A University of Nebraska-Lincoln author’s nomination for one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world was among about 50 stories that put UNL, its faculty, staff and students in the national news in the month of September.
Chigozie Obioma’s “The Fishermen,” was one of six English-language books named to the shortlist for the Man Booker Prize. Obioma, a Nigerian, began teaching in UNL’s creative writing program this fall. His book tells the story of four Nigerian brothers who are haunted by a madman’s prophecy that the eldest will be killed by his brothers. Obioma’s inclusion on the Man Booker shortlist was covered by outlets around the world, including the Washington Post and the Atlantic on Sept. 15, All Africa on Sept. 16 and Nigeria’s Daily Sun on Sept. 19. A Sept. 25 interview in All Africa discussed Obioma’s place in Nigerian literature.
Other highlights of September’s coverage:
Kelli Britten, advertising and public relations, and UNL student Hannah Christian were among those quoted in a Sept. 23 USA TODAY College story about an app that awards students points toward prizes if they stay off their phone while in class.
A Sept. 10 Associated Press report about alumnus Kent Broyhill’s effort to pay 40-year-old parking tickets was carried by countless outlets nationwide, including CBS News.
Stephen C. Cooper’s upcoming move from Stanford University to director of the **Jeffrey Raikes School of Computer Science and Management **was included in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “People” news on Sept. 8.
The Arizona Republic interviewed Wheeler Winston Dixon, film studies, for a report on the dark themes that will dominate many of this fall’s new movies. Dixon also was quoted Sept. 7 in the Orange County Register and Sept. 9 in the Christian Science Monitor about the challenges facing Stephen Colbert as he replaces David Letterman in “The Late Show.”
UNL students Erin Cooper and Seamus Mulcahy were quoted in a Sept. 5 USA TODAY College story about states passing medical amnesty laws that allow underage drinkers to seek medical help for alcohol poisoning without fearing prosecution. The story was written by UNL student Vanessa Daves.
Virtual Strategy Magazine reported Sept. 23 that Virtual Incision Corp., a business that is spinning out technology developed by Shane Farritor, engineering, and a NU Medical Center colleague, had received a 2015 Game Changer Award from Robotics Business Review.
Matthias Fuchs, physics and astronomy, was featured in a Sept. 25 BTN LiveBig story about his research using an X-ray free-electron laser machine.
The part played by Alexei Gruverman, Evgeny Tysmbal, Haidong Lu and Tula R. Paudel, physics and astronomy, in the discovery of a ferroelectric nanomaterial was reported by R & D Magazine on Sept. 21.
Bridge Magazine, produced by the Center for Michigan, examined how UNL has reduced campus binge drinking in a Sept. 30 article. Matt Hecker, dean of students, Caleb Hoesing, Interfraternity Council, and Linda Major, student affairs, are among those quoted.
Bloomberg News quoted David Keck, director of the Raikes School of Computer Science and Management, and UNL student Michael Hollman for a widely carried Sept. 26 piece on the growing popularity of Lincoln and other Midwestern cities as sites for technology startup companies.
The death of UNL alumnus Ben Kuroki, who overcame the military’s discriminatory policies to become the only Japanese American to fly over Japan during World War II, was reported by the Associated Press and many other news outlets nationwide. Kuroki’s obituary also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia.
L.J. McElravy, agriculture leadership, education and communication, was featured in a Sept. 15 USA TODAY College story about his unusual teaching methods in a leadership class. The story was written by UNL student Vanessa Daves.
U.S. News & World Report quoted Elsbeth Magilton, space, cyber and telecommunications law executive director, in a story offering tips for online graduate students to persuade employers to let them miss work for school.
UNL’s new Military and Veterans Success Center was covered in a Sept. 14 Associated Press story carried by outlets nationwide.
David Moshman, educational psychology, discussed intellectual freedom in the classroom during an interview carried on Blog Talk Radio.
The Newman Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, newly established on the UNL campus, was featured by EWTN News and the Catholic News Agency on Sept. 17. An initiative of Lincoln Bishop James Conley, the institute will offer accredited academic courses on Catholic intellectual tradition and the humanities.
Peter Olshavsky, architecture and UNL student Collin Meusch from Kearney were mentioned in the Associated Press’s widely carried Sept. 22 report on a UNL’s participation in a global challenge to temporarily transform downtown parking spaces into miniature parks.
Mother Earth News turned to a report from Alexander Pavlista, extension agronomy and horticulture, for a Sept. 4 report on whether green potatoes will make you sick.
Timothy Schaffert, English, was quoted in a Sept. 24 Chicago Tribune story about Ervin Krause, a short-story writer championed by UNL’s literary magazine, The Prairie Schooner, and its editor Karl Shapiro. Schaffert edited a posthumous collection of stories by Krause, who died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1970.
William Thomas, history chair, and his project to give online access to 19th-Century freedom petitions brought by enslaved people in Washington D.C. were featured in a Sept. 11 report on The Vault, Slate.com’s history blog.
The Daily Beast talked to James Van Etten, plant pathology, for a Sept. 27 piece discussing giant viruses, now dormant in the permafrost, that could be released as the planet warms. Spoiler alert: Van Etten said it’s unlikely that something buried in the permafrost will awaken to destroy humanity.
Frans von der Dunk, space, cyber and telecommunications law, was interviewed for a Sept. 23 Popular Science story on the legality of mining in space.
Karrie Weber, biological, Earth and atmospheric sciences, was quoted in a HealthDay syndicated report on her findings that naturally occurring uranium taints two major U.S. aquifers. The story was carried by U.S. News & World Report on Sept 2.
The appointment of Catherine Wilson, law, to a new Federal Reserve consumer advisory panel was reported by Dow Jones Business News on Sept. 22.
Faculty, administration, student and staff appearances in the national media are logged at http://newsroom.unl.edu/inthenews/ If you have additions to this list or suggestions for national news stories, contact Leslie Reed at lreed5@unl.edu or 402-472-2059.
