Recent accomplishments by the university community were earned by faculty/staff Dane Kiambi, Benjamin Terry and Jing Zhang. The Nebraska Repertory Theatre was also awarded a grant by the Cooper Foundation.
Faculty/Staff
Dane Kiambi, assistant professor of advertising, was selected as a 2017 Plank Fellow by The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. Kiambi will work with host organization General Motors to enhance his professional development, leadership growth and networking skills. Ten educators are selected each year to be part of a two-week intensive fellowship with their host organization. The fellows will partake in research projects, training sessions and presentations, and assist with company projects. In return, each host organization will spend at least two days at the educator’s college working with students and faculty to share industry knowledge, trends and insight. Kiambi will invite a GM representative to the College of Journalism and Mass Communications in the fall or spring semester.
Benjamin Terry, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering, had his work on ingestible biosensors featured in a recent video by the Alliance of Advanced BioMedical Engineering and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. View the video here.
Jing Zhang, assistant professor of practice of biochemistry, was selected to take part in a project to help enhance college student learning through course-based research experiences. The project is funded by a $598,666 grant from the National Science Foundation. The three-year project will involve a team of 15 faculty members from 12 institutions. The University of San Diego will direct the proposal titled, “An Interdisciplinary Faculty Community Using a Protein-focused Course Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) to Improve Student Learning.” CUREs are designed to provide broader research exposure to more students than current apprenticeship and internship models. To obtain data that will facilitate the creation of effective and efficient new CUREs across fields, two aspects of CURE frameworks will be tested in 56 CUREs courses, involving about 1,000 students at participating universities. For more information, click here.
Departments/Colleges/Units
The Nebraska Repertory Theatre was awarded a $7,500 grant by the Cooper Foundation. The grant is to support the Nebraska Rep Theatre in its re-launch as a year-round professional theatre. The theatre has announced its next five-show season starting Sept. 30. Overall, Cooper Foundation’s Board of Trustees approved grants at the second quarter grant cycle totaling $138,300 to 15 nonprofit organizations. The foundation awarded grants to a diverse group of arts, community improvement, education and human services organizations. For more information, click here.
This column is a regular Friday feature of Nebraska Today. Faculty, staff and students can submit their achievements to be considered for this column via email to achievements@unl.edu. For more information, call 402-472-8515.
