Recent accomplishments by the campus community were earned by faculty Richard DeFusco, Justin (Gus) Hurwitz, Ana María Vélez and John Woollam. Also this week, five College of Journalism and Mass Communication students were named Omaha World-Herald fellows for the spring semester.

Faculty/Staff

Richard DeFusco, chair of finance, has been recognized by the CFA Society of Nebraska for achieving 10 consecutive years of professional development in CFA Institute’s continuing education program. The voluntary program offers investment management professionals an opportunity to continue their education and stay current with investment practice and theory while engaging in an ongoing commitment to the highest standards of competency and ethics. Recognition by the CFA Society of Nebraska demonstrates the importance of staying current in the investment profession.

Justin (Gus) Hurwitz, assistant professor of law, has been named the co-director of Nebraska Law’s Space, Cyber and Telecommunications Law Program. Hurwitz will work alongside the program’s current director, Matthew Schaefer and the program’s executive director, Elsbeth Magilton, to continue growing the telecommunications and cyber components of the program as it continues into its second decade. Hurwitz’s initiatives will focus largely on telecommunications and cyber law, including substantial focus on cybersecurity and interdisciplinary work at the intersection of law and policy.

Ana María Vélez, assistant professor of entomology, has been named to the 2016 class of DuPont Young Professors. As one of eight international awardees, Vélez will receive two years of funding to support her research on the genetic makeup of the corn rootworm, a pest that damages crops and has cost the farm industry billions of dollars. Vélez studies the genes that influence rootworms’ physiological responses to insecticides, their adaptation to environments and their ability to find the crops on which they feed. This research could inform the development and refinement of strategies designed to manage these pests. For more information on the award, click here.

John Woollam, professor of electrical engineering, has been chosen to receive the 2017 R.F. Bunshah Award and to present the Honorary Lecture at the 2017 International Conference on Metallurgical Coatings and Thin Films. Woollam will be honored at the group’s 44th annual conference, April 24-28 in San Diego. Woollam is an internationally known expert in ellipsometry and a member of the faculty since 1979. He is also the founder and president of the J.A. Woollam Co., a university spin-off that has emerged as a worldwide leader in the production of spectroscopic ellipsometry instrumentation. For more information, click here.

Jeyamkondan Subbiah, professor of food engineering, biological systems engineering and food science and technology, has earned the Nebraska Chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta Excellence in Research Award. The award will be presented at Gamma Sigma Delta’s annual iInitiation and awards banquet at 6 p.m. Jan. 29 in the East Union.

Students

Five students from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications have been selected for the Omaha World-Herald’s Real World Fellowship program. The students and their assignments are: Calla Cassler (photographer), Aidan Connolly (data reporter), Becca Mann (reporter), Emmie McMinn (online reporter) and Marcella Mercer (reporter). The students were selected based on interviews during the semester prior to their fellowship and are considered part-time staff members. The fellows work 20 hours per week, fitted around their class schedules. They perform all the duties that normally come with their jobs – for instance, taking photos and writing cutlines, for photographers; and going to crime scenes to tweet, report and write stories, for reporters.

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