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, Paula and D.B. Varner 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.

Edgar Cahoon leads 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. Cahoon, George W. Holmes University Professor of Biochemistry, pursues 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 $6.5 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 policy makers 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.

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 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 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.

Cody Stolle, research associate professor at the university’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, leads a team focused on protecting American soldiers from threats posed by hostile-driven electric vehicles. The more than 1,000 U.S. military installations at home and abroad are surrounded by barriers and gated checkpoints, but these safety features were not engineered to withstand attacks from EVs moving at high speeds. The security risk increases as EVs – which are heavier and capable of accelerating faster than gas-powered vehicles – become more popular. Stolle’s team will use funding from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center to establish the parameters necessary to secure these military bases through a combination of digital and physical testing.

With support 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.

Craig Zuhlke, co-director of the Center for Electro-Optics and Functionalized Surfaces, leads a team helping the Office of Naval Research develop materials with advanced functional properties that are suitable for applications in harsh environments. Zuhlke, Richard L. McNeel Associate Professor of Engineering, is advancing work on femtosecond laser surface processing, a technology that employs an ultrafast laser beamed at a metal material, changing its micro- and nanoscale features and chemistry. The researchers are exploring how to scale FLSP to large areas needed for Navy and defense applications. They also are developing facilities and techniques to study the application of FLSP surfaces in enhancing heat transfer.