Recent achievements among the university community were earned by Sarah Adam, Katie Anania, Steven Barlow, Katie Bathke, Ryan Beck, Balpreet Kaur Dhatt, Nathan Donoghue, Jamie Fuqua, Eve Brank, Christina Falci, Roland Hesse, Suat Irmak, Claire Jiminez, Carole Levin and the Center on Children, Families and the Law’s Community Services Division.

Honors

• Sarah Adam, Katie Bathke, Ryan Beck, Balpreet Kaur Dhatt, Nathan Donoghue and Jamie Fuqua were awarded 2021-22 Milton E. Mohr awards by the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. Dhatt, a master’s student specializing in plant breeding and genetics and advised by Harkamal Walia, was awarded a graduate fellowship. The other students, all undergraduates, are plant biology majors and received Milton E. Mohr scholarships. The awards were established in 1989 for students in engineering or biotechnology degree programs. The scholarships and fellowships are made possible through an endowment to the University Foundation.

• Katie Anania, assistant professor of art history, has been named a Tyson Scholar in American Art for the spring 2022 semester. She will spend the 15-week residential fellowship at the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The research will advance her second book project, “Devour Everything: Art and Hunger in the Age of Commodity Agriculture.” This will be Anania’s first visit to Crystal Bridges, which was founded in 2005 by the Walton Family Foundation. Their collection spans five centuries of American art from the 17th century to today and includes 3,000 paintings, works on paper, sculpture, photography and new media.

• Eve Brank, professor of psychology and director of the Center on Children, Families, and the Law, has received the Lawrence S. Wrightsman Book Award from the American Psychology-Law Society for her book, “The Psychology of Family Law.” The award recognizes outstanding scholarly books that cover law and psychology.

• Christina Falci, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and acting chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, earned the James A. Lake Academic Freedom Award, which recognizes efforts that have helped preserve the freedom to seek and communicate the truth. The award was given by the Faculty Senate.

• Roland Hesse, a graduate student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has earned a Graduate Student Research Program award from the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The award allows graduate students to carry out research projects that address scientific challenges central to Office of Science mission areas. Hesse is one of 78 awardees from 55 universities across the nation.

• Suat Irmak, Harold W. Eberhard Distinguished Professor of biological systems engineering, has been elected as an ASCE-EWRI Fellow for his significant contributions to the research platforms, scientific understanding and education in water resources and irrigation engineering in national and international platforms. The fellows will be recognized during the Virtual 2021 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress on June 7. Irmak was recently named head of Penn State University’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. He takes the new role on July 1.

• Claire Jiminez, a doctoral student in the Department of English, alumna Linda Merchant, and colleagues earned a Mellon Foundation grant for the Puerto Rican Literature Project, housed at the University of Houston.

• Carole Levin, Willa Cather Professor of history, earned the Louise Pound-George Howard Distinguished Career Award for exceptional contributions through teaching, research, public service or administration, reflecting a long-standing commitment to the university. The award was given by the Faculty Senate.

• The Center on Children, Families and the Law’s Community Services Division has worked with the City of Lincoln and the Lincoln Community Foundation to distribute CARES Act funds. The project helped provide rent, mortgage and utilities assistance to community members impacted by the pandemic. The division has expanded the partnership, collaborating with the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation to distribute American Rescue Plan Act funding in 2021. Read more about the project.

Appointments

• Steven Barlow, associate director of the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, has been named chair of the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders in the College of Education and Human Sciences. Barlow, professor of special education and communication disorders, will assume the position on July 1. Barlow joined the department in 2014.

This column is a regular feature of Nebraska Today. Faculty, staff and students can submit achievements to be considered for this column via email to achievements@unl.edu. For more information, call 402-472-8515.