The search committee for the dean position at South Dakota State University’s College of Natural Sciences has named three finalists, who will be on campus over the next two weeks.

Each candidate will spend one day interviewing and meeting with university leadership, deans, researchers, faculty, students and staff. There will be open forums for each candidate to engage with other key stakeholders, including 

community and university members.

Natalia A. Sidorovskaia, Ph.D. 

Sidorovskaia is professor and chair-person for the Department of Physics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.She earned a doctorate in engineering and applied science and a master’s in applied physics from the University of New Orleans and a master’s in radio-physics from Gorky State University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, with previous work experience in Louisiana, Miami and Russia.

She interviews Monday, April 8. This open forum will be held from 2:30 to 3:30p.m. in Avera Health and Science Center room 27. To participate in the open forum session via Zoom, visit Natalia Sidorovskaia Zoom.

Gregory S. Tschumper, Ph.D. 

Tschumper is currently a professor and the chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Mississippi. His professional background includes work in theoretical chemistry, mathematics and chemistry. His interview is Friday, April 12. His open forum will be held from 2:30 to 3:30p.m. in Avera Health and Science Center room 27. To participate in the open forum session via Zoom, visit Gregory Tschumper Zoom. 

Jeremy S. Edwards, Ph.D. 

Edwards is a distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at the University of New Mexico. Prior to his current position, he served as the director of UNM Center of Biomedical Engineering.

His leadership and administrative experience also includes other professor and director positions, as well as serving as vice president of DNA sequencing for a biotechnology company. 

Edwards earned his doctorate and master’s in bioengineering at the University of California, completed postdoctoral training in genetics/genomics at Harvard Medical School, and earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas.

Edwards has a strong background in teaching, research and professional ser-vice. He has over two decades of diverse academic experience spanning fields such as bioengineering, chemical engi-neering, mechanical engineering, chem-istry and molecular genetics.

He interviews Monday, April 15. His open forum will be held from 2:30 to 3:30p.m. in Avera Health and Science Centerroom 27. To participate in the open forum session via Zoom, visit Jeremy Edwards Zoom.