing health care and national security, sectors vital to the economic future of South Dakota and the Great Plains.

The symposium will also feature a tutorial session for small businesses, a poster session showcasing cutting-edge research in AI and a mini student fair bringing in the region’s finest student talent in AI, machine learning and engineering.

Special Guest: Sen. Mike Rounds

We are honored to welcome Sen. Mike Rounds to deliver opening remarks! Rounds, co-chair of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, has been a leading voice in advancing the responsible integration of AI in health care. This effort reflects his commitment to expanding patient access to cutting-edge AI technology that can improve diagnoses and patient outcomes while promoting innovation and investment in next-generation health solutions — a theme at the forefront of this conference.

Printable Full Agenda

Session 1 : AI Innovations in Health Care

• 8:45-10:45 a.m. – Session 1: AI Innovations in Health Care
• 8:45-9:20 a.m. – No Zip Code Left Behind: AI, Virtual Care and the Future of Rural Health
  • Dr. David Newman, Chief Information Officer for Virtual Care, Sanford Health
  • Health care is no longer bound by walls — virtual care now delivers expertise wherever patients need it. Powered by emerging technologies and AI, care delivery, clinician training and real-time decision-making are being fundamentally transformed.
• 9:20-10:45 a.m. – Panel Discussion – Moderator: Dr. Rajesh Kavasseri, Associate Dean, Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, SDSU
  • Panelists:
    • Dr. D. Shivakumar (Executive Director, Revolution Medicines)
    • Dr. P. Woodard (Chief Medical Officer, Monument Health)
    • Dr. Govind Thirumalai (Vice President of Data and Analytics at Avera Health, Avera Health)
    • Dr. Shivaram Poigai Arunachalam (Assistant Professor Medicine and Radiology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester)
    • Erica DeBoer (Chief Nursing Officer, Sanford)
  • Panel Discussion Focus:
    • Access: How AI-enabled diagnostics, devices and digital health agents are expanding care to underserved and rural populations.
    • Affordability: How AI can bend the cost curve through faster drug development, reduced administrative overhead and smarter automation.
    • Quality: How AI is improving precision, safety and outcomes while preserving the human connection that defines excellent care.

Session 2: AI Advancements at SDSU

Presenters:

• Dr. Chulwoo Pack: Computer Vision and AI for Intelligent Systems Automation
• Dr. Semhar Michael: AI and Algorithms for National Security
• Dr. Nicholas Butzin: AI-Driven Molecular Discovery
• Dr. Victor Taylor: AI Across the Curriculum at SDSU

Session Focus:

Flagship AI projects at SDSU – leveraging computer vision, advanced machine learning and high-performance computing for applications in the life sciences, national security and safety, along with the university's Center for AI Innovation and Emergent Technologies, which is a hub for artificial intelligence activities across campus.

Session 3: Industry Voices in AI

• 1-1:20 p.m. Agentic Workflows at Scale: Transforming AI Development Practices, Zachariah Dicus, Enterprise Solutions Architect at KBR, Inc.
  • This session explores how agentic systems work, how to implement them in production environments, and how to manage governance, guardrails and cost — from access control to real-time budget oversight.
• 1:20-1:40 p.m. Agentic Workflows on AWS: Transforming AI Development at Scale, Archit Malpure, Solutions Architect at AWS
  • AI is transforming how we work — from analyzing massive datasets to accelerating discoveries — and cloud-based AI makes it accessible and scalable. You'll learn how agentic AI systems that can plan, remember context and execute multistep workflows autonomously help automate complex tasks and unlock new possibilities. We'll explore practical implementation strategies with built-in safeguards for security, accuracy and responsible AI, plus real-world examples of organizations using these tools to speed up research, improve decision-making and drive innovation.
• 1:40-2 p.m. AI in Digital Agriculture, Aziz Alibasic, Raven, a brand of CNH
  • In this talk, CNH will highlight its use of AI and machine learning to drive the development of autonomous agricultural machinery. As AI reshapes modern industries, autonomy represents a significant opportunity to redefine farming efficiency. Realizing this future will involve combining established technologies with new innovations tailored specifically for agricultural applications.
• 2-2:20 p.m. Cybersecurity for the Public Sector with AWS, Andy Rivers, Solutions Architect at AWS
  • The public sector threat landscape is evolving faster than most government IT teams can track, and attackers are using AI to widen that gap. This talk unpacks the latest threat intelligence shaping federal, state and local agencies, from ransomware campaigns calibrated to specific government tiers to AI-amplified attack vectors that stress-test even well-resourced teams. The talk will convey a practical framework for building resilient, recovery-ready infrastructure, evaluating trusted security partnerships, and deploying generative AI as a defensive force multiplier.
• 2:20-2:40 p.m. Can You Trust Your AI? Security, Privacy and Risk in the Age of GenAI, Chad Knutson, CEO at SBS CyberSecurity
  • Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and DeepSeek are rapidly reshaping how organizations work. Along with new capabilities come real questions about data security, privacy and regulatory risk. In this session, SBS CyberSecurity cuts through the hype to provide a practical, unbiased look at today’s most widely used AI platforms. We’ll focus on the questions that matter most: Are these tools safe to use — and can they be trusted with sensitive data?
• 2:40-3 p.m. AI in Credit Underwriting, Ryan Burton, Vice President of Analytics at CAPITAL Services
  • The talk will trace the evolution of financial decisioning — from human judgment and rules-based systems to regression models, machine learning and generative AI. It will also examine the tradeoffs between predictive power, complexity, explainability and regulatory risk — and how institutions can deploy the right level of intelligence for each decision context.

Session 4: AI for National Security

• 3:15-3:45 p.m. AI at the Front Line of National Security, Lt. Col. Riley J. Hestermann, Executive Officer to the Adjutant General, Joint Force Headquarters, SD National Guard
  • How AI is already shaping defense operations — from autonomous systems and predictive logistics to cyber defense — using unclassified examples. Critical need for trustworthy and responsible AI, emphasizing explainability, human-on-the-loop oversight and alignment with democratic values. The growing role of universities, startups and dual-use innovation, and the need to prepare leaders who understand both AI and its strategic implications. In the AI era, national security will be defined as much by people and partnerships as by technology.
• 3:45-4:45 p.m. – Panel Discussion, Moderator: Beth Lambeth, Associate Vice President for Research and Entrepreneurship at South Dakota Mines
  • Panelists:
    • Lt. Col. Riley Hestermann, Executive Officer to the Adjutant General at the South Dakota National Guard
    • Martin R. Apprich, Chief Data Scientist, U.S. Strategic Command
    • Lt. Zachary Sorenson, Chief for the Strategic Targets Divisions Automation Team, U.S. Strategic Command
    • Daniel Gunn, Human Capital Planner, U.S. Strategic Command
    • Andy Rivers, Executive Security Advisor with AWS Public Sector, AWS
  • Panel Discussion Focus:
    • Universities: Research partnerships, student training and federally funded AI and cybersecurity programs