Engineering Kudos
Asay honored by UNO as Academic Advisor of the Month for March
March 26, 2024 - Mallory Asay, academic advisor in the College of Engineering with emphasis on programs in the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, was recently named Advisor of the Month by the University of Nebraska Omaha Academic Advising Council (AAC) for the month of March. The award will be presented to Asay at the March Academic Advising Council meeting.
Khattak and CEE Team Awarded 2024 Best TRB Freeway Operations Committee Paper Award
Professor Aemal Khattak, alongside Dr. MM Shakiul Haque and Jon Camenzind, received the 2024 Best TRB Freeway Operations Committee Paper Award. Their paper, "Safety and Operational Analysis of Free Right-Turn Ramps at Rural Intersections," was selected from more than 50 submissions that are annually considered by this committee.
This paper studies the topic of traffic safety and operational efficiency at rural intersections, particularly focusing on the impact of free right-turn (FRT) ramps. Prior to this research, there were concerns about the safety and operational performance of such ramps in Nebraska. The research, funded by the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), aimed to assess the safety and operational performance of free right-turn ramps in Nebraska and to develop guidelines that assist NDOT staff with decisions on maintaining, removing, or reconstructing rural free right-turn ramps.
Statistical analysis did not show any significant difference in the safety of free right-turn ramp intersections compared to intersections with no free right-turn ramps. However, microsimulation of traffic operations showed varying benefit levels of free right-turn ramps. Based on simulation of 324 scenarios and benefit-cost analysis, guidelines were developed for NDOT staff to make more informed decisions on the construction, reconstruction, or removal of rural free right-turn ramps on the Nebraska state highway system. The methods and guidance from this research are applicable to states beyond Nebraska, as well.
The study's findings, synthesized in the paper soon to be published in the Transportation Research Record, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, are expected to influence future designs and decisions regarding FRT ramp construction, reconstruction, or removal.
The award letter from the TRB Standing Committee on Freeway Operations lauds the team for their "outstanding research efforts that help promote, implement, operate, and maintain traffic management systems and strategies to enhance the efficiency, safety, and environmental conditions on freeways and freeway corridors." The team will be honored at both the 2024 Mid-Year Meeting and the 2025 TRB Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.
Waters named 2024 Nebraska Engineering Champion
Jan. 26, 2024 - Clarence Waters, Aaron Douglas Professor in the Durham School, was named the 2024 Nebraska Engineering Champion by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Nebraska. The award recognizes outstanding individuals and teams who have collaborated with the council to contribute significantly to the engineering profession.
Five engineering among UNL December graduates completing University Honors Program
December 19, 2023 - At the December 2023 undergraduate commencement ceremony, five Nebraska Engineering students were among the 18 University of Nebraska-Lincoln students recognized for having completed the requirements for the University Honors Program.
These are the Nebraska Engineering students who were recognized, with their respective majors and hometowns:
- Gabriel Clark, software engineering, Lincoln, Nebraska
- Creighton Hughes, mechanical engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
- Allison Metschke, environmental engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
- Abigail Seibel, computer engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
- Samuel Wilkins, agricultural engineering, Ainsworth, Nebraska
To graduate from the Honors Program, students must maintain at least a 3.5 grade-point average, complete a culminating senior project or research thesis, and fulfill other curricular requirements. The 18 students join 271 classmates who graduated from the Honors Program in May and August, the most Honors graduates in a calendar year in the program's 37-year history. This is the sixth consecutive year the number of Honors graduates has increased.
Sanderson selected to receive ASHRAE David C.J. Peters Scholarship
Sept. 1, 2023 - Geoffrey Sanderson, a sophomore majoring in architectural engineering, was chosen to receive the David C.J. Peters Scholarship, given annually by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
The one-year, $5,000 scholarship is awarded annually to a qualified undergraduate mechanical or architectural engineering student enrolled full-time in a four- or five-year bachelor degree program at a qualifying institution. The scholarship was created by Southland Industries in honor of David Peters, a tireless advocate of recruiting quality and an ASHRAE member.
Sanderson, a sophomore from McKinney, Texas, said the scholarship was both a surprise and a relief.
"Two or three months after I applied, I was playing in a tennis tournament. I had just lost a match, and I was feeling embarrassed as I had played far from my best. When I walked over to check my phone, I saw that I had an email from ASHRAE. I had won the scholarship," Sanderson said.
"Being in the 4+1 program (the accelerated Master of Architectural Engineering program in the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction), my goal is to enter the master's year without student loans. This award gets me closer to that personal financial goal and helps me focus more of my attention on my studies and everything else the University of Nebraska has to offer."
Nebraska Engineering researchers win ASCE INSPIRE Best Paper award
Nov. 22, 2023 - A team of Nebraska Engineering researchers from the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction and Civil and Environmental Engineering won the Best Paper award at the ASCE Infrastructure Innovation & Adaptation for a Sustainable & Resilient World (INSPIRE) Conference, held Nov. 16-18 in Arlington, Virginia.
The paper, "Driving Factors of Rural Social Vulnerability for Communities at High Risk of Riverine Flooding in the United States," was co-authored by Ph.D. students Yasaman Ahmadi from the Durham School and Gabriela Gonzalez from civil engineering, and advisors Jennifer Lather, assistant professor in the Durham School, and Christine Wittich, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering.
The team examined the differences in factors of social vulnerability and flooding risk between rural and urban areas in the U.S. Their findings show that rural counties with a high risk of riverine flooding have higher percentages of vulnerable populations, such as those living in poverty, without a high school diploma, over 65 years old, with disabilities, and living in mobile homes, compared to their urban counterparts.
This work was supported through a UNL Grand Challenges Planning Grant that Lather is leading - "Serving At-Risk Communities in Disasters."
Bartelt-Hunt, Keshwani selected as fellows for NU leadership development program
Sept. 20, 2023 - Nebraska Engineering faculty Shannon Bartelt-Hunt and Deepak R. Keshwani have been selected to participate in the University of Nebraska Developing Excellence in Academic Leaders (DEAL) program, sponsored by the Office of the President alogn with the system provost and campus chief academic officers.
Bartelt-Hunt, the Donald R. Voelte, Jr. and Nancy A. Keegan Chair of Engineering and department chair and professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Keshwani, associate professor of biological systems engineering, are among the four University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty selected to the 2023-25 cohort of the DEAL program. This program offers an intensive two-year curriculum that helps participants develop their leadership skills, expand their networks, and explore key issues and challenges facing the University of Nebraska and higher education.
Dishari, grad students earn best paper award at ASEE Midwest Conference
Sept. 22, 2023 - Shudipto Dishari, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and graduate students Oghenetega Obewhere, Karen Acurio Cerda, and Rajesh Keloth, earned the first place award in the full paper category at the ASEE Midwest Section Conference, held in September in Lincoln. The paper, "Implementing a Virtual STEM Camp for Middle- and High Schoolers in a Post-COVID Climate Leveraging Prior Experience," explored how Dishari and fellow researchers conducted outreach to children to improve STEM literacy.
Marching band includes 56 Nebraska Engineering students
Sept. 15, 2023 - The Cornhusker Marching Band takes the field at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 16 for the first Huskers football home game of the season, and 56 students from the College of Engineering will be among the 299 members of the band.
Here is a list of the Nebraska Engineering students in the band, with their band section, year in school, major and hometown:
Owen Addison, trombone, freshman, software engineering, Germantown, Wisconsin
Isaac Alfieri, tuba, freshman, mechanical engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
Josh Blazek, baritone, sophomore, music and mechanical engineering, Papillion, Nebraska
Leo Bretta, trumpet, sophomore, computer science, Lincoln, Nebraska
William Bryant, trumpet, freshman, computer engineering, Norfolk, Nebraska
Joel Buettner, baritone, freshman, civil engineering, Denton, Nebraska
Tanner Bye, tuba, freshman, mechanical engineering, Seward, Nebraska
Reed Cady, trombone, freshman, mechanical engineering, Fountain Valley, Arizona
Laurel Carder, clarinet, senior, computer science, Overland Park, Kansas
Travis Cloyd, tenor saxophone, sophomore, chemical engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
Chayse Comer, trumpet, freshman, mechanical engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
Peyton Comer, percussion, sophomore, computer science, Omaha, Nebraska
Cooper Cook, trumpet, freshman, electrical engineering, La Vista, Nebraska
Konner Corbin, trombone, sophomore, computer engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
Christian Dahlman, tenor saxophone, senior, mechanical engineering, Lincoln, Nebraska
Matthew Dohmen, percussion, senior, mechanical engineering, Lincoln, Nebraska
Ellenna Divingnzzo, piccolo, junior, software engineering, Bellevue, Nebraska
Isabella Donia, piccolo, sophomore, computer engineering, Washington Township, New Jersey
Roy Dumblauskas, piccolo, senior, computer science, Wauconda, Illinois
David Fanta, trumpet, senior, civil engineering, Norfolk, Nebraska
Kelly Fedderson, percussion, junior, chemical engineering, Lincoln, Nebraska
Jacob Fuqua, trombone, freshman, mechanical engineering, Kearney, Nebraska
Jake Green, trumpet, senior, mechanical engineering, Lincoln, Nebraska
Alek Harden, trombone, senior, computer engineering, Altamonte Springs, Florida
Sam Harvey, percussion, senior, mechanical engineering, Grand Island, Nebraska
Michael Haugen, tenor saxophone, sophomore, construction management, Elkhorn, Nebraska
Maxx Jabir, baritone, senior, computer science, Downers Grove, Illinois
Noah Janke, trombone, freshman, mechanical engineering, Norfolk, Nebraska
Spencer Knight, horn, senior, civil engineering, North Liberty, Iowa
Walker Lee, trombone, sophomore, computer science, Gretna, Nebraska
Peter Lux, trumpet, sophomore, mechanical engineering, Blair, Nebraska
Gabe Macias-Villegas, tuba, freshman, pre-engineering, Lexington, Nebraska
Josiah Mayfield, tenor saxophone, sophomore, civil engineering, Papillion, Nebraska
Dawson McGahan, tuba, sophomore, computer engineering, North Platte, Nebraska
Charles McIver, percussion, sophomore, computer engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
Keilani Mielke, trumpet, freshman, computer engineering, Aberdeen, South Dakota
Jackson Miller, trumpet, freshman, chemical engineering, Bennington, Nebraska
Shane Miller, alto saxophone, junior, mechanical engineering, Fremont, Nebraska
Jamison Moisset, alto saxophone, sophomore, mechanical engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
Nick Mowery, trumpet, sophomore, construction management, Parker, Colorado
Brandon Muff, tuba, sophomore, software engineering, Plainfield, Illinois
Will Nitzschke, tuba, freshman, civil engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
Stephen North, baritone, junior, computer science, Overland Park, Kansas
Samantha Peterson, color guard, freshman, mechanical engineering, Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Carter Powell, trombone, graduate student, computer science, De Pere, Wisconsin
Kiera Rakowski, clarinet, freshman, mechanical engineering, Nebraska City, Nebraska
Cade Rasmussen, trombone, freshman, biological systems engineering, Fremont, Nebraska
Carter Ross, percussion, senior, civil engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
Alaric Schiltz, percussion, senior, mechanical engineering,, Gretna, Nebraska
Collin Siracuse, tuba, freshman, computer science, Omaha, Nebraska
Elijah Smith, trombone, junior, software engineering, Kearney, Nebraska
Brad Theis, trumpet, senior, mechanical engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
Simon Thengvall, trumpet, senior, mechanical engineering, Omaha, Nebraska
Oscar Thomas, tenor saxophone, freshman, mechanical engineering, Palmyra, Nebraska
Matthew Wang, trombone, sophomore, computer science, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Cole Welstead, tuba, freshman, computer science, Lincoln, Nebraska
Hussain earns AEESP Jirsa Award, presents at conference
July 6, 2023 - Kazi Albab Hussain, doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering, received the 2022 James Jirsa Professional Development Award and presented his work – "Assessing the Release of Microplastics and Nanoplastics from Plastic Containers and Reusable Food Pouches: Implications for Human Health," co-authored with Yusong Li and several other collaborators from UNL and UNMC – at the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors Conference in Boston in June.