Engineering Kudos
Two MME students, one alum receive NSF Graduate Research Fellowships
Aaron Haake, a senior in mechanical and materials engineering, and Mark Nail, a mechanical and materials engineering alum, were among the seven current or former University of Nebraska-Lincoln students chosen to receive National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) awards. MME alum Cole Dempsey was chosen as one of two from UNL to receive honorable mention recognition.
Haake will graduate in May 2022 and is working in the Smart Materials & Robotics Lab with advisor Eric Markvicka, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering. Nail is a graduate student at the University of Michigan, and Dempsey is a graduate student at Vanderbilt University.
The GRFP awards are one of the most prestigious graduate fellowships awarded in the United States. The award provides a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 and a $12,000 cost-of-education allowance for tuition and fees that is paid to the university. Additionally, the GRFP provides opportunities for international research and professional development and the freedom to conduct their research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education.
The GRFP is the oldest American fellowship program that directly supports students in various STEM fields. Since 1952, a year after President Truman signed legislation establishing the NSF, the GRFP awarded its first fellowships. It has since funded more than 50,000 fellowships out of more than 500,000 applicants.
George Morcous selected as PCI Fellow
George Morcous, professor in The Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, has been honored by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute as a PCI Fellow. The award was presented at the annual PCI Convention, held March 1-5 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Morcous was honored for his teaching and research, which focuses on ultra-high-performance concrete, precast concrete bridge systems and connections, and large-diameter prestressing strands.
The PCI Fellow award recognizes an individual who has embraced the values of the Institute and has provided continuous outstanding contributions to the precast concrete industry. Service to the industry may be considered in the areas of education, research, design, marketing, management, or operations. This individual will have also demonstrated exceptional service to PCI.
Bai Cui receives ACerS Global Star Award
Bai Cui, associate professor of mechanical and materials engineering, received the Global Star Award from the American Ceramic Society. Cui has served as co-lead organizer of the "Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics" symposium at ICACC since 2021.
The Global Star Award recognizes active volunteers for their contributions to the Engineering Ceramics Division (ECD) of American Ceramic Society and to the technical program of the International Conference & Exposition on Advanced Ceramics & Composites (ICACC) meeting. Award recipients are selected by the ICACC Program Chair with agreement from the ECD Executive Committee. The awardees receive a certificate of achievement at the ICACC meeting's Plenary Session.
Doctoral student Moeun receives RSOA Doctoral Student Small Grant award
Youra Moeun, a Ph.D. student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been chosen as one of five recipients of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSOA) Doctoral Student Small Grants. This award provides $5,000 to each recipient to support their research projects. Moeun's research will focus on a biomimetic approach to elucidating the role of stiffness in alcoholic fatty liver disease and she will present at the Research Society on Alcoholism's 2023 annual conference, June 24-28 in Bellevue, Washington.
Nebraska Engineering takes five awards at Grad Student Symposium
Nebraska Engineering took home five awards from the recent 2022 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Student Symposium.
- Dianna Morris, doctoral candidate in chemical and biomolecular engineering, took first place in the 3in5 Pitch.
- Jiating Li, graduate student in biological systems engineering, and Akbota Aitbayeva, graduate student in civil and environmental engineering, tied for second in the 3in5 Pitch.
- Bahareh Tajvidi Safa, doctoral student in biomedical engineering, earned first place in the Poster competition.
- Diaz Chowdhury, graduate research assistant in chemical and biomolecular engineering, was second in the Poster competition.
Argyropoulos article chosen Editor's Pick for Applied Physics Letters
Christos Argyropoulos, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, published “Multiqubit entanglement and quantum phase gates with epsilon-near-zero plasmonic waveguides,” an article that was selected as an Editor’s Pick by the editors at Applied Physics Letters. Editor’s Picks are selected to highlight noteworthy articles that have excellent scientific quality.
Variyam receives 2022 ACM SIGMOD Research Highlight Award
School of Computing professor Vinodchandran Variyam received the 2022 ACM SIGMOD Research Highlight Award. The SIGMOD Research Highlight Award is a highly selective and prestigious award that aims to showcase a set of research projects that exemplify core database research.
Durham School Career Fair draws 400+ students, 87 employers
The 2021 Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction Career Fair was a success. Split over two days - Oct. 4 and 5, 2021, at the Scott Conference Center - 87 employers participated in person with more than 240 students visiting the first day and more than 160 visiting on the second day. Another 20 employers participated in the virtual career fair on Oct. 26. The modified format allowed for a lower density of occupants, giving each exhibitor more space and less students waiting in line. Many thanks to the emoployers who exhibited this ear and a special shoutout to the College of Engineering's Engineering Student Services team - especially Emili Jones, Sarah Kavan, Jen Skidmore and Theresa Luensmann) for their work in coordinating and managing this fair.
Bankrate.com lists AE, Construction degrees among most valuable college majors
Recently bankrate.com rated the most valuable college majors in 2021 from reviewing 159 different degrees, and the two that topped that list are offered by the Durham School -Architectural Engineering, and Construction. For this study, Bankrate looked at the median incomes and unemployment rates of American workers based on the subject of their bachelor's degrees. The higher the income level and the lower the unemployment rate, the better.
Four Durham School faculty recognized at College's 2021 Excellence in Research reception
Four Durham School faculty - Josephine Lau, Marc Maguire, Zhigang Shen and David Yuill - were among the faculty who were recognized at the College of Engineering's 2021 Excellence in Research reception.