Here's a quick update of some of the exciting developments going on within the college...
We are just finishing a pre-proposal to the U.S. Department of Commerce to establish a Manufacturing Innovation Institute headquartered in Nebraska, focusing on transformational food manufacturing. Key people from UNL working on the pre-proposal include Mark Riley, David Jones, Curt Weller, Rolando Flores and Ronnie Green. We are being joined by Georgia Tech and UC-Davis, along with a number of food manufacturers and their affiliated equipment and device suppliers. The funding would include $70 million over five years, with an expected 1:1 match. This is a very competitive process and we're getting our efforts concerning this initiative to an ever-expanding and influential community of leaders.
As part of the process of developing this overall initiative, we're hosting a technology roadmap workshop centered around transformational food manufacturing in Washington, D.C., May 10-11. A Congressional briefing will kick-off the workshop on the 10th.
A major goal of this effort is to create a nationally recognized focus area that will generate research funding across a broad range of engineering disciplines. Jeyam Subbiah has been working with the NSF and ORED to help set the stage for that critical component of this activity.
Whether or not we are successful in this particular funding competition, the pieces continue to come together. And I am optimistic about the possibility of establishing a major center here based in the college in the next few years.
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Building & Renovations
LB 956, which was recently passed by the state legislature and includes the deferred maintenance funding for engineering and education/human sciences, was approved by Governor Ricketts on March 30. We anticipate receiving approximately $97 million to renovate and upgrade the engineering complex, as well as for new construction. We are now beginning a major fundraising campaign for the new building and other renovations/upgrades.
As part of this process, we have hired DLR Group to conduct the project planning, with a target to complete this stage in late October/early November. They hope to schedule several working sessions with students, faculty and staff, so watch for more information concerning these meetings.
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Faculty Hiring
Thanks to all the department chairs, faculty, and college staff who are helping with the hiring of new faculty. This really is one of the most important things we do here! We have 10 committed to joining us so far: 2 - ECE in Omaha; 1 - DSAEC in Omaha; 3 - CHME; 3 - MME; and 1 - BSE.