Planting Seeds
for the Future

This is an exciting time at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. We’re seeding major new initiatives, growing our research enterprise and nurturing strategic partnerships to address 21st-century challenges.

Research funding at UNL has increased 180 percent since 2000, and we’re building on this momentum with an eye to the future. We are cultivating collaborations across disciplinary, institutional, state and national boundaries to solve global challenges, address national needs and enhance our state’s economy.

The University of Nebraska’s new global Water for Food Institute epitomizes this approach. Established in 2010 with a visionary $50 million gift from the Robert B. Daugherty Foundation, this international, multidisciplinary center for research, education and policy analysis focuses on the global challenge of producing more food with less water. Our international Water for Food conferences in 2009 and 2010 drew experts from around the world, and we are expecting more global participants at the third annual conference May 1-4, 2011. This report details our aspirations for this institute and features some of UNL’s research strengths in water and agriculture.

We also are expanding our international engagement through research agreements, faculty exchanges and student learning opportunities in India, China and beyond. For example, a transportation workshop in India, jointly organized by UNL and an Indian university, and sponsored by the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, laid groundwork for future collaborations.

We are building partnerships with business, industry and entrepreneurs to ensure that UNL research becomes an even bigger driver for Nebraska’s economy. Our most ambitious undertaking is Nebraska Innovation Campus. This private-public research campus being developed adjacent to UNL will offer a collaborative, synergistic environment where businesses and entrepreneurs work closely with our faculty and students. In the past year, we also established NUtech Ventures, a nonprofit university affiliate, to commercialize the discoveries from UNL research and foster R&D partnerships involving researchers and the private sector.

From green building and alternative energy to nanoscience and human health research, this report highlights some of our successes. I invite you to envision the power of UNL research to solve problems and create opportunities for our state, our nation and our world.