UNL in the national news: July 2015

· 6 min read

UNL in the national news: July 2015

From experts on drones, droughts and the movie industry to ground-breaking research on obesity, supermaterials and psychology, UNL faculty, staff and students were featured or cited in nearly 50 national news stories during July.

Highlights include:

The Washington Post reported July 27 on a mathematical model that showed how much thinner Americans might be if they adopted diets of other countries. Azzeddine Azzam, Christopher Gustafson and Sarah Rehkamp, agricultural economics, conducted the study. The story later was carried by scores of other outlets nationwide.

CBS News highlighted a study co-authored by Les Carlson, marketing, that showed most beauty product ads don’t hold up. The July 28 report was widely carried across the country.

The Los Angeles Times quoted Wheeler Winston Dixon, film studies, in a widely syndicated July 30 story about the apparent downfall of “mini-mogul” Ryan Kavanaugh, whose Relativity Media Studio produced movies like “The Social Network,” and “The Fighter.”

The New York Times quoted Matthew Waite, drone journalism laboratory founder, in a July 20 report about drone hobbyists interfering with planes used to fight wildfires. Waite said it’s a legitimate newsgathering goal to seek aerial footage of wildfires. “These fires are newsworthy,” he said.

A July 6 report in Popular Mechanics highlighted efforts by Xiao Zeng and Alexander Sinitskii, chemistry, to develop a new two-dimensional supermaterial, titanium trisulfide.

Other July coverage:

Money Show cited Patrick Barrett, transportation services, in a July 22 article discussing fleet administrators’ concerns about whether computerized cars are vulnerable to hacking.

Daniel Brooks, senior research affiliate with the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology, was among experts quoted in a July 9 U.S. News and World Report summary of the health consequences of climate change. Brooks says climate change could result in the emergence of infectious diseases in new places.

Time.com used information from the U.S. Drought Monitor, a partnership involving UNL’s National Drought Mitigation Center, in a July 20 report about nine cities, all in California, that face the worst drought conditions in the country. It was one of several citations to the drought monitor and the drought mitigation center in July news reports about drought in the western U.S.

The Conversation featured a July 9 piece by Aaron Duncan, communication studies, discussing how coverage of the U.S. women’s team victory in soccer’s World Cup departed from the typical coverage of women’s sports.

Building Design and Construction magazine interviewed Shane Farritor, engineering, for a July 21 report on the emergence of “maker spaces” at UNL and other universities across the country. Farritor is founder and faculty sponsor of the Nebraska Innovation Studio. In other news relating to the Nebraska Innovation Campus, Water and Wastes Digest reported July 7 on the campus’s innovative heating and cooling system that uses heat from wastewater treated at a nearby municipal water facility. A July 13 article on Fast Company told the story of a business that has created a “Fitbit-”like wearable device to monitor cattle health. The company, Quantified Ag, headed by Vishal Singh, was a startup launched with help from the Nebraska Innovation Campus’s NMotion business accelerator.

Linxia Gu, mechanical and materials engineering, was quoted July 2 by BTN LiveBig, a Big Ten news service, about her research into how improvised explosive devices cause brain damage.

The Associated Press quoted Leon Higley, School of Natural Resources, in a July 17 story about efforts to save the endangered Salt Creek tiger beetle.

Science 360, the National Science Foundation’s news web site, reported July 22 on research by Jinsong Huang, mechanical and materials engineering, that uses the same property as nonstick pans to improve solar cell efficiency.

Talented children who reach their potential likely have dedicated parents to thank for their success, according to a July 2 article in U.S. News & World Report that featured research by Kenneth Kiewra, educational psychology.

The July-August issue of Art in Print featured “Oscillation Shift,” a color reduction woodcut print by Karen Kunc, art & art history. Her work was chosen as the bimonthly winner of the magazine’s Prix de Print contest.

Moms Every Day interviewed Ming Li, psychology, for a widely used July piece on post-partum depression.

NPR’s Marketplace quoted Martha Morton, chemistry, on the importance of the nation’s helium reserve, for a July 8 story.

Glenn Nierman, music, was among the experts who told Congress about the importance of music education. His visit to Capitol Hill was covered by the Washington Informer on July 8.

Susan Poser, law, was quoted in a July 8 National Law Journal report about the State Bar of California’s plan to require lawyer candidates to complete 15 hours of practical training.

The acquisition of a Civil War-era quilt by the International Quilt Study Center & Museum received national coverage after the Associated Press picked up the story July 18 from the Lincoln Journal-Star.

Karina Schoengold, agricultural economics, was quoted in a July 27 Associated Press report that other states are investigating Nebraska’s system for managing groundwater use. Farm Journal’s Ag Web news service was among those carrying the article.

A computer model developed at UNL uses current and historic weather information, along with other data, to more accurately estimate corn yields throughout the growing season. Francisco Morell Soler, a post-doctoral researcher in agronomy and horticulture, was quoted in a July 4 story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The article appeared in other outlets, such as Bloomberg Business, after being syndicated by McClatchy Tribune.

Steve Taylor, Food Allergy Research and Research Program, was quoted by Web MD in its July 23 special report on whether food labels reliably report the presence of allergens.

BTN LiveBig featured slave family history research by Will Thomas, history, in a July 25 story. Thomas and UNL are part of a digital project with the University of Maryland that archives and studies freedom petitions filed in the District of Columbia courts in the 19th Century.

Fortune magazine sought out Eric Thompson, Bureau of Business Research, for a July 22 story explaining why Nebraska has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation. The story also appeared on Time.com Thompson also was quoted on a Bureau of Business Research report that predicted Nebraska’s farm income would decline 45 percent in 2015. That story was covered by the Associated Press July 8 and carried by Fox Business, Investors Business Daily, WHO-TV in Des Moines, and other outlets.

Faculty, administration, student and staff appearances in the national media are logged at http://newsroom.unl.edu/inthenews/
 If you have additions to this list or suggestions for national news stories, contact Leslie Reed at lreed5@unl.edu or 402-472-2059.

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