Four engineering alumni and one student honored by Alumni Association

Four College of Engineering alumni and one current student were among the honorees at the Nebraska Alumni Association’s annual Alumni Honors Night, May 3 at Nebraska Innovation Campus.

Every spring, the NAA recognizes accomplished alumni, promising students and a retired faculty member at the event, previously known as the Alumni Awards Banquet, An All-University Celebration. The award winners are chosen by a selection committee of University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumni from across the country. 

Here's a look at the College of Engineering honorees:

Lee Redden, a 2009 graduate in mechanical engineering, was presented an Early Achiever Award. Redden has experience at the leading edge of robotics, computer vision and machine learning. He has performed research at robotics labs at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, NASA Johnson Space Center and Stanford University. Redden is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and NASA Space Grant Scholarship recipient. Today, he is the chief technology officer and co-founder of Blue River Technology, a company revolutionizing agriculture by using computer vision, machine learning and robotics. Blue River Technology was recently acquired by John Deere. In 2014, Redden was listed on Forbes’ “30 under 30” for energy and industry.

Caleb Lindhorst, a 2016 graduate in agricultural engineering, was chosen for the Shane Osborn Student Leadership Award. Lindhorst, now working on a master’s degree in biological systems engineering, was involved in a one-vehicle accident during his undergraduate studies and was in a coma for 39 days. He spent 2014 recovering from the accident and, despite being told that he probably wouldn’t return to school, he resumed the pursuit of his degree in agricultural engineering the following spring. Last June, Lindhorst traveled to Madrid for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Tractor Test Working Group Meeting to present his research “Dynamic Rollover Protective Structures Test for Tractors Over 6,000 Kilograms.” Lindhorst aims to complete his master’s studies in 2019.

Brooke Lampe, a sophomore software engineering major, was chosen for the Charlotte Kramer Foreign Study scholarship. Lampe is interested in cybersecurity and is researching Named Data Networking, a future internet architecture, with Byrav Ramamurthy. Lampe plans to pursue graduate studies and a research career in cybersecurity to protect the digital world from cyberattack and information theft. This summer, Lampe is pursuing an education abroad experience in Málaga, Spain.

Two engineering alumni each received Alumni Achievement Awards.

John Evans, a 1983 mechanical engineering graduate, is a program executive at NASA headquarters (in Washington) in the office of Safety and Mission Assurance, where he is leading agency policy development and research programs. During his career, Evans has worked on the development of numerous complex space missions from the Cosmic Background Explorer to the James Webb Space Telescope. He has authored or co-authored 80 technical publications including three books. 

Nancy Melby, who has undergraduate and master’s degrees in architectural engineering (2004 and 2005, respectively) serves as director of operations for the Omaha office of Leo A Daly, where she oversees the day-to-day operational management of professional services for an office of more than 150 professionals. Melby joined Leo A Daly in 2006 as a structural engineer-in-training and distinguished herself, rising quickly to the roles of team leader and vice president. Her structural engineering experience includes analysis of a wide range of loading events including seismic, hurricane, blast and progressive collapse.