· 7 min read
UNL in the national news: October 2014
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and its personnel were featured and cited by media outlets across the country on scores of occasions during October.
Political scientists John Hibbing and Kevin Smith received considerable coverage of their ground-breaking research into biology and political orientation.
Hibbing was interviewed for an Oct. 19 New Republic piece, later picked up by New York magazine, about whether the Ebola scare would turn voters more conservative.
At the end of the month, their latest study, which used functional magnetic resonance imaging to confirm previous findings through skin conductivity and eye-tracking studies, was reported by several outlets, including CBS News, Huffington Post, the Seattle Times and The Australian.
Both were cited in an Oct. 1 column by Cynthia M. Allen of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Syndicated by McClatchey, Allen’s column was carried by a number of newspapers and other outlets across the country.
With “Gilmore Girls,” the popular 2000-2007 TV series, now streaming on Netflix, Entertainment Weekly interviewed Sandy Veneziano, the show’s production designer who is now a research assistant professor at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre & Film. She told the backstage story about assembling the “thousand yellow daisies” scene for the show’s first season finale.
Dawn Braithwaite, Communication Studies chair, was interviewed for an Oct. 22 Huffington Post blog article about the fast-growing undergraduate major, which may be outperforming its humanities peers on several measures. “Students across the board are realizing how important our classes are,” she said.
Raychelle Burks, chemistry postdoc at the Center for Nanohybrid Functional Materials, wrote about Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte and other additive-laden food for an Oct. 14 Time magazine op-ed article.
UNL’s upcoming conference on the centennial of the Armenian genocide, organized by Bedross Der Matossian, history, was announced in the French magazine Nouvelles d’Armenie on Oct. 9. Der Matossian also was featured in the Armenian Weekly Oct. 29 about his new book, “Shattered Dreams of Revolution,” and Oct. 30, about a lecture he delivered in Chicago on preserving Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter.
Wheeler Winston Dixon, film studies, was quoted in two Los Angeles Times stories that were syndicated and distributed widely. On Oct. 16, he discussed the strategy behind Warner Bros.’ decision to produce at least 10 superhero films beginning in 2016. On Oct. 21, he talked about the Hollywood trend of making movies based on board games, such as the recently released “Ouija.” He also discussed why “Pulp Fiction” remains beloved 20 years after its release, in an Oct. 16 article published by The Daily Dot.
The Washington Post’s “She the People” blog interviewed Matthew Dwyer, computer science and engineering chair, for an article about the lack of diversity in the computer science industry. The article took aim at a policy by Apple and Facebook to provide financial help to female employees who want to freeze their eggs until they’re past their peak career years. UNL’s Computer Science & Engineering Department in a national initiative to make the profession more friendly to females and minorities, as reported by the Rolla Daily News in Missouri Oct. 10.
Roger Elmore, agronomy and horticulture, was quoted by Minnesota Public Radio Oct. 4 about the threat of frost to this season’s late crop of corn and soybeans.
Diverse magazine told of Arts & Sciences Dean Joseph Francisco’s career, his community outreach and his mentors, in a feature article that appeared Oct. 15.
The Washington Post’s “In the Loop” blog quoted Ingrid Haas, political science and psychology, in an Oct. 1 piece about why political fundraising appeals tend to take a “Doomsday” approach.
A new grant for Jinsong Huang, mechanical and materials engineering, to refine solar cells using perovskite was covered by science outlets such as Phys.org and ECNmag.com
Australia’s Daily Telegraph in Sydney quoted research by Kathleen Krone, communication studies, on how workers often keep silent when they’re bullied on the job. MainStreet produced a piece about the research that was carried by several outlets Oct. 30.
Ann Mari May, economics, was quoted in an Oct. 31 Business Insider article about her research showing that female economists are likely to hold different views from their male counterparts about how the economy should work. May was interviewed after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen argued for more diversity among economists.
NJ.com turned to UNL’s Music Library for information in its Oct. 19 recap of a “Boardwalk Empire” episode. Gangster characters in the HBO program refer to a hostage who is singing as “Ruth Etting.” The Music Library’s entry on Etting says she was a David City, Neb., native, a Ziegfield Follies performer and one of the most popular singing stars of the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Carl Nelson, engineering, was one of 20 young engineering faculty nationwide to be featured in a “20 under 40” article in Prism, the American Society for Engineering Education’s magazine. Nelson, his colleagues and their invention, an electronically modified elliptical machine used to help stroke victims in rehabilitation, were featured Oct. 30 by BTN’s LiveBIG report.
Smithsonian.com featured Lisa Pennisi, natural resources, in an article about where tourists can watch bats. Pennisi has studied bats for two decades and says tourism might help protect the flying mammals.
In a syndicated story, The Hechinger Report quoted Reece Peterson, special education, about the correlation between special education and incarceration. The article found that the system often fails students who are enrolled in special education because of behavioral disorders and learning disabilities.
Ravi Saraf, chemical and biomolecular engineering, was interviewed by Aaron Katersky of ABC News Radio’s “Perspective” program about his thin-film device to detect breast cancer without the discomfort and delay of mammography.
Research by Philip Schwadel, sociology, was cited in an Oct. 14 article in the Atlantic about the changing demographics of religious belief.
Zhigang Shen, architectural engineering and construction, was featured in a Sourceable.net article about his software program that monitors the safety condition of bridges. The article also appeared in the American Society of Civil Engineers newsletter. Wayne Jensen, construction management, is co-principal investigator on the project.
An Oct. 31 LiveScience article cited research led by Susan Swearer, educational psychology, and Michelle Howell Smith, Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families & Schools, that found today’s young adults prefer to seek mental health assistance via texting or social media.
Science 360, the news service for the National Science Foundation, reported Oct. 29 on a new discovery by James Van Etten, plant pathology, and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University. They found traces in humans of a chlorovirus previously thought to exist only in algae. Several other outlets ran a Business Insider-produced piece about the discovery.
The Kansas City Star ran a Harvest Public Media piece on Oct. 20 that quoted Cory Walters, agricultural economics, about how a record harvest could hurt corn and soybean prices.
Fastcompany.com featured Theresa Welbourne, the Center for Entrepreneurship, and her research into the energy levels of business leaders in an Oct. 9 article.
The Huffington Post reported on a survey led by Les Whitbeck, sociology, and his team, that found more than 60 percent of homeless youth have been raped, assaulted or robbed.
This is a monthly column featuring UNL faculty, administrators and staff in the national news. National media often work with University Communications to identify and connect with UNL sources for the purpose of including the university’s research, expertise and programming in published or broadcasted work.
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.
Recent News
