Nebraska in the national news: August 2024

A trio of University of Nebraska–Lincoln political scientists were interviewed by national media outlets in August. The stories were among 30-plus national news stories featuring Husker faculty, staff, centers and programs during the month.

• Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, Willa Cather Professor of political science at Nebraska, and Jeff Spinner-Halev, Kenan Eminent Professor of Political Ethics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discussed their book “Respect and Loathing in American Democracy: Polarization, Moralization and the Undermining of Equality” on the Aug. 1 episode of the “FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast.” “I think this idea that the two sides have moralized their worldviews really drives the disrespect, because anybody who disagrees with them is evil, by definition, because it’s moralized,” Theiss-Morse said.
• Pierce Ekstrom, assistant professor of political science, was interviewed for an Aug. 9 New York Times article on the contrasting Midwestern upbringings of vice-presidential hopefuls JD Vance and Tim Walz. “A rural identity is bound to mean different things to different people and to vary over time,” Ekstrom said. “Campaigns have a lot of material that they could choose to work with, or not.” (This article requires a subscription.)
• Tyler White, associate professor of practice in political science, director of the National Security Studies program and faculty director of the University Honors Program, was interviewed for an Aug. 22 Straight Arrow News story on the United States updating its nuclear defense strategy to address increasing threats by Russia, China and North Korea. “This is about preparing for nuclear conflict or the escalation toward it — establishing the doctrine, the procedures and the options available to the president in response to such a situation,” he said.

Additional national news coverage in August included:

• Nirupam Aich, civil and environmental engineering, was interviewed for an Aug. 1 Live Science article on a new study showing for the first time that four species of Acetobacterium can degrade bonds in some perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. “PFAS degradation using microbes is one of the most sought-after technologies in wastewater treatment and waste management,” he said. Aich was not involved in the research.
• Single-event tickets for the Lied Center for Performing Arts’ 2024-25 season went on sale  Aug. 13. The upcoming season features more than 35 events, including “Beetlejuice the Musical,” the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and violinist Itzhak Perlman. Stories appeared in KOLN/KGIN, the Lincoln Journal Star and Broadway World.
• A study led by Dan Metz, a postdoctoral research associate in the School of Biological Sciences, was featured in an Aug. 9 National Geographic article. The study found that the microscopic parasite Haplorchis pumilio is able to generate an army of clones whose only purpose is to attack other parasites competing for space inside a host. Metz was interviewed for the article.
• The University of Nebraska–Lincoln has received two federal grants totaling $1.7 million to build on the university’s environmental sustainability work on two issues: nitrogen management for sugar beet production, and alley cropping, an agroforestry practice involving the planting of trees or shrubs alongside crops. The funds are part of $90 million in Conservation Innovation Grants awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The former project is led by Bijesh Maharjan, agronomy and horticulture, and Rebecca Larson, chief scientist and vice president of governmental affairs with Western Sugar Cooperative; and the latter is led by Lord Ameyaw and Ann Powers, both School of Natural Resources. Articles on the grants appeared in Nebraska Ag Connection, Farms.com and The Fence Post.
• New results from a crash test using an electric 2022 Rivian R1T pickup raise more questions whether significant upgrades are needed to prepare the nation’s highways for the rapidly growing number of electric vehicles. The July 1 test was the fourth EV crash test conducted by the university’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility since September 2023. The crash test results were highlighted in an Aug. 12 Quartz article. Cody Stolle, research assistant professor with MwRSF, was quoted in the article, which was picked up by MSN.
• Allison Johnson, research assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences, was interviewed for an Aug. 12 ABC Australia article on the splendid fairy-wren (Malurus splendens). She said the birds are typically found as a breeding pair with male helpers, often the sons of the breeding male. Young males may hang around to one day inherit the breeding male’s territory, she said.
• Laura K. Muñoz, history and ethnic studies, was a featured guest on Phoenix’s KJZZ on Aug. 12. Muñoz, author of “Desert Dreams: Mexican Arizona and the Politics of Educational Equality,” discussed how best to teach English to bilingual students.
• Elliott Dennis, agricultural economics, was interviewed for an Aug. 13 segment on RFD-TV. He discussed the new sustainability index that the university has developed to allow ag producers to better understand the environmental impact of agriculture and reduce that impact when possible.
• Joy Castro, English and ethnic studies, director of the Institute of Ethnic Studies, was interviewed for an Aug. 13 story on South Florida’s WLRN about the first English-Spanish version of “Lagrimas y Flores,” a poetry collection written by her grandfather, Feliciano Castro. The Husker faculty member co-edited the translated version, to be released in October, with Rhi Johnson, assistant professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University.
• Eric Hunt, a climatologist with Nebraska Extension, was interviewed for an Aug. 13 Brownfield Ag News article on crop conditions in the Corn Belt. Hunt said most of the area has remained drought-free this summer, though some farmers in Nebraska and Kansas haven’t been as fortunate. “We’re definitely starting to see signs of (crop) stress here across portions of Kansas and southeast Nebraska, where we haven’t been particularly wet the last month or so,” he said.
• David Yuill, architectural engineering and construction, was quoted in an Aug. 14 New York Times Wirecutter guide on purchasing a heat pump. “You could put in a watt of electricity and get [the equivalent of] four watts of heat out of it,” he said. “It’s like magic.” (This article requires a subscription.)
• Organized by Nebraska Extension as part of the Growing Together Nebraska project, SNAP-Ed and Extension Master Gardener volunteers are working to establish community gardens, increase access to fresh produce, and provide garden and nutrition education. Volunteers plan and maintain donation gardens in 12 communities across the state and donate the harvest to food pantries and other emergency food distribution sites. Stories on the program have appeared in KOLN/KGIN, KSNB, the Lincoln Journal Star, Nebraska Public Media and the Yankton (South Dakota) Daily Press and Dakotan.
• New genetic findings by Husker scientists can help rice producers maintain yield in the face of increased nighttime temperatures, a growing threat for 21st century agriculture. A multi-year, $5.78 million National Science Foundation grant funded the research of a team led by Harkamal Walia, agronomy and horticulture, in collaboration with Arkansas State University and Kansas State University. The Fence Post ran an Aug. 16 article on the research.
• Researchers in the Department of Animal Science and the West Central Research, Extension and Education Center are collaborating to study the physiology, genetics, behavior and precision livestock management strategies of acute heat stress in feedlot cattle in the Midwest. The project is being led by animal science faculty Ty Schmidt, Jessica Petersen, Dustin Yates and Ruth Woiwode. Beef magazine published an Aug. 20 article on the project.
• Stacey Decker has been appointed Nebraska Public Media’s next general manager and chief executive officer following a national search, Inside Radio and Radio Ink reported. He will officially begin the position Oct. 14.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Heartland Regional Food Business Center have unveiled more than $3.7 million in Business Builder grants to support small, mid-sized and diverse food and farm entrepreneurs. The Heartland Center is led by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and rural Missouri community development corporation New Growth. Farms.com and Meat and Poultry ran articles on the announcement.
• A Husker research team led by Kasia Glowacka, biochemistry, has identified a promising approach to help crops cope with drought. By using genome modification to boost a key plant protein, the researchers enabled plants to reduce their water use by up to 30% under drought-mimic conditions. Farms.com and The Fence Post ran articles on the research.
• Timothy Schaffert discussed his latest novel, “The Titanic Survivors Book Club,” in the September 2024 issue of World Literature Today. Schaffert is the Adele Hall Chair of English and director of the Creative Writing program at Nebraska.
• Applications are open to the public for local and regional National Science Foundation Innovation Corps training programs this fall, Silicon Prairie News reported Aug. 27. The online programs are facilitated by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and University of Nebraska at Omaha. Joy Eakin, entrepreneurship program manager at NUtech Ventures, was quoted in the article.
• Husker faculty are leading a federally funded initiative to develop a national cyber-ecosystem for agricultural producer data. The project recently advanced with a strategic visioning session during a national planning conference Aug. 8-9 on East Campus. High Plains Journal ran an Aug. 28 brief on the conference. Husker faculty leading the initiative include Scout Calvert, University Libraries; Jennifer Clarke, statistics and food science and technology; Trenton Franz, School of Natural Resources; Joe Luck, biological systems engineering; Matt Spangler, animal science; and Hongfeng Yu, computing.

Faculty, administration, student and staff appearances in the national media are logged at http://newsroom.unl.edu/inthenews. If you have additions to the list, contact Sean Hagewood at shagewood2@unl.edu or 402-472-8514. If you have suggestions for national news stories, contact Leslie Reed at lreed5@unl.edu or 402-472-2059.