A team of researchers from three University of Nebraska institutions was among the world’s best in developing an artificial intelligence-driven model to advise policymakers on how best to handle the COVID-19 pandemic. Their aim was to align medical recommendations with policy implementation. The team was one of eight to receive an honorable mention in the… Continue reading Team Among World’s Best in Pandemic Challenge
Author: jbrehm2
Moving Innovations from Bench to Business
Nebraska Innovation Campus, the university’s public-private research hub, has rapidly expanded since its 2010 founding. Now home to more than 55 partners, NIC created $372 million in economic impact and nearly 2,000 jobs in 2020. The growth of NIC, located adjacent to the university, has included the addition of assets that provide faculty, staff and… Continue reading Moving Innovations from Bench to Business
Turning Innovators into Entrepreneurs
Innovations are springing from labs and classrooms universitywide. To help launch these big ideas, NUtech Ventures hosts introductory entrepreneurship workshops. NUtech, Nebraska’s technology commercialization affiliate, and its partners provide training and mentorship to help turn innovations and business ideas into marketable products and services. The program, Nebraska Introduction to Customer Discovery, is modeled after the… Continue reading Turning Innovators into Entrepreneurs
Improving Business Models for Irrigation in Africa
Successful irrigated agriculture depends on more than farmers and technology. It also needs a robust business ecosystem. Nebraska researchers are building on established connections in Rwanda to study and support those ecosystems elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. Researchers with the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute are using a three-year, $1 million grant from the United… Continue reading Improving Business Models for Irrigation in Africa
Investigating Ecological Impacts on a National Scale
Burning fossil fuels, fertilizing crops and lawns, developing urban areas and other human activities are increasing environmental concentrations of essential elements such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous. All organisms need these elements to survive, but an imbalance alters water quality, biodiversity and evolution. To equip researchers and policymakers to study, predict and manage this ever-changing… Continue reading Investigating Ecological Impacts on a National Scale
Restoring Nebraska’s Forests
Nebraska’s forests are in trouble. Undesirable species are moving in, crowding out the oaks, elms and cottonwoods that signify a healthy Nebraska hardwood forest. In the past, fires and floods scoured the forest floor, allowing for natural tree regeneration and removed uninvited cedars, basswoods and hackberries. Now it’s up to humans. To better manage the… Continue reading Restoring Nebraska’s Forests
Advancing High-Tech Plant Phenotyping
Historically, plant breeders have chosen varieties to propagate by manually measuring and observing differences between plants. Today, technology can identify minute variations better and faster. These advances allow scientists to trace desirable traits back to specific genes, opening new avenues to improving plant health and increasing yields. But high-tech phenotyping, as it’s known, is so… Continue reading Advancing High-Tech Plant Phenotyping
Penguin Hemoglobin Evolved to Meet Oxygen Demands
Penguins are deep divers that can hold their breath for up to 30 minutes, giving them time to hunt for dinner. This ability is thanks, in part, to their distinctive hemoglobin, the body’s oxygen courier that travels via the bloodstream. Nebraska biologists uncovered hemoglobin’s evolutionary trick that turned penguins into underwater specialists. Jay Storz, Willa… Continue reading Penguin Hemoglobin Evolved to Meet Oxygen Demands
Studying Nitrate News Coverage
For years, rural Nebraska communities have faced expensive water treatment overhauls due to groundwater contaminated with nitrates, primarily from fertilizer runoff. Jessica Fargen Walsh, assistant professor of journalism, sought to better understand Nebraska’s news coverage of this important topic. She teamed with East Tennessee State University to analyze articles published in Nebraska newspapers over nearly… Continue reading Studying Nitrate News Coverage
Interacting with Voice Assistants Eases Loneliness
“Good morning, Alexa.”“Good morning, Martha.” Interacting with personal voice assistants such as Amazon’s Echo Dot, otherwise known as Alexa, can lessen loneliness in older Americans who live alone, according to a Nebraska study. Loneliness – the perception of feeling disconnected – is so pervasive, especially among older people, that it’s considered an epidemic with public… Continue reading Interacting with Voice Assistants Eases Loneliness