Kiewit Institute Announces World-Herald Grants

The Peter Kiewit Institute announced the following recipients of Omaha World-Herald faculty collaborative grants and student grants on Dec. 6.

The grants are designed to encourage faculty from the UNL College of Engineering and Technology and the UNO College of Information Science and Technology to work together in areas of applied research and curriculum devleopment.

The award applications were reveiwed by a panel of business leaders with acumen in the field.

Award recipients are:

o $25,000 to Istvan Bogardi, department of civil engineering and technology, UNL, and Yong Shi, professor and distinguished chair of information technology, UNO. "Use of Cutting-Edge Information Technology to Infrastructure Management." The project proposes to develop decision support system methodologies, apply these methods to infrastructure issues, develop additional research proposals to extend the work and to develop a joint course on infrastructure modeling for students in both colleges.

o $25,000 to Hamid Sharif, College of Engineering and Technology, UNL, Qiuming Zhu and Alexander Stoyen, College of IS&T, UNO. "Creation of a Multimedia Information Hub to Broadcast Real-time SCOLA TV Programs on Internet 2 at the Peter Kiewit Institute." This project proposes to establish an infrastructure to broadcast realtime SCOLA - TV channels over Internet 2 to universities and other members of Internet 2 from the Peter Kiewit Institute; create a testbed with a real-time application for research in video broadcasting over high-speed networks for local and national researchers in this field; and establish a real-time video-broadcasting lab for education and integration into the telecommunications curriculum and other related courses at the institute.

o $10,000 to Hamid Sharif, UNL, and Hesham Ali and Hesham El-Rewini, UNO. "Creation of the Peter Kiewit International Conference on Telecommunications and Advanced Computer Technologies." Seed money for creation of an annual conference, to be supported by private sponsorships.

o $30,000 to combined proposals submitted by Associate Professor John Bonsell, Graduate Assistant James Virgil, both UNL, and Gerald Wakefield, College of IS&T's E-Commerce efforts and distance learning coordinator ("Proposal to Fund Service Bureau for Rapid Prototyping Program") and undergraduate student, Jason Klein., ("Proposal to Fund Purchase of Materials for Rapid Prototyping machine"). The review committee suggested collaboration with the College of Business Administration on this project.

Four of 16 student proposals for the Student Initiative and Entrepreneurial Grant Awards were accepted. Each is worth $10,000.

o Christopher Wittry, Jeremy Johnson and Andy Maust for a plan to develop a multi-meter module for the Handspring Visor.

o Mike Mahoney, Danielle Barbaria, Marc Vergo and Chris Ocheing to set up a Telecommunications Technology Workshop and Competition for student recruitment and outreach.

o Paula Busch, Colleen McGovern and Matt Bird, to identify, through the Student Chapter of the American Society of Engineers, high school students to help with the Steel Bridge Competition.

o Andrew Maust and Christopher Coolidge, to develop a Digital Avalanche Search and Rescue System.

Hergert Named WCRSEC Director

Gary Hergert, an agronomist at the University of Nebraska West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte, has been named the center's director.

"I've spent a long time in west central Nebraska and feel I understand the resources, the people and the problems here," Hergert said. "That helps as we develop plans for research and extension programming to meet our clients' needs."

Major challenges in the area include agricultural profitability and sustainability, agricultural consolidation, and an aging and declining population, he said.

Hergert's permanent appointment began Nov. 15. He will earn $107,815 annually and will be responsible for the daily administration of personnel, budget and programs at the center.

The North Platte resident had been interim director since August 1997. Hergert is a professor of agronomy whose specialty is soil fertility and management; he is a Cooperative Extension soils specialist.

NU's West Central Research and Extension Center carries out research and extension programs in 23 Nebraska counties. Its programs include farm and ranch management, natural resources economics, soil fertility, crop production, range management, youth development, community leadership, family life and county-based initiatives. The center has 18 NU faculty members, 29 extension educators and 48 support staff.

Hergert joined NU's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources in 1975.

Wentz Receives National Teaching Award

Tim Wentz, assistant professor of construction management, received the 2000 EK Campbell Award of Merit from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. The award honors one member of ASHRAE yearly for outstanding service and achievement in teaching. Wentz will receive a plaque and $2,000 from the Society's Life Members Club during the group's winter meeting, Feb. 5, in Dallas.

Wentz, who worked in industry for several years before coming to the College of Engineering and Technology in 1996, said he uses real-life methods to teach his students about the construction industry. Last spring, his mechanical systems students worked on the renovation of Christ Temple Church in Lincoln. "Students learn by doing, not just by reading about how to do it," he said.

ASHRAE is an international organization of 50,000.

NU Student Wins Design Competition

The International Textile and Apparel Association has announced winners of the 1999 ITAA Design Competition. UNL graduate student Sally Hollman Herbert won the "Best of Fashion Design" category for her entry, "Dior Revisited."

Finalists from UNL included emeritus faculty member Robert Hillestad for designs, "Celebration Cape #40: Fringe Benefits," "Celebration Cape # 36: Tribal Dance in Raffia and Wool," and "Celebration Coat #40: Ode to Santa Fe," competing in the Fiber/Wearable Arts category. Faculty member Vincent G.V. Quevedo also competed in the Fiber/Wearable Art category with his designs: "Horizon," and "Serene," and in the 55+ category with his design "Vigor." Faculty member Barbara Trout's designs "Archaic Neck Pouch" and "Fiber Stemware" competed in the Fiber/Wearable Art Category.

Graduate students competing in the Fiber/Wearable Arts category included: Hong Youn Km's design, "East Meets West;" Michael Harlan for his design, "Portrait in Brocade;" and winner, Sally Hollman Herbert with "Dior Revisited."

Undergraduate students competing in the Apparel for a Variety of Markets category included: M. Boicourt for "Pocket Room;" Molly Taylor Burgher for "Ruby Vision;" Shawn Shepherd for "Dazzle;" Hollie Stevens for "Mocha & Cream" and Kauly Xiong for "Grey Flannel Bustier."

The ITAA Design Competition was held in conjunction with ITAA's annual conference in Santa Fe, N.M. Innovative fashions and wearable art created by ITAA members and their students were featured in both mounted and live model exhibitions. Over 100 designs by faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students were on display.

ITAA sponsors an annual juried design competition. Designs are judged at two stages. Entries are submitted with slides and design descriptions. Finalists are selected and must submit their garments for review by a second panel of judges. Designs undergo a second round of judging prior to the exhibition. Winners are announced at the conclusion of the show.

Each winner received a computer software package by Pattern Works International. Isabelle Lott of Pattern Works International was on hand to present the award. Additionally, all winners received a year's subscription to Sew News Magazine.

Textiles Department Earns Excellence Award

The American Textile Manufacturers Institute presented its 11th annual "Award for Excellence" to the Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design at the annual conference of the International Textile and Apparel Association Nov. 10.

ATMI has presented this $3,000 award annually since 1989 to recognize the curricular achievements of an academic program or faculty member that promote an understanding of the U.S. textile and apparel industries and that parallel industry needs.

Rita Kean, department chair, accepted the award.

ATMI, the national trade association for the U.S. textile industry, developed the "Award for Excellence" in cooperation with ITAA, an international professional association of college and university textile, apparel and retail educators.

In judging the nominations for ATMI's award, the ITAA Faculty Fellowship and Awards Committee considers innovative curricular developments, evidence of the program's impact on students and the industry, and the integration of theory, research and industry initiatives within the curriculum.

The ATMI noted the department's "commitment to excellence in teaching, excellence in undergraduate and graduate programs, increased use of technology in the classroom and in community outreach projects, and the program's commitment to diversity."

The award recognized faculy members Kean, Catherine Daly, Vince Quevedo, Robert Hillestad, Kathleen Rees, Lois Scheyer, Joan Laughlin, Diane Vigna, Rose Marie Tondl, Barbara Trout, Patricia Crews and Annette Ward.

Banerjee Recognized as Established Investigator by AHA

Ruma Banerjee, associate professor of Biochemistry, has received an Established Investigator award from the American Heart Association. This recognition carries a $300,000 award and will support research on redox regulation of homocysteine metabolism in her laboratory. Elevated homocysteine is a significant and independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and is also correlated with a number of other diseases including neural tube defects and Alzheimer's disease. Banerjee's studies on the mechanisms and molecular genetics of hyperhomocysteinemia have been supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Roskens Is Honorary Consul General For Japan

The government of Japan has appointed former University of Nebraska President Ronald Roskens honorary consul general of Japan in Omaha. The appointment was approved by the U.S. Department of State and became effective Dec. 1.

As honorary consul general, Roskens will aid the Japanese government in assisting Japanese nationals living and working in Omaha and the northern plains states. He will also take an active role in helping promote increased trade, business alliances and cultural exchange programs between the region and Japan.

Bitter Fruit Reclaims Role of Black Women in WWII

The University of Missouri Press has published a book by Maureen Honey, professor on English and Women's Studies, titled Bitter Fruit: African American Women in World War II.

Despite the participation of African American women in all aspects of home-front activity during World War II, advertisements, recruitment posters, and newsreels largely portrayed women as nurses, defense plant workers, concerned mothers and steadfast wives. This sea of white faces left for posterity images such Rosie the Riveter, obscuring the contributions that African American women made to the war effort.

In Bitter Fruit, Honey corrects this distorted picture of women's roles in World War II. In the anthology, she has collected photos, essays, fiction, and poetry by and about black women from the four leading African American periodicals of the war period: Negro Digest, The Crisis, Opportunity and Negro Story.

Mostly appearing for first time since their original publication, the materials in Bitter Fruit feature black women operating technical machinery, working in army uniforms, entertaining audiences, and pursuing a college education. The articles praise the women's accomplishments as pioneers working toward racial equality; the fiction and poetry depict female characters in roles other than domestic servants and give voice to the bitterness arising from discrimination that many women felt. With these various images, Honey presents the roots of the civil rights movement and the leading roles black women played in it.

Student 4th from UNL to Head AIAS

Scott Baldermann of Aurora, Colo., a graduate student in the College of Architecture, has been elected national president of the American Institute of Architecture Students.

The election was Nov. 27 in Toronto, Ontario, at the national AIAS forum. He will spend a year in Washington, D.C., beginning July 1 to serve in this capacity.

Baldermann is the fourth student in 15 years from the NU College of Architecture to receive this honor. Scott Norberg served two terms as national AIAS president from 1985 to 1987, Kent Davidson served in 1987-88, and Jay Palu in 1998-99.

Baldermann, 23, is the AIAS president for the Nebraska chapter. He received his bachelor's degree from NU in 1998 and plans to graduate in May with a master's degree in architecture.