MADISON, S.D.(KELO)- A big day for Dakota State University and the city of Sioux Falls that could pay big dividends in the future.

The school broke ground on a new Applied Research Lab, which will eventually host about 400 cyber security researchers.

Senator Mike Rounds says Dakota State is at the forefront of important work on Artificial Intelligence and Quantum computing.

Because of those threats, Rounds says the work at the new lab is critical to our national defense.