Five from Nebraska Engineering among 11 honored by state for hand sanitizer production effort

Five members of the College of Engineering community are among the 11 people from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln appointed as admirals in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska – the state’s highest honor - for their roles in a collaboration to produce hand sanitizer during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Receiving the honors from the College of Engineering were:

• Leonard Akert, prototype design specialist and lab manager, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
• Hunter Flodman, associate professor of practice, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
• Peter Hilsabeck, lab manager, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Terry Howell Jr., research professor, Biological Systems Engineering; and executive director, Food Processing Center
• Heather Newell, doctoral student, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

The other University honorees included:

• Taylor Bond, assistant director environmental programs/hazardous building materials, Environmental Health & Safety
• Sarah Herzinger, research technologist, Food Processing Center
• April Johnson, senior, Food Science and Technology
• Russell Parde, pilot plant manager, Food Processing Center
• Julie Reiling, senior consultant, Food Processing Center
• Lewis Sieber, fire shop/surplus property manager, Nebraska Forest Service

The production effort, a unique partnership between the University, the Nebraska Ethanol Board and ethanol producers across the state, led to the production of more than 200,000 gallons of hand sanitizer.

The honorary appointments were signed by Gov. Pete Ricketts and presented Aug. 30 by Jim Macy, director of the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.

During the ceremony, Macy noted that the hand sanitizer produced at the University’s Food Processing Center and provided to the State of Nebraska was important in allowing many school districts and dental practices to remain open, especially in more rural areas of the state.