Led by UNL’s Xiao Cheng Zeng and former visiting professor Yi Gao, new research has revealed four atomic arrangements of a gold nanoparticle cluster. The arrangements exhibit much lower potential energy and greater stability than a standard-setting configuration reported last year by a Nobel Prize-winning team from Stanford University.

The modeling of these arrangements could inform the cluster’s use as a transporter of pharmaceutical drugs and as a catalyst for removing pollutants from vehicular emissions or other industrial byproducts, Zeng said.

http://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/unltoday/article/study-models-new-atomic-structures-of-gold-nanoparticle/

Four undergraduate students were selected as recipients of the Darrell J. Nelson Summer Undergraduate Internship in Energy Sciences Research for the summer of 2015.  The four recipients and their supervising faculty members are:   Boqiang Tu sponsored by Professor Concetta DiRusso, Department of Biochemistry;   Riley Giesler sponsored by Professor David Berkowitz, Department of Chemistry;   Mason Marcolina sponsored by Professor Wayne Riekhof, School of Biological Sciences; and Ethiyal Raj Wilson sponsored by Professor Peter Dowben, Department of Physics and Astronomy.    The internship is named after Mr. Darrell J. Nelson, who served 41 years on the Custer County Public Power District and Nebraska Public Power (NPPD) Boards.  In 2005, Mr. Nelson proposed a partnership between NPPD and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for the purpose of engaging in energy sciences research.  The following year, the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research (NCESR) was created with NPPD’s support.  At the end of the paid internship, each student will prepare a summary report that describes their experience and prepare a poster to describe the accomplishments or results of their work experience in energy sciences research. The research poster will be presented at the Nebraska Summer Research Symposium which will take place on Wednesday, August 12 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. in the Nebraska Union.

The Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research (NCESR) is taking applications for the summer undergraduate internship in energy sciences research. The Darrell J. Nelson Summer Undergraduate Internship in Energy Sciences Research is being offered for the second time in the amount up to $5,000 per recipient for the summer of 2015. The application deadline is January 21, 2015.  For additional information about the 2015 application requirements, click here:   NCESR Summer Undergraduate Internship – 2015 Information.   For a copy of the application form (Word document),  click here:   NCESR Summer Undergraduate Internship – 2015 Application Form.

 For the first time, the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research (NCESR) offered a summer internship opportunity in energy sciences research to undergraduate students in the amount of up to $5,000 for the summer of 2014.

 The undergraduate summer internship is named after Mr. Darrell J. Nelson, who served 41 years on the Custer County Public Power District and Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) Boards from 1970-2011, and was an advocate of lifelong learning. In 2005, Mr. Nelson proposed a partnership between NPPD and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for the purpose of engaging in energy sciences research. The following year, the NCESR was created with NPPD’s support. For more information and pictures of the recipients, please click on this link.  Specific information about each individual project, including a copy of each research poster, may be found at http://ncesr.unl.edu/?page_id=8073

Four undergraduate students were selected as the first recipients of the Darrell J. Nelson Summer Undergraduate Internship in Energy Sciences Research for the summer of 2014.  The four recipients and their supervising faculty member are:   Joseph Beeson sponsored by Professor Li Tan, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering;   Mitchell Schmidt sponsored by Professor Stephen Ducharme, Department of Physics and Astronomy;   Boqiang Tu sponsored by Professor Concetta DiRusso, Department of Biochemistry; and Carina Winters sponsored by Professor Yasar Demirel, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.    The internship is named after Mr. Darrell J. Nelson, who served 41 years on the Custer County Public Power District and Nebraska Public Power (NPPD) Boards.  In 2005, Mr. Nelson proposed a partnership between NPPD and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for the purpose of engaging in energy sciences research.  The following year, the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research (NCESR) was created with NPPD’s support.  At the end of the paid internship, each student will prepare a summary report that describes their experience and prepare a poster to describe the accomplishments or results of their work experience in energy sciences research.   

The Nebraska Public Power District recently produced a video showcasing five energy research projects funded through the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research.  The
University of Nebraska-Lincoln  professors leading these projects are Galen Erickson, Animal Science; Concetta DiRusso, Biochemistry;  Joe Luck, Biological Systems Engineering; James Specht, Agronomy and Horticulture;  and Alexander Sinitskii, Chemistry.  To view the video, go to Video Showcases Five Energy Research Projects  Click on Research Grant Awards to see more information about all research projects.

The Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research released its Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking innovative energy sciences research and collaboration ideas from UNL faculty.  This is the ninth  annual cycle in which UNL faculty can compete in this internal competition for energy research grants.  These grants are considered seed funding to help UNL faculty develop energy-related research capacity and improve their competitiveness for external funding.  Funding for this opportunity is made possible through an investment in energy sciences research by the Nebraska Public Power District.  Click here for a copy of the NCESR Cycle 9 RFP.  The deadline to submit a pre-proposal is May 23, 2014 at 5:00 p.m., CDT.   Full proposals will be by invitation only.

With funding from the Energy Center, Xiao Cheng Zeng and his research team discovered a new material that could have significant implications from carbon storage to planetary science and solid lubrication.  Tom Simons, University Communications shares more about these developments in the UNL Today article, “New material could help with carbon storage”. Full Story