Recent discoveries and innovations from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln — alongside tributes to the research pioneers who have broken fertile ground throughout its 150-year history — grace the newly released 2018-2019 Nebraska Research Report.

Developed and published by Nebraska’s Office of Research and Economic Development, the annual report features more than two dozen recent advances in the natural sciences, social sciences, engineering, humanities and law.

Among the highlights: piloting drones into superstorms to better understand and predict tornado formation, recognizing the unprecedented early success of novelist Chigozie Obioma, and exploring ways to expand tribal control over indigenous lands. Other stories cover achievements in agricultural genetics, wireless internet service, cochlear implants, water management, Roman archaeology and the University of Nebraska State Museum.

The report also offers a snapshot of the university’s growth in research expenditures, which again set a record by surpassing $300 million in the 2018 fiscal year — a 26% jump from a decade ago.

“From a small university on the vast prairie, Nebraska has become a complex enterprise with an annual operating budget of $1.3 billion and an economic impact on Nebraska in excess of $2 billion annually,” Robert “Bob” Wilhelm, vice chancellor for research and economic development, wrote in the report.

A section dedicated to Husker luminaries who span the university’s history includes names familiar to those who have walked its City and East campuses, from Charles Bessey and Louise Pound to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Willa Cather and the Nobel Prize-winning George Beadle.

“There is much to celebrate as we commemorate our past and plan for the future,” Wilhelm wrote, “building on our strengths to ensure we continue our rich history of contributions to Nebraska and our world.”