Accolades News for Researchers
Posted October 2, 2025 by Tiffany Lee
Honors and Recognitions
Emmanuel Aidoo, graduate student in chemistry, received a Leadership in the Promotion of Research Safety recognition from the American Chemical Society’s Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Recognition Program. The award highlights outstanding efforts to promote safety in research environments.
Casey Kelly, communication studies, received the Douglas E. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar Award from the National Communication Association. The award honors scholars with research programs in rhetorical theory, rhetorical criticism and/or public address studies who have demonstrated intellectual creativity, perseverance and impact on academic communities. Kelly was recognized for his distinctive and award-worthy body of work focused on how niche claims of victimhood became mainstream politics.
Kaustav Majumder, food science and technology, received the Young Scientist Award from the International Society of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods. The award is presented to an early career scholar with exemplary achievements within the nutraceuticals and functional food areas. Majumder’s research focuses on the potential of food proteins to produce bioactive peptides through enzymatic digestion, fermentation or food processing.
Dan Novy, emerging media arts, was selected to participate as a communications officer in the upcoming analog astronaut mission with the Armenian Space Forum in Armash, Armenia, at the Mars Analog Research Station. This station is one of the flagship independent habitats for the World’s Biggest Analog initiative, which helps scientists prepare for space by simulating missions on Earth. Novy’s mission, which includes five additional analog astronauts from around the world, will take place Oct. 10-27 and will simulate planetary surface operations under isolated, confined and extreme conditions, reflecting the challenges of future Martian expeditions.
Publications
Shuai Nie, computing, received the 2025 IEEE Communications Society Best Survey Paper Award. The award is presented annually to the authors of an especially meritorious paper published within the last five years in an IEEE Communications Society-owned journal dealing with a subject related to the society’s technical scope. Nie and her co-authors were recognized for the paper “Terahertz Band Communication: An Old Problem Revisited and Research Directions for the Next Decade.” The award will be presented at IEEE GLOBECOM 2025 at a ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan, on Dec. 9.
Jae Sung Park, mechanical and materials engineering, along with Senthil Kumar Raman of India’s Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education and Simon Song of South Korea’s Hanyang University, published a study that was chosen as an Editor’s Pick in the March 2025 edition of Physics of Fluids, one of the leading journals in that field. The paper found that the efficiency of a large gas-turbine engine more than doubled because of a slight increase in initial temperature and pressure, a finding with potential application in the design of engines for airplanes, ships and submarines.
Todd Thornock, accountancy, and Bret Sheeley, recent accounting Ph.D. graduate, were recognized for work on Sheeley’s dissertation, “Paying to Reduce Disparity: Financially Incentivizing Workforce Diversity and its Effects on Managers’ Promotion Decisions and Employees’ Effort.” Sheeley received the first-place Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award from the American Accounting Association Management Accounting Section for the publication, and Thornock was recognized for advising the work.
The laboratories of James Schnable, agronomy and horticulture, and Jinliang Yang, agronomy and horticulture, published a study that was featured in the October issue of CSA news. The lead author, Deniz Istipliler, trained with researchers at Nebraska and is now a professor of field crop research at Ege University in Turkey. The team found that the light reflected from a maize leaf holds clues about both genetics and the environment influencing crop performance. The article was first published May 9 at the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America’s Wiley Online Library.
Professional Service
Nirupam Aich, civil and environmental engineering, was named associate editor of the Journal of Hazardous Materials: Organics. The appointment recognizes Aich’s leadership in environmental engineering and his contributions to advancing safer, more sustainable water treatment solutions. As associate editor, Aich will guide the peer review and publication of research on organic contaminants such as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pesticides and pharmaceuticals.
Aich was also appointed to the board of directors of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. AEESP board members guide the organization’s programs that further research, education, professional development and community engagement in the sciences and technologies of environmental protection.
Caro Córdova, agronomy and horticulture, was invited by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to present at its Crossroads in Agriculture: Innovation, Resilience, and Opportunity symposium June 26 in Washington, D.C. In her talk, “Soil Health: A Foundation of Agricultural Resilience,” Córdova outlined the bipartisan importance of soil health, emphasizing its role in supporting farmers, strengthening ecosystems and enhancing national resilience.
Kristen Olson, sociology and Bureau of Sociological Research, was named to the Committee on National Statistics at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Her appointment is for a three-year term, through June 2028. The Committee on National Statistics is a standing committee at the National Academies that provides advice to the federal statistical system, including the publication of Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency.
Marilyn Wolf, computing, has been named the 2026-27 editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems. The publication is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering the design, analysis and use of computer-aided design of integrated circuits and systems. It is published by the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society and the IEEE Council on Electronic Design Automation.
Other News
Mark Button was named executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer for the university, pending approval by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Chancellor Rodney D. Bennett said the decision was informed by Button’s success as interim executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer, a role he has held since January 2025, and as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Button, a professor of political science and a first-generation college student, has been part of UNL’s academic leadership since he joined the university as CAS dean in July 2019.
Pei-Ying Chen joined the Libraries Research Partnerships as a digital scholarship and sciences research specialist librarian on Aug. 11. She received her doctoral degree in information science, with a minor in sociology, from Indiana University Bloomington, where she also earned a Master of Science in applied statistics.
Lindsay Waechter-Mead was named director of Nebraska’s Beef Quality Assurance program, a nationally coordinated, state-implemented initiative that provides beef producers with science-based practices for raising cattle. As director, she will oversee statewide training and certification for beef producers while collaborating with industry partners and Nebraska Extension specialists to promote animal health, welfare and beef quality. Waechter-Mead was chosen because of her considerable experience working with livestock producers through Nebraska Extension.
Katie Youmans joined the Libraries’ Teaching Partnerships as a sciences instruction librarian on Aug. 18. Youmans received her Bachelor of Arts in youth studies and leadership from Simpson University and her Master of Library and Information Science from Louisiana State University. Her previous appointment was at the Cuyahoga County Public Library System, where she developed instructional materials to improve digital literacy and engagement with library services.
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