Accolades News for Researchers
Posted August 31, 2018 by Ashley Washburn
Awards, Honors and Recognitions
Kate Brooks, Jessica Groskopf, Fabio Mattos, Robert Tigner and Cory Walters, agricultural economics, were honored at the Western Agricultural Economics Association’s annual meeting. Mattos received the Teaching Award for candidates with less than 10 years of experience. Brooks, Groskopf, Tigner and Walters received the Outstanding Extension Program Award for developing an interactive grain marketing simulation game, a free grain marketing smartphone application and a face-to-face educational curriculum.
Dean Eisenhauer, biological systems engineering (emeriti), and Yufeng Ge and Derek Heeren, biological systems engineering, were recognized Aug. 1 at the annual American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers awards luncheon in Detroit. Eisenhauer was honored among the ASABE Fellows Class of 2018. Ge and Heeren received the New Holland Young Researcher Award and the A.W. Farrall Young Educator Award, which are both early career awards open to ASABE members under age 40. The Holland award recognizes excellence in using scientific methodology to seek facts or principles significant to agricultural engineering, while the Farrall award highlights the outstanding application of engineering principles to problems in agricultural engineering.
Suat Irmak, biological systems engineering, received three Educational Aids Blue Ribbon awards at the ASABE Annual International Conference. The awards were in the publications category for the articles “Evapotranspiration (ET) Basics and Estimating Actual Crop ET from Reference ET and Crop Specific Coefficients,” “Simplified Forms of Deep Percolation Estimation Method Below the Crop Root Zone in Silt-Loam Soils” and “Simplified Forms of Surface Runoff Estimation Method for Silt-Loam Soils.”
Suat Irmak, biological systems engineering, and Aaron Nygren, Jenny Rees, Brandy VanDeWalle and Gary Zoubek, Nebraska Extension, received an Educational Aids Blue Ribbon Award at ASABE’s Annual International Conference. The award honored the educational website of the Nebraska Agricultural Water Management Network, the largest water management network in the U.S. The network contributes significantly to water and energy conservation.
Paul Jasa, a Nebraska Extension research engineer in biological systems engineering, received the 2018 Harold and Kay Scholl Excellence in Conservation Award at the 73rd Soil and Water Conservation Society International Annual Conference. The award honors individuals who provide technical assistance, effectiveness and creativity in conservation planning and plan application. Jasa was honored for developing crop production educational programs that improve profitability, build soil health and reduce environmental risks.
Dipra Jha, nutrition and health sciences, received the John Wiley & Sons Innovation in Teaching Award from the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education on July 27 in Palm Springs, California. The award honors outstanding teaching in the tourism and hospitality fields.
Matthew Lambert, special education and communication disorders, was named a docent at the University of Eastern Finland. The title gives Lambert the rights and responsibilities of professor, including teaching graduate classes and serving on or chairing doctoral and dissertation committees. Docents typically are awarded to faculty who have substantially contributed to a European university. Lambert has collaborated with colleagues from the University of Eastern Finland since 2012.
Peng Peng, special education and communication disorders, received the 2018 Early Career Award for Contributions to Research from the International Dyslexia Association. The award recognizes innovative research that is likely to positively impact the lives of people with dyslexia. Peng Peng will receive the award at the Reading, Literacy and Learning Conference, Oct. 24-27 in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
Jo Shattuck, psychology, authored an abstract and delivered a podium presentation, “Exploring Movement Variability and EEG Correlates during Motor Learning: A Novel Method,” that was selected as a finalist in the doctoral student competition at the 2018 American Society of Biomechanics conference in Rochester, Minnesota, Aug. 8-11.
Tyler Williams, cropping systems extension educator with Nebraska Extension, received an achievement award from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents. Williams’ award was for agents with less than 10 years of service in cooperative extension who have demonstrated excellence in the field of professional extension. He was honored at the 2018 NACAA annual meeting, Aug. 1 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Professional Involvement
Ajai Ammachathram, nutrition and health sciences, and Nebraska Extension specialist in food and beverage management, presented “Latest Food and Beverage Trends in the Hotel Industry” on July 11 at Asan Memorial College of Arts and Science in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He discussed a variety of topics, including the latest beverage trends, menu management, food as entertainment, and food and social media.
Kurt F. Geisinger, educational psychology and director of the Buros Center for Testing, will serve in a variety of leadership roles this year, both nationally and internationally. The positions, all of which focus on educational assessment and education, include: Appeals Council for the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation; inaugural editorial board for the African Journal of Psychological Assessment; president of Division 2: Psychological Assessment and Evaluation of the International Association of Applied Psychology; president-elect of Division 5: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods of the American Psychological Association; and a two-year term as president of the International Test Commission, an association of national psychological associations, test commissions, organizations and individuals.
Carrie Heitman, anthropology, presented at the National Science Foundation’s International Data Science Collaboration workshop in Belgrade, Serbia, Aug. 26-28. Her presentation was titled “Evidential Reasoning in Archaeological Science and the Need for Humanistic Approaches to Big Data.”
Lydiah Kiramba, teaching, learning and teacher education, served as an invited international scholar Aug. 13-19 at the School of Languages for Education at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. While there, she presented a paper, “Language Purism in Education: English Medium Instruction in Kenyan Multilingual Classrooms.” She also conducted workshops for postgraduate students and presented to scholars at the Fifth International Conference on Language and Literacy Education at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Kiramba’s invitation was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa through a collaboration with North-West University’s Dumisile Mkhize and a team of five South African researchers.
Yijia Lin, finance, was appointed co-editor of the North American Actuarial Journal. With this appointment, she is now co-editor of the two leading journals in the field of risk management and insurance.
Sophia Perdikaris, anthropology, was invited to present at the 2018 and 2019 cultural exhibitions of La Biennale di Venezia, one of the world’s most prestigious cultural organizations. This year, Perdikaris’ writing was featured alongside the work of Barbudan photographer Mohammid Walbrook. Next year, she will present on the theme of people and place. Perdikaris focuses her research on the island of Barbuda in the Caribbean; specifically, how heritage work can inform sustainability questions.
Publishing Honors
Julie Wu, finance, is co-author of a study examining the importance of shareholder approval in mergers and acquisitions. The study was recently published in The Review of Financial Studies and also was featured in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation.
Other News
Deb Hamernik is the new associate vice chancellor for research in the Office of Research and Economic Development, effective Oct. 1. She will be an integral member of ORED’s senior leadership team, bringing experience in forming interdisciplinary teams, developing early-career faculty and working first-hand as a research administrator at the federal level. Hamernik, a professor of animal science, has served as interim vice chancellor for research in several capacities beginning in 2011. Since 2009, she has been associate dean of the Agricultural Research Division, part of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Hamernik has a doctorate in reproductive endocrinology from Colorado State University.
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