Children’s Center preps for first day

Aug 20th, 2009 | By | Category: August 20, 2009, Campus News, Issue

Facility hosts open house Aug. 20, 21 The new Children’s Center at UNL will host an open house 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 20 and 21. The center is located in the north annex of the former Whittier Junior High School building at 22nd and W Streets. There will be no guided tours during […]



Scientist’s book links chemistry to big screen

Aug 20th, 2009 | By | Category: August 20, 2009, Campus News, Issue

It’s Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, chemistry-style. How is an associate professor at UNL connected to Elvis Presley, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks and, yes, Kevin Bacon? By his new book, “ReAction: Chemistry in the Movies.” With its publication Aug. 12, chemist Mark Griep and his wife and co-author Marjorie Mikasen have linked the theoretical and […]



Wang taps NASA data to assist middle, high school educators

Aug 20th, 2009 | By | Category: August 20, 2009, Campus News, Issue

A two-day summer conference organized by UNL’s Jun Wang helped launch 19 middle- and high-school educators into orbit with NASA satellite data. Wang, an assistant professor of geosciences, is the recipient of a New Investigator Program in Earth Sciences grant from NASA. Through the $306,000, three-year grant, Wang is studying the impacts of smoke from […]



Research dollars clear record $122M

Aug 20th, 2009 | By | Category: August 20, 2009, Issue, Research

Total research funding at UNL increased nearly 13 percent this year to a record of more than $122 million, according to the Office of Research. Total research funding, which includes all external funds awarded for university research, was $122,452,344 in the fiscal year ending June 30. The increase, up from $108.3 million in fiscal 2008, […]



New year, new $10M

Aug 20th, 2009 | By | Category: August 20, 2009, Issue, Research

Federal funds create Center for Research on Rural Education UNL opened the new fiscal year by accepting a grant of nearly $10 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. The award establishes the National Center for Research on Rural Education, the only one of its kind in the United States. With […]



Tracing migration through mutation

Aug 20th, 2009 | By | Category: August 20, 2009, Campus News, Issue

Biologists identify molecular basis of high-altitude adaptation in field mice Biologists have long known how adaptive evolution works. New mutations arise within a population and those that confer some benefits increase in frequency and eventually become fixed in the population. A significant challenge for evolutionary biologists, however, has been to identify the specific mutations that […]



50 young scientists (and a former astronaut)

Aug 20th, 2009 | By | Category: August 20, 2009, Campus News, Issue

Free science camp draws middle schoolers to UNL Bernard Harris, a former astronaut and the first African American to walk in space, watches as “Rockers” team members (from left) Symone Arends, Rodney Woodcock, Jonathan Cain and Thanh Vo conduct an experiment during the 2009 ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp. The free camp, sponsored by […]



Study discovers clues into how eyes search

Aug 20th, 2009 | By | Category: August 20, 2009, Campus News, Issue

Like the robots in the “Terminator” movies, our eyes move methodically through a scene when seeking out an object. If we don’t immediately find what we’re searching for, our attention leaves the already-scanned area behind and moves on to new, unexplored regions of a scene, still seeking the target. “Inhibition of return” – in which […]



New traditions added to annual Big Red Welcome

Aug 20th, 2009 | By | Category: August 20, 2009, Campus News, Issue

Entering pins, Cornhusker Oath expand semester-opening event When thousands of new and returning Huskers converge on campus, the highlight of their arrival will be the annual Big Red Welcome – a convocation, celebration and festival spanning the entire weekend (Aug. 21-23). Big Red Welcome, sponsored by the University Bookstore, begins at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 21 […]



Negahban, Moore headline commencement

Aug 20th, 2009 | By | Category: August 20, 2009, Campus News, Issue

Approximately 780 students received degrees at UNL commencement exercises Aug. 14 and 15. Barbara Couture, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, presided at the Aug. 14 ceremonies for master’s and doctoral degrees and the Aug. 15 presentation of baccalaureate degrees. Mehrdad Negahban, associate professor of engineering mechanics at UNL, gave the address during the postgraduate […]