A combined choir from the Glenn Korff School of Music performed the song “One Voice” during the 60th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20. The performance was highlighted in numerous local, regional and national media outlets.
The students were invited to perform by Sen. Deb Fischer, a member of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. The 120-plus students who went on the trip also visited national monuments — including the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery — and met with Fischer and Rep. Mike Flood. On Jan. 18, the group rehearsed in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
"We just couldn't be happier about this whole experience,” Peter Eklund, professor of music and the group’s director, told KETV. “I think they were just treated like royalty from the time they got to the airport."
Stories on the performance appeared in KETV, KFAB, KFOR, KFXL, KHGI, KLIN, KOLN/KGIN, the Lincoln Journal Star, News Channel Nebraska, Norfolk Daily News, Omaha World-Herald, Rural Radio Network, WOWT, CBS News, Deadline, KELO (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), MSN, NBC News, PBS News, USA Today, Voice of America, Yahoo! News, the Yankton (South Dakota) Daily Press and Dakotan and dozens of other media outlets.
Additional national news coverage in January included:
- Abraham Gibson, history, was interviewed for the Jan. 7 episode of the Discovery series “Moonshiners.”
- An international research team that includes Abdelghani Laraoui, mechanical and materials engineering, has successfully demonstrated for the first time the imaging of magnetic skyrmions at room temperature in composition engineered magnetic materials. The team observed the tiny, vortex-like particles in these magnetic materials using a nitrogen-vacancy scanning probe in Laraoui’s lab. Phys.org ran a Jan. 8 article on the discovery. MSN picked up the article.
- After nearly a decade of successful leadership, Mike Boehm is stepping down from his dual role as the University of Nebraska’s vice president for agriculture and natural resources and Harlan Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. After the spring semester, he will return to a faculty role in the Department of Plant Pathology. Stories on the announcement appeared in the Grand Island Independent, Lincoln Journal Star, North Platte Telegraph, Omaha World-Herald, Rural Radio Network and Brownfield Ag News.
- Husker researchers Janos Zempleni, nutrition and health sciences, and Jiantao Guo, chemistry, have launched the startup Minovacca, which aims to commercialize the use of universal milk exosomes — natural nanoparticles contained in milk — to transport cargo to human cells. Articles on the startup appeared in the Lincoln Journal Star, New Atlas and Nutrition Insight.
- The latest results from the 2024 Nebraska Rural Poll show that, overall, rural Nebraskans are positive about their communities. Respondents rate their communities as friendly, trusting and supportive, and say it would be difficult to leave. Stories on the latest results appeared in KNOP, KOLN/KGIN, Rural Radio Network, Farms.com and The Fence Post.
- Silicon Prairie News published a Jan. 22 story on the university’s new Engler Enterprise Financing Program, aimed at providing accessible business financing for student founders. The story focused on the program’s first loan recipient, Abby Miller, and her mobile tap truck business, Pat on Tap. Miller is a May 2024 Husker graduate. Similar stories appeared in the Grand Island Independent, Pender Times, Rural Radio Network and Tri-State Livestock News.
- An international research project led by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln aims to transform the future of food by driving sustainable, resilient solutions, while positioning Nebraska as a national leader in the bioeconomy sector. Funded by the National Science Foundation and international sources, the Global Center for Food Innovation and Diversification to Advance the Bioeconomy — FoodID for short — will focus on developing alternative protein and lipid sources from purposefully designed plants and microorganisms. The three-year project is led by Ozan Ciftci, food science and technology and biological systems engineering. Stories on the center appeared in the Kearney Hub, Beef magazine, Feedstuffs and Tri-State Livestock News.
- Roger Mandigo, professor emeritus of animal science, died Jan. 24 at Eastmont Living in Lincoln. He was 85. Mandigo invented a process to bind meat together into different shapes, leading to creations such as McDonald’s McRib sandwich. Stories on Mandigo appeared in KLKN, the Lincoln Journal Star, National Hog Farmer and Farm Journal’s Pork.
- Deb VanOverbeke, head of the Department of Animal Science, was interviewed for a Jan. 28 segment on RFD-TV. She discussed her background in meat science, some projects at the Loeffel Meat Laboratory and hands-on opportunities for students.
- Rural Prosperity Nebraska is teaming up with NU Advance, the University of Nebraska’s non-credit professional development platform, to offer a new online course, “Public Participation and Engagement,” beginning Feb. 23. The curriculum focuses on helping community leaders, professionals and stakeholders in community development enhance their public engagement skills. Tri-State Livestock News ran a Jan. 30 article on the course.
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.
