ECE 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


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


Riggan new associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems

Benjamin Riggan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering
Benjamin Riggan, assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been invited to become associate editor of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems (TAES). Riggan will be working in the Electro-Optics and Infrared Systems area. The TAES is a high-impact IEEE journal, with an impact factor of 3.672.

Five engineering faculty, staff honored at Laurels reception

Five College of Engineering faculty and staff were honored with 2021 awards coordinated by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor. Award recipients have advanced the missions of the university in teaching, research and service, and will be recognized at The Laurels award reception.

College Distinguished Teaching Awards, which recognize faculty with excellence in teaching. Distribution of the awards rotates among the colleges each year.

Dr. Charles Riedesel Outstanding Academic Advising Award, given to an exceptional faculty or staff member for advising services beyond basic job duties and responsibilities to provide support, empowerment, coaching, counseling, and guidance to help undergraduate students succeed academically and in life. The award is named for Dr. Charles Riedesel, former advisor in Computer Science and Engineering, who devoted much of his time to recruiting and advising computer science and engineering majors.

  • Ann Koopmann, academic adviser, Computer Science and Engineering

Exceptional Excellence Award, which recognizes a staff member who has exceeded in their job expectations and significantly contributed to the success of a faculty member’s teaching and/or research. 

  • Kayla Person, director of engineering graduate programs
  • Ashley West, administrative associate for engineering graduate programs

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


Psota, team receive 2019 Omtvedt Innovation Award

Eric Psota, research assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is part of the NUTrack Livestock Monitoring Team team that was chosen to receive IANR’s 2019 Omtvedt Innovation Award for Team. The award, which recognizes innovative faculty members or a team led by faculty that has demonstrated exceptional abilities and innovation in the areas of teaching, research or extension education, provides $5,000 for the team and plaques for each individual member of the team. The team, which also includes Ty Schmidt and Benny Mote from animal science, has been working together for more than four years using new computer technologies to monitor livestock, particularly swine, to improve the health of those animals.

Paper by Cui, Lu among most-cited in Journal of American Ceramic Society

A paper co-authored by Bai Cui, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering, and Yongfeng Lu, professor of electrical and computer engineering, is among the most-cited papers published in Journal of the American Ceramic Society. The paper is titled “(Hf0.2Zr0.2Ta0.2Nb0.2Ti0.2)C high-entropy ceramics with low thermal conductivity,” and was one of the first reports of high-entropy ceramics, a new ceramic material that has become an attractive material due to their high structural stability, unique physical properties, and potential applications in ultra-high temperature environments in aerospace and nuclear applications. For 102 years, the Journal of the American Ceramic Society has been a leading source for top-quality basic science research and modeling spanning the diverse field of ceramic and glass materials science.

Sutters' research highlighted on Office of Science website

The Department of Energy Office of Science recently published a highlight – “Wrapped, Layered Semiconductors Catch the Light” – about the research of Eli Sutter, professor of mechanical and materials engineering, and Peter Sutter, professor of electrical and computer engineering. The researchers used a simple and efficient new method to spontaneously form high-quality semiconductor layers with a core-shell structure. The simple process means these new heterostructures could be relatively easy to produce. The structures absorb light using their core, shell, and the interfaces between the components. This translates into enhanced light harvesting. The heterostructures are promising for applications using the sun to accelerate chemical reactions. For example, they could have a role in electricity and fuel production.

Sutters' research highlighted on Office of Science website

The Department of Energy Office of Science recently published a highlight – “Wrapped, Layered Semiconductors Catch the Light” – about the research of Eli Sutter, professor of mechanical and materials engineering, and Peter Sutter, professor of electrical and computer engineering. The researchers used a simple and efficient new method to spontaneously form high-quality semiconductor layers with a core-shell structure. The simple process means these new heterostructures could be relatively easy to produce. The structures absorb light using their core, shell, and the interfaces between the components. This translates into enhanced light harvesting. The heterostructures are promising for applications using the sun to accelerate chemical reactions. For example, they could have a role in electricity and fuel production.

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.