The expertise and research, creative and scholarly activities of UNL faculty members often garner media coverage. Here are a few examples of coverage since May. Web links are provided when available.

Researchers with the National Drought Mitigation Center talked to numerous national media outlets about the exceptional drought sweeping the U.S. Mark Svoboda discussed the devastating effects of record-high summer temperatures with MSNBC and Reuters. Brian Fuchs was quoted in CNN, Reuters, The Atlantic, USA Today and The Washington Post. Michael Hayes, climatologist, discussed why global warming is not to blame for this year’s droughts in New Scientist.

Frans von der Dunk, space and telecommunications law, talked with Slate about the legal implications of cleaning up debris from major satellite collisions.

James Le Sueur, history, was quoted in Bloomberg Businessweek about how harboring the Gaddafi family could affect Algeria. He wrote Algeria Since 1989: Between Democracy and Terror.

Mike Wagner, political science, told The Associated Press that while voters often say they dislike negative campaigning in political races, the practice doesn’t dissuade people from voting and can even lead to a more informed electorate. Wagner also discussed the power of a modern, technology-driven town-hall meeting with USA Today.

Research by Barbara Mayes Boustead, UNL graduate student and National Weather Service climate scientist, shows that that Little House on the Prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder accurately described the details of blizzards in the winter of 1880-1881. Her research garners wide interest from media including USA Today and Houston Chronicle.

John Stansbury, civil engineering, analyzed the potential for accidents along the proposed TransCanada pipeline, reported by The Associated Press and The Guardian.

Reuters cited a report written by John Gates, earth and atmospheric sciences, and Wayne Woldt, biological systems engineering, about why the Ogallala Aquifer and Sandhills are vulnerable to crude oil pollution from a pipeline spill.

CNN, USA Today and Inside Higher Ed covered a study by Philip Schwadel, sociology, that refutes the notion that better-educated people are less religious.

Eileen Hebets, biological sciences, talked with Fox News about recent evidence that suggests male black widow spiders try to avoid getting eaten by choosing mates who have recently fed.

Steve Spomer, entomology, told National Geographic why he hasn’t given up on saving the Salt Creek tiger beetle, whose natural wetlands habitat north of Lincoln is disappearing.

Radio Australia interviewed Ken Cassman, agronomy and horticulture, who explained that rising food demands must be satisfied by existing farmland in order to preserve remaining ecosystems.

Stephen Ramsay, English, talked to The Chronicle of Higher Education about how digital humanities research has evolved since 2002.

Sidnie White Crawford, classics and religious studies, shared with CNN the dangers of misquoting biblical scriptures and stories.

Discover Magazine reported on findings by Sherilyn Fritz, biological sciences and earth and atmospheric sciences, and colleagues that climate change may have caused the demise of early Viking settlements in Greenland. The study was originally published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

John Hibbing, political science, was quoted in Time about research that shows political attitudes are among the strongest shared traits between spouses – even stronger than qualities like personality or appearance.

Sports Illustrated interviewed Dean Sicking, civil engineering, about how the SAFER barriers have improved auto racing safety. Sicking and his UNL team at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility developed the barriers.