Jerry Hudgins

Jerry Hudgins, professor and chair of electrical and computer engineering, has been named interim director of the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research, effective Aug. 19. Hudgins has been the center’s associate director since 2009 and previously served as the center’s interim director in 2011.

Hudgins will succeed director Mike Nastasi, the Elmer Koch Professor of mechanical and materials engineering, who has led the center since 2012. Nastasi is leaving Nebraska to become head of Texas A&M University’s Department of Nuclear Engineering.

Hudgins will be responsible for leading the center and facilitating its research, operations and resource development activities during his appointment. He also will assist with the national search for a permanent director, expected to begin this fall. Hudgins will remain department chair while serving in this role.  (News release from Office of Research and Economic Development)

Abdelrahman with award certificate

Abdelrahman Elsayed, one of the 2019 summer interns, won 2nd place in the undergraduate research competition at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Congress International Undergraduate Research Exposition. Abdelrahman’s faculty sponsor is Professor Yuris Dzenis from the Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department.  To view Abdelrahman’s poster, click 2019IMECE-AElsayed_sm

September 12, 2019

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) today announced two new Requests for Applications (RFAs) for the Integrated University Program (IUP) seeking applicants for undergraduate scholarships and graduate-level fellowships in nuclear energy-related fields.

Scholarships are $7,500 for one year. The maximum award for a fellowship is $52,000 per year for three years, with an additional one-time $5,000 allotment to fund travel to a minimum 10-week internship at DOE, a DOE national laboratory or other designated facility.

Applications are due on January 16, 2020 and must be submitted using the online submittal system found at neup.gov. NE intends to notify award recipients in spring 2020.

FY 2019 Scholarship RFA

FY 2019 Fellowship RFA

Matthew Penne, a summer intern in 2017, is the recipient of the 2018-2019 Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Outstanding Senior Award. Matthew is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering under the supervision of the PI (Wei Qiao) and Co-PI (Liyan Qu) on an Energy Center project entitled “Development of a Hybrid-Electric Powertrain Platform for Off-Road Heavy Equipment”. Matthew’s Ph.D. dissertation topic is on Model Predictive Control of Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Motor Drives used in Electric-Drive Vehicles, which is related to the NCESR project.

Jerry Hudgins (left), chair of electrical and computer engineering, presents students Megan Stokey (center) and Matthew Penne with their certificates for being chosen to receive the 2018-19 IEEE Power and Energy Society Scholarship Plus Initiative Awards.

Matthew has also been chosen as an IEEE Power & Energy Society Scholar for 2018-19.  He will receive up to $3,000 for the current academic year.  The scholarships are given annually to students majoring in electrical engineering who are also high achievers – possessing strong grade-point averages with “distinctive extracurricular commitments” and who are committed to exploring the power and energy field.

Alan Dostal (NPPD), Kevin Zhao, Abelrahman Elsayed, Tung Nguyen, John Swanson (NPPD), and Mike Nastasi (Director of Energy Center). Andrew Butler is not pictured.

Four undergraduate students were selected as recipients of the Darrell J. Nelson Summer Undergraduate Internship in Energy Sciences Research for the summer of 2019.  The four recipients and their supervising faculty members are:  Kevin Zhao (Bai Cui, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering), Tung Nguyen  (Siamak Nejati, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering), Abdelrahman Elsayed (Yuris Dzenis, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering), and Andrew Butler (Song Ci, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering).  As part of their internship experience, the students will visit the Cooper Nuclear Station at Brownsville, Nebraska and will present posters at the Nebraska Summer Research Symposium.  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. 

Thilini Ekanayaka, a graduate student working with Takashi Komesu and Andrew Yost in Physics and  Astronomy, was one of three recipients selected to receive a Graduate Research Award from the American Vacuum Society.  She competed against over 2000 other student applicants to become a finalist.  Thilini will receive a cash award, a certificate, and reimbursement for travel support to attend an International Symposium.   Thilini’s work is on an Energy Center project entitled “Doping Metal-Chalcogenide Quantum Dot Solar Cells for Enhanced Device”.

The Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research is seeking innovative energy sciences research and collaboration ideas from University of Nebraska faculty.  The Request for Proposals was released April 3, 2019. This is the fourteenth 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.  Preproposals are due May 17, 2019 by 5:00 p.m.  Full proposals will be by invitation.  NCESR Cycle 14 RFP

As a result of NCESR funding, a microbial enrichment culture surviving on hydrogen and calcium carbonate was determined to produce acetate and methane. Nicole Fiore, a graduate student funded to examine the physiological capability of the enrichment, was intrigued not only by the implications for carbon cycling on Earth but also on other planets (or moons). She developed a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship proposal to expand upon current knowledge of microbial metabolisms under extreme conditions, specifically those that alter planetary or lunar minerals.  As part of Nicole’s NSF fellowship, she will investigate microbially-catalyzed carbonate transformations under alkaline conditions, expanding on current NCESR funding.  pseudocolor-carbonate  This opportunity will help her develop the skills necessary for a career in astrobiology so she can continue to research questions that contribute to our overall understanding of the universe.

Nicole is working with Dr. Karrie Weber in the School of Biological Sciences.  The NCESR funded project is entitled “Microbial Electrosynthetic Conversion of CO2 and Carbonates into Biogas and Bioproducts”.

An NCESR project on “Graphene-Based Supercapacitors for Efficient Energy Storage and Delivery” has led to the awarding of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research award.  Jacob Teeter (in Dr. Alex Sinitskii’s lab, Department of Chemistry) received the award for his proposed project “Bottom-Up Engineering of Nanoribbon Properties through Systematic Structural Modification”.  The work will be conducted at the DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee over a 12-month period.  In the framework of this project, Jacob will use scanning tunneling microscopy to investigate atomically precise graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) that will be grown from molecular precursors synthesized at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.  GNRs are widely regarded as promising materials for nanoelectronics, and Jacob’s studies will elucidate their structural and electronic properties.

The 2019 Spring Research Fair was held April 15 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus Union.  Sponsors of the event were the Office of Research and Economic Development, the Office of Graduate Studies, and NUtech Ventures.  A total of 200 posters were showcased at the Fair.  Of the 200 posters, 16 were submitted by students who worked on NCESR-funded research.

Thilini Ekanayaka from Physics and Astronomy was selected by the event sponsors as having one of the top twelve graduate posters overall and awarded a $400 travel grant to present her research at a regional or national conference.

Iakov Golman from Mechanical and Materials Engineering was selected by the event sponsors as having one of the best undergraduate posters.  Iakov will receive $250.00 from his department.

To view the posters related to NCESR-funded projects, click here