The South Dakota Legislature created the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority ("SDSTA") in 2004 to foster scientific and technological investigation, experimentation and development. A board of directors appointed by the governor directs the Authority.

The Homestake gold mine was closed in 2003. The SDSTA Board of Directors accepted Barrick Gold Corporation’s donation of the underground mine. The SDSTA’s mission is to reopen the mine and convert it into a science, engineering and education center. The SDSTA Board also accepted T. Denny Sanford’s gift of $70 million to the project. The Sanford Underground Laboratory at Homestake will offer underground laboratory space at various levels, and there will be an education and visitor’s center on the surface campus.

Casey Peterson - Chairperson

From: Rapid City, South Dakota
Appointed: August 2004
Appointed by: Gov. Michael Rounds

Casey Peterson, CPA, AEP, is president of Casey Peterson & Associates, Ltd., CPAs and financial advisors of Rapid City, which he founded in 1977. The CPA firm employs approximately 50 people in many financial areas including accounting, income and estate taxation, business valuation and audit/attestation. He serves as a Director, Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Audit Committee of First Western Bank in Rapid City, SD. He is currently on the Board of the West River Estate Planning Council and the Minnilusa Historical Association Board of Directors.

Mr. Peterson was a member of the Board of Economic Development of the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development. He is also a member of the West River Economic Development Foundation and the Rapid City Regional Hospital Development Advisory Council. He has been involved with Dakota Capital Solutions, a fiscal advisory firm dedicated to helping municipalities, private businesses and government agencies creatively solve their capital needs.

He served on the Rapid City Planning and Zoning Committee and as treasurer and vice chairman of the executive committee of the Rapid City Regional Hospital Board of Trustees.

Mr. Peterson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of South Dakota, passed the May 1975 CPA exam, holds a NASD Series 65 securities designation and is an Accredited Estate Planner. He is married and has four sons.

Casey Peterson & Associates, LTD.
505 Kansas City Street
Rapid City, SD 57701
Business phone: (605) 348-1930

Dana Dykhouse - Vice Chairperson

Gov. Mike Rounds announced the appointment of Dana Dykhouse, Sioux Falls, to a position on the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority ("SDSTA").

"I am very pleased to announce that Dana Dykhouse has accepted an appointment to serve on the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority" said Gov. Rounds. "Dana’s experience in business management and development will be a great asset to the Authority as we prepare for the Sanford Laboratory and the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory ("DUSEL") at Homestake."

"It is an honor and a privilege to be asked to serve on the SDSTA Board of Directors. The impact this project will have in both boosting the economy of the Black Hills Region, as well as the opportunity for research, development and education, is tremendous. I look forward to participating in this unique opportunity for our state and region," said Dana Dykhouse.

Dykhouse currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of First PREMIER Bank in Sioux Falls, with over 24 years of banking experience. He serves in leadership positions in numerous local and state organizations, including Chairman of Junior Achievement of South Falls, Chairman of the Sioux Empire United Way 2006-2007 Campaign, Chairman of South Dakota State University Athletic Champions Council and Co-Chair of the Forward Sioux Falls V.

Dykhouse fills the position previously held by Steven Zellmer of Rapid City.

Pat Lebrun - Secretary/Treasurer

From: Rapid City, South Dakota
Appointed: August 2004
Appointed by: Gov. Michael Rounds

Ms. Pat Lebrun is president of Lebrun Investment Management, Inc., a post she has held since 1988. Prior to that, she was vice president of Simmons Financial Management, Inc. Other work experience included teaching vocal music in public schools in Northwood, North Dakota and Rapid City, South Dakota, as well as serving as Executive Director of the Rapid City Symphony and as a private music instructor.

She was a member of the South Dakota Board of Regents from 1987 through March 2005, where she served as president, vice president, secretary, chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance and chairman of the Committee on Academic and Student Affairs. She chaired the most recent presidential search committees at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and Northern State University.

Ms. Lebrun is currently a member of the South Dakota 2010 Research and Commercialization Council; a member of the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee and the Rushmore Rotary Club. She has served on the South Dakota REACH (Research Excellence: A Critical Hallmark) Committee’s Board of Directors for the National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research - EPSCoR - from 1994-2005; the Board of Directors of Rushmore Bank and Trust; the Policy and Priorities Committee of the Education Commission of the States; the Rapid City Area School District Advisory Council; the Rapid City Frontiers "Forging Our Future" steering committee and the Governor’s Task Force on Education. She attended the First Japan-America Grassroots Summit Invitation Conference in Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan. She has made presentations to universities, investment clubs and higher education commissions.

A member of the First Congregational Church in Rapid City, SD, Ms. Lebrun has been involved with PEO, the Rapid City Fine Arts Council, the Rapid City Legal Auxiliary and the Rapid City Service League. She is married and has two sons.

She earned a B.S. from the University of North Dakota and an M.B.A. from the University of South Dakota.

4093 Corral Drive
Rapid City, SD 57702
Business phone: (605) 342-8617

Thomas Adam

Location: Pierre, South Dakota
Appointed: August 2004
Appointed by: Gov. Michael Rounds

Thomas (Tom) C. Adam, was a partner in the law firm of May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson in Pierre, South Dakota for 42 years. As of September 1, 2004, he assumed the status "Of Counsel to the firm.

He served as General Counsel to the South Dakota Banker’s Association, other trade associations and publicly-owned corporations. His practice was varied, including extensive experience in real estate, mineral law, bond issues for state authorities, municipal governments and school districts, and has served as General Counsel to the South Dakota Building Authority, the South Dakota Housing Development Authority, the South Dakota Community Foundation and the South Dakota Gaming Commission.

Mr. Adam is a member of the State Bar of South Dakota, and has served the State Bar as a Commissioner, as a member of the State Judicial Qualifications Commission and as a member of the South Dakota Bar Admissions Committee, (five years as its Chairperson), as well as having served on various committees of the State Bar.

A resident of Pierre, South Dakota, since 1962, he has been active and taken leadership roles in community organizations including the Rawlins Public Library Building Corporation; the Pierre Oahe Y.M.C.A. and other youth related activities, and the Pierre-Fort Pierre Area Community Foundation. Mr. Adam served as a Director of the South Dakota Easter Seals Society, and as its President; he also served as a Director on the National Easter Seals Board, for two terms. He is currently serving as a director of the South Dakota Guardianship Program. Born in Deadwood, South Dakota, Mr. Adam was raised in Lead, South Dakota, and was graduated from its public schools. He is a graduate of the University of South Dakota where he earned a B.S. Degree and an L.L.B. Degree. Mr. Adam and his wife Patricia (Pat) are the parents of four adult children and fourteen grandchildren.

Dr. Ani Aprahamian

From: Notre Dame University, Indiana
Appointed: Dec. 16, 2009
Appointed by: Gov. Michael Rounds

Dr. Ani Aprahamian is Professor of Experimental Nuclear Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.

She also has served as the Program Director for Nuclear Physics and Nuclear Astrophysics at the National Science Foundation. She currently is the Co-Chair of the standing NSAC subcommittee on Isotope Production and Applications. She is also the Chair of the Scientific Council of GANIL (Caen, France).

"The development of a deep underground laboratory holds tremendous promise and scientific discovery potential for the United States and will attract a large number of scientists to South Dakota, said Dr. Aprahamian.

Dr. Aprahamian served as Chair of the Physics Department at the University of Notre Dame. She was the Principal Investigator and Director of the Nuclear Structure Laboratory for many years before she became Program Director for Nuclear Physics and Nuclear Astrophysics at the National Science Foundation. She returned to Notre Dame in 2008.

Presently, Dr. Aprahamian is a member of the Science Advisory Council to FRIB at NSCL, she has been a member of the users executive committees at Argonne and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, and the NSCL at Michigan State University. As a member of the Global Nuclear Forum, Dr. Aprahamian recognized the growing interest in the development of underground laboratory facilities worldwide.

She is a Visiting Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, and previously at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, GANIL (Caen, France), Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of Surrey (Guildford, UK), and Institut Laue-Langevin (Grenoble, France). Dr. Aprahamian holds a Ph.D. from Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts.

Dr. Aprahamian is a former member of DOE/NSF Nuclear Science Advisory Committee and a Fellow of both the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has received many scientific honors and awards, and has numerous widely published scientific papers on questions in nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics.

Dr. Charles V. Shank

Location:University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, California
Appointed:May 15, 2009
Appointed by: Gov. Michael Rounds

Dr. Shank currently is a Senior Fellow, JFRC Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Dr. Shank has extensive laboratory experience. He served 15 years as the Director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., (1989 - 200) and 20 years at the AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, New Jersey. Dr. Shank serves on the National Academy of Sciences Board on Physics and Astronomy. He also serves as a Board of Governors member for the Argonne Lab and Fermi Lab, University of Chicago.

Dr. Shank holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a professor at the University of California, Berkeley in the departments of Chemistry, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, and Physics from 1989 to 2007. He continues his work at the University of California, Berkeley, serving on the Governing Board, Energy Biosciences Initiative and the Advisory Board, Department of Chemistry.

Ron Wheeler - Executive Director

Location:Deadwood, S.D.
Appointed:July 3, 2008
Appointed by: Gov. Michael Rounds

Ron Wheeler of Deadwood, S.D., succeded Dave Snyder of Lead as Executive Director of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority in July 2008.

Mr. Wheeler served as Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Transportation, and state Commissioner of Economic Development. He also has 28 years or experience running businesses and corporations. As president and CEO of Simon Telelect in Watertown, Mr. Wheeler grew that manufacturing company from $60 million to $110 million in annual sales. He then served as president of the Access Division of Simon Engineering Plc. London, England, which had annual sales of $750 million and 3,500 employees in the U.K., Europe and Australia.

Since 2002, Mr. Wheeler has been president and CEO of BHL Capital Corp. in Rapid City.

Wheeler manages the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority's project to re-open the former Homestake gold mine in Lead.