Recent achievements among the university community were earned by Paul Barnes, Stephanie Bondi, Doug Golick, David Hage, Abla Hasan, Carrie Heitman, Amit Jhala, Crystal Powers, Heena Puri, Mitchell Stephenson, the Crops Judging Team, and Turfgass Competition Team.
Honors
Paul Barnes, the Marguerite Scribante Professor of Music in the Glenn Korff School of Music, has been named the Nebraska Music Teachers Association Foundation Fellow for 2022. He will be honored with the other state recipients during the virtual Music Teachers National Association Conference March 26-30 in Minneapolis. Fellows are individuals, designated by their peers, who have made outstanding contributions to the music teaching profession.
Stephanie Bondi, associate professor of practice in educational administration, has been named to the Diversity Scholars Network formed by the University of Michigan’s National Center for Institutional Diversity. The network is a community of more than 1,500 global scholars committed to advancing understandings of historical and contemporary social issues related to identity, difference, culture, representation, power, oppression, and inequality.
Doug Golick, associate professor of entomology, will receive the 2022 Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching from the North Central Branch of the Entomological Society of America. The award honors a member of the North Central Branch who has demonstrated excellence in classroom instruction, the development of courses or curriculum, and outreach activities. Learn more here.
David Hage, the James Hewett University Professor of Chemistry, has earned the 2021 ACS Award in Chromatography from the American Chemical Society. Recipients are recognized for outstanding contributions to the field of chromatography, with particular consideration given to the development of new methods. Hage will receive the award March 24 at the Spring 2022 ACS National Meeting and Exposition in San Diego.
Carrie Heitman, associate professor of anthropology in the School of Global Integrative Studies, earned the popular book award from the Society for American Archaeology for “The Greater Chaco Landscape: Ancestors, Scholarship and Advocacy.” The popular category prize recognizes a book written for the general public and presents the results of archaeological research to a broader audience. Read more about the project here.
Amit Jhala, associate professor of agronomy and horticulture and Nebraska Extension weed management specialist, was invited by the Weed Science Society of America to write review papers for the journal, Weed Technology. The papers synthesize previous studies on how pollen-mediated gene flow can transfer herbicide resistance alleles from herbicide-resistant to susceptible broadleaf and grass weeds. Jhala has been at Nebraska since 2012 and is known worldwide for his research, which focuses on the biology, pollen-mediated gene flow and management of herbicide-resistant weeds.
Heena Puri, doctoral student in entomology, will receive the 2022 Graduate Student Scholarship from the North Central Branch of the Entomological Society of America. The $500 scholarship recognizes graduate student members of the North Central Branch for their course work and research. Learn more here.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s crops judging team finished third in the four-year college division at the Collegiate Crops Contest held Feb. 19 at West Texas A&M University. Nebraska’s winning team includes senior agronomy majors Nathan Donoghue, Katie Steffen, Korbin Kudera and Sarina Janssen. Kudera set a Husker record by earning five individual awards — best individual score, first in math and practical lab, and third in agronomic exam, and plant and seed identification.
A University of Nebraska–Lincoln turfgrass competition team finished 14th at the 28th Annual Collegiate Turf Bowl competition Feb. 10 at the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Conference and Trade Show in San Diego. The Nebraska team included turfgrass and landscape management majors Jacob Ocholik, Benjamin Toalson and Eric Kovarik. More than 150 students representing 44 teams from across North America competed in the event.
Appointments
- Mitchell Stephenson, associate professor of agronomy and horticulture, and forage and range management specialist at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center, has been appointed interim director of the Panhandle Center. Stephenson has been on the Panhandle Center faculty since 2015 and had been interim associate director since mid-2020. Stephenson’s research has focused on areas with potential impact on managing grazing lands throughout central and western North America. A search for a permanent director is underway.
Publications
Abla Hasan’s book, “On Pain and Suffering: A Qur’anic Perspective,” was published by Rowman and Littlefield. Hasan is an associate professor of practice of Arabic language and culture in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. Read more about her book here.
Crystal Powers, research and extension communications specialist with the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute and the Nebraska Water Center, is featured in a case study included in a new book published by UNESCO. The study, which is co-authored by Powers, examines a project from Nebraska’s Central Platte Valley as an effective example of managed aquifer recharge. It is included among 28 similar global projects in the book. Learn more about the project in the video below.
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.
