Office of Research and Economic Development RESEARCH AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY

July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020 Major Sponsored Programs and Faculty Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity

University of Nebraska–Lincoln This booklet highlights successes in research, scholarship and creative activity by University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty during the fiscal year running July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020. It lists investigators, project titles and funding sources on major grants and sponsored awards received during the year; fellowships and other recognitions and honors bestowed on our faculty; books published by faculty; performances, exhibitions and other creative activity; and patents and licensing agreements issued. Based on your feedback, the Office of Research and Economic Development expanded this publication to include peer-reviewed journal articles and conference presentations and recognize students and faculty mentors participating in the Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experience Program (UCARE) and the First-Year Research Experiences program (FYRE). While metrics cannot convey the full story of our work, they are tangible measures of impact. Nebraska achieved a record $317 million in total research expenditures in FY 2019, a 26% increase over the past decade. Thanks to your efforts, our university is making progress toward its goal of approaching $450 million in research expenditures by 2025. Husker researchers are stimulating economic growth through university-sponsored industry activity. Nebraska Innovation Campus created 1,657 jobs statewide and had a total Bob Wilhelm economic impact of $324.1 million in FY 2019. NUtech Ventures brought in $6.6 million in Vice Chancellor for Research licensing income in FY 2020. The University of Nebraska system now ranks 65th among the and Economic Development top 100 academic institutions receiving U.S. patents, jumping 14 spots from 2019. I am proud of the Nebraska Research community for facing the challenges of 2020 with and determination. Our researchers quickly adapted to develop solutions for an evolving pandemic — all while working apart and keeping themselves and their families safe. As an institution, we made a commitment to embrace an anti-racism journey and work toward racial equity. Advancing conversations and developing lasting solutions is among the most important work we can do as scholars. Against the backdrop of the pandemic, rising racial and social tensions, and natural disasters, Nebraska researchers worked diligently to address other pressing issues, such as obesity and related diseases, nanomaterials, agricultural resilience and the state’s STEM workforce. Let’s continue looking forward to what we can accomplish together. Thank you for participating in the grand challenges process and helping identify the wicked problems that Nebraska has unique expertise to solve. Soon, ORED will unveil a Research Roadmap that outlines how our campus will develop research expertise; enrich creative activity; bolster commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; enhance economic development; and much more. Amidst the uncertainty of 2020, I remain confident in our faculty’s talent and commitment. I am pleased to present this record of accomplishments.

Bob Wilhelm CONTENTS

3 Awards of $5 Million or More 8 Awards of $1 Million to $4,999,999 19 Awards of $250,000 to $999,999 46 Early Career Awards 49 Arts and Humanities Awards of $250,000 or More 52 Arts and Humanities Awards of $50,000 to $249,999 53 Arts and Humanities Awards of $5,000 to $49,999 54 Patents 58 License Agreements 60 Creative Activity 62 Books 64 Recognitions and Honors 70 Journal Articles 97 Conference Presentations 111 UCARE and FYRE Projects 126 Glossary

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I am proud of the Nebraska Research community for facing the challenges of 2020 “ with grit and determination.

Brank, Eve Center on Children, Families and the Law Awards of $5 Million or More Training on Family and Policy Services Active awards, July 1, 2019–June 30, 2020 $11,268,815 ...... DHHS-ACF through * Indicates new in 2019–2020 Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services 1/1/18 – 12/31/21 Olson, Kathryn . . . . . Center on Children, Families and the Law Bevins, Rick Psychology/ Eve Brank, professor of psychology and director Rural Drug Addiction Research Center of the Center on Children, Families and the Law Rural Drug Addiction Research Center (CCFL), and Kathryn Olson, research assistant $11,854,178 ...... NIH-NIGMS professor and assistant director of CCFL, lead 4/5/19 – 2/29/24 this effort to develop and deliver training to Khan, Bilal . . . . Sociology/Rural Drug Addiction Research Center child and family services specialists consistent Tyler, Kimberly . . Sociology/Rural Drug Addiction Research Center with federal and state statutes and policy. With The Rural Drug Addiction Research Center the support of the Nebraska Department of was created in April 2019 as a National Health and Human Services and the Administration for Children and Institutes of Health Center of Biomedical Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Research Excellence, or COBRE. Under the program encompasses development and delivery of child protection leadership of Rick Bevins, Chancellor’s and safety training for child protection and safety workers in Nebraska. Professor of psychology, the center’s mission is to advance understanding of causes, impacts Cahoon, Edgar Biochemistry/Center for Biotechnology/ and interventions related to rural drug Center for Plant Science Innovation/ addiction in the Midwest, a geographic area that has been Nebraska Center for Redox Biology historically understudied. Designed to be interdisciplinary and RII Track-1: Center for Root and Rhizobiome Innovation (CRRI) data-driven, the research links pre-clinical studies to field-based $10,062,433 ...... NSF-EPSCoR behavioral, neural, social, clinical, translational research and 6/15/16 – 5/31/21 dissemination. Adamec, Jiri ...... Biochemistry/Center for Biotechnology/ Center for Plant Science Innovation/ Bloom, Kenneth Physics and Astronomy Nebraska Center for Redox Biology U.S. CMS Operations at the LHC Clemente, Thomas ...... Agronomy and Horticulture/ $6,257,263 ...... NSF through Princeton University Center for Biotechnology/ 1/1/12 – 12/31/21 Center for Plant Science Innovation/ Nebraska Center for Redox Biology Ken Bloom, professor of physics and astronomy, Drijber, Rhae ...... Agronomy and Horticulture/ coordinates the U.S. contingent of the Center for Biotechnology/ international research team conducting Center for Plant Science Innovation/ experiments using the Large Hadron Collider Nebraska Center for Redox Biology (LHC) at CERN, the European Organization for Griep, Mark ...... Chemistry/Center for Biotechnology/ Nuclear Research in Switzerland. This grant Center for Plant Science Innovation/ from the National Science Foundation enables Nebraska Center for Redox Biology the UNL team to support the current High- Helikar, Tomas ...... Biochemistry/Center for Biotechnology/ Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) upgrade project. Center for Plant Science Innovation/ Nebraska Center for Redox Biology Herr, Joshua ...... Plant Pathology/Center for Biotechnology/ Center for Plant Science Innovation/ Nebraska Center for Redox Biology Moriyama, Etsuko . . Biological Sciences/Center for Biotechnology/ Center for Plant Science Innovation/ Nebraska Center for Redox Biology

AWARDS OF $5 MILLION OR MORE 3 Russo, Sabrina . . . Biological Sciences/Center for Biotechnology/ Graef, Michelle Center on Children, Families and the Law Center for Plant Science Innovation/ Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development Nebraska Center for Redox Biology $15,235,500 ...... DHHS-ACF Schachtman, Daniel ...... Agronomy and Horticulture/ 9/30/16 – 9/29/21 Center for Biotechnology/ Ells, Mark ...... Center on Children, Families and the Law Center for Plant Science Innovation/ Paul, Megan ...... Center on Children, Families and the Law Nebraska Center for Redox Biology Stephenson, Kate . . . . Center on Children, Families and the Law Schnable, James ...... Agronomy and Horticulture/ Center for Biotechnology/ The University of Nebraska–Lincoln has Center for Plant Science Innovation/ launched the Quality Improvement Center for Nebraska Center for Redox Biology Workforce Development with a five-year, $15 van Dijk, Karin ...... Biochemistry/Center for Biotechnology/ million grant to the Center on Children, Center for Plant Science Innovation/ Families and the Law from the U.S. Department Nebraska Center for Redox Biology of Health and Human Services Administration Walia, Harkamal ...... Agronomy and Horticulture/ for Children and Families-Children’s Bureau. Center for Biotechnology/ Under the leadership of Michelle Graef, Center for Plant Science Innovation/ associate professor in the Center on Children, Families and the Law, Nebraska Center for Redox Biology this multidisciplinary project studies and tests promising strategies to Weber, Karrie ...... Biological Sciences/ help child welfare agencies recruit and retain staff workers. Nebraska Earth and Atmospheric Sciences/ collaborates with three national child welfare consultants and Center for Biotechnology/ researchers at the University of Colorado, Denver; University of Center for Plant Science Innovation/ Louisville; and University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The center draws on Nebraska Center for Redox Biology a range of expertise, including social work, industrial organizational Yu, Bin ...... Biological Sciences/Center for Biotechnology/ psychology, human resource management, educational psychology, Center for Plant Science Innovation/ implementation science and the law. Nebraska Center for Redox Biology Zhang, Chi . . . . . Biological Sciences/Center for Biotechnology/ Heng-Moss, Tiffany College of Agricultural Sciences Center for Plant Science Innovation/ and Natural Resources Nebraska Center for Redox Biology Developing the Next Generation of Rwandan Agricultural Leaders The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is leading $47,492,836 ...... Various Associations/Foundations a $20 million, Nebraska-based research effort 7/1/15 – 5/31/23 to improve crop productivity. Funded with a Davis, Josh ...... Global Affairs five-year award from the National Science Waller, Steven ...... Center for Grassland Studies Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate With grants totaling more than $47,000,000, Competitive Research, or EPSCoR, this project the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural draws upon a range of expertise in Nebraska. Resources (CASNR) at the University of The university is teaming with scientists at the Nebraska–Lincoln is partnering with various University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Nebraska at associations and foundations to provide Kearney and Doane University on the Center for Root and Rhizobiome educational opportunities for Rwandan students Innovation. Project leader is Edgar Cahoon, George Holmes Professor to participate in the CASNR Undergraduate of biochemistry and director of the Center for Plant Science Scholars Program (CUSP). In support of a Innovation. The research uses a holistic strategy to study root and soil Practical Agriculture Institute in Rwanda, Rwandan students are microbe interactions and to develop new biological tools to enhance identified and selected to participate in CUSP to pursue a Bachelor of crop performance. Science degree in integrated science – an individualized program of study focused on conservation agriculture, entrepreneurship, leadership and innovative thinking. The students’ degree programs are specifically designed to be relevant to Rwandan agricultural production and the country’s goal of building resilience into its agricultural ecosystems. CASNR dean Tiffany Heng-Moss leads this effort.

4 AWARDS OF $5 MILLION OR MORE Moxley, Rodney Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences its four-state region after a competitive review. Laurence Rilett, MATC Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) in the Beef Chain: director and the Keith W. Klaasmeyer Chair in engineering, leads the Assessing and Mitigating the Risk by research center. Funding enables MATC to leverage its track record of Translational Science, Education and Outreach success in transportation research and education to improve safety in $24,808,592 ...... USDA-AFRI the four Region 7 states: Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. MATC 1/1/12 – 12/31/19 is housed in the university’s College of Engineering. Its partner Thippareddi, Harshavardhan . . . . . Food Science and Technology institutions include the University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Iowa, University of Kansas, Rodney Moxley, Charles Bessey Professor of University of Kansas Medical Center, Missouri University of Science veterinary medicine and biomedical sciences, and Technology, Lincoln University and Nebraska Indian Community leads a major project involving 12 universities College. The consortium also has partnerships with several private- and other institutions to target eight of the and public-sector entities, including a longstanding relationship with most dangerous E. coli strains throughout the the Nebraska Department of Transportation. beef production chain. Funded by a $25 million Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Schachtman, Daniel Agronomy and Horticulture/ National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the project’s long-term Center for Plant Science Innovation/ goal is to reduce the occurrence and public health risks from Shiga Center for Biotechnology toxin-producing E. coli in beef, while preserving an economically Systems Analysis of the Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms viable and sustainable beef industry. The project explores the public of Sorghum Nitrogen Use Efficiency, Water Use Efficiency health, economic and environmental impacts of existing or new and Interactions with the Soil Microbiome intervention strategies on predicted and actual STEC exposure risk. $13,460,684 ...... DOE Innovative education, extension and evaluation efforts are 8/15/15 – 8/14/21 intertwined with research on beef chain STEC risk mitigation and Dweikat, Ismail ...... Center for Plant Science Innovation/ decreased numbers of human STEC cases. Agronomy and Horticulture Ge, Yufeng ...... Biological Systems Engineering Rilett, Laurence Civil and Environmental Engineering/ Daniel Schachtman, George Holmes Professor Nebraska Transportation Center of agronomy and horticulture and director of University Transportation Centers Open Competition 2016 the university’s Center for Biotechnology, leads $13,000,900 ...... DOT a $13.5 million, multi-institutional research 12/5/16 – 9/30/22 effort to improve sorghum as a sustainable source for biofuel production. A five-year grant The Mid-America Transportation Center, a from the U.S. Department of Energy funds this consortium of academic institutions led by the highly collaborative project that takes a University of Nebraska–Lincoln, leads a comprehensive approach to understanding how plants and microbes five-year, $13 million research center, funded by interact and to learn which sorghum germplasm can grow with less the U.S. Department of Transportation through water and nitrogen. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation collaborating with scientists at Danforth Plant Science Center, Act, to improve transportation safety in Washington State University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Nebraska and neighboring states. The center, Boyce Thompson Institute, Clemson University, Iowa State University, which emphasizes challenges facing rural areas and underserved Colorado State University and the DOE-Joint Genome Institute. communities, was designated the University Transportation Center of

AWARDS OF $5 MILLION OR MORE 5 Takacs, James Chemistry/Nebraska Center for Tsymbal, Evgeny Physics and Astronomy/ Integrated Biomolecular Communication Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication Materials Research Science and Engineering Center: (NCIBC) Polarization and Spin $11,038,329 ...... NIH-NIGMS $9,629,898 ...... NSF 8/15/16 – 7/31/21 11/1/14 – 10/31/21 Becker, Donald ...... Biochemistry/NCIBC The Materials Research Science and Buan Murphy, Nicole ...... Biochemistry/NCIBC Engineering Center (MRSEC) was established Cerny, Ronald ...... Chemistry/NCIBC in 2002 with a grant from the National Clarke, Jennifer . . . Statistics/Food Science and Technology/NCIBC Science Foundation and involves scientists DiRusso, Concetta ...... Biochemistry/NCIBC from the Departments of Physics and Dodds, Eric ...... Chemistry/NCIBC Astronomy, Chemistry, Mechanical & Hage, David ...... Chemistry/NCIBC Materials Engineering, and the School of Harris, Edward ...... Biochemistry/NCIBC Biological Sciences. MRSEC projects focus on Kidambi, Srivatsan . .Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering/NCIBC fabricating and studying new magnetic structures and materials at Lee, Jaekwon ...... Biochemistry/NCIBC the nanometer scale. The research has applications in advanced Morton, Martha ...... Chemistry/NCIBC computing and data storage, handheld electronic devices, advanced Powers, Robert ...... Chemistry/NCIBC sensors and future medical technologies. Riethoven, Jean-Jack ...... Center for Biotechnology/ NCIBC Stains, Clifford ...... Chemistry/NCIBC Velander, William . .Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering/NCIBC Walia, Harkamal Agronomy and Horticulture Zhou, You ...... Center for Biotechnology/NCIBC RII Track-2 FEC: Comparative Genomics and Phenomics Approach With a five-year, $11 million grant from the to Discover Genes Underlying Heat Resilience in Cereals National Institutes of Health, the University of $5,783,738 ...... NSF-EPSCoR Nebraska–Lincoln has established a research 8/1/17 – 7/31/21 center focused on investigating cellular-level Morota, Gota ...... Science miscommunications that contribute to complex Obata, Toshihiro ...... Biochemistry diseases like cancer, diabetes and chronic liver Yu, Hongfeng ...... Computer Science and Engineering disease. The NCIBC serves as a hub for Zhang, Chi ...... Biological Sciences interdisciplinary collaborations among Zhang, Qi ...... Statistics Nebraska’s biomedical researchers and involves faculty at the Harkamal Walia, associate professor of University of Nebraska Medical Center, as well. The center, directed agronomy and horticulture, leads a project to by James Takacs, Charles J. Mach University Professor of chemistry, explore the effects of high nighttime fosters a systems approach, combining the research activities of temperatures on wheat and rice. Temperature chemists, biochemists, engineers and bioinformaticists. It connects stress can lead to severe losses in the yield researchers developing new molecular probes and analytical and quality of crops, especially wheat and rice, techniques with those unraveling molecular mechanisms of diseases. two major cereal crops worldwide. With the support of a $5.78 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Walia’s team is investigating genes and genetic variants in wheat and rice to identify genetic markers and physiological characteristics tied to heat tolerance. The team also collaborates with researchers from Arkansas State University and Kansas State University.

6 AWARDS OF $5 MILLION OR MORE Wilhelm, Bob Office of Research and Economic Development Zempleni, Janos Nutrition and Health Sciences/ Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research Nebraska Center for the Prevention of $6,250,000 ...... Nebraska Public Power District Obesity Diseases through Dietary Molecules 4/1/16 – 3/31/21 COBRE: Nebraska Center for the Prevention of The Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research is a collaboration Obesity Diseases through Dietary Molecules between the university and the Nebraska Public Power District. The $11,655,208 ...... NIH-NIGMS center