School of Computing assistant professor Shuai Nie is one of the recipients of the 2022 Joyce R. Jeffries New Faculty Scholar Award.
This $1,000 award, presented by the Office of Research and Economic Development, is intended to advance the grant-getting efforts of early-stage investigators in science, engineering, or the agricultural sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“I am happy to receive this award because it motivates me to continue pursuing federal funding opportunities with new ideas and advance my research,” Nie said.
Funds from this award may be used to support a variety of research costs, such as travelling to network with federal program officers, enhancing the preparation of a federal grant proposal, or offsetting the costs of professional development opportunities related to proposal writing.
“I plan to use this award to visit program officers at the National Science Foundation and other federal funding agencies to communicate my research ideas and to seek their feedback for proposal development,” Nie said.
The Joyce R. Jeffries New Faculty Scholar Award was established by Jeffries herself, a native Nebraskan who spent most of her life in the Chicago area. Jeffries moved to Lincoln after working in philanthropy and for some time at William Rainey Harper College. Aware of the pressure faculty can face when establishing their programs, Jeffries established a fund to help boost the research development of promising early career faculty at the university.
Nie joined the School of Computing in August 2021. In her first year of teaching, she received the School of Computing Award for Student Choice for Outstanding Teaching (Upper Level). Her research areas include wireless communications, millimeter-wave (mmWave) and terahertz (THz)-band communications, Internet of Things, satellite communications, and networks.
Nie said in addition to the award, she is grateful for the tremendous support she’s received from the university community in her first year.
“Over the past year as a new faculty member, I learned so much from many helpful discussions I had with mentors and colleagues in our School of Computing, College of Engineering, Office of Research and Economic Development, and Office of Sponsored Programs,” Nie said. “I am grateful for their kind help and support to me.”
Congratulations to Nie on this outstanding achievement!