Nine University of Nebraska-Lincoln professors have been awarded professorships from the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor.
Paula and D.B. Varner University Professorship
Of the nine awarded, one received the Paula and D.B. Varner University Professorship, which recognizes those who have earned distinction as a teacher-scholar and who have demonstrated loyalty to the university through an extended period of distinguished service.
Christian Binek
Binek will be Paula and D.B. Varner professor of physics and astronomy. Binek, who has been a member of UNL faculty since 2003, is internationally recognized in the field of magneto-electric phenomena related to spintronics, which explores and exploits the quantum spin on atoms, molecules, or assemblies as the basis for a new generation of electronic and data storage devices. He has written 135 peer-reviewed papers and three book chapters, co-authored a textbook on thermodynamics, published a monograph on Ising-Antiferromagnets, and holds five patents. Binek is involved with many initiatives that pursue major grant funded research objectives and regularly speaks at domestic and international venues. He has given 67 invited lectures, colloquia, and seminars, as well as providing 2018 testimony on nanotechnology before a Congressional Committee. He is scientific director of the EPSCoR Emergent Quantum Materials and Technologies collaboration, or EQUATE, which was established in 2021 with a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation, and co-director in a duumvirate leading a $4 million UNL Grand Challenge Catalyst Award for quantum approaches addressing global threats. Binek serves as director of UNL's Nebraska Nanoscale Facility and as director of the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience.
Willa Cather/Charles Bessey Professorships
Three faculty members were named Willa Cather/Charles Bessey professors. The professorship was established in 2001 to recognize faculty members with the rank of professor who have established exceptional records of distinguished scholarship or creative activity.
Edmund 'Ted' Hamann
Haman will be Charles Bessey professor of teaching, learning, and teacher education. He is an anthropologist of education with a primary scholarly focus on the interface between education policy and practice, especially on how transnational movement of students and families gets conceptualized by educators and results in various subsequent responses. In particular, he studies how schools respond to transnational movement of students and families; how educational policies are cultural productions transformed in their conversion to practice; and how school reform is or is not responsive to various student populations. He is author/editor of 14 books/monographs/journal special issues and has published almost 100 journal articles and book chapters. In 2019, he served as a Fulbright Garcia-Robles U.S. Scholar at the Tijuana campus of the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional studying binational higher education collaborations that were intended to better prepare educators in both the United States and Mexico. He is an AERA fellow of the American Education Research Association and a NEPC fellow at the National Education Policy Center.
Alexander Sinitskii
Sinitskii will be Charles Bessey professor of chemistry. Also affiliated with the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, he has developed an internationally recognized research program focused on the design, synthesis, and characterization of novel functional materials at nanoscale for applications in electronics, photovoltaics, and energy storage. His work has been highly recognized with 67 publications over the past five years, many in preeminent multidisciplinary journals. As one of the leaders in the field of electronic materials, he has received numerous invitations to present talks and colloquia at major professional meetings and top universities. He has received nearly $3.5 million in funding as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on grants from the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research. Internal and external recognition of his work is evidenced by an NSF CAREER award and the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Research and Creativity Award. He has also received UNL's Harold and Esther Edgerton Junior Faculty Award and College Distinguished Teaching Award.
Wendy Smith
Smith will be Willa Cather research professor of mathematics. They are director of the Center for Science, Math and Computer Education and their research interests include PK-20 participation in STEM with a focus on mathematics, science, and computer science, as well as rural education, teacher professional development, and education leadership. Smith's research has resulted in a substantial number of publications and nearly $50 million of National Science Foundation and other external funding. Two NSF grants for which they are principal investigator provide a sense of the scope and impact of their research. The Student Engagement in Mathematics through an Institutional Network for Active Learning grant focused on active learning practices in precalculus and calculus programs, and has contributed to ongoing shifts in the teaching of math. The Achieving Critical Transformations in Undergraduate Programs in Mathematics grant examines similar issues through the lens of equity. Smith also co-leads the Mathematics Teacher Education-Partnership, a multi-institutional partnership across secondary schools, institutions of higher education, and others across 19 states.
Aaron Douglas/John E. Weaver professorships
Two faculty members were named Aaron Douglas/John E. Weaver professor. The professorship was established in 2008 to recognize faculty members with the rank of full professor who demonstrate sustained and extraordinary levels of teaching excellence and national visibility for instructional activities and/or practice.
Erin Blankenship
Blankenship will be John E. Weaver professor of statistics. She specializes in the field of statistics and data science education and was a key contributor in designing UNL's statistics and data analytics program. She also played an instrumental role in collaborating with the mathematics and computer science departments to launch UNL's joint data science program. She has received funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the Nebraska Department of Education, and is a fellow of the American Statistical Association. She serves as associate editor of the Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education, one of the most prestigious journals in the field, and has received the Jackie Dietz Best Paper Award. She also received the Mu Sigma Rho Statistics Education Award, which recognizes excellence in statistical education, and the University of Nebraska System Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award.
Christine Kelley
Kelley will be Aaron Douglas professor of mathematics. Kelley specializes in error-correcting codes and her research focuses on graph-based codes and iterative decoding algorithms. She is the director of the Mathematical Association of America's Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) program, a year-long professional development experience in which new faculty members from around the country are mentored on effective and research-based teaching skills, and she has co-chaired the Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics for over a decade. She is a fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics and the chair of its education and outreach committee. Kelley has led the College of Arts and Sciences Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Committee for three years. She has won several campus awards including the Harold and Esther Edgerton Junior Faculty Award, the College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Roger Wiegand Award for contributions to graduate students in mathematics.
Susan J. Rosowski professorships
Three faculty members were named Susan J. Rosowski associate professors. The professorship recognizes faculty at the associate professor level who have achieved distinguished records of scholarship or creative activity and who show exceptional promise for future excellence.
John Benson
Benson will be Susan J. Rosowski associate professor of vertebrate ecology in the School of Natural Resources. His research combines demographic modeling with behavioral insights to address critical questions in wildlife population dynamics, spatial ecology, and predator-prey interactions. Benson's work has gained international recognition through 63 high-impact publications in leading ecological journals, his successful collaborations with researchers from around the world, and the $4.2 million funding he has secured from wildlife conservation agencies in both the U.S. and Canada, which include large, multi-year grants from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. He regularly presents at conferences, with 12 appearances in 2024, and his work has been featured by National Geographic, Scientific American, Los Angeles Times, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He is a fellow of UNL's Center for Great Plains Studies and recipient of the Holling Family Teaching Excellence Award.
Daizaburo Shizuka
Shizuka will be Susan J. Rosowski associate professor of biological sciences. His research focuses on the influence of sociality on behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary patterns in animals, with a focus on the causes and consequences of social networks in flocks and communities of birds. He is currently principal investigator or co-principal investigator on multiple National Science Foundation grants totaling nearly $2 million, including a CAREER award and a grant focused on enhancing diversity in ornithological societies. He has published 58 peer-reviewed articles in top scientific journals including Current Biology, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He is frequently invited to give seminars at major research universities and conferences, including a plenary seminar at the American Ornithological Society. Shizuka is a fellow of the American Ornithological Society, and recipient of the T.O. Haas Faculty Award for Mentoring and Dean's Award for Excellence in Graduate Education.
Limei Zhang
Zhang will be Susan J. Rosowski associate professor of biochemistry. She is a structural biologist with expertise in redox biology and metal-binding proteins, and is affiliated with UNL's Redox Biology Center. Her research addresses critical knowledge gaps in the mechanisms of survival and pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with the aim of designing effective anti-tuberculosis therapeutics. Zhang has secured funding totaling over $3.7 million, with multiple grants from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health, and a National Science Foundation CAREER award. She authored and co-authored 32 peer-reviewed, high-impact publications in prestigious journals, including Molecular Cell, Nucleic Acids Research, and Nature Communications, and four book chapters/conference abstracts. She is a National Strategic Research Institute fellow and serves as the director of the Redox Biology Research Experience for Undergraduates Program. Zhang was a recipient of the NIH Maximizing Investigators' Research Award and a member of the NSF EPSCoR Research Fellows program. She received UNL's High Impact Publication Award from the Agricultural Research Division and the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award.
Learn more about these professorships, including requirements for nomination and past recipients.
