ECE Achievements

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.

Four electrical engineering students awarded IEEE PES scholarships

Four Nebraska Electrical Engineering students - seniors Jackson Cutsor, Jacob Eckstrom and Alexander Meier, and junior Megan Stokey - have been chosen as IEEE Power & Energy Society Scholars for 2017-18. Eckstrom and Meier earned the PES scholarship for the third straight year. Cutsor also received the PES scholarship in 2016-17. The Nebraska honorees, who will receive up to $3,000 for the current academic year, were among the 230 chosen from American and Canadian universities from 548 applicants.

Wiseman chosen Nebraska male student-athlete of the year

Drew Wiseman (left), a sprinter/hurdler and electrical and computer engineering major, and Tierra Williams, a triple jumper, were chosen Nebraska's Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year Award winners, respectively.
Drew Wiseman (left), an electrical and computer engineering major and first-team All-America sprinter/hurdler, was chosen Nebraska's 2016-17 Male Student-Athlete of the Year. Wiseman received his award at the annual athletics awards banquet on Sunday, April 9 at the Lied Center along with triple jumper Tierra Williams (right), who was honored as the Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Wiseman, an Academic All-American, earned the penultimate NCAA Elite 89 Award for having the top grade-point average among athletes competing at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Five ECE students named PES Scholars

Five UNL Electrical Engineering students have been chosen as IEEE Power & Energy Society Scholars for 2016-17 -- seniors Bradley Naughton and Drew Wiseman and juniors Jackson Cutsor, Jacob Eckstrom and Alexander Meier. Wiseman, Eckstrom and Meier were also PES Scholars in 2015-16. The five honorees will receive up to $2,000 for the current academic year and were among the 230 chosen from American and Canadian universities from 529 applicants.

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.