CHME Achievements

Thirteen engineers among May Honors Program graduates

Thirteen graduating seniors completed the requirements of the University Honors Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and were honored at commencement in May.

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. This is the largest number of honors graduates in a single term in the program’s 34-year history.

These are the 13 College of Engineering May Honors Program graduates, listed by department:

Biological Systems Engineering: Abigail Haworth, Kai Meacham, Angel Olivera-Torres

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Andrew Mason

Civil and Environmental Engineering: Gabrielle Boucher, Cameron Hastings

Computer Science and Engineering: Anthony Benes, Ethan Bütt, Adam Gray, Maria Maxon, Jacob Sullivan

Electrical and Computer Engineering: Jacob Atkins, Andrew Phares


Nine student researchers earn awards at UNL Research Days

During the week of April 12-16, several Nebraska undergraduate and graduate researchers participated in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Research Days, and nine students earned top awards:

Undergraduate

  • Andrea Goertzen, junior, Chemical Engineering – " Metabolic modeling elucidates the distinctive landscape of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells"
  • Becca Francis, senior, Biological Systems Engineering – "Development of Nitric Oxide Testing Methodology to Investigate the Impact of Reactive Species on Breast Cancer Cells"
  • Aaron Haake, senior, Mechanical Engineering – "Tunable 3D Printing of Liquid-Metal-Embedded Elastomer Composite"
  • Stephanie Perez, senior, Civil Engineering – "Microplastic Soil/Sediment Extraction Efficiency for Different MP Polymers and Different Soil Types"

Graduate

  • Courtney Keiser, Ph.D. in Engineering, specializing in Materials Engineering – "Mechanically Optimized Vascular Bypass Grafts for Treating Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease" (Top Honors)
  • Amir Monemianesfahani, Ph.D. in Engineering, specializing in Biomedical Engineering – "Characterization of the Strain Rate-Dependent Mechanical Response of Single Cell-Cell Junctions" (Top Honors)
  • Samuel Flint, Ph.D. in Computer Science – "Escaping the Time Pit: Pitfalls and Guidelines for Using Time-Based Git Data"
  • Brandi Brown, Ph.D. in Biological Engineering – "Rhodopseudomonas palustris CGA009 Lignin Catabolism and Bioplastic Production"
  • Thivani Senathiraja, Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering – "The role of monovalent and multivalent cations within SiO2-TiO2-PBC nanocomposite membranes: Preparation and Characterization"

77 College of Engineering employees honored at UNL Service Awards

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln honored nearly 1,000 faculty and staff at the 2020 Service Awards, held virturally on Oct. 19. Among those recognized were 77 from the College of Engineering:

55 YEARS
Bing Chen, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Jerald Varner, Electrical & Computer Engineering

45 YEARS
Dennis Alexander, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Shelly Everett, Computer Science & Engineering

40 YEARS
Larita Lang, Computer Science & Engineering

35 YEARS
Thomas Grady, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Hamid Vakilzadian, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Joyce Young, Engineering Computer Science

30 YEARS
Karen Coen-Brown, Mechanical & Materials Engineering
Ronald Faller, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility
Jim Holloway, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility
Michael Kocher, Biological Systems Engineering
Gary Krause, Civil & Environmental Engineering-Omaha
Tim Terrell, College of Engineering

25 YEARS
Leonard Akert, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Scott Chaffin, Computer Science & Engineering
Richard Koelsch, Biological Systems Engineering
Ann Koopmann, Computer Science & Engineering
Charles Riedesel, Computer Science & Engineering

20 YEARS
Aemal Khattak, Civil & Environmental Engineering-Lincoln
Karen Moore, Engineering Dean's Office-Omaha
Mark Stroup, Mechanical & Materials Engineering
Alex Russell, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility
Lily Wang, College of Engineering
Clarence Waters, Durham School Architectural Engineering & Construction

15 YEARS
Junke Guo, Civil & Environmental Engineering-Omaha
Jay Harner, Biological Process Development Facility
Haorong Li, Durham School of Architectural Engineering & Construction
Ying Lu, Computer Science & Engineering
Yong Rak Kim, Civil & Environmental Engineering-Lincoln
George Morcous, Durham School of Architectural Engineering & Construction
Barbara Robertson, College of Engineering
Mathias Schubert, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Carl Nelson, Mechanical & Materials Engineering
Li Tan, Mechanical & Materials Engineering
Ken Townsend Jr., Electrical & Computer Engineering

10 YEARS
Milunka Brajic, College of Engineering
Julia Brunkow, College of Engineering
Carrick Detweiler, Computer Science & Engineering
Lucia Fernandez Ballester, Mechanical & Materials Engineering
Jenna Huttenmaier, Computer Science & Engineering
Srivatsan Kidambi, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Ron Kruml, Computer Science & Engineering
Wei Niu, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Lameck Odhiambo, Biological Systems Engineering
Shea Svoboda, Computer Science & Engineering
Erin Swanson, College of Engineering
Steve Sypal, Biological Process Development Facility
Douglas Triplett, Biological Systems Engineering
Tracy Zimmerman, Biological Systems Engineering

5 YEARS
Cameron Adams, College of Engineering
Vitaly Alexandrov, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Justin Bradley, Engineering Computer Science
Phillip Carter, College of Engineering
Micah Chaffee, Engineering Dean's Office-Omaha
Brittany Duncan, Computer Science & Engineering
Garrett Gassman, College of Engineering
Jenna Hefley, Biological Systems Engineering
Jiong Hu, Civil & Environmental Engineering-Omaha
Qing Hui, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Nicole Iverson, Biological Systems Engineering
Emili Jones, Engineering Dean's Office-Omaha
Kasey Juel, College of Engineering
Amanda Lager Gleason, Biological Systems Engineering
Patricia Lena, Civil & Environmental Engineering-Lincoln
Laurie Prettyman, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Jay Puckett, Durham School of Architectural Engineering & Construction
Jennifer Rasmussen, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility
Daran Rudnick, Biological Systems Engineering
Jared Schreiner, College of Engineering
Michael Sealy, Mechanical & Materials Engineering
Chungwook Sim, Civil & Environmental Engineering-Omaha
Chung Song, Civil & Environmental Engineering-Lincoln
Cody Stolle, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility
Eli Sutter, Mechanical & Materials Engineering
Peter Sutter, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Jian Wang, Mechanical & Materials Engineering


Saha earns Early Career Alumni Recognition Award from his alma mater

Rajib Saha, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering
Rajib Saha, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has received the 2020 Early Career Alumni Recognition Award from the Penn State University's Department of Chemical Engineering. The award honors an outstanding Penn State chemical engineering alumnus who received their degree within the past 10 years and is an exemplary role model for current chemical engineering students as well as a successful contributor to industry.

Parents Association honors 28 engineering faculty, staff

At the annual Parents Recognition Awards Reception on March 6, 28 faculty and staff from the College of Engineering received a Certificate of Recognition for Contribution to Students from the UNL Parents Association.

Joshua Mueller receives NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Joshua Mueller, a chemical and biomolecular engineering alumnus and a current graduate student, has been selected to receive a 2018 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Mueller received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Nebraska in 2017 and is working on a doctorate under Dr. Wei Niu.

UNL team takes 10th in Chem-E-Car competition at AIChE National Conference

A team of Nebraska chemical engineering students took 10th place in the Chem-E-Car competition on Oct. 28-29 at the AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) National Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Julian Davis, Austin Eidem and Austin Osborn were co-chairs for the team that also included students Mary Rethwisch, Ernesto Bravo, Shelby Williby, Bryce Puck, Alex McKinney, Eric Burbach, Alex Deng, Dominic Nguyen and Reid Wagner and advisors Hunter Flodman and Leonard Akert. In April, the Nebraska team won its regional competition in Tulsa, Okla.

Cornelius, team gain cover of Polymer Physics journal

Chris Cornelius, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is part of a team whose paper - titled "The role of TEOS-TIP within a pentablock ionomer: Morphology, physical properties, and ion transport - was chosen to be featured on the cover of the Feb. 24 edition of the journal Polymer Physics.

Nebraska Engineering faculty, post-doc earn NSRI research awards

At the National Strategic Research Institute's Researcher Recognition event on Nov. 2 in La Vista, two Nebraska Engineering faculty -- Dennis Alexander, professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Wallace Buchholz, research professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering -- were awarded NSRI Distinguished Scientist awards. Craig Zuhlke, a post-doctoral resarch assistant in electrical and computer engineering, received the NSRI Exceptional Post-Doctoral Research award.

Three engineering students chosen to Franco's List

Three engineering students -- senior Alfred Kurt Berchtold (chemical and biomolecular), sophomore Alison Manske (biomedical), and Mohammed Hussain (chemical and biomolecular) -- are among the 32 UNL students chosen to Franco's List, which honors UNL students with high academic achievement who also exhibit "the positive characteristics that are part of being a person of integrity."