Recent accomplishments by the university community were earned by faculty Edgar Cahoon, Michael Cotton, Richard Morrell and Massimiliano Pierobon.
Faculty/Staff
Edgar Cahoon, George Holmes Professor of Biochemistry and director of the Center for Plant Science Innovation, will receive an honorary doctorate from the faculty of landscape architecture, horticulture and crop production science at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The honorary doctorate is typically conferred to researchers outside of Sweden and recognizes outstanding academic achievement and significant contributions to programs at the Swedish university. Cahoon has collaborated with plant breeding scientists at the school’s Alnarp campus for the past decade, developing new oilseed varieties with improved industrial properties. He is a co-principal investigator on an oil crops for the future project funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research. For more on the honor, click here.
Michael Cotton, Glenn Korff School of Music vocal coach and accompanist, received the staff award for outstanding service at the 2017 Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Honors Day/Awards dinner April 22 at the Champions Club. Cotton is frequently sought out by singers as a coach and collaborator. His professional engagements have taken him to music festivals, opera companies and recital venues in numerous cities including New York, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Los Angeles, London and Vienna.
Richard Morrell, university registrar, contributed a chapter to the recently published Guide to Graduation Ceremonies by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. The guide outlines how to design a ceremony from start to finish, including logistical arrangements, commencement programs, diplomas, regalia and academic honors. In addition, it contains comprehensive information on early commencement, graduate ceremonies, serving veterans and other unique scenarios that may arise. Morrell contributed a chapter on graduation application essentials, including information about timing and transferring from paper to electronic applications. The Guide to Graduation Ceremonies is one of AACRAO’s most popular publications. For more information, click here.
Massimiliano Pierobon, assistant professor of engineering and computer science, was named the 2017 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ INFOCOM Best Paper Award runner-up. The paper, “A Parity Check Analog Decoder for Molecular Communication Based on Biological Circuits,” was the result of research work done in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano in Milan, Italy. Pierobon also worked on the study with Alessio Marcone, a master’s student who worked on his thesis in Pierobon’s laboratory in 2016. About 1,500 papers are submitted to the INFOCOM conference for oral presentation each year; two are selected for distinction. For more information, click here.
Students
Madhav Bhatta was awarded a Milton E. Mohr Award by the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. The graduate fellowship will help Bhatta’s research focus in plant breeding and genetics. He is advised by P. Stephen Baenziger. The Mohr awards recognize outstanding students in the sciences of biotechnology and engineering based on academic performance and potential for accomplishments in their specific field. For more information on the award, click here.
Anna Brettman, Caylee Taylor Christensen, Luz Ramirez de Bryson, Tony Haas, Paul Hanson, Ashley Larsen, Karl Merchant, Steven Olson, Carissa Raymond, Nathan Sorsen, Cody Vitek and Liangzi Zhang were inducted into Gamma Theta Upsilon, the international geography honor society, during the 2017 Lavin Memorial Seminar on April 28.
Nathan Duffy, Roger Farr, Olivia Fiala, Megan Franklin, Ryan Langemeier and Jennifer Myers received Milton E. Mohr scholarships for undergraduates. Offered through the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, the scholarships were established in 1989 for students in the College of Engineering or biotechnology degree programs. Mohr was a 1938 University of Nebraska graduate. For more information on Mohr and the awards, click here.
Cambria Butcher, an undergraduate in the Glenn Korff School of Music, has received the Presser Scholarship. Presented by the Presser Foundation, the award is awarded to outstanding music majors in at least their junior year and recognizes meritorious achievement in music. The honor is selected by a vote of the Korff School faculty. For more information, click here.
Sonia Manca, postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Janos Zempleni in the Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, won first prize in the Emerging Leaders competition at the Experimental Biology 2017 meeting in Chicago. The American Society for Nutrition awarded Manca the prize for her work titled “The bioavailability and distribution of bovine milk exosomes are distinct from that of their cargos in mice.”
Kennedy Rolfes and Andrew Janak earned Glenn Korff School of Music honors for excellence in performance and/or scholarship. Rolfes was presented with the distinguished undergraduate award, while Janak received the distinguished graduate artist/scholar honor. The awards were among 18 handed out during the Korff School’s honors convocation. For more information, click here.
Departments/Colleges/Units
The Biochemistry Club has been honored as the 2017 Outstanding Student Chapter by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The award is given in recognition of the chapter’s leadership in biochemistry and molecular biology educational activities, exceptional commitment to increasing public awareness of science, collaboration with other campus activities and events and participation in regional and national meetings. The Biochemistry Club received the award April 23 the 2017 ASBMB annual meeting in Chicago. Faculty adviser Erin Sayer received a travel grant to attend and accept the award. The club will celebrate with faculty, staff and students during a reception at a later date. Other members of the club’s executive team and outreach committee are Erin Bertone, Shannyn Bird, Bryce Byman, Shadid De La Rosa, Drew Egger, Nathan Jatczak, Sophia Kisling and Taylor O’Brien.
The Public Relations Student Society of America named a team from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications as a top-three finalist in its 2017 Bateman Case Study Competition. The team will present its campaign “Redirect the Conversation” to its client The Campaign to Change Direction May 10 in Chicago. Nebraska placed in the top three out of 67 submissions in the competition. The campaign aimed to raise awareness about how students think and talk about mental health. The team implemented the campaign starting in February and finished it in March. Team members include Erin Lenz, Cassie McCormick, Bari Pearlman, Karley Powell and Elizabeth Snyder. Campaign advisers are Phyllis Larsen and Sheri Sallee.
Transportation Services was ranked No. 45 in the 100 Best Fleets in the Americas in 2017. There are more than 38,000 public fleets in North America and thousands more in South America. Published in Governing magazine, the 100 best fleets list cited Transportation Services for its “fresh thinking” and “impressive effect on the economy.” Patrick Barrett is director of Transportation Services. This is the second consecutive year the university fleet has been ranked on the 100 best list. For more information, click here.
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.
