Recent achievements for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln community were earned by Nirupam Aich, Rohit Bhusal, Jamie Bullins, Kyra Elliott, Crystal Garcia, Hongzhi Guo, Abla Hasan, Casey Kelly, Kaustav Majumder, Krishna Muvva and Jae Sung Park.
Honors
Rohit Bhusal, a graduate student in engineering, and Hongzhi Guo, assistant professor in the School of Computing, received the Best Paper Runner-Up Award at the 22nd IEEE International Conference on Mobile Ad-Hoc and Smart Systems, held in Chicago Oct. 6-8. Bhusal received a student travel grant supported by the National Science Foundation to attend MASS 2025 in person and present the paper, “Edge-Assisted Generative AI-Driven Video Communication Using Topological Data Analysis.”
Kyra Elliott, graduate student in animal science, has been named the 2025 recipient of the American Meat Science Association's Dr. Bobby VanStavern Award for Beef Quality Research. This honor commemorates the U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist whose work helped define the original Certified Angus Beef carcass specifications. Elliott was honored at this year’s Reciprocal Meat Conference for her work on predicting marbling in the ribeye, a key factor in grading beef quality.
Crystal Garcia, associate professor in educational administration, earned the 2025 Association for the Study of Higher Education Leadership Award. The award is given to an ASHE member in recognition of bringing visibility and support to the field of higher education, demonstrating the contributions of the study of higher education to policy formation and/or gaining substantial resources for research and training in higher education.
Abla Hasan, professor of practice of Arabic language and culture, received the Inspire Women’s Excellence in Education Award for 2025. Hasan is the coordinator of the Arabic studies program at Nebraska and a leading scholar of Qur’anic interpretation, philosophy of language, and gender equality in Islam. Since joining the university in 2013, she has single-handedly built the Arabic studies program, developing an innovative curriculum offering three years of Arabic language instruction and culture-based courses in English. Hasan accepted the Excellence in Education award at the Inspire — Celebrating Women’s Leadership Awards ceremony Sept. 24 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The event is presented by the Lincoln Journal Star.
Casey Kelly, professor in communication studies, received the Douglas E. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar Award from the National Communication Association. The award honors scholars with research programs in rhetorical theory, rhetorical criticism and/or public address studies who have demonstrated intellectual creativity, perseverance and impact on academic communities. Kelly was recognized for his distinctive and award-worthy body of work focused on how niche claims of victimhood became mainstream politics.
Kaustav Majumder, associate professor in food science and technology, received the Young Scientist Award from the International Society of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods. The award is presented to an early career scholar with exemplary achievements within the nutraceuticals and functional food areas. Majumder’s research focuses on the potential of food proteins to produce bioactive peptides through enzymatic digestion, fermentation or food processing.
Veera Venkata Ram Murali Krishna Rao “Krishna” Muvva, a doctoral candidate in the School of Computing, has been named the recipient of the 2025 AIAA Orville and Wilbur Wright Graduate Award. Presented by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the award recognizes graduate students who have demonstrated excellence in research and leadership within aerospace-related fields. It is one of the institute's highest graduate honors. Muvva’s research focuses on enabling deep learning–based perception and control in uncrewed aerial vehicles.
Appointments
Nirupam Aich, associate professor in civil and environmental engineering, was named associate editor of the Journal of Hazardous Materials: Organics. The appointment recognizes Aich’s leadership in environmental engineering and his contributions to advancing safer, more sustainable water treatment solutions. Aich was also appointed to the board of directors of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. Board members guide the organization’s programs that further research, education, professional development and community engagement in the sciences and technologies of environmental protection.
Publications
Jamie Bullins, associate professor of theatre arts, published a new book, “From Page to Stage: How Theatre Designers Make Connections Between Scripts and Images.” The book explores the relationship between text analysis, imagination and the creation of theatrical design. Bullins contributed new interviews, illustrations, and current trends and processes for this second edition, which also includes the first-edition text.
Jae Sung Park, Richard L. McNeel Associate Professor of Engineering, along with Senthil Kumar Raman of India’s Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education and Simon Song of South Korea’s Hanyang University, published a study that was chosen as an Editor’s Pick in the March 2025 edition of Physics of Fluids, one of the leading journals in that field. The paper found that the efficiency of a large gas-turbine engine more than doubled because of a slight increase in initial temperature and pressure, a finding with potential application in the design of engines for airplanes, ships and submarines.
