Accolades News for Researchers
Posted May 29, 2025 by Tiffany Lee
Honors and Recognitions
Aaron Lee M. Daigh, agronomy and horticulture, received the 2025 Outstanding Young Alumni Award from the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences at the University of Arkansas. A vadose zone hydrologist and soil physicist, Daigh directs research on vadose zone water quality and the fate and transport of nutrients and chemicals in agricultural landscapes overlying major aquifers.
Sherilyn Fritz, Earth and atmospheric sciences and biological sciences, was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Membership is one of the highest distinctions for a scientist or engineer in the United States. Fritz, the fifth UNL researcher to achieve this distinction, works at the interface of geology, biology and the atmospheric sciences, with a specific focus on the interaction of lakes with the atmosphere and the land surface. Her career has spanned decades and continents and includes service on international research committees, including PAGES, an organization that helps study Earth’s past to inform management of its future. She currently co-chairs the International Continental Drilling Program’s science evaluation panel.
Katrina Jagodinsky, history, received the 2024 Digital Humanities Award for Best New Dataset or DH Model. The awards – nominated and voted for entirely by the public – are aimed at recognizing talent and expertise in the digital humanities community. Jagodinsky and her team were honored for Petitioning for Freedom, a first-of-its-kind project that enables users to explore how marginalized communities navigated the courts to seek justice.
Yvonne Lai, mathematics, received a Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics from the Mathematical Association of America. The award honors college or university professors who are widely recognized for extraordinary teaching effectiveness and whose influence extends beyond their own institutions. Lai, one of three recipients this year, was recognized for her transformative work in mathematics education and teacher preparation. This includes her leadership of inclusive, active-learning environments that promote deep engagement and belonging.
Huang Li, biochemistry, was named one of 30 “New Investigators” by the U.S. Department of Energy. The department’s Joint Genome Institute selected this group of principal investigators – none of whom have previously led projects supported by the institute’s Community Science Program – to pursue genomic research related to the bioeconomy. Li will analyze how modified green algae and oilseed crops differ in gene expression level and network. The collaborative project aims to identify promising targets and components to improve respiration and energy efficiency at the cellular level.
Professional Service
Iker González-Allende, modern languages and literatures, has been named associate editor of Revista de Estudios de Género y Sexualidades/Journal of Gender and Sexuality Studies, the journal of the Asociación de Estudios de Género y Sexualidades, published by Michigan State University Press.
Rebecca Roston, biochemistry, is joining the editorial board of The Plant Cell, a leading international journal that publishes novel research of special significance in plant biology. Roston brings expertise in cold stress tolerance in plants, membranes, membrane lipid analyses and chloroplast biology.
S. Sajeesh, marketing, was appointed associate editor at the Journal of Retailing. The journal aims to advance the state of knowledge on all aspects of retailing, including its management, evolution and current theory.
Carlos Urrea, agronomy and horticulture, received a Journal of Plant Registrations 2024 Editor’s Citation for Excellence. These awards recognize the professional commitment and dedication of volunteer reviewers and editors who help maintain the high standard and quality of papers published in the journal.
Other News
Julie Peterson has been named interim director of the university’s West Central Research, Extension and Education Center in North Platte. Peterson is an entomologist and extension specialist who currently is associate director of WCREEC and leads the center’s Agroecosystems Entomology Lab. Her appointment follows the selection of Kelly Bruns as interim dean of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. In this role, he will lead efforts to enhance academic programs, build strong partnerships and recruit students to meet the evolving needs of Nebraska’s agricultural workforce. Joining Bruns in leadership is Jennifer McConville, who has been reappointed as NCTA associate dean of academic innovation, learner success, and career pathways. McConville will also hold an interim courtesy appointment in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
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