At the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, we’re charting a course for growth.

UNL research has grown significantly in the past decade, our faculty’s research accomplishments have been remarkable, and we have forged private and public partnerships that span the globe. This report highlights some of these successes.

Building on this momentum, we’ve set ambitious goals to expand research by 2017. Our vision:

• Enhance the quality and stature of UNL research, scholarship and creative activity.
• Increase the number of faculty working with private-sector partners to translate research into innovations and jobs.

We’re capitalizing on our strengths and targeting new areas where we have significant expertise. This report highlights our research leadership in areas such as education and child development, entrepreneurship, digital humanities, food safety, water and food security, survey research, nanoscience and virology. It also features examples of emerging initiatives, including agriculture and natural resources policy and unmanned aerial vehicles research.

Research and discovery are well-documented economic drivers. Nebraska Innovation Campus, the private-public research campus being developed at UNL, will ensure our research plays a bigger role in Nebraska’s economy. But our partnerships with business, industry and entrepreneurs are diverse and aren’t limited to NIC. UNL Industry Relations, NUtech Ventures and NIC work closely to forge strong, mutually beneficial partnerships.

We’re also thinking globally, expanding our international engagement through research, partnerships and student and faculty exchanges. You’ll find examples of our robust international collaborations throughout this report.

UNL also is making strides in developing state-of-the-art facilities essential to world-class research. The Voelte-Keegan Nanoscience Research Center, opened in 2012, is fueling UNL’s momentum in nanotechnology and materials science. And an addition to the Ken Morrison Life Sciences Research Center, home to the Nebraska Center for Virology, will be finished in 2013.

Also to be completed in 2013 is multidisciplinary research space that is part of the expansion of Memorial Stadium, home to Husker football. It’s central to a unique partnership between research and athletics that promises to expand understanding of the brain and concussions, enhance health and performance research and offer a national model for such collaborations.

At UNL, we’re building for the future to create the knowledge-fueled solutions essential to our state, our nation and our world.

Prem S. Paul
Vice Chancellor for Research
and Economic Development

Pictured above: Prem S. Paul and Chancellor Harvey Perlman

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