In the News: Feb. 5, 2024

EV CRASH TESTS
The Midwest Roadside Safety Facility released the results of two crash tests indicating that a common guardrail system used on many roads cannot handle electric vehicles, which are heavier and have a lower center of gravity. https://engineering.unl.edu/news/240131/mwrsf_evs_safety/. Stories appeared in at least seven Nebraska media outlets and numerous national media outlets, including ABC News, The Associated Press, The Hill, MSN, and Yahoo! Finance.

SURGICAL ROBOT IN SPACE
A pair of articles from Nebraska Today feature Virtual Incision’s miniaturized surgical robot that was launched Jan. 30 into space for tests aboard the International Space Station:

• A look at the Miniaturized In vivo Robotic Assistant (MIRA), which was co-developed by Shane Farritor and Dmitry Oleynikov and the path that led to the rocket launch. https://engineering.unl.edu/news/240130/mira_farritor_launch/
  
• A team of Nebraska Engineering students play a key role in preparing the surgical robot for its space mission. https://engineering.unl.edu/news/240130/mira_launch_students/

• Rajib Saha leads team using a metabolic model to study temperature stress on corn. https://engineering.unl.edu/news/240130/chme/saha_corn_stress/
  
• Peter Revesz recently deciphered an inscription on an ancient sphinx. Stories on the discovery appeared in more than 30 media outlets, including AOL, the Miami Herald, MSN and Yahoo! News. https://go.unl.edu/qor6
  
• A FoodDive article features a multidisciplinary consortium led by Yufeng Ge and Santosh Pitla is studying ways to sustainably grow food for humans in space in hopes of UNL becoming the first university to establish a center dedicated to space agriculture. https://go.unl.edu/sd60
  
• A team including Massimiliano Pierobon is working on $24.5M NSRI project to develop an acute radiation prophylactic. Straight Arrow News published a Jan. 10 story. https://go.unl.edu/g8e7
  
• Marc Maguire’s team developing an environmentally friendly, hemp-based alternative to concrete blocks was featured by Straight Arrow News. https://go.unl.edu/z7uf
  
• Husker-Net to provide Nebraska researchers with private 5G connectivity. https://go.unl.edu/kqj7
  
• Safe, easy-to-use peritoneal access device co-developed by Nebraska Engineering and UNMC researchers featured in unemed.com article. https://go.unl.edu/wz4u

• College caps Kiewit Hall’s opening week with friendly paper aircraft competition. https://engineering.unl.edu/news/240131/kiewithall_paper_aircraft/

• University of Nebraska will be more competitive with new research reporting model that combines expenditures from UNL, UNMC. https://go.unl.edu/owse

• A conversation with his brother while Trent Hazlett was a Nebraska Engineering student inspired his company’s development of scales to weigh patients on gurneys to help paramedics more accurately provide proper medication dosages. https://go.unl.edu/ojtn