Chigozie Obioma, assistant professor of English at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and celebrated author, received a great deal of media attention for the release of his second novel, “An Orchestra of Minorities,” in January. Articles and reviews on the book led the 80-plus national news stories featuring Husker faculty, staff, students and programs during the month.
“An Orchestra of Minorities,” released Jan. 8, tells the story of Chinonso, a young Nigerian poultry farmer who goes to great lengths to prove he is worthy of the woman he loves and finds himself in difficult circumstances. Drawing from Igbo cosmology, the novel is narrated by the protagonist’s chi, or guardian spirit. Described as a modern take on Homer’s “Odyssey,” the book has gained much positive press.
Obioma was interviewed for The New York Times’ By the Book feature on Jan. 3. Among other things, the Nigeria native discussed the last great book he read (Jean-Dominique Bauby’s “The Divining Bell and the Butterfly”), a classic novel that he recently read for the first time (Kazuo Ishiguro’s “The Remains of the Day”), what moves him most in a work of literature (language), which genres he enjoys reading (a wide variety) and which he tends to avoid (fictional works “in which plot isn’t a function of character but the reverse”).
Obioma talked about the concept of chi, Chinonso’s transformation and writing from a spirit’s perspective Jan. 5 on NPR’s “Weekend Edition.” He told of his obsession with fate, the fellow Nigerian student he met in Cyprus who inspired his new novel, and the Igbo worldview in a Time magazine article on Jan. 10. He also discussed the book and its origins in The Guardian, the Houston Chronicle and the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Reviews of “An Orchestra of Minorities” have appeared in The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, The Economist, Financial Times, The Guardian, HuffPost India, The Irish Times, the London Evening Standard, The National, The New York Times, Newsday, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Saturday Paper, The Scotsman, The Spectator, the Seattle Times, the Toronto Star and The Wall Street Journal.
The novel has been featured on recommended-reading lists by Amazon Book Review, Business Day, Bustle, The Daily Vox, GQ Australia, Image, Locus Online, the London Evening Standard, The New York Times, Nylon, Pulse Nigeria, the San Antonio Express-News, Scribd, Time, Vanity Fair and The Washington Post.
Obioma teaches literature and creative writing at the university. His debut novel, “The Fishermen,” made the 2015 Man Booker Prize shortlist.
Other coverage of faculty, staff, students and programs at Nebraska:
Fred Luthans, management, was cited in a Jan. 2 Jamaica Observer article on self-leadership. According to Luthans, psychological capital consists of four components: hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism.
Matt Spangler, animal science, was quoted in a Jan. 2 Beef magazine story on the genetic evaluation of beef cattle.
The comedy musical “The Book of Mormon” broke the Lied Center for Performing Arts’ house record during its six-day run in December. With a total attendance of 15,000, the eight performances averaged 1,850 people per show in the 2,200-seat theater. The Lincoln Journal Star and Broadway World published stories on the record Jan. 4.
Frans von der Dunk, space law, and Jack Beard, law, were quoted in a Jan. 5 Agence France-Presse article on the growing space rivalry between the United States and China. The story was picked up by more than 70 media outlets around the world.
Popular Mechanics published an article Jan. 9 on a hole-drilling drone created by the Nebraska Intelligent Mobile Unmanned Systems (NIMBUS) Lab at Nebraska. Carrick Detweiler, computer science and engineering, and lab co-director, said the drone could be used to conduct scientific research in areas with moist soil, such as wetlands. The drones could also find military uses. The story was picked up by Tech Xplore.
The university seeks up to 43 qualified Rwandan students to enroll in the CASNR Undergraduate Scholarship Program. Students can earn a bachelor’s degree in integrated science at Nebraska before returning to Rwanda to help with the agricultural sector there. Rwanda’s New Times published a story on the program Jan. 11.
Ali Tamayol, mechanical and materials engineering, and colleagues have designed and tested a sugar-based, 3D-printed stent that simplifies the sewing of blood vessels after major surgeries. Stories on the stent appeared in Medgadget, Medical Xpress and Science Daily.
The University of Nebraska has partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop drug therapies to treat people who are exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. The project — a collaboration between the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Nebraska Medical Center, National Strategic Research Institute and private pharmaceutical consultants — could receive nearly $11 million in federal funding over the next five years. Stories on the project appeared on KOLN/KGIN, the Nebraska Radio Network, NET News, Radiology Business, Space Daily and other media outlets.
Steve Taylor, director of the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program, was cited in a Jan. 15 Takeout article on whether people should eat the rind of soft cheeses. He said no evidence exists that moldy cheeses are potentially harmful to mold-allergic individuals because they generally involve mycelia, not spores.
Azzeddine Azzam, agricultural economics, and Regan Gilmore, a senior agricultural economics major, recently conducted research on how much a greenhouse gas tax might affect prices of beef, pork and poultry. They found that such a tax would raise prices, reduce meat consumption and lower U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 0.17 percent. They wrote a Jan. 16 article on the research for Beef magazine.
Pepsi products will remain the “official soft drink of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln” and the “official soft drink of Nebraska Athletics” under the terms of a new contract approved by the Board of Regents on Jan. 25. Stories on the contract appeared in the Columbus Telegram, Fremont Tribune, KLKN, KMTV, KOLN/KGIN, Lincoln Journal Star, Omaha World-Herald and 247 Sports.
Researchers with the Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access expedition recently found the carcasses of tiny crustaceans and a tardigrade preserved under the ice of Subglacial Lake Mercer near the South Pole. David Harwood, Earth and atmospheric sciences, and a lead scientist on the project, was interviewed about the discovery for articles in Ancient Origins, Business Insider, CTV News, the Daily Mail, Fox News, Geek, Gizmodo, The Guardian, Metro, Motherboard, Nature, New Scientist, Science News, Scientific American, Smithsonian.com and more than a dozen other media outlets.
Patrice McMahon, political science, and director of the University Honors Program, was interviewed for a Jan. 22 New Arab article on whether Bosnia’s interfaith, post-war approach to environmentalism can be replicated in the Middle East.
Abby Freeman, director of admissions, was quoted in a Jan. 22 U.S. News and World Report article on how international students can prepare to apply to U.S. colleges and universities. She said Nebraska hosts and attends admissions events across the globe and has Skype sessions to help students prepare for their transition to living and learning in the United States.
Philip Schwadel, sociology, and Erik Johnson, associate professor of sociology at Washington State University, recently co-authored a study showing that support for environmental spending plummeted during the administrations of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Phys.org ran an article on the study Jan. 22.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln was mentioned in a Jan. 23 Realtor.com article listing Lincoln as one of America’s most recession-proof cities. According to the article, the university helps keep employment steady in Lincoln. The list also appeared on CNBC.com and in the San Francisco Gate.
Jody Green, an urban entomologist with Nebraska Extension, was interviewed for a Jan. 24 Reader’s Digest feature on how to find bed bugs in an automobile and how to get rid of them.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln chapter of Beta Theta Pi was mentioned in a Jan. 26 New York Times opinion piece about fraternities embracing “a more inclusive form of masculinity.” In 2017, members of the fraternity invited officers from several sorority houses to a dinner where they discussed the experiences of being a woman on campus and the ways men could help to prevent sexual assault.
An item on the University of Nebraska State Museum’s fourth-floor expansion appeared in USA Today’s “50 States” feature on Jan. 29. The “Cherish Nebraska” exhibits will open to the public Feb. 16.
Tim Gay, physics and astronomy, was featured in a Nova segment on the physics of kicking a field goal.
A national study by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln was cited in a Jan. 31 Santa Fe New Mexican article on driver’s education. The study showed that motorists who had taken driver’s ed were involved in slightly fewer crashes.
Christopher Fielding and Tracy Frank, Earth and atmospheric sciences, recently led a research team that discovered evidence that Earth’s largest extinction may have extinguished plant life nearly 400,000 years before marine animal species disappeared. The team’s study suggests that a byproduct of volcanic eruptions in modern-day Siberia — nickel — may have driven much of the plant life in Australia to extinction. Similar spikes in nickel have been recorded in other parts of the world. Stories on the study appeared in the Daily Mail, IFL Science, Metro, Phys.org, Science Daily and more than 70 other media outlets.
Karsten Koehler, nutrition and health sciences; Christopher Gustafson, agricultural economics; and colleagues found that a person’s choice of post-workout snack — an apple vs. a brownie, in a recent experiment — can depend on when the choice is made. Study participants who decided before exercising were about one-third more likely to choose an apple than were those who decided afterward. Stories on the study appeared in the Daily Mail, the Health Medicine Network, Medical Daily, Medicine News Line, Scienmag and nearly two dozen other media 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, contact Sean Hagewood at shagewood2@unl.edu or 402-472-8514. If you have suggestions for national news stories, contact Leslie Reed at lreed5@unl.edu or 402-472-2059.
