Recent achievements for the campus community were earned by Abraham Akuoko, Kassidy Arena, Emmanuel Asamoah, Drew Anstine, Aaron Bonderson, Charlotte Brockman, Michael Forsberg, Gabe Hampton, Heather Haratsis, Bill Kelly, Jay Min Lim, Muhammad Ashar Naveed, Ravi Saraf, Mike Tobias, Yanan Wang and Nebraska Public Media.
Honors
Abraham Akuoko, a graduate student in agronomy and horticulture, earned recognition in both graduate student presentation competitions at the 2025 Western Society of Weed Science Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington. He took first place in the oral presentation category, "Evaluating Corn Herbicide Programs That Allow for Rotation to Dry Edible Bean and Sugarbeet," and third place in the poster presentation category for his project "Establishing the Maximum Control Height of Common Lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) in Glufosinate-, Glyphosate- and Dicamba-Resistant Sugarbeet in the Western United States."
Drew Anstine, a junior studio art major with an emphasis in ceramics, received a second place Award of Excellence at the 2025 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts national conference in Salt Lake City. The piece, “Grasp,” was included in the National Student Juried Exhibition. The exhibit is hosted annually by NCECA. The application allows a submission of up to three pieces. This year, 320 artists submitted 937 images. Twenty-three pieces by 23 artists were accepted into the show. Additionally, Emmanuel Asamoah (known as KStony), a second-year graduate student in ceramics, had work accepted into show. His piece in the exhibition was titled “Fix It.” Learn more about the student experience at NCECA.
Charlotte Brockman was presented with the Martin A. Massengale Outstanding Senior Award. The award honors Massengale, chancellor of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1981–1991, president emeritus of the University of Nebraska, founding director of the Center for Grassland Studies and Foundation Distinguished Professor. Brockman is an agronomy major with an emphasis in soil science and a minor in international trade. She is a UCARE scholar, member of the UNL Soil Judging Team, involved in the University Honors Program, and president of the Innocents Society, the chancellor’s senior honorary.
Michael Forsberg, a renowned conservation photographer and research assistant professor in natural resources, has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the Howard L. Wiegers Nebraska Outstanding Wildlife Conservation Award, presented by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Wildlife Club at the annual School of Natural Resources banquet. Forsberg is known for his decades-long commitment to capturing the beauty and complexity of North America's Great Plains. His work has elevated public awareness of wildlife stewardship and inspired generations of students, conservationists and nature enthusiasts.
The American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability recently presented the Edward C. Mendrzycki Award to Heather Haratsis, during the spring 2025 National Legal Malpractice Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. Haratsis was a Janet D. Steiger Fellow for Nebraska in 2024, online editor for the Nebraska Law Review, managing editor for the Nebraska Journal on Advancing Justice and president of the Community Legal Education Project. The Mendrzycki Award, sponsored by the law firm of Long and Levit, is a scholarly writing competition used to draw attention among law students and young lawyers to the practice area of lawyers’ professional liability and topics of interest within it.
Nebraska Public Media earned four awards in the 2025 Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association Sevareid Awards. The awards were announced during the Midwest Journalism Conference April 11-12 in Minneapolis. The region includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.
Nebraska Public Media earned two first-place awards:
- Aaron Bonderson in sports reporting for “What does a women's sports sponsorship mean for NIL opportunities at Nebraska?”
- Mike Tobias in soft feature for “Haircuts, Mentoring and Counseling ... in a Bus”
The network also received two awards of merit for large market radio including:
- Bill Kelly for use of sound for “As racing season expands, Nebraska looks to meet demand for horses”
- Kassidy Arena in hard feature for “They took shelter in their company's warehouse when a tornado hit. Then the layoffs came. Many workers at Garner Industries are finally landing on their feet”
Appointments
Gabe Hampton, director of building systems maintenance, was elected to serve as the next chair of APPA (formerly the Association of Physical Plant Administrators). Hampton was introduced to the membership, and the leadership transition began during the APPA Spring Conference, April 9-11 in New Orleans.
Publications
Research led by Ravi Saraf, Lowell E. and Betty Anderson Distinguished Professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and Yanan (Laura) Wang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, was highlighted as a cover article in Nanoscale, a leading journal by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The team created a Nanoparticle Necklace Network — self-assembled, one-dimensional chains of gold nanoparticles that significantly expand light absorption and boost photocatalytic efficiency. This breakthrough work, supported by the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research, provides a promising strategy for next-generation solar-to-fuel conversion. The team also includes Muhammad Ashar Naveed, a doctoral student of electrical and computer engineering, and Jay Min Lim, a master’s student in mechanical and materials engineering.
This column is a regular feature of Nebraska Today. Faculty, staff and students can submit achievements to be considered for this column via email to achievements@unl.edu. For more information, call 402-472-8515.
