Accolades News for Researchers
Posted March 1, 2023 by Tiffany Lee
Awards, Honors and Recognitions
Kate Brooks, agricultural economics, and Rebecca Roston, biochemistry, were selected for the 19th annual class of the national LEAD21 program. The program provides leadership and professional development training for faculty and professionals at land-grant universities. Brooks and Roston will participate in a one-year core curriculum to develop skills in communication, conflict management, collaboration and leadership. They are among 90 participants in the new LEAD21 class.
Roch Gaussoin, agronomy and horticulture, received the Green Section Award from the United States Golf Association. The award honors distinguished service to golf through an individual’s work with turfgrass. Gaussoin was honored for introducing new technologies and processes that advance putting green construction and management. He was recognized Feb. 25 at the USGA’s Annual Awards Dinner in Napa, California.
Gary Hein, entomology, received the Service to Agriculture Award from the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants. Hein was honored for his contributions to establishing and directing the university’s Doctor of Plant Health program. The alliance has been a supporter of the program, and alliance member companies have provided experiential learning opportunities for Nebraska students.
Anna Jaffe, psychology, was named an APS Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science. The designation is for early career researchers whose work is innovative and has already advanced the field, signaling great potential for continued contributions. Jaffe, who focuses her research on the role of alcohol in sexual assault and recovery, is a core faculty member of the Clinical Psychology Training Program and directs the Translational Health Risks and Interpersonal Violence (THRIVE) Lab.
Amit Jhala, agronomy and horticulture and Nebraska Extension, received the U.S.-Herbicide Resistance Action Committee’s Herbicide Resistance Management Award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to both applied and basic weed science research and extension on herbicide resistance. Jhala’s work focuses on the biology, pollen-mediated gene flow and management of herbicide-resistant weeds.
John Lindquist, agronomy and horticulture, received the Outstanding Research Award from the Weed Science Society of America. The award honors WSSA members who have conducted creative and innovative research with a significant impact on the scientific concepts or practices of weed science. Lindquist focuses his research on the processes governing plant growth, interplant interactions and weed population dynamics, as well as methods to predict these processes. He was honored at the joint WSSA and Northeastern Weed Science Society annual meeting in Arlington, Virginia, on Jan. 30.
David Long, Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, received an award for his first short film, “Betty Lou Had a Son.” The film, shot in May 2022 in Shreveport, Louisiana, earned a top-five honor in the 2022 Louisiana Film Prize competition. In the film, Long plays a struggling musician forced to care for his spirited mother, who is suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s disease. It will be screened in March at the Omaha Film Festival.
Kristin Malek, nutrition and health sciences, received the Bob Dallmeyer Educator of the Year Award from the International Association of Exhibitions and Events. The award honors IAEE members who demonstrate outstanding creativity, a positive attitude and the ability to transfer knowledge through good communication skills and innovative teaching to promote lifelong learning to exhibitions and events industry professionals.
Barney McCoy, broadcasting journalism, won the Best of Competition in Radio Hard News Reporting for faculty at the Broadcasting Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts Competition. He was honored for “Nebraska Drought at Harvest Time,” a story he first reported for Nebraska Public Media. Two Husker journalism students, Hallie Gutzwiller and Emma Krab, also received awards in the competition.
Wei Qiao, electrical and computer engineering, was named a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors. The designation honors early-stage innovators and inventors whose success in patents, licensing and commercialization has the potential to positively impact the welfare of society. Qiao, a named inventor on 13 issued U.S. patents, is an internationally recognized engineer in the areas of sustainable energy and energy efficiency. His work enables some of the most promising technologies of the future, including next-generation wind and solar power, electric vehicles and electric grids.
Ryan Sullivan, law, along with volunteers from Nebraska Law were named American Bar Association Free Legal Answers 2022 Pro Bono Leaders. The annual recognition is presented to individual attorneys or legal entities that have provided extraordinary pro bono services through this pro bono legal advice portal. Sullivan and other faculty volunteers answered a total of 113 civil legal questions last year.
MBA@Nebraska, the College of Business’ online MBA program, was recently named one of the nation’s most outstanding programs by the Princeton Review. The program was ranked No. 8 in the education services company’s list of Top 50 Online MBA Programs for 2023. It was the fifth consecutive year Nebraska’s program placed in the top 20 and the second consecutive year in the top eight.
Professional Service
Nirupam Aich, civil and environmental engineering, was invited to participate in an oral history interview with the Science History Institute. The institute is a library, museum and center for scholarship dedicated to promoting historical understanding of the sciences. To further that mission, the institute’s Center for Oral History records the thoughts, memories and perspectives of scientific leaders. Aich’s research focus is protecting public health through water quality engineering and physical-chemical treatment of drinking water and wastewater.
Jackson Stansell, founder and chief executive officer of Sentinel Fertigation, a Nebraska Innovation Campus-based company, was selected to join the highly competitive Destination Startup. The event, held Feb. 16 in Denver, Colorado, was a collaboration among leading research universities and federal laboratories across the Intermountain West showcasing the best companies in the innovation ecosystem. Sentinel Fertigation offers a real-time, imagery-based software and management framework that empowers farmers to make data-backed decisions about if and when to apply nitrogen to their crops. Stansell is also a Husker graduate student in engineering.
Other News
Jacob Harvey was named research project coordinator for the Barta Brothers Ranch, which is located in Nebraska’s northeastern Sandhills and is under the direction of the University of Nebraska’s Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center. In this role, Harvey will oversee research projects at the ranch and guide the facility as a research hub for projects focused on range and wildlife issues. He has a bachelor’s degree in fisheries and wildlife from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master’s degree in wildlife, aquatics and wildlands science and management from Texas Tech University.
Elizabeth (Liz) Lorang has been named interim dean of the University Libraries, effective May 20 pending approval by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. In this role, she will provide leadership for Love Library, Adele Hall Learning Commons, Dinsdale Family Learning Commons, the Library Depository Retrieval Facility, and discipline libraries in architecture, engineering, geology, math and music. She will also collaborate with leaders in the University of Nebraska Consortium of Libraries and represent the university in the Association of Research Libraries and the Big Ten Academic Alliance. Lorang joined the University Libraries in 2013 and has served as associate dean since 2018. She takes over for Claire Stewart, who has been selected as dean of libraries at the University of Illinois.
Rick Bevins, Chancellor’s Professor of Psychology, became an associate vice chancellor for research on Jan. 2. He had held the interim associate vice chancellor role since 2020. In this role, Bevins will continue working with faculty researchers, research center and institute directors, and associate deans of research to promote the university’s research mission through the development and support of collaborative initiatives and research excellence across all disciplines. Bevins remains director of the Rural Drug Addiction Research Center, a position he has held since 2020.
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