Husker psychology professor receives presidential award

Maital Neta, professor of psychology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, has received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers.

Neta, Carl A. Happold Professor of Psychology, directs the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab and is resident faculty of the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior.

Neta said she was “very grateful” for the honor, announced Jan. 14 by President Biden. “And I’m grateful to all my mentors and mentees, and the support from my village that helped me get here,” she said.

Neta’s lab pursues novel research exploring how people process and cope with uncertainty and tests interventions that promote psychological well-being. Her research has also included a partnership with Nebraska Athletics to examine the factors relating to concussions and traumatic brain injuries using the latest technology available to the center. Her partnership with Nebraska Athletics was featured recently on the Big Ten Network.

Neta’s work has earned federal research funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. In 2018, Neta earned an NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program award, a highly prestigious honor for pre-tenure faculty. As part of her CAREER project, Neta investigated how people’s emotional responses to uncertainty evolve over time. That work provided a foundation for additional research about how positive valence bias — the tendency for the brain to process positive information more quickly than negative information — improves with age, giving older adults a more optimistic disposition.

David DiLillo, chair of the psychology department, said “Dr. Neta winning this award is a testament to her groundbreaking contributions and exceptional dedication to advancing science and innovation."

Neta received her Bachelor of Science in psychobiology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her doctoral degree in cognitive neuroscience from Dartmouth College. She joined the Nebraska faculty in 2014 and has earned multiple awards, including the Harold and Esther Edgerton Junior Faculty Award for creative research, outstanding teaching and academic promise. 

Neta is one of nearly 400 scientists and engineers across the country who received the White House honor. 

Established by President Clinton in 1996, the award recognizes scientists and engineers who show exceptional potential for leadership early in their research careers. The award recognizes innovative and far-reaching developments in science and technology, expands awareness of careers in science and engineering, recognizes the scientific missions of participating agencies, enhances connections between research and impacts on society, and highlights the importance of science and technology for the nation’s future.

This year’s awardees are employed or funded by 14 participating agencies within the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Interior, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs and the Environmental Protection Agency, the intelligence community, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution. 

Neta is the second Husker to earn the honor. Angela Pannier, Swarts Family Chair in Biological Systems Engineering, received a PECASE award in 2019.