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."
Alsaleem, grad students have three papers published in prestigious journals
Three research papers - co-authored by Fadi Alsaleem, associate professor in The Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, and graduate students Mohammad Okour, Mohammad Megdadi, and Sulaiman Mohaidat, were published in prestigious journals in April.
The papers outline a novel way to use microscale beams to build new, efficient computers and sensing technologies. One of the papers was chosen as the top headline in Nature Communications Engineering.
Alsaleem's team also had papers published in IEEE SENSORS and Sensors MDPI.
Durham School team, Waters earn awards at AEI International Student Design Competition
April 21, 2023 - A team of architectural engineering students from the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction earned three awards at the Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI) International Student Design Competition, held at the AEI Annual Conference, April 13-15 in Denver, Colorado.
The team earned second place in the Building Integration category and first place in Electrical. Additionally, the Nebraska team also recieved a special award for "Sustainability: Embodied Carbon and Recylability."
Clarence Waters, the team's faculty advisor, was presented a special award for his contributions to AEI.
The Nebraska student team members included: Joey Hagge (team leader, Integration, Mechanical), Ben Weyeneth (Mechanical), Ahmed Khalil (Mechanical), Anthony Butler (Mechanical), Caleb Allerheiligen (Structural), Cailin Gentrup (Electrical), Ryan Ehresman (Structural), Garrett Quinn (Electrical), and Makayla Thompson (Electrical).
Bugenhagen elected engineering representative to UNO Student Government
April 21, 2023 - Benjamin Bugenhagen, a senior majoring in architectural engineering, has been elected the 2023-24 UNL College of Engineering Representative in the UNO Student Government elections that ended April 19.
Nebraska Engineering students who are based on Scott Campus in Omaha, maintain dual enrollment status with both the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Nebraska student chapter earns MCAA top honor; 3 students receive scholarships
April 14, 2023 - The Mechanical Contractors Association of America selected the Nebraska student chapter to receive the 2022-23 MCAA Student Chapter of the Year Award and a $3,000 prize.
It is the Nebraska chapter's third Student Chapter of the Year Award in the past six years. The award is given annually to a student chapter to recognize "continued achievement and overal focus on offering career opportunities in mechanical contracting to their student membership."
The award was presented to chapter members and faculty advisor Vish Reddi at the MCAA annual convention March 26-30 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Also, three students in the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction earned MCAA scholarships - Brock Schulz was awarded the Reilly Family Memorial Scholarship, which provides $5,000, and Brodee Paul and Marissa Kelly each received the Alan P. O'Shea Memorial Scholarship, which provides $2,500.
Durham School student team selected as finalist for AEI Student Design Competition
March 23, 2023 - Team Stratus - comprised of Master of Architectural Engineering students from the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction - has been selected as one of five finalists to compete in the annual Architectural Engineering Institute Student Design Competition to be held at the AEI Conference in Denver, Colorado on April 12-14, 2023. The Durham School team includes Joey Hagge (team leader), Ben Weyeneth, Anthony Butler, Ahmed Khalil, Garrett Quinn, Makayla Thompson, Cailin Gentrup, Caleb Allerheiligen and Ryan Ehresman.
Construction grad student Schleich on Husker team that wins bass fishing tournament
March 20, 2023 - The University of Nebraska-Lincoln duo of Trevor Schleich, a graduate student in construction engineering and management, and Brett Lubeck, a freshman agribusiness major, won the Major League Fishing Abu Garcia College Fishing tournament March 17 at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. The win earned Schleich and Lubeck the $2,000 top prize and qualifies the university's team for the 2024 MLF College Fishing National Championships.
Schleich and Lubeck hauled in the limit of five bass with a combined weight of 20 pounds, 2 ounces, a total that was a pound and a half more than the runner-up team from Auburn University. In total, 230 teams from around the country competed in the event.
Durham School team among winners at JUMP into STEM competition
Feb. 17, 2023 - A Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction team of undergraduate architectural engineering students - Anu Adeyemo, Danika Ratnapradipa, and Julia Ehlers - was chosen as one of four winning teams from this year's JUMP into STEM competition Jan. 26-27 in Denver, Colorado. The event was hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office.
Among 75 teams that submitted entries for the competition, the Durham team - advised by Moe Alahmad and Brandon Kreiling - was honored for their project, "The Fleet: Tiny Houses Repurposed in the Wake of Disaster."
Students on the four winning teams are offered paid internships at one of three national laboratories - NREL, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, or Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
DSAEC alum, advisory board member Curtis chosen to "Ten Outstanding Young Omahans"
Jan. 17, 2023 - Ryan Curtis, senior associate at LEO A DALY and 2005 architectural engineering graduate, was chosen by the Omaha Jaycees as on of their 2023 Ten Oustanding Young Omahans. Curtis is a member of the Durham School's Architectural Engineering Industry Advisory Committee. He also serves on the University of Nebraska Omaha Alumni Association Board of Directors.