Deepak Keshwani, professor of Biological Systems Engineering, recently won the Omtvedt Innovation Award from IANR for his exceptional teaching abilities.
The $2,500 award (or $5,000 for a team) is given annually to an IANR faculty member, or a team led by an IANR faculty member, who has demonstrated exceptional abilities and innovation in the areas of teaching, research or extension education.
Keshwani teaches undergraduate classes in the Mechanized Systems Management program in addition to an interdisciplinary first-year seminar for CASNR students focused on civic engagement and leadership.
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College of Engineering faculty have been awarded five of the 11 grants to University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty that will provide assistantships to graduate students doing research that contributes to global water and food security.
The five engineering faculty who received the grants and their research are:
* Yufeng Ge, assistant professor of Biological Systems Engineering, for the project: "Integrated Crop and Soil Water Sensor Network to Assist UAS and Soil Water Simulation Modeling in Variable Rate Irrigation." Graduate student: To be recruited.
* James Goedert, professor of Construction Engineering, for the project: "Growing Haiti." Ph.D. student: To be recruited.
* Xu Li, associate professor of Civil Engineering, for the project: "Determination of Setback Distance Requirements for Reducing Contaminants in Agricultural Runoff Following the Land Application of Swine Manure Slurry." Graduate student: Maria Cecilia Hall, civil engineering.
* Yusong Li, associate professor of Civil Engineering, for the project: "Influence of Climate and Agricultural Clustering on Groundwater Contamination by Trace Organics." Ph.D. student: Chuyang Liu, civil engineering.
* Adam Liska, associate professor of Biological Systems Engineering and George Dempster Smith Chair of Industrial Ecology, for the project: "Livestock Thermodynamics & Agricultural Energy Productivity Gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa." Graduate student: Calvin Harman, biological systems engineering. (See video)
Water for Food Institute article: http://waterforfood.nebraska.edu/blog/2017/12/05/water-for-food-grants-support-student-researchers/
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Recently, two teams of Durham School construction students placed in the top five at the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) 25th Annual Region 4 Construction Management Competition. The event consisted of four divisions of competition: Commercial, Design-Build, Heavy-Civil and Specialty Contracting with the overall intent of placing students in “real life” project management situations.
The Durham School’s Heavy Highway team took first place and the Commercial team placed fifth among 30 teams representing 11 schools in the region and 180 students.
During the 18-hour competition, students were charged with scheduling, estimating, running cost analyses, and resolving several management issues that arose during the project planning phase.
“The students experienced first-hand how seemingly minor construction changes can truly impact the larger project specifications and how to manage those changes,” said Kelli Herstein, Durham School lecturer and team coach.
The Durham School’s teams consisted of 12 students enrolled in the Construction Capstone course. Members of the Heavy Highway Team included Kris Bridges, Nicholas Hoefs, Scott Hurtz, Niles Uerling, Brandon Wallman, and John Wieser. Their prize included individual and team trophies, plus $1,000 donated by Kiewit for the Durham School’s ASC Chapter.
The Commercial Team included students Dan Carroll, Anh Hung Dao, Japheth Hartman, David Peaslee, Grisel Ramirez, and Ella Seacrest.
The Durham School’s Commercial and Heavy Highway teams were coached by Matt Barrows, Bob Bloechle, Kevin Grosskopf, Brandon Kreiling, and Kelli Herstein. On-site competition coaches were Matt Barrows, Stu Bernstein, and Kelli Herstein.
https://engineering.unl.edu/durham-school-student-construction-management-teams-place-asc-regional-competition/
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Biological Systems Engineering graduate student Naisargi Dave published her first paper, "Quantifying Effectiveness of Streambank Stabilization Practices on Cedar River, Nebraska," in the online journal Water with Professor Aaron Mittelstet as co-author.
The article and its abstract are available at these links:
PDF Version: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/9/12/930/pdf
Abstract: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/9/12/930/