Assistant professors David Holding and Greg Kruger received Junior Faculty for Excellence in Research Awards.

The awards are provided through the Branham Endowment Fund. Given annually by the Agricultural Research Division, the award is for tenure-track assistant professors with an ARD appointment with five or less years of professional service at UNL. The award is based upon publication record, evidence of external funding activity and peer recognition.

Holding is an assistant professor with the Center for Plant Science Innovation and agronomy and horticulture. He has published research papers in journals including Nature Communications, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Plant Cell and Plant Physiology and recently received extramural funding from USDA-NIFA and ConAgra. His research program aims to identify and functionally characterize genes involved in kernel maturation in corn and sorghum. He is particularly interested in understanding and exploiting the complex relationship between kernel texture and protein quality.

Kruger is an assistant professor with the West Central Research and Extension Center, agronomy and horticulture, and plant pathology.

He joined UNL in January 2010 and is a cropping systems specialist at the research and extension center. His research efforts are focused around limited rainfall production agriculture, herbicide-resistant weeds in Nebraska and Pesticide Application Technology. Kruger is responsible for Statewide Variety Testing in the West Central District, cropping systems and crop production work (particularly in corn, soybean and wheat) and has developed a program that has focused on multidisciplinary, systems-based approaches to improving the production and sustainability of cropping systems in Nebraska.