Six engineering undergraduates chosen for FYRE 2024-25 cohort
Oct. 4, 2024 — Six College of Engineering students are among the 40 Husker undergraduates have been selected for the First Year Research Experience Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Each fall, the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships — in collaboration with TRIO Student Support Services and STEM-POWER — matches eligible first-year students with faculty mentors to engage in manageable research or creative projects during the academic year. With support from federal work-study awards, participants connect with faculty to learn how the university’s research innovations help solve global challenges.
FYRE students also participate in monthly skill-building workshops, complete a professional development course and present their research at the FYRE Mini-Symposium in late spring. Many students continue their research through programs such as the Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences Program, STEM-POWER and the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program.
Following is a list of Nebraska Engineering students who received research placements as part of the 2024-25 FYRE cohort, with hometown, academic major(s) and project title.
- Jackson Birch, Lincoln, Nebraska, electrical engineering, “Development of Biosensors for Space Travel.”
- Brandon Blodgett, Papillion, Nebraska, electrical engineering, “Scanning Probe Microscopy Studies of Nanoscale Ferroelectrics.”
- Kinley Harris, Papillion, Nebraska, biological systems engineering, “Structural and Evolutionary Mechanisms of Transmembrane Signaling in Human Health and Disease.”
- Henry Le, Lincoln, Nebraska, computer science, “Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Research of Genomic Sequences.”
- Yovanny Rodas Moreno, South Sioux City, Nebraska, electrical engineering, “Course Document Detective.”
- Kaden Wangen, Rapid City, South Dakota, computer science, “Smart Lock for e-Bikes.”
CEFS directors, graduate student researchers present at IEEE ITherm Conference
July 23, 2024 - At the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ITherm Conference held May 28-31 in Denver, Colorado, femtosecond laser surface processing (FLSP) – developed by CEFS researchers and considered a manufacturing method of the future with applications in space, defense and medicine, among many fields – was the focus of two 30-minute tech talks, one each delivered by co-directors Craig Zuhlke and George Gogos.
Zuhlke's talk focused on FLSP's various applications, followed by Gogos presenting specifically on the application of FLSP in enhancing heat transfer for thermal management.
FLSP was also central to five 15-minute student presentations featuring research conducted by CEFS and collaborative research with two other universities. One of those student presentations earned an award for best paper runner-up.
Student presentations from CEFS
- “Enhancing Minichannel Flow Boiling With Femtosecond Laser Surface Processed Stainless Steel Surfaces in Water,” Logan Pettit (lead author), Josh Gerdes, Andrew Reicks, Craig Zuhlke, George Gogos, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
- “Microchannel Flow Boiling Enhancement of PF-5060 With Femtosecond Laser Surface Processed Aluminum 6061,” Josh Gerdes (lead author), Logan Pettit, Andrew Reicks, Craig Zuhlke, George Gogos, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
- “Atmospheric Water Vapor Condensation on Ultra-Short Pulsed Laser Surface Processsed Copper,” Arani Mukhopadhyay (lead author), Anish Pal, Graham Kaufman, Craig Zuhlke, George Gogos, Ranjhan Ganguly, Constantine Megaridis; University of Illinois Chicago, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Jadavpur University.
- “Revolutionizing Electronic Cooling: Ultra-Short Pulsed Laser Processed Surfaces in Wick-Free Vapor Chambers,” Anish Pal (lead author), Graham Kaufman, Craig Zuhlke, George Gogos, Constantine Megaridis; University of Illinois Chicago, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
- Best Paper Runner-Up: “Characterization of Enhanced Two-Phase Jet Impingement on Femtosecond Laser Surface Processed (FLSP) Aluminum Surfaces,” Alexander Ceperley (lead author), Gopinath Sahu, Andrew Reicks, Craig Zuhlke, George Gogos, Justin A. Weibel; Purdue University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
ECE faculty, staff honored at college's awards event
May 10, 2024 - Three faculty and staff members from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering were among the 20 Nebraska Engineering employees who were honored at the 2024 College of Engineering Employee Awards luncheon on May 2.
The ECE honorees were:
- Sohrab Asgarpoor, professor of electrical and computer engineering, received the College of Engineering Faculty Service Award for outstanding individuals for service to his department, college and university, as well as to his profession and community.
- Paul Marxhausen, supervisor in the electronics shop, was recognized with the Service to Students Award.
- Benjamin Riggan, assistant professor of electrical and Computer engineering, received the Henry Y. Kleinkauf Family Distinguished New Faculty Teaching Award for excellence and innovation in teaching.
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.
UNL UCARE Undergraduate Honors Award
5-24-23: Nathan Roberts, a senior from Bellevue, Nebraska majoring in computer engineering and electrical engineering, received the UNL UCARE Undergraduate Honors Award for the most original research in the 2023 Student Research Days Poster Sessions and Creative Exhibitions. This award recognizes an undergraduate student whose question or approach to answering the research question displayed the most originality; Roberts' topic was “How Paul Cezanne Can Improve Learning Generalizable Representations in Deep Vision Models,” and was advised by M.R. Hasan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.
Nebraska engineers' discovery could improve future optoelectronics studies
Dec. 20, 2022 - Kai Peng and Wei Bao, researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering, are lead authors on a paper discussing their breakthrough that could warm up future studies of optoelectronics.
The paper – “Room-temperature polariton quantum fluids in halide perovskites” – was published in the Nov. 30, 2022 edition of Nature Communications, one of the most prestigious multidisciplinary research journals.
Typically, quantum mechanical effects can only be studied at the macroscopic level in laboratory chambers cooled to very low temperatures. The team’s research and theoretical predictions, however, show it is possible to demonstrate the effect at room temperature using halide perovskites, a novel material group that over the last two decades has proved promising in the development of photovoltaic and light-emitting devices.
By putting a thin layer of halide perovskites between two reflective mirrors, Peng and Bao created a new polariton, a light-matter hybrid state which has properties of both light and perovskite materials. This hybridization grants the device the capability of demonstrating the macroscopic quantum fluids behavior, where quantum phase transitions from superfluidity frictionless flow to supersonic flow can be – for the first time – observed under ambient conditions and room temperature.
“The fact these polaritons allow observations under ambient conditions can trigger a lot of interesting future works, which are not limited only to those that study fundamental quantum liquids phenomena,” Bao said. “They also can be important in the conception and design of optoelectronics devices that can have superfluid-like behavior in transporting an electron or photon.”
Peng and Bao, both from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are among the nine authors, including researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, Ecole Polytechnic in Montreal, Quebec, and Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois.
Six Nebraska Engineering faculty chosen to UNL's Research Development Fellows Program 2022-23 cohort
Oct. 20, 2022 - Six College of Engineering faculty are among the 11 University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty members selected to participate in the 15th cohort of the Office of Research and Innovation's Research Development Fellows Program (RDFP).
RDFP is an eight-month program designed to provide full-time Nebraska faculty at the assistant-level rank the information and resources necessary to position themselves for success in securing external funding for their research, scholarship and creative activity. Fellows graduate from the program with an intentional plan for pursuing external funding and strategies that prepare them to write winning proposals.
The fellows, selected through a competitive application process, represent eight departments spanning three colleges and the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The College of Engineering faculty chosen for the 2022-23 cohort are:
- Jessica Deters, mechanical and materials engineering
- Mohammad Hasan, electrical and computer engineering
- Xiaoqi Liu, Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction
- Logan Perry, civil and environmental engineering
- Milad Roohi, Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction
- Jamilla Teixeira, civil and environmental engineering
Four alums chosen to university's Young Alumni Academy
Oct. 27, 2022 - Four College of Engineering alumni are among the 39 University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduates selected to the 2022 class of the Young Alumni Academy. The Nebraska Engineering alums in the 2022-23 cohort are (with hometowns, year of graduation and major):
Satya Deshpande, Lincoln, 2022 mechanical engineering and applied mechanics
Mustafa Ridha, Lincoln, 2018 computer engineering
Tyler Sondag, Omaha, 2018 civil engineering and 2020 architectural engineering
Austin Wendt, Omaha, 2017 computer science
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
Wei Qiao elected as fellow of Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association
Wei Qiao, Clyde Hyde Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was elected as a Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA).
AAIA is a new academic, non-profit and non-governmental organization formed by academicians worldwide whose research interests are in Artificial Intelligence or related areas. All AAIA Fellows are IEEE Fellows, ACM Fellows, or/and members of National Academy of Sciences/Engineering of their countries.
Similar to the IEEE, AAIA has three classes of memberships for individuals: member, senior member, and Fellow. Currently, AAIA has 583 Fellows.