UNL scientists have developed this neutron detector, (shown at right) which is about the size of a dime.

Tiny neutron detector developed

By Monica Norby, Research Communications

A highly sensitive, hand-held neutron detection device developed by UNL researchers could be used for locating hidden nuclear materials, monitoring nuclear weapons storage and other national security applications.

The detector, built around a boron-carbide semiconductor diode smaller than a dime, can detect neutrons emitted by the materials that fuel nuclear weapons.

"This is a leapfrog technology in neutron detection," said Peter Dowben, UNL physicist who was the first to fabricate a boron carbide semi-conductor. Using Dowben's boron carbide semiconductors, the research team built a detector about the size of a Lego block that is much more efficient, lighter and tougher than existing detectors.

"This device is very small, it can be powered with small batteries or even solar cells, and it can withstand corrosion and extremely high temperatures," said mechanical engineer Brian Robertson.

The research team members, all affiliated with UNL's Center for Materials Research Analysis, who developed the tiny neutron detection device are, from left, Brian Robertson, Jennifer Brand, Shireen Adenwalla, Peter Dowben and Andrew Harken.

Five patents are held by UNL or are pending on the device itself and on the processes for producing the semi-conductors. The team is continuing to refine the device, focusing on improving its efficiency and reliability, and is exploring commercialization with a Lincoln-based engineering company.

"The materials used to make the device are fairly inexpensive and there are manufacturers here in Nebraska with the technology to produce these detectors right now," Dowben said.

Development of the detector was funded largely through the Nebraska Research Initiative, a state-funded competitive grants program.

"This is a story of how the state's investment in research can lead to technology that benefits Nebraskans and the nation," said Prem Paul, UNL vice chancellor for research.

The detector has applications beyond national security, said physicist Shireen Adenwalla. NASA wants a low-mass, thin device like this for their comet landers, which measure the hydrogen content of comets. It also has uses in experimental medical radiation treatments for cancer and for "scattering" experiments performed in basic neutron research.

The research team, all affiliated with UNL's Center for Materials Research Analysis, includes Robertson, Adenwalla, Dowben and chemical engineer Jennifer Brand.

Robertson presented a scientific paper on the device at a meeting in July of the International Society for Optical Engineering, generating intense interest and invitations from U.S. national laboratories and European laboratories to present results and participate in research programs.

"This is something people have been trying to do for more than 38 years and haven't been able to accomplish," Robertson said. "We have invented this device and it works very, very well."

The new building for chemical engineering on campus is named for alumnus Donald F. Othmer, who graduated in 1928. He was a noted chemical engineer and professor at Polytechnic Institute of New York in Brooklyn.

New home for chemical engineering on campus

The doors are open at the new Donald F. Othmer Hall on campus at the northwest corner of 17th and Vine streets. The brick and limestone building houses the department of chemical engineering as well as the dean's office for the College of Engineering and Technology. The building features state-of-the-art research laboratories and computer control systems, and distance-education facilities.

Engineering and Technology Dean David Allen and Chancellor Harvey Perlman will dedicate Othmer Hall at a ceremony at 4 p.m. Sept. 6 at the building. For more information, e-mail akoopmann1@unl.edu or call 472-7094.

Grasso Ebako, extension and diagnostic poultry veterinarian at UNL, wears protective gear as he prepares a dead crow for a test for the West Nile Virus at the Veterinary Diagnostic Center on East Campus.

Vet Center busy with West Nile testing

By Shannon Hartenstein, IANR News and Publishing

West Nile Virus testing is keeping pathologists and staff busy at UNL's Veterinary Diagnostic Center.

The center has been flooded with dozens of bird and horse samples arriving every day, said David Steffen, director of the center. The center began testing horses earlier this month and by Aug. 15 was testing 28 horse serum samples, he said. Testing the serum takes two to three days, Steffen said.

Prior testing was referred to the National Veterinary Sciences Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, but the high infection rate revealed in initial tests prompted a more rapid response testing of horse serum in Lincoln on Aug. 11, he said. Samples will be set up each day as long as the incidence of new horse cases remains high, Steffen said.

"I would hope we're heading into the peak of the outbreak now as evidence of the virus is being found across the state," he said.

Three birds tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus in Lancaster County in June and July, signaling the disease's arrival in the state. A Lancaster County mule was the first confirmed equine case in August. By the middle of the month, cases were confirmed in 27 Nebraska counties.

The lab is receiving as many as 40 bird samples a day, up from about five a day earlier this summer, said Grasso Ebako, NU extension and diagnostic poultry veterinarian. Testing has forced Ebako and other workers to spend extra hours at the center. Ebako said he works an average of 13 hours every day and has stayed as late as 3 a.m. to keep up with the workload.

"It's been overwhelming," he said.

The extra work also has forced postponement of some other activities planned as equipment and staff have prioritized West Nile Virus testing during the epidemic, Steffen said. The center tests all bird samples in Nebraska under contract with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. More than 300 birds have been tested since September 2001, Ebako said.

The center anticipated the arrival of the virus in Nebraska, Ebako said.

"We've been doing surveillance for the last three years and we were expecting it (the virus) this summer," Ebako said. "When reports indicated the virus was approaching Nebraska, we had the equipment and procedures in place."

Steffen said cases will continue coming in until the first hard freeze, which will diminish mosquito activity and reduce the number of cases. He said he has been surprised by the rapid spike in infected horses seen in the last couple of weeks.

Horses need to be protected from exposure as much as possible, and owners should assume the virus and mosquitoes are present statewide, Steffen said. Horse owners should discuss vaccination of their animals with a veterinarian, he said.

"If we have a late frost and mild winter, vaccination this year may still be beneficial this year," Steffen said.

The center prepared for the West Nile Virus by adding a biosafety cabinet for handling infected birds, which reduces risks of human exposure, and by adding equipment for polymerase chain reaction testing, which detects the viral RNA or genetic material, Steffen said.

Positive test results help track the virus.

"Our effort in testing makes a big difference in the sense that we can identify which counties in the state have the virus present," Ebako said.

Identifying counties helps warn residents to take precautions against mosquitoes, Ebako said. Public health officials will monitor mosquito populations and infection rates and may control mosquitoes if risk to humans increases, he said.

"It's very, very serious," Ebako said. "The virus has gotten so much media attention because of its human implications. If birds and horses keep coming up positive, it means people have to be very careful."

Clinical signs of the West Nile Virus in horses often can be confused with other diseases, which could be dangerous for humans, Steffen said. These signs can include stumbling, weakness or paralysis of hind limbs, muscle tremors and other neurological symptoms. Sometimes the animals cannot get up and fever is inconsistent, he said.

"The clinical symptoms are similar to those of rabies," Steffen said. "We need to rule out rabies to make sure owners aren't being put at risk by handling the horse."

No human cases of the West Nile Virus have been reported in Nebraska.

The National Veterinary Sciences Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, and the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Manhattan, Kan., also have tested horses from Nebraska.

The Veterinary Diagnostic Center is part of NU's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Perlman to release budget plan Sept. 10

Chancellor Harvey Perlman will announce his proposals for budget reductions on Sept. 10. Faculty and staff will receive an e-mail about the proposals.

After Sept. 10, the Academic Planning Committee will hold hearings about these proposals and will offer recommendations to Perlman about the reductions. After this, Perlman will announce a final budget decision.

The University of Nebraska is cutting $15 million from its 2002-2003 fiscal year budget after state legislators voted in a summer special session for the reductions, which are needed to help deal with a projected tax-revenue shortfall of $250 million over three years.

The special legislative session ran from July 30 to Aug. 15. Gov. Mike Johanns initially proposed a $20 million cut to the university system. The Appropriations Committee reduced these cuts to $10 million, and on Aug. 12, the Legislature passed a $15 million cut to NU.

This cut is in addition to the $16 million in cuts the university had already taken since late 2001 for this fiscal year.

Big Red Welcome to kick off fall semester

New students will be welcomed to UNL during the 2002 Big Red Welcome, three days of free events leading up to the start of fall semester classes on Aug. 26.

Activities begin Aug. 23 with parties at the Campus Recreation Center and the Nebraska Union. "Party at the Rec" will be from 7:30-10:30 p.m., featuring free food and soda, Streetluge races on 14th Street, a live remote radio broadcast, free massages, games, jousts and an obstacle course, climbing wall and a free drawing for guest student-coach tickets at five Husker football games. "Party at the Union," from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., will feature free live concerts, including Grasshopper Takeover on Memorial Plaza, a free pancake breakfast at midnight and a live DJ and dancing on the plaza.

On Aug. 24, the Culture Center will host "The Game," with free food and drinks and a big-screen television beginning at 6 p.m. for watching the Nebraska-Arizona State football game. "What Game?" from 6-10 p.m. in the Nebraska Union Ballroom will feature acoustic music and comedy, free food and a chance to learn about campus organizations. Local student bands will compete in the "Battle of the Bands" beginning at 10 p.m. in the Culture Center, and "Midnight at the Movies" will offer free tickets to the first 1,200 students at the Star Ship 9 Theater. Doors open at 11:30 p.m.

The final day of Big Red Welcome, Aug. 25, begins with the conclusion of the Summer Reading Program. Students enrolled in the University Honors Program and University Foundations Program read The Middle of Everywhere: The World's Refugees Come to Our Town by Lincoln author Mary Pipher this summer. They will meet in the Nebraska Union from 11:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. for small-group discussions about the book with UNL faculty and administrators.

At a 5 p.m. convocation in the Lied Center for Performing Arts, 301 N. 12th St., students will hear from Chancellor Harvey Perlman, student leaders and members of the Cornhusker Marching Band. The annual Street Festival begins at 6 p.m. on R Street, from 12th to 16th streets, where hundreds of organizations and vendors will provide free giveaways and a picnic dinner.

Big Red Welcome concludes with "Coffee House of the Blues" at the Culture Center and a "Movie on the Green" in the Kauffman Center courtyard, both beginning at 8 p.m.

A Western Ironweed blooms in the Cather Garden north of CBA. Plants in Cather Garden are native to the area and tend to do better in drier conditions than non-native plants.

Drought punishes UNL landscape

By Kim Hachiya, University Communications

Dormant, not dead. That's the future for UNL's lawns as long as drought conditions persist since irrigation restriction policies were enacted earlier this month.

The turfgrass at UNL is rapidly turning that wheat color of lawns suffering from drought stress. And campus landscape architect Eileen Bergt said the early August decision to stop watering turf and to concentrate hand-watering efforts on more valuable trees, shrubs and perennials will push the turf into a dormant stage.

In a typical year, that is, a year when it rains more than the few inches Lincoln has experienced this summer, campus lawns are watered four of five days, with the fifth day devoted to mowing. This year, irrigation was cut back to twice a week in July and was cut off as of Aug. 1.

UNL complied with the city's water restrictions by watering its numbered garden zones on corresponding odd-even days, Bergt said. She estimated gardening watering has decreased to about 85 percent of normal.

The university is characterized as one of the city's biggest water users, she said.

"But we're huge, with 300 acres on each campus and lots of people doing specialized things," she said. "We are still flushing toilets, using water in labs. The air conditioning uses water. We're like our own city."

Dormant turf looks bad, she said. But it should bounce back once rain, or irrigation, resumes. But some turf will die. Upcoming events planned for greenspaces and increased foot traffic as the school year begins will push some lawns into the dead zone, she predicted.

Planting of open areas north of Kauffman Hall and around Othmer Hall will be delayed.

"We can't do anything until water restrictions drop," she said. Black plastic erosion barriers have been placed in both areas, ironically to control water run-off. Wind erosion is less of a problem in the city, she said.

Each campus garden zone is cared for by a cadre of Landscape Services personnel, who have been told to hand water and prioritize watering with an eye toward saving trees, shrubs and, to a lesser extent, perennials.

"We've pretty much abandoned the annuals," Bergt said.

Because of limited numbers of personnel, and limited numbers of hoses and couplers, most higher-value plants are being deep watered about once every three to four weeks. Plants find the chlorinated city water less palatable than rainwater, which has natural nitrogen and no chlorine.

The turf irrigation helped water trees and shrubs, she said, so some trees are starting to show stress - wilting or browning of leaves, and in some cases, leaves are dropping. Non-native trees such as maples are showing the most stress, probably because of the combination of drought and heat. Ash trees are not doing very well. But the Kentucky coffeetrees, most of the oaks and the honey locusts are holding up OK.

Years of careful planning and long-term maintenance are paying off now, she said. Because UNL is part of the statewide arboretum and botanical garden system, it's a showcase for native and non-native species. Bergt said that the non-native plants tend to be accents or specialized plants that are chosen to shine against a background of hardier native species. Cather Garden is an example of an entirely native garden (it does well in the drought, she said, but takes more time to manage because the plants are "going wild" this year). Donaldson Garden is an example of an entirely non-native introduced garden.

Horticultural practices, such as extensive mulching and good soil preparation, have helped with water conservation and also with maintenance - there's less mowing around mulched trees.

One plant that is not going to make it through this summer is the aptly named Burning Bush, Bergt said. This non-native plant, popular for its bright red fall foliage, has burned up.

"That's an obvious plant all over the city that's not looking good. They look dead. I doubt they'll come back."

Some linden trees are losing their leaves and hackberry trees are also wilting, she said.

"That's kind of a natural response. Hopefully, it means the tree is just conserving energy and not dead or dying."

One plant that is doing well is a species of shrub rose that was planted near the Columns and around the 17th and R Parking Garage.

"It loves the heat and seems to be pretty drought hardy," Bergt said.

Older plantings of a different variety of shrub rose, mostly planted on R Street, is doing less well, however.

"We hope this doesn't continue, but you just never know," Bergt said. "I've heard the grasshoppers are coming. That's the next challenge."