Awards of $5 Million or More

The Rural Drug Addiction Research Center was created in 2019 as a National Institutes of Health Center of Biomedical Research Excellence, or COBRE. Under the leadership of Rick Bevins, Mildred Francis Thompson University Professor of Psychology, the center’s mission is to advance understanding of causes, impacts and interventions related to rural drug use and misuse in the Midwest, a geographic area that has been historically understudied. Designed to be interdisciplinary and data-driven, the research links pre-clinical studies to field-based behavioral, neural, social, clinical and translational research and dissemination.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Emergent Quantum Materials and Technologies collaboration was formed to put Nebraska at the forefront of research and education in quantum materials and technology, which will be a major driver of the state and national economy in the future. Christian Binek, Charles Bessey Professor of Physics, leads the EQUATE team, made up of Husker researchers and other partners. The collaboration pursues scientific discovery in quantum materials, which could revolutionize technologies in communication and information processing, medical technology and cryptography. The team also is working toward STEM workforce development, training and education, particularly in Native American and rural communities.

Ken Bloom, Willa Cather Professor of Physics and Astronomy, oversees Nebraska’s leadership of the National Science Foundation-funded portion of the U.S. CMS Operations Program. The university’s role in this effort is advancing cutting-edge work in subatomic physics at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland. CERN is the site of the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest, most powerful particle accelerator.

Eve Brank, Aaron Douglas Professor of Psychology and director of the Center on Children, Families, and the Law, and Kathryn Olson, associate director of CCFL and research assistant professor of psychology, lead this effort to develop and deliver training to child and family services specialists consistent with federal and state statutes and policy. With the support of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the program encompasses development and delivery of child protection and safety training for child protection and safety workers in Nebraska.

Ed Cahoon, George W. Holmes University Professor of Biochemistry, leads an eight-institution team that is exploring how two oilseeds, camelina and pennycress, can help meet the escalating demand for renewable fuels, industrial chemicals and other bioproducts. With U.S. Department of Energy funding, the team will research oilseeds’ metabolic circuitry, produce genetically enhanced oilseeds and develop synthetic biology tools for crop improvement that could help scientists nationwide. By tapping the full potential of oilseeds, the team’s work could help pave the way for Nebraska farmers to diversify their operations and expand into new markets.

Martin Centurion, Carl A. Happold Professor of Physics and Astronomy, leads a team investigating the parameters that govern electrocyclic reactions, a class of reactions that plays an important role in nature and has many commercial applications, such as pharmaceutical synthesis. Using multiple experimental techniques, including time-resolved probing methods and advanced theoretical modeling, the team aims to develop general rules that can be applied to understand and predict the outcome of these reactions. The project is advancing both basic and applied chemical research and enables students and postdoctoral researchers to gain experience with multiple experimental methods.

Thomas Clemente and Edgar Cahoon lead Nebraska’s participation in the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, a U.S. Department of Energy-funded initiative focused on development and marketing of bioenergy crops, biofuels and other bioproducts. Clemente, Eugene W. Price Distinguished Professor of Biotechnology, and Cahoon, George W. Holmes Professor of Biochemistry, pursue work to transform sorghum into a sustainable feedstock for the bioeconomy, particularly for renewable diesel and jet fuel. To accomplish this, the researchers are using biotechnology tools to develop sorghum germplasm that accumulates vegetable oils in the plant’s stems and leaves. The research center is based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and unites 20 partner institutions.  

With a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, Jessica Corman is leading a team in developing a first-of-its-kind national environmental database. This tool will help researchers and policymakers study, predict and manage the ever-changing balance of elements in the environment and their impact on ecosystems regionally and nationally. The database, a collection of information from streams, lakes and the organisms that reside in them, will unlock major potential in ecological stoichiometry, a framework that explores the mismatch between available environmental elements and what organisms need. Corman, associate professor of natural resources, is working with partners from the University of Wyoming, Central Arkansas University and Middlebury College.

Rural Prosperity Nebraska, a university hub focused on advancing rural communities, is leading formation of the Heartland Regional Food Business Center. The center, an online platform aimed at connecting and strengthening locally grown food systems, brings together buyers, sellers, producers, processors and market managers. Funded by a $25 million cooperative agreement award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture – among the largest awards ever received by the university – the center will serve Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Iowa. It is one of 12 such centers funded by the USDA, all designed to help historically underinvested communities in their respective regions.

The Nebraska SNAP-Ed program was designed to encourage improved behavioral outcomes in nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention, with an eye toward the needs of target populations and barriers to accessing healthy foods and activity. Jean Ann Fischer, extension educator in nutrition and health sciences and human sciences program leader in Nebraska Extension, leads this effort. SNAP-Ed is focused on food systems and health equity; childhood health; and adults, families and communities. The overarching goal is to reduce the level of obesity, chronic disease and health disparities through various evidence-based interventions. The program leverages partnerships with stakeholders at the local, state, regional and national levels.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln established the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families-Children’s Bureau. Under the leadership of Michelle Graef, research professor in the Center on Children, Families and the Law, this multidisciplinary project studies and tests promising strategies to help child welfare agencies recruit and retain staff workers. Nebraska collaborates with three national child welfare consultants and researchers at the University of Colorado, Denver; University of Louisville; and University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The center draws on a range of expertise, including social work, industrial organizational psychology, human resource management, educational psychology, implementation science and the law.

A five-year, $11 million grant from the National Institutes of Health provides continuing support for a research center focused on investigating cellular-level miscommunications that contribute to complex diseases like cancer, diabetes and chronic liver disease. The Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication serves as a hub for interdisciplinary collaborations among Nebraska’s biomedical researchers and involves faculty at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The center, directed by Jiantao Guo, professor of chemistry, fosters a systems approach, combining the research activities of chemists, biochemists, engineers and bioinformaticists. It connects researchers developing new molecular probes and analytical techniques with those unraveling molecular mechanisms of diseases.

With grants totaling more than $47,000,000, the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is partnering with various associations and foundations to provide educational opportunities for Rwandan students to participate in the CASNR Undergraduate Scholars Program. In support of a Practical Agriculture Institute in Rwanda, Rwandan students are identified and selected to participate in CUSP to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in integrated science – an individualized program of study focused on conservation agriculture, entrepreneurship, leadership and innovative thinking. The students’ degree programs are specifically designed to be relevant to Rwandan agricultural production and the country’s goal of building resilience into its agricultural ecosystems. CASNR dean Tiffany Heng-Moss leads this effort.

The Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research is a collaboration between the university and the Nebraska Public Power District. The center was established in 2006 to support energy research that produces new technologies, processes and systems that provide new or significantly enhanced renewable energy sources, improves the quality of life and boosts economic opportunity. The center fosters interdisciplinary collaboration among Nebraska faculty and with other research institutions, public-sector agencies and private-sector companies with similar interests. The center supports both basic and applied research and has a broad mandate to explore a range of renewable energy opportunities, including biofuels and wind/solar energy, as well as opportunities for energy conservation.

The Mid-America Transportation Center, a consortium of academic institutions led by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, received a $15 million grant in 2023 from the U.S. Department of Transportation to continue its efforts to improve transportation safety in Nebraska and neighboring states. The center, which emphasizes challenges facing rural areas and underserved communities, was designated the University Transportation Center of its four-state region after a competitive review. Aemal Khattak, professor of civil and environmental engineering, leads MATC’s research and education efforts in the four Region 7 states: Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. MATC, housed in UNL’s College of Engineering, partners with other universities and colleges in the region, as well as private- and public-sector entities.

With funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Nebraska researchers are studying ways to reduce methane emissions from livestock, with the goal of developing tools and management practices for beef and dairy producers. Kononoff, professor of animal science, is leading the multidisciplinary team as it tackles the problem from multiple angles. One method explores the composition of cows’ microbiomes, since methane – a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change – is produced in the stomach. Analyzing the complement of microbes in cows with lower emissions will provide direction in reducing methane emissions. The team also aims to pinpoint genes that may contribute to lower methane emissions.

The North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, established in 2001, aims to help America’s farmers and ranchers manage the unique risks of producing food for the world’s table. With funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the center administers a regional competitive grants program that supports producer-focused, outcomes-based risk management education programs. The goal is to help producers navigate the increasingly complex range of risks in the field of agriculture, including evolving market fundamentals, farm policy reforms, crop insurance developments, climate change, global conflicts and more. Brad Lubben, extension associate professor of agricultural economics, directs the center, which serves 12 states in the region.

The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum will use a five-year, $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to strengthen Nebraska’s urban forest infrastructure in disadvantaged communities across the state. Made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act, the award will support tree planting, maintenance and removal, which will help combat extreme heat and climate change and increase equitable access to trees and their benefits. The funding will also spark workforce development by increasing the number of certified arborists and other tree care professionals in Nebraska. The arboretum has more than 45 years of experience providing green infrastructure, technical, educational and grant assistance to rural and urban communities. Hanna Pinneo is executive director of the arboretum.

The university plays a leading role in a multi-million-dollar federal award from the U.S. Department of Commerce to advance robotics innovation, industry partnerships and training for Husker students to become next-level robotics entrepreneurs. Mark Riley, associate dean for research in the College of Engineering, is the principal investigator. The university’s portion of the award will benefit multiple research and teaching spaces on campus; the Nebraska Manufacturing Extension Partnership; and Nebraska Innovation Studio and The Combine, both located at Nebraska Innovation Campus. The overarching goal is to bolster Nebraska’s automation infrastructure and grow the talent pipeline in robotics, automation, computer vision and artificial intelligence.

Alexander Sinitskii, professor of chemistry, leads a team aiming to unlock the potential of graphene nanoribbons, narrow strips of graphene that are only a few carbon atoms wide. Because of their miniscule size and tunable electronic properties, these nanoribbons are considered promising components for the miniature electronic devices of the future. To realize this potential, researchers are exploring methods for assembling graphene nanoribbons into electronic circuits – a challenging task. With Department of Defense funding, Sinitskii’s team is investigating approaches using DNA nanotechnology, which could facilitate controlled self-assembly of graphene nanoribbons up to macroscopic scales.

With the support of a $12.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s Center of Biomedical Research Excellence program, the university has established the Nebraska Center for the Prevention of Obesity Diseases Through Dietary Molecules. The center, under the leadership of Janos Zempleni, Willa Cather Professor of Molecular Nutrition, focuses on understanding nutrition and obesity at the molecular level, a crucial first step toward curbing this national epidemic. The University of Nebraska Medical Center collaborates on the center, which aims to establish a community of nationally recognized researchers in nutrition, genetics, biochemistry, food science, immunology and computer science. The long-term goal is to become a leader in nutrient signaling and the prevention of obesity and obesity-related diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.