Recent accomplishments earned by members of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln community include awards collected by faculty members Patricio Grassini, Kurt Knecht and Hans Sturm. Other honors include a grand-prize awarded to an interdisciplinary team from the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction.
Faculty/Staff
The American Society of Agronomy will present Patricio Grassini, assistant professor of agronomy and horticulture, with the 2016 ASA Early Career Professional Award. This award recognizes professionals who have made an outstanding contribution in agronomy with seven years of completing their final degree. The award will be presented at the ASA Awards Ceremony Nov. 8 in Phoenix, Arizona. Grassini is a fellow for the Water for Food Instiute and Center for Great Plains Studies. He is internationally recognized as an authority on crop yield gaps and input-use efficiency. For more information, click here.
Kurt Knecht, Glenn Korff School of Music lecturer of composition, will have his major new commission, “Toccata, Adagio, Fugue,” premiered at the Organ Historical Society National Convention on June 27 at Kimmel Hall in Philadelphia. The commission celebrates the 60th anniversary of the OHS. Knecht’s piece has three movements. The first features organ and timpani. The second movement features organ and marimba. The third movement features organ and various percussion instruments. For more information, click here.
Hans Sturm, associate professor of double bass and jazz studies, has released a new CD titled “A Day in Paris.” Joining him on the CD are associate professor of composition Tom Larson, piano, and Sylvain Rabbath, piano. The CD’s 12 tracks were recorded on a single day in Paris in 2012. The CD is available through CD Baby, Amazon and iTunes. For more information, click here.
The film “Laurence,” created by film faculty in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, will have its first public screening June 29 at Anthology Film Archives in New York City. “Laurence” tells the story of a young photographer who fears he’s being haunted by a vengeful spirit. Associate professor of film Richard Endacott co-wrote and co-directed the film with his long-time collaborator Steven Kellam. Endacott, Kellam and associate professor of film Sharon Teo-Gooding produced the film. Teo-Gooding also edited the film, and associate professor of film Steve Kolbe was the visual effects director. For more information, click here.
Thirty-nine University of Nebraska colleagues from across the system recently graduated from the Information Technology Leadership Program, a nationally-recognized leadership institute facilitated by MOR Associates. The nine-month long program is designed to enhance the professional and personal development of individuals who will play increasingly important management and leadership roles within information technology. The following individuals graduated from the 2016 CIC and UNL cohorts: Garhan Attebury, Nick Barry, Dennis Crossgrove, Keith Derickson, Frank Dolezal, Dan Floyd, Mary Fuller, Tracy Grauer, Kimberly Harper, Clinton Hlavaty, Richard Horner, Colleen Huls, Dan Kenny, Shane Kimbrough, Roger Korth, Ross Louch, Cheryl O’Dell, Seth Pelzer, Sean Peterson, Paul Pokorny, Terry Pramberg, Phillip Redfern, James Richter, Mark Snook, Bev Russell, Christy Thomas and Shelley Witte. For more information, click here.
Students
An interdisciplinary team from the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction has been awarded the 2016 National Council Examiners for Engineering and Surveying Engineering Award for Connecting Professional Practice and Education grand prize and $25,000. The Durham School team submitted an 888 Boylston Street-Interdisciplinary Team Design, a proposed 17-story mixed-use high rise building in Boston, Massachusetts. The main guideline was for the building to be energy efficient according to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers standards. For the project, electrical, structural, and mechanical engineering students worked as part of a team that also included licensed faculty, more than 50 licensed professional engineers and architects from industry, and many other allied professionals who served as mentors for the students. For more information, click here.
This column is a regular Friday feature of UNL 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.
