Accolades
Award-Winning Faculty
Increasing the number of external honorific awards is one of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s strategic goals. The following list includes selected awards and accomplishments that Husker researchers earned in fiscal year 2025.
Sherilyn Fritz, George Holmes Professor in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the School of Biological Sciences, was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Membership elevates outstanding science, fosters the broad understanding of science and oversees the National Research Council. It is one of the highest distinctions for a scientist or engineer in the United States. Fritz is an internationally recognized expert in studying lake sediments to reconstruct long-term environmental change. She is particularly focused on diatoms, a type of algae whose sensitivity to environmental and climatic forces make them ideal for understanding hydrology and climate conditions of the past. Fritz is the fifth Husker to be named a member of the academy.
Edgar Cahoon, George Holmes Professor of Biochemistry, was named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. The honor is the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors and recognizes work that improves quality of life, the economy and society. Cahoon, an internationally recognized expert in plant lipid biotechnology, focuses his work on developing new types of oils that have improved functionalities for food, feed and industrial uses. His research to identify new genes, fatty acid structures and biochemical pathways in plants has generated 36 U.S. patents and improved crops’ nutritional and industrial value and agronomic performance.
Lance C. Pérez, Fred Hunzeker Dean of Engineering and Omar H. Heins Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Fellows are selected by their peers for scientifically or socially distinguished achievements that advance science or its application. Pérez was selected for contributions to the engineering field, including research, administrative leadership and education. Across his career, he has secured more than $19.6 million for his research on wireless communication and information processing. He has also been a transformative administrator, leading the College of Engineering to new records in enrollment and research, and launching the largest academic facilities project in the university’s 154-year history.
Maital Neta, Carl A. Happold Professor of Psychology, received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers. Neta directs the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab and is resident faculty of the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior. Her research, which has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, explores how people process and cope with uncertainty and tests interventions that promote psychological well-being. In partnership with Nebraska Athletics, she has also studied factors relating to concussions and traumatic brain injury. She was among nearly 400 recipients of the White House honor in 2025.
Ken Bloom, Willa Cather Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and professors of physics and astronomy Daniel Claes and Ilya Kravchenko, were part of a team that received the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. The Husker researchers are part of the Compact Muon Solenoid collaboration, one of four at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland. The international CMS team received the prize for its detailed measurements of the Higgs boson, the “God particle” discovered in 2012 that gives other particles their mass. The Breakthrough Prize, founded in 2012, recognizes individuals or teams that have made profound contributions to our understanding of the world.
Ng’ang’a Wahu-Mũchiri, associate professor of English, was named a fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies. The prestigious fellowship program supports humanities and social science scholars as they engage in full-time research and writing that will lead to a major piece of scholarly work. Wahu-Mũchiri is dedicating his fellowship to a book focused on how African writers and artists imagine water ecosystems in their work. He envisions the book serving as a tool for communities in Africa and beyond as they work to conserve and protect their water resources. Wahu-Mũchiri was one of 62 fellows, selected from among more than 2,300 applicants, in 2025.
Amy Schmidt, professor of biological systems engineering, received the G.B. Gunlogson Countryside Engineering Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. The award honors engineering practices that result in the enhancement of techniques or technology for countryside development, or plans, programs or other leadership activities that promote the development of the countryside. For more than 25 years, Schmidt has developed a nationally recognized research and extension program focused on animal manure management, specifically protecting water quality, ensuring animal and human health, enhancing soil and sustaining livestock operations. She has played a critical role in shaping state and national regulations of animal feeding operations.
Roger Hoy, professor of biological systems engineering, received the John Deere Gold Medal from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. The award, sponsored by the John Deere Foundation, recognizes distinguished achievement in the application of science and art to the soil, especially improvements in the manipulation, use and conservation of soil and water resources. Hoy, who directed the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory from 2006-2025, was recognized for decades of outstanding contributions that support the agricultural machinery equipment industry, including standards development and testing. He was a leader in aligning tractor tests with the Nebraska Tractor Test Law and advancing international tractor testing standards.
Irina Filina, associate professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences, was selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar and will travel to Iceland to collect data for her ongoing research that explores whether the country is the tip of a larger continent. This question has generated significant debate in the scientific community and challenges long-held ideas about the complex tectonic region that is the North Atlantic. While in Iceland, Filina will collect field observations from at least three sites in order to advance computer modeling of the Earth’s crusts in the North Atlantic Ocean. She is also developing a three-week course in Iceland for Husker undergraduate and graduate students.
Daren Redfearn, professor of agronomy and horticulture, was named a fellow of two societies, the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America. Fellow is the highest recognition available in both societies and is based on professional achievements and meritorious service. Redfearn is part of an Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources multidisciplinary team focused on enhancing and developing forage-based beef production systems. His research and extension programs emphasize annual and perennial grass management, conversion of cropland to forage production, and grazing of forages that can be integrated into economical and resilient crop-forage-bioenergy systems. Redfearn was also recognized for leadership, mentorship and service to both societies.
Jordan Soliz, professor of communication studies, received the Bernard J. Brommel Award for Outstanding Scholarship or Distinguished Service in Family Communication from the National Communication Association. The award recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the area of family communication, including published research or leadership in instructional areas. Soliz was selected for his high-impact scholarship, mentorship and dedication to advancing family communication. His research, focused on communication and intergroup processes in family, personal and community relationships, has generated more than 80 scholarly works. He has received 15 awards for teaching and service, advised 17 doctoral students, and contributed to the field in multiple other ways, including as editor of the Journal of Family Communication.
Janos Zempleni, Willa Cather Professor of Molecular Nutrition, was named a distinguished fellow of the American Society for Nutrition. The recognition is the society’s highest honor and recognizes lifetime achievements in the nutrition field. Zempleni has been a pioneer in studies of extracellular vesicles and their RNA cargos in milk. A particularly novel trajectory focuses on using milk’s natural nanoparticles to transport therapeutics, gene editing tools and more to targeted locations in the human body. Zempleni, who directs the Nebraska Center for the Prevention of Obesity Disease through Dietary Molecules, has secured more than $60 million in external research funding across his career and published more than 170 peer-reviewed works.
Mike Boehm, professor of plant pathology, was named a fellow of the American Phytopathological Society. Fellows are selected for distinguished contributions to plant pathology. Boehm was honored for his exceptional service to the society, commitment to teaching and mentoring, advocacy for plant pathology and leadership in higher education. Boehm was a transformative leader at the University of Nebraska, where he served as the Harlan Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and vice president for agriculture and natural resources. In this dual role, he drove unprecedented growth in research and extension, secured record levels of external funding and supported initiatives linking scientific discovery to practical applications in agriculture.
Oleh Khalimonchuk, Willa Cather Professor of Biochemistry, was named a fellow of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Selection is based on exceptional service to the organization, professional accomplishments and contributions to the scientific community. Khalimonchuk, one of just 24 scientists nationwide to receive the prestigious recognition in 2025, focuses his research on how mitochondria work and how declines in their functionality drive disease and aging. He also studies the biosynthesis and trafficking of mitochondrial heme. Khalimonchuk directs the university’s Redox Biology Center, an interdisciplinary entity involving researchers from UNL and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Beth Doll, professor of educational psychology, received the Nadine Murphy Lambert Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association’s Division of School Psychology. The award honors longtime contributions of unusual breadth and depth to the field. Doll, who started her career as a school psychologist, conducts research on promoting the mental health and psychological well-being of children and youth. She studies aspects of school and classroom systems that contribute to students’ resilience and academic success, including children’s friendships, the pragmatics of school psychology and innovative strategies for assessing student perceptions of classroom learning environments. Doll has served on the editorial board of all three major school psychology journals and in various leadership capacities for the APA and other state school psychology associations.