Cohen tackles software reliability Computer scientist Myra Cohen recently won a five-year, $400,000 Faculty Early Career Development Award to develop algorithms to better test highly configurable software systems, such as Web browsers and databases. The National Science Foundation gives CAREER Awards to outstanding pre-tenure faculty to help them develop as teacher-scholars and researchers. MORE ...

Study looks at selenium needs Selenium's potential health benefits have grabbed attention in recent years, and many multivitamin/mineral supplements contain this trace element. While it's an essential micronutrient, new University of Nebraska-Lincoln research raises questions about whether healthy people need supplemental selenium. MORE ....

Enzyme could improve drought tolerance A better understanding of how plants tolerate drought could result from research by University of Nebraska-Lincoln scientists. A paper in this week's Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, with biologist Heriberto Cerutti as the senior author, announced the discovery of a new enzyme involved in gene regulation in response to environmental stresses. MORE ...

Enders wins CAREER award A physicist who came to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln less than a year ago has already landed one of the most prestigious awards available for junior faculty. Axel Enders recently received a five-year, $404,000 Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation. MORE ...

Spring Nebraska Lecture focuses on quilts University of Nebraska-Lincoln textiles scientist Patricia Cox Crews will discuss how quilts reflect American culture and the lives of quilt makers during the spring Nebraska Lecture April 17. MORE ...

Ratcliffe leads beetle study Joni Mitchell sang in a 1970 hit that "You don't know what you've got till it's gone." That line could be the theme song for research by University of Nebraska-Lincoln scientists and others to study the biodiversity of beetles in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. MORE ...

Researchers aim for longer-lasting bridges University of Nebraska-Lincoln engineering researchers aim to find ways to make the nation's bridges last longer and to design new ones that last a century or longer with funding from a new $2 million grant. The four-year grant from the National Academy of Sciences' Transportation Research Board will enable UNL bridge experts to identify technologies and designs to renovate existing bridges and guidelines for designing longer-lasting new bridges. MORE .... Fact Sheet

Study shows switchgrass energy gain The on-farm cost of producing switchgrass for cellulosic ethanol averages about $60 per ton, according to a new study by University of Nebraska-Lincoln agricultural economist Richard Perrin and others. MORE ...

Study reveals cost of switchgrass ethanol The on-farm cost of producing switchgrass for cellulosic ethanol averages about $60 per ton, according to a new study by University of Nebraska-Lincoln agricultural economist Richard Perrin and others. MORE ...

Delaying soybean irrigation University of Nebraska-Lincoln agricultural scientists are developing a new approach that delays soybean irrigation until early pod formation in July, relying on stored soil moisture and early-season rainfalls while still helping produce high yields. MORE ...

Scientists find evolution can 'reinvent wheel' If a particular biological innovation is good enough to evolve once, it may sometimes be good enough to evolve multiple times independently in different species. This is one of the discoveries from a study of genome evolution led by Jay F. Storz, a biological scientist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and published this week (Jan.21-25) in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. MORE ....

Exploring 'nano-Velcro's' potential Creating a so-called "super nanocomposite" that can revolutionize a range of products is the dream of materials scientists. So far, that's proved elusive. A University of Nebraska-Lincoln engineer shares that big dream but said he thinks using nanomaterials to strengthen small structures is more promising and cost-effective for the near-term. Yuris Dzenis discusses the potential for structural nanocomposites and his UNL-patented continuous nanofiber material in the Jan. 25 issue of the journal Science. MORE ...

Plans for Innovation Park The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has released concept plans for use of State Fair Park as a multidisciplinary research park called Nebraska Innovation Park. The main objective in creating the concept plan is to provide a vision for a site to expand university research and build private sector partnerships for the long-term economic benefit of all Nebraskans. Innovation Park info:http://www.unl.edu/ucomm/chancllr/nipark/

NIH revises journal policy The National Institutes of Health will soon require principal investigators who write journal articles based on NIH-funded research to submit an electronic version of their final peer-reviewed manuscript to the National Library of Medicine's PubMed Central. Full policy details are available at http://publicaccess.nih.gov.

EPSCoR grant enhances research Nebraska's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research has received a three-year, $9 million grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct research to better understand gene expression and regulation. MORE ...

Pub features UNL transportation research From roads and bridges to transportation safety, UNL research is changing how bridges, highways and transportation systems are designed, built and operated. U.S. and international transportation officials are taking note of UNL's growing transportation expertise. MORE...

Regents to consider new duties for Paul, Weissinger University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman will recommend that Prem Paul, vice chancellor for research and dean of graduate studies, assume new responsibilities as vice chancellor for research and economic development. In a related change, Ellen Weissinger, executive associate dean for graduate studies, will become dean of graduate studies, taking over this duty from Paul. MORE...

Team will study Gobi biodiversity Researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are set to explore the hidden biodiversity of the isolated mountain range in the heart of Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park in southern Mongolia thanks to a $620,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. MORE...

Major gift for Ashfall Fossil Beds A major gift will enable Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park near Royal, Neb., to greatly expand its Rhino Barn. MORE...

ANDRILL's drilling season successful A second season in Antarctica for the Antarctic Geological Drilling (ANDRILL) Program has exceeded all expectations, according to the co-chief scientists of the program's Southern McMurdo Sound Project. MORE...

New research reveals 'enigma' For a quarter century or more, the prevailing view among geoscientists has been that the portion of the ancient supercontinent of Pangea that is now the Colorado Plateau in southern Utah shifted more than 1,300 miles north during a 100-million year span that ended about 200 million years ago in the early Jurassic Period, when Pangea began to break up. MORE...

Report features innovative endeavors Read about some of the many innovative research, scholarly and creative endeavors at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the 2006-2007 Office of Research annual report. Annual Report

'World of Viruses' earns NIH grant A new educational program based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and funded by the National Institutes of Health will teach young people and their families the basics of virology. MORE...

Cosmic ray discovery For nearly a century since cosmic rays were discovered in 1912, scientists have puzzled over their source, particularly of the most powerful cosmic rays. MORE...

Zeng elected AAAS Fellow UNL chemistry professor Xiao Cheng Zeng is a newly elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. MORE...

Grant aids preschool literacy Language and reading skills for rural, low-income children age 3 to 5 is the focus for a new project through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools. MORE...

Digitizing historical newspapers Nebraska newspaper coverage of historical events and everyday life from 1880 through 1910 is going digital -- part of a free national online database -- thanks to a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. MORE...

Tiny robots headed for schools A bevy of small robots will roll into the nation's schools to help children learn engineering, math, science and technology, thanks to a $3 million National Science Foundation grant to a University of Nebraska-Lincoln computer and electronics engineering team based in Omaha. MORE...

Redox Biology Center earns $10.8 million The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has received a $10.8 million competitive renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health to support the Redox Biology Center through 2012. MORE...

Videos feature UNL research Faculty research has the starring role in two new videos highlighting University of Nebraska-Lincoln's research and technology development efforts. These videos debuted at the 2007 UNL Research Fair and are available online. MORE...

Study challenges belief on growth-reproduction tradeoff A long-held assumption among biologists is that plants face a tradeoff between growth and reproduction. If they grow a lot, they have few resources left for reproduction, and vice versa. MORE...

Sicking wins top tech award UNL civil engineer Dean Sicking has been awarded the nation's highest honor for technology for his contributions to roadside and race track safety. MORE... White House awards ceremony

Pub features UNL tech development UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman calls technology development "the bridge between faculty discoveries and the commercial marketplace." The university is expanding its efforts to turn research discoveries into fuel for Nebraska's economy. MORE...

ANDRILL ready for second season When the Antarctic Geological Drilling Program begins its second drilling campaign this month, scientists will be looking for a "Rosetta Stone" in their sediment cores that will tie together decades of paleoclimate research in Antarctica and the rest of the world to get a more complete picture of how the Antarctic ice sheets responded to past times of global warmth. MORE...

New tools to measure tendon injury A University of Nebraska-Lincoln biomedical engineer is developing a new approach to measuring tendon injury that could lead to earlier detection and improved treatment. MORE...

UNL unveils biorefinery assessment tool Measuring the environmental performance of individual biofuel plants is increasingly important for this fast-growing industry. University of Nebraska-Lincoln agricultural researchers have developed a tool to assess greenhouse gas mitigation and energy efficiency of corn-based ethanol plants. MORE...

UNL discoveries pave way for dicamba-resistant crops In a project that began about a dozen years ago, University of Nebraska-Lincoln scientists discovered a gene that has been used to create broadleaf crops that tolerate spraying with the popular herbicide dicamba. Now, even as an industry partner is working to bring dicamba-resistant crops to market, these plant scientists are continuing to explore new and expanded uses for the technology they discovered. MORE...

Letters will 'change face of Cather scholarship' A new collection containing a large amount of Willa Cather's personal correspondence was donated to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The collection of more than 350 letters is the largest ever donated and triples the University Archives' collection of Cather letters. The correspondence also opens new doors to Cather's life. MORE...

UNL work in Discover's top 100 For the second time in three years, University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty members figure in two of Discover magazine's top 100 science stories of the year. MORE...

Research offers climate clues As carbon dioxide levels in Earth's atmosphere continue to rise, new geological evidence suggests the planet could begin to experience climatic instability unlike anything seen in the last 34 million to 40 million years. MORE...

Self-assembling nano-ice discovery Working at the frontier between chemistry and physics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln chemistry professor Xiao Cheng Zeng usually finds his reward in discovering the unexpected through computer modeling. MORE...

Pub features UNL digital humanities From tapping GIS to track the railroads' development to Web sites and digital tools that enhance scholarly research, UNL is becoming a leader in digital humanities research. UNL's digital humanities research is featured in the inaugural issue of Palladian Digest. The Nebraska Alumni Association will publish the Palladian quarterly in cooperation with the UNL Office of Research. It features topics of interest to alumni members, friends and UNL's peer institutions.