Recent achievements for the campus community were earned by Lisa Franzen-Castle, Ángel García, Bob Harveson, Joe Louis, James Potter, Max Qiu, Gauri Ramesh, Nathan Ullman and Marilyn C. Wolf.
Honors
Lisa Franzen-Castle, associate professor of nutrition and health sciences, has been honored by the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior with the Early Professional Achievement Award. Franzen-Castle received the award at the organization’s annual conference in Orlando, Florida in late July for her notable contributions to the field of nutrition early in her career.
Ángel García, doctoral student in creative writing, has won the 2019 American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. García received the honor for his 2018 poetry collection “Teeth Never Sleep,” which was also nominated for the 2019 PEN Open Book Award last February.
Bob Harveson, extension plant pathologist at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center, has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the American Phytopathological Society’s North Central Division. The award recognizes outstanding effort or contribution in teaching, control of a significant plant disease or service to the science of plant pathology in an effort that goes beyond the recipient’s job or responsibility. Harveson was recognized at the APS meeting in Cleveland earlier this August.
Joe Louis, associate professor of entomology, has received an Early Career Innovation Award from the Entomological Society of America. The Early Career Innovation Award honors young professionals working within the field of entomology who have demonstrated innovation through contributions within areas of specialization such as, research, teaching or extension. Louis’ research at Nebraska identifies key components, genes and signaling mechanisms involved in modulating plant’s defenses against insects, as well the mechanisms by which insect salivary proteins and effectors alter plant defense responses.
Max Qiu, doctoral student in nutrition, has received the Widaman Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Award for her research in the Department of Food Science and Technology.
Gauri Ramesh and Nathan Ullman, senior computer science students, have been named 2019-2020 ITI Data Vision in Technology Scholarship recipients. Ramesh and Ullman were selected for the scholarships by faculty based on vision statements they submitted about impacting the world through computing. Each will receive a $12,500, one-year scholarship that will allow them to focus on their studies and the pursuit of their vision.
Appointments
- Marilyn C. Wolf, professor of computer science and engineering, has been appointed chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. She will assume her new position on Sept. 1. She succeeds Steve Goddard, who served two terms as department chair from 2018 to 2019 and from 2008 to 2013. Witawas Srisa-an, associate professor of computer science and engineering, has acted as interim chair since May.
Publications
- James Potter, emeritus professor of architecture, is a featured writer in “Votes For Women: The 19th Amendment in Nebraska,” a special edition of Nebraska History Magazine. The anthology, published by University of Nebraska Press, features past articles about women’s suffrage in Nebraska alongside new content and illustrations. Potter’s article, “Barkley vs. Pool: Woman Suffrage and the Nebraska Referendum Law,” examines how two women used the courts to defeat an anti-suffragist attempt to derail the Cornhusker State’s 1917 limited suffrage law. Learn more about the anthology.
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.
