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.
Kidambi chosen to cohort of panel fellows for NSF CGCA for Advancing Research Innovation
Dec. 6, 2022 - Srivatsan Kidambi, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been chosen to join the 2023 National Science Foundation (NSF) CGCA Panel Fellow Cohort for CMMI's Game Changer Academies for Advancing Research Innovation Program. The program aims to improve group dynamics during panel discussions, increase awareness of bias and identity, and enhance understanding of high-risk, high-reward ideas. Once trained, panel fellows will bring enhanced skills and awareness when they participate in panel discussions during NSF merit review.
Goertzen chosen to attend prestigious Future Leaders in Chemical Engineering symposium
Nov. 18, 2022 - Andrea Goertzen, a senior chemical engineering major, was one of 24 students from across the United States chosen to attend the Future Leaders in Chemical Engineering symposium, held in October 22-23 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Future Leaders in Chemical Engineering is a national award symposium for undergraduate researchers and is organized by the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University.
A small group of undergraduate students was chosen to present their work and be recognized for their achievements. Goertzen presented her research – titled, "Systems-level Modeling Illustrates Metabolic Landscape of Diseases" – that she has been working on in the lab of Rajib Saha, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering.
Goertzen, who has been doing research since her freshman year, is also one of 43 College of Engineering students chosen by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to receive 2022-23 UCARE stipends, which support undergraduate research opportunities.
Shudipto Dishari wins WEPAN Core Concept Award in pitch competition
Oct. 6, 2022: Shudipto Dishari, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and her venture, Innopoly, won the Core Concept Award in the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) Accelerator Program - an award-winning two-day workshop on STEM entrepreneurship that recognizes participants for their achievements in innovation.
The Core Concept Award is given to an entrepreneur who makes a compelling case for the viability of their business. Dishari's InnoPoly works with polymers, or giant macromolecules, to provide innovative and effective solutions for clean energy technologies.
"I came to know about the Accelerator program through our Associate Dean for Faculty and Inclusion at UNL College of Engineering, and I wanted to learn more about entrepreneurship," Dishari said. "The systematic training was truly an enriching experience for a beginner like myself, and it was also wonderful to get connected with some inspiring female professionals. Learning from others' experience, I would say, is a privilege."
The WEPAN Accelerator Program takes an intersectional feminist approach to supporting women in engineering ventures by creating inclusive and socially equitable entrepreneurship ecosystems. The Accelerator Program is a 2021 winner of the Small Business Administration's Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, which is aimed at spurring investment in underserved communities within the innovation economy at scale. The WEPAN Accelerator Program is funded by the Henry Luce Foundation through an award to the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U).
Research by nine Nebraska Engineering faculty supported by 2022-23 Layman Seed Program awards
July 12, 2022 - Nine faculty from the College of Engineering are leading research projects that are among the 24 being supported by the. University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Office of Research and Economic Development in 2022-23 through its Layman Awards program, which funds work that enhances a researcher's ability to obtain external funding to support prominent scholarship.
The program offers two tracks — the Layman Seed Program, which funds new projects by early-career faculty who are nontenured at the time of submission; and the New Directions Program, which funds tenured faculty who are branching into new research directions or need funding to support pilot or developmental work toward the next step in a funded research program. Awards of up to $10,000 per application for each program are made possible by support from the University of Nebraska Foundation.
The College of Engineering faculty being supported by Layman Seed Program awards in 2022-23 are:
2022 LAYMAN SEED PROGRAM AWARDS
- Mona Bavarian, chemical and biomolecular engineering; "Continuous manufacturing of microelectronics polymers via combination of data science and macroscopic modeling."
- Jason Hawkins, civil and environmental engineering, "Environmental-economic systems as dynamic networks-of-networks."
- Qiang Liu, School of Computing, "Automated offline simulator augmentation with real-to-sim learning in mobile networks."
- Nitesh Nama, mechanical and materials engineering, "Bubble based acoustic microswimmers."
- Arman Roohi, School of Computing, "Enabling robust quantized neural network acceleration in federated edge computing."
2022 LAYMAN NEW DIRECTIONS GRANTS
- Moe Alahmad, Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, "Analysis and statistical prediction of variability in time-series data."
- Srivatsan Kidambi, chemical and biomolecular engineering, "Synthetic biomimetic environment (BEASTS) to investigate the role of stiffness in altered redox signaling and inflammation in placenta during HDP."
- Daniel Linzell, civil and environmental engineering, "Individual-level factors that and their impact on retention of women in the construction industry."
- Hongfeng Yu, School of Computing, "Hierarchical knowledge-driven visual analytics for oncologic diagnosis."
Thirty Nebraska Engineering students earn Milton E. Mohr fellowships, scholarships
Thirty students from the College of Engineering were selected to receive awards from the Milton E. Mohr Scholarship and Fellowship Awards Program for the 2022-23 academic year.
Each scholarship and fellowship provides $1,000 per year to the student and is renewable.
The Milton E. Mohr Scholarship and Fellowship Awards Program was established in 1989 for students in the College of Engineering or Biotechnology degree programs. The scholarships and fellowships are made possible through an endowment to the University Foundation.
To be eligible for the 2022-23 academic year, students must be a full-time junior, senior or graduate student or have full-time graduate status enrolled in as a primary major in engineering or biotechnology programs, maintain a minimum 3.5 grade-point average, and have a graduation date of no earlier than May 2023.
The 2022-23 recipients from the College of Engineering:
Graduate Fellowships (12)
Ivon Acosta Ramirez, Ph.D., Biological Engineering
Justin Brooks, Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
Niaz Chowdhury, Ph.D., Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Ryan Haggerty, Ph.D., Civil Engineering
Fei San Lee, Ph.D., Biological Engineering
Jazmin Ley, Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
Sussan Moussavi, Ph.D., Civil Engineering
Kshitij Nikhal, Ph.D., Electrical Engineering
Hafiz Oyediran, Ph.D., Engineering, Construction Engineering and Management
Sahand Serajian, Ph.D., Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Megan Stokey, Ph.D., Electrical Engineering
Nathan Taylor, Masters, Architectural Engineering
Undergraduate Scholarships (18)
Nicholas Abbott, Architectural Engineering
Caitlyn Allen, Biological Systems Engineering
Sarah Altman, Biological Systems Engineering
Benjamin Bashtovoi, Mechanical Engineering
Elena Butler, Biological Systems Engineering
Sophia Frappier, Biological Systems Engineering
Luke Freyhof, Biological Systems Engineering
Miah Hoppens, Chemical Engineering
Isabelle Koehler, Chemical Engineering
Josiah Kolar, Mechanical Engineering
Kimberly Law, Chemical Engineering
Ryan Orth, Software Engineering
Ryan Otte, Civil Engineering
Chase Pettit, Mechanical Engineering
Ken Pham, Computer Engineering
Keifer Smith, Civil Engineering
Rylie Steffen, Biological Systems Engineering
Simon Thengvall, Mechanical Engineering
Doctoral student Moeun receives RSOA Doctoral Student Small Grant award
Youra Moeun, a Ph.D. student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been chosen as one of five recipients of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSOA) Doctoral Student Small Grants. This award provides $5,000 to each recipient to support their research projects. Moeun's research will focus on a biomimetic approach to elucidating the role of stiffness in alcoholic fatty liver disease and she will present at the Research Society on Alcoholism's 2023 annual conference, June 24-28 in Bellevue, Washington.
Nebraska Engineering takes five awards at Grad Student Symposium
Nebraska Engineering took home five awards from the recent 2022 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Student Symposium.
- Dianna Morris, doctoral candidate in chemical and biomolecular engineering, took first place in the 3in5 Pitch.
- Jiating Li, graduate student in biological systems engineering, and Akbota Aitbayeva, graduate student in civil and environmental engineering, tied for second in the 3in5 Pitch.
- Bahareh Tajvidi Safa, doctoral student in biomedical engineering, earned first place in the Poster competition.
- Diaz Chowdhury, graduate research assistant in chemical and biomolecular engineering, was second in the Poster competition.
Six engineering faculty named to second NGTC cohort of fellows
Six faculty from the College of Engineering have been selected to be included among the Nebraska Governance and Technology Center's second cohort of faculty fellows:
- Srivatsan Kidambi, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering
- Francisco Munoz-Arriola, associate professor of biological systems engineering
- Michael Sealy, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering
- Bonita Sharif, associate professor of computer science and engineering
- Cody Stolle, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility and research assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering
- Li Zhao, postdoctoral research associate at Mid-America Transportation Center
Fifteen engineering faculty promoted or granted tenure
Fifteen faculty from the College of Engineering were among the 109 University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty on the 2021 Promotion and Tenure List. The Nebraska Engineering faculty receiving the honors at 2021 Promotion and Tenure were:
Biological Systems Engineering
Troy Gilmore, promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure (academic home is IANR)
Sibel Irmak, promotion to Full Research Professor (academic home is IANR)
Daran Rudnick, promotion to Associate Research Professor (academic home is IANR)
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Vitaly Alexandrov, promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure
Wei Niu, Associate Professor Granted Tenure
Computer Science and Engineering
Justin Bradley, promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure
Stephen Cooper, promotion to Full Professor
Brittany Duncan, promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure (academic home is Arts & Sciences)
Suzette Person, promotion to Full Professor of Practice (academic home is Arts & Sciences)
Witiwas Srisa-an, promotion to Full Professor (academic home is Arts & Sciences
The Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction
Michelle Eble-Hankins , promotion to Associate Professor of Practice
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Christos Argyropoulos, promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure
Master of Engineering Management program
Jena Asgarpoor, promotion to Full Professor of Practice
Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Michael Sealy, promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure
Jung Yul Lim, promotion to Full Professor