UNO Magazine Summer 2011 by UNO Magazine

summer 2011

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Where our level of care matches our level of caring

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vol. 2, no. 2 summer 2011 www.unoalumni.org/unomag

CREDITS Managing Editor

Anthony Flott associate Editors

Jennifer Arnold, Tim Kaldahl art direction

Letter from the Chancellor

6 Alumni Association 9 Partners 10 Philanthropy

Matters

Letters to/ from the Editor

Athletics

The solar industry sees bright days ahead

Emspace Group cover illustration

Marta CerdĂ /Debut Art

The Colleges

23 Get to Know

Contributors

UNO Magazine is published three times a year by the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the UNO Alumni Association and the University of Nebraska Foundation. Direct editorial inquiries to Managing Editor UNO Alumni Association 6705 Dodge St., Omaha, NE 68182-0010 Phone: (402) 554-2444 Toll-free: UNO-MAV-ALUM Fax: (402) 554-3787 Email: aflott@unoalumni.org Send all changes of address to attention of Records or visit www.unoalumni.org/records

Wonders & Worries

To help homeowners, UNO researchers are working on practical steps to reduce energy bills

Homing In On Savings

Views expressed within this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the UNO Alumni Association or the NU Foundation.

29 Critical Mass

finding it, pricing it,

conserving it and more Gassing Up

NOISE

Pollution How it hurts

Looking beyond food for an energy lift

Solution How it helps

CLASS

Sunny Side Up

Working From Home

NOT E S

Dave Ahlers, Bryce Bridges, Becky Bohan Brown, Nancy Castilow, Sonja Carberry, Andrea Ciurej, Erin Dyer, John Fey, Tim Fitzgerald, Amanda Hackwith, Colleen Kenney Fleischer, Eric Francis, Mary Kenny, Don Kohler, Greg Kozol, Tom McMahon, Nate Pohlen, Charley Reed, Lisa Renstrom, Ross Ridenoure, Bonnie Ryan, Megan Schmitz, Kalani Simpson, Scott Stewart, Wendy Townley, Les Valentine, Kevin Warneke, Jenna Zeorian.

Body Boost Taking Sides Just For You

49 Bookmarks

48 58

54 Century Club

Retrospect

FROM THE chancellor

Dear Alumni and Friends:

At UNO, we acknowledge this important responsibility and have committed the campus to the goals of sustainability and going “green,” whenever and wherever possible.

Letters to the Editor Reader feedback is key to making UNO Magazine among the best university publications in the country. Write us about the magazine, the university, or suggest a story. Letters must include the writer’s first and last names, address and phone number and may be edited for taste, accuracy, clarity and length. www.unoalumni.org/unomag-led m ag a z i n e

It seems today that escalating energy costs have all of us looking for ways to reduce our consumption and limit our carbon footprint. Whether it involves exploring public transportation options, lowering thermostats, or engaging in recycling efforts, each of us, in ways large and small, can have an impact on energy usage and its associated effects on the environment.

SPR ING 2011

Many of those efforts are highlighted in this issue, and I’m proud of the way our campus is responding to the challenge. Led by UNO’s Green Task Force on sustainability, the campus actively seeks ways to develop sustainability opportunities, to develop realistic action plans, and to integrate sustainable practices in campus operations, education and outreach efforts.

On Spring 2011

As stewards of finite resources, we must use energy wisely, conserve when possible, and investigate new ways of doing business more efficiently and effectively over the long term. And while there is still much that can, should and will be done, our efforts are beginning to pay dividends. For example: • I n 2008, we implemented a single-stream recycling program, allowing all recyclable materials to be placed in one disposable bin, with no sorting needed. To date, the campus has recycled more than 195 tons of material, quadrupling our tonnage during the past three years. • UNO recently was named a Tree Campus USA University by the Arbor Day Foundation, recognizing our dedication to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship. •M ammel Hall, home to the College of Business Administration, became the first building in the NU System to receive Gold LEED Certification. • I nstallation of occupancy sensors in many buildings reduce lighting loads when not needed. Adoption of a campus-wide building temperature policy further reduces peak electricity and chiller use. •A nd, Student Government partnered with Metro Area Transit to distribute free bus passes to 400 students during the spring semester under a $40,000 joint program. The plan was aimed at reducing traffic congestion and parking pressures by encouraging use of alternative transportation. You’ll learn more about these and many more of UNO’s efforts to make a positive impact on energy usage and the environment in this issue of the magazine. As always, I hope you enjoy learning more about our efforts to embrace sustainability.

Until next time, Chancellor John E. Christensen

THE ROYAL TREATMENT In your recent magazine article on law enforcement/criminal justice tours to London, you had a photo of a man standing by the New Scotland Yard sign, but didn’t caption who it was. I went over on the first tour in 1972 with Jim Kane and was treated “royally” by Tony Moore. Since it’s been so many years I wasn’t sure if that man was him or Dr. Kane’s replacement. Great memories either way! Patty (Hammer) Bolden (’77) Omaha Editor’s Note: The man pictured in the photo was Criminal Justice Professor Bill Wakefield. DIGITAL KUDOS Congratulations for finally putting the magazine online. It’s a great read and very informative. It’s about time that the 21st century has happened here. I will be looking forward to reading the next issue. Tom Shawhan (‘74) McAllen, Texas I was reading through UNO Magazine and thought, “What a great issue to send to prospective students interested in Criminal Justice here at UNO. There are lot of great stories on professors and also interesting things going on involving students and professors that I didn’t even know about. Is there an online version of this we could email?” Lamarr Womble Assistant Director, Recruitment Services Editor’s Note: Online versions of UNO Magazine are available at www.unoalumni.org/unomag

FROM THE editor

ROGER THAT I enjoyed reading Lori Rice’s recent article in the Spring 2011 UNO Magazine on UNO alumni working in aviation in Omaha. I did think it was important, however, to point out a factual error in the article. The first line of the article states that Steve McCoy is not a pilot, when in fact he has had his Private Pilot certificate for just over 10 years. I bring this to light primarily because, as a former intern at Eppley Airfield who worked closely with both Joe and Steve, I saw first hand how Steve’s knowledge from his experience as a pilot provides him additional perspective as he works on the airfield. I realize that Ms. Rice’s intention may have been to indicate that Steve is not a commercial pilot, however I believe that including Steve’s flying experience in the article would have provided an added dimension to the reader’s understanding of the skills that Steve applies to his work. Neil Gabrielson President, Collegiate Aviation Industry Professionals (CAIP) Graduate Assistant, UNO Aviation Institute HIGH-FIVE FOR HOCKEY Great article about college hockey (& decreased emphasis on fighting). Bridget Weide Brooks (’96) Omaha

Reader Sweepstakes Prizes* Earth, Wind and Fire Greatest Hits CD (1-$9) Peace, Love, UNO Sling Bags (2-$15) UNO Tote Bags (9-$3); Nalgene water bottles (3-$9); lanyard made from recycled material (1-$5) Pair of Pilot “Bottle 2” Pens made from recycled bottles (5-$4.29) USB data stick made from recycled material ($17) Peace Sign wall hooks made from recycled metals (2-$8)

Don’t worry that we’ll be showing up unannounced and knocking on your door, but we’re instituting something new this issue — UNO Magazine Reader Sweepstakes. Henceforth in each magazine we’ll offer prizes, most related to that issue’s theme. Prizes will be issued randomly among those readers who submit to us their name, city, state, email address and alumni code. This issue we’re giving away 50 prizes tied to our Energy and Environment theme. Eco-conscious friends with UNO and/or Nebraska ties donated some of the swag, including photo prints provided by worldrenowned photographers and Nebraska natives Thomas Mangelsen and Joel Sartore. Mangelsen, who attended then-Omaha University for two years (winning a world goose-calling championship while a student), is famous for his stunning photographs and Images of Nature Galleries. He’s also dedicated to preservation as a co-founder of the Cougar Fund and representative for similar groups. See more on him at www.mangelsen.com. Sartore, a 1985 UNL graduate, has become a regular contributor to National Geographic and also has a conservationist bent (see www. joelsartore.com). He recently published Rare: Portraits of America’s Endangered Species. Also contributing was artist Bart Vargas, a 2007 UNO graduate who recently became one of the first two International Artists in Residence at the Shangyuan Art Museum in China. Vargas works in trash — and turns it into treasure. His works often are made from discarded computer parts, plastic bottles and other throwaways. See more on him at www.bartvargas.com The UNO Bookstore, UNO Alumni Association and Nebraska Shakespeare also contributed prizes. Thanks to all of them, and best of luck to contestants!

Maverick Umbrellas (5-$15) UNO Alumni Association Cooler bags (2-$20); stainless steel water bottles (5-$10); Stadium blanket (1-$20)

Enjoy the read,

2 tickets to July 8 Shakespeare on the Green picnic ($24) 2011 Shakespeare on the Green t-shirts (3-$20)

Anthony Flott Managing Editor

Gas Cards (5-$25 each) Joel Sartore-signed prints (Red Wolf; Least Tern) from Rare: Portraits of America’s Endangered Species, 8” x 10” print size. ($40 each) Thomas D. Mangelsen framed, signed and numbered limited edition print of the Platte River, Painted Sky, finished size 27” x 37” (1-$895) Bart Vargas 2011 artwork, Expanded Field, print size 24” x 24” ($1,800) * Values listed are per-item.

Drawing July 15 Prizes will be randomly awarded on July 15 beginning at 12 p.m. Central time. Prize recipients will be announced individually on the UNO Alumni Association Facebook page at www.facebook.com/UNOAlumni All contestants who provide an email address will receive an email listing the winners. The UNO Alumni Association also will post the names of winners on its website at www.unoalumni.org/sweepstakeswinners

How to Enter To enter the UNO Magazine Reader Sweepstakes: 1. Go to www.unoalumni.org/sweepstakes 2. E nter your name, email address, city, state and alumni code. The alumni code is found on the back of the magazine in the bottom right corner of your mailing label. Entries also can be submitted by mail. Provide name, city, state and alumni code and send to: UNO Magazine Reader Sweepstakes, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 60th & Dodge, Omaha, NE 68182-0010. Entries must be received by July 14, 5 p.m. Central time. No purchase, payment or donation is necessary to enter. Odds of winning are based on the number of entries received.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION and therapies across a spectrum of pediatric specialty and subspecialty services. During English’s tenure Children’s opened its current hospital structure in 2000 and added a five-story, 135,000-square-foot Specialty Pediatric Center for outpatient services in 2010. In 2006 Children’s was awarded the Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a distinction held by only 6.2 percent of all hospitals. In 2008 it was named by Modern Healthcare magazine as one of the Best Places to Work in Health Care. It also has been recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in Omaha. Katherine English

Ambassador Laurie S. Fulton

Citation issued to Children’s Hospital COO, U.S. Ambassador to Denmark The UNO Alumni Association bestowed its Citation for Alumni Achievement upon UNO graduates Katherine L. English, chief operating officer for Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha, and Laurie S. Fulton, U.S. Ambassador to Denmark. The association issued the citations during the university’s spring commencement May 6 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The citation, inaugurated in 1949, is the association’s highest honor, encompassing career achievement, community service, involvement in business and professional associations, and fidelity to the university. UNO Alumni Association President Lee

Denker presented the award to English, the 154th Citation recipient. UNO Chancellor John Christensen presented the Citation to Fulton during a special ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen May 19. Christensen, who has Danish ancestors, was in Europe in May to see the UNO Choir perform in Ghent, Belgium.

Katherine English Kathy English earned an MBA from UNO in 1995. She has been COO of Children’s Hospital & Medical Center since 1993. Children’s is the only pediatric specialty center in Nebraska, providing treatment

Ambassador Laurie S. Fulton Fulton earned a BS from UNO in 1971, graduating magna cum laude. She was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Denmark on July 15, 2009. A native of Sioux Falls, S.D., Fulton has long-standing ties to Denmark. Her maternal grandfather immigrated to the United States from Denmark and served in the U.S. armed forces during World War I. Her greatgrandfather served in the Danish parliament from 1918 until 1940. Prior to becoming ambassador, Fulton was a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP, where her practice included complex civil litigation, government investigations, and white-collar criminal defense. In 2004 she was named one of “Washington’s Top Lawyers” by Washingtonian magazine. See expanded bios of each recipient at http://unoalumni.org/awards-citation

Young Alumni Academy Seeking Applicants The UNO Alumni Association seeks motivated, enthusiastic and proud young alumni to become part of the second class of the UNO Young Alumni Academy. The UNO Young Alumni Academy is designed to facilitate networking and professional growth while delivering participants an insider’s view into what it takes to run one of the nation’s premier metropolitan universities. Evening sessions will highlight the UNO hockey program, student life and other “inside glimpses” into areas that make UNO special.

Among the highlights for 2010-11 UNO Young Alumni Academy participants was a tour of the Henningson Campanile.

Apply today at: http://unoalumni.org/unoyoungalumni Contact UNO Alumni Association President Lee Denker with questions: 402-554-2851 or ldenker@unoalumni.org

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

15th annual

teaching awards

Sustainable Giving Protecting our surroundings and the resources we use is vital to our survival. We strive to make changes in our own lives, and we want the institutions we support to do likewise. UNO is committed to finding sustainability so that future generations may enjoy our planet. And changes are taking place all over campus. Outside, many turfgrass locations have been replaced with ornamental grasses, rockscapes and perennial plantings. These landscapes don’t require mowing or as much watering. Inside, buildings are going through energy audits to determine the greatest area for energy improvement. Natural cooling, or fresh air, is being used more, and Energy Star appliances are being utilized.

The UNO Alumni Association celebrated the 15th year of its Alumni Outstanding Teaching Awards program when it presented the honor to nine faculty members during the UNO Faculty Honors Convocation Breakfast April 7. The awards were established in 1997 to honor distinguished teaching in the classroom. Peer committees in each college choose recipients, each of whom receives a $1,000 award. The association has issued $131,000 in the teaching awards since the program’s start. Brief descriptions of recipient research interests and educational backgrounds are available at http://unoalumni.org/aota2011. Pictured: Sarah Edwards, teacher education, College of Education; Lee Denker, Alumni Association president; Kath Henebry, finance, banking and law, College of Business Administration; Roger Sash, computer, electronics engineering, College of Engineering; James Fawcett, biology, College of Arts & Sciences; Peter Madsen, music, College of Fine Arts, Media & Communication; Brian McKevitt, psychology, Arts & Sciences; Angela Eikenberry, public administration, College of Public Affairs and Community Service; Michael Matthews, mathematics, Arts & Sciences. Not pictured: Steve Nugen, informatics, College of Information Science and Technology.

Homecoming

2011

Last year saw the completion of Mammel Hall, the new home of the College of Business Administration. It is the first building in the university system to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certification, celebrating its energysaving features. In the fall of 2008 a single-stream recycling program was implemented, which allows all recyclable products to be placed in one disposable bin. More than 195 tons had been recycled through last year, saving UNO nearly $5,000. Students are getting involved, too, especially those in the Environmental Studies program. New leaders in the field are preparing to take on the environmental challenges of our day, and they are applying what they’ve learned at UNO first. Students in the recently formed Environmental Club, meanwhile, are working hard to raise awareness of environmental issues on campus and to establish UNO as a leader in environmental integrity. From the bottom up, UNO is dedicated to preserving our local and global resources and habitat. You can feel good about supporting UNO because you know it’s supporting the environment. If you’re thinking about making an environmentally friendly charitable gift, please consider supporting the UNO Annual Fund online at unoalumni.org/give. You can give directly online or download a form to mail. However you choose to make your gift, it will support alumni communications, faculty development, and students who are learning new ways to solve our energy and environmental problems. — By Erin Dyer

Mark your calendar for UNO Homecoming 2011 on Saturday, Oct. 1. Check www.unoalumni.org/homecoming for game and event information. Contact Elizabeth Kraemer with questions: 402-554-4802 or ekraemer@unoalumni.org

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

31st Scholarship Swing set for Sept. 12 The UNO Alumni Association will tee off for scholarships on Monday, Sept. 12, with the 31st annual Chancellor’s Scholarship Swing at Tiburon Golf Club. The UNO Alumni Association’s biggest single fundraiser each year, the Swing last year raised $44,000, pushing the total to nearly $600,000 raised since the association began hosting the tournament 16 years ago.

Largest Commencement in UNO history

The money raised supports various Associationsponsored student scholarships. Letters have been sent to business and individuals seeking their participation in the tournament as sponsors. To participate, or for more information, contact Elizabeth Kraemer at (402) 554-4802 or email ekraemer@unoalumni.org

Shakespeare on the Green picnic set for July 8 Join fellow alumni July 8 for a picnic and performance at the 25th annual Shakespeare on the Green. The annual event features dinner at the Thompson Center followed by a performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The picnic begins at 6 p.m. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” begins at 8 p.m.. Cost to attend is $12 per person, which includes a picnic buffet, reserved spot “down front” at the play, reserved parking near the Green, and a performance preview from Nebraska Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Alan Klem. Dinner features: Chicken, BBQ pork, potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw, cookie, beverages. See more information and register at http://unoalumni.org/shakespeare, or contact Elizabeth Kraemer at ekraemer@unoalumni.org or (402) 554-4802.

Partnerships Credit

Travel

The UNO Alumni Association has partnered with Capital One to offer members a wide range of credit card choices. Please visit the UNO Alumni Association website at www.unoalumni.com/card for more information.

Join fellow alumni aboard a “Legendary Danube” cruise Sept. 17-28 with stops in Prague, Nuremberg, Regensburg, Salzburg and elsewhere. For more information, visit www.unoalumni.org/travel. To receive a brochure, call the association toll-free at UNO-MAV-ALUM (866-628-2586).

Insurance Are you covered? If you have insurance needs, visit the association Web site at www.unoalumni.org/insurance to see the discounted offers available to UNO graduates for health, life, auto and long-term care insurance

UNO celebrated the largest commencement in university history May 6 with more than 1,700 students graduating. More than 102,000 students now have earned degrees since the university’s start in 1908. Michael Crabb (pictured), UNO’s student president/regent during 2010-11, was the student commencement speaker. He also was an active member of his fraternity, was a Peter Kiewit Institute Diplomat, took part in UNO’s Emerging Leaders Program, and performed with Head on Collision, an all-male acappella group. Last month Crabb received the Senior Vice Chancellor of Leadership Award for service to the university. He also has received the College of Engineering Dean’s Award and the 2010 Robert Bradford Newman Medal for Excellence in Architectural Acoustics.

PARTNERS

OPPD partnership brings new energy to STEM education Thanks to an innovative partnership with the Omaha Public Power District, a new kind of energy is making its way to campus this fall.

Neal Grandgenett and OPPD’s Dean Mueller in front of Roskens Hall.

The collaboration — between the College of Education and the Omaha Public Power District — should meet a set of overlapping needs in a gorgeous state-of-the-art classroom in Roskens Hall, undergoing extensive renovation and addition prior to rededication as the college’s new home. The building’s stunning transformation is rife with innovation and imagination — traits that will help future educators learn how to incorporate energy conservation and sustainability into the teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Classrooms will feature electronic “dashboard” screens displaying websites that could monitor energy intakes and outputs of various devices, the entire College of Education or campus, or even offsite wind turbines with which OPPD is involved.

Community Chair for STEM Education. “It’s a teaching facility, but it is also a place where different contexts for teaching and learning related to STEM come together.”

The college gets to show its students how to make the teaching of STEM real, and OPPD will have a unique, long-term outlet to help raise energy awareness.

OPPD’s Dean Mueller also gets excited about how the power district can get involved with the classroom. Beyond providing “dashboards” and other informational devices, OPPD experts could also make themselves available in the college. Mueller, a 35-year OPPD employee, serves as the division manager for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Stewardship.

“The facility at Roskens is really going to be a showcase for new applications in STEM education,” says Dr. Neal Grandgenett, an award-winning professor of teacher education who is the Dr. George and Sally Haddix

Grandgenett sees numerous ways future teachers can learn to engage K-12 students in mathematics, physics, electronics and more by highlighting energy. “Algebra in particular is a very relevant tool for all sorts of STEMS disciplines, but students don’t connect with it that way because it’s often taught very disconnected in just moving symbols around on a board,” he says. But algebra can be a tool to show energy relationships. Think of story problems relevant to today’s teens — like how long it takes for an iPod to use up all of its charge.

“In a carbon-constrained world, which we think is coming, we’re going to have to start making people aware, and trying to encourage people to use less power is one way of meeting the power demands that are coming,” Mueller says. Today, 1.5 percent of the electricity OPPD supplies comes from sustainable sources. The goal is to move that to 10 percent by 2020 while also encouraging conservation. Involvement in the STEM Classroom, he says, is “basically like market research for us.” “We hope to get as much information out of this as possible,” Mueller says. Grandgenett also sees the STEM Classroom as a great way to break down traditional educational silos. For example, math and science methods courses should interact more. The glass-walled space on the fourth floor of Roskens should also be a great undergraduate and graduate recruitment tool. “This is going to be a place where teaching mathematics and science meets the real world and real life,” Grandgenett says. — Tim Kaldahl, Associate Editor

PHILANTHROPY MATTERS

O Prairie! With an opportunity to expand, UNO’s Allwine Prairie Preserve can become a one-of-a-kind outdoor classroom that looks as it did in the days of pioneers Colleen Fleischer, University of Nebraska Foundation Photos by Tim Fitzgerald

It’s too cool for the snakes yet. They’re underground or hiding under rocks.

But all kinds of critters are running around, even if you can’t see them on this winter morning in March. You can hear the many birds, and overhead geese fly in V-formations against the pale sky. Soon, this prairie will burst into colors and life. Come summer, lizards, badgers and snakes will emerge, and sweeping the tall grass with a net will yield hundreds of species of insects. By fall, the grass here will grow taller than the head of the man standing here this morning with hopes of expanding this rare landscape. This is UNO’s Allwine Prairie Preserve, a restored tallgrass prairie just northwest of Omaha. “The prairie itself is in the lowland, and we’re trying to acquire the high ground so that when people come here they can see only a prairie,” says Tom Bragg, a UNO professor of biology. If the money can’t be raised, the hilltop horizon soon will be dotted with houses. A developer who owns that adjoining land is willing to sell it to UNO for a fair price, Bragg says, about $4.6 million. The land would act as a buffer for the preserve and protect it against runoff from housing developments. The land also would expand the habitat to support a greater diversity of wildlife. Such a tallgrass prairie is difficult to find around Omaha — or most anywhere else. Only 1 percent of it remains in the nation. The horizon-to-horizon prairie view is a key part of what makes this particular prairie unusual, Bragg says, along with its proximity to a big city (no more than 40 minutes from anywhere in Omaha).

PHILANTHROPY MATTERS

When this land originally was donated to the university in 1959, it was far from Omaha’s outskirts. But now, the city encroaches.

has established the Bouteloua Scholarship for biology department grad students working on the prairie.

Raising money to buy the adjoining land is one of the top priorities for UNO’s College of Arts & Sciences in the University of Nebraska’s Campaign for Nebraska: Unlimited Possibilities. UNO and the University of Nebraska Foundation are trying to identify possible partners to help buy the property, including the Nebraska Environmental Trust and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District. Even with their help, however, only private philanthropy will enable UNO to buy it.

Bragg wants this view to stay as natural as possible for the UNO students he teaches. UNO has a “tremendously strong” environmental studies program, he says. One of the program’s strengths is that it has places like Allwine Prairie to use as outdoor classrooms. He wants to be able to say to people that this is close to what the pioneers used to see when they camped along the creek here years ago.

If the land can be purchased, Allwine Prairie Preserve will span the entire Glacier Creek sub-watershed, stretching from the headwater reaches of the drainage, eastward through springs and seeps feeding Glacier Creek until joining wetlands and swales along Big Papillion Creek. Bragg grew up in California near the redwood forests. He moved to the Midwest for school, receiving his Ph.D. from Kansas State. He’s been at UNO since 1974.

“The tallgrass prairie is our natural heritage. Historically, there were no trees for miles in any direction from where we stand now.”

When you get to know something like this — and it takes time over the season to get to really know a prairie — you feel the connection to the prairie itself. You can see how the prairie is an ecosystem itself.

Bragg’s wife, Barbi Hayes, is equally involved in the efforts to improve and protect the preserve. A lifelong Omahan, she once played on the very farmstead that’s now Allwine Prairie. Today she’s a wetland consultant with Hayes Environmental and, says her husband, “is a critical part of this project and responsible for much of our success in getting funding and in working with the developer who is now willing to let us purchase additional land.” Hayes also

— Tom Bragg

He wants this view to stay as natural as possible for all visitors and students, including those from other Omaha area schools. “Some of the kids have never seen a prairie,” he says. “And when they just go walk in the tallgrass prairie, which is over their head — it’s over my head in some places — that is just one thing that amazes them, that it gets this tall.”

If you would like to support UNO’s Allwine Prairie Preserve, please contact Mary Bernier with the University of Nebraska Foundation at 402-502-4108 or mbernier@nufoundation.org.

PHILANTHROPY MATTERS

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT OMAHA

$116,222,625

392

91%

new funds have been established during the campaign to support UNO.

UNO CAMPAIGN PRIORITIES • Building the educated workforce of tomorrow. • Engaging our community.

of UNO campaign gifts are from Nebraska households/organizations.

• Enriching campus and community life.

46% 8,531 80%

of new funds to the UNO campaign support student scholarships.

$150 M

individuals have made donations to UNO during the campaign.

of UNO students apply for financial assistance.

The Campaign for Nebraska is a four-campus fundraising campaign benefiting the University of Nebraska.

campaignfornebraska.org/uno

All statistics as of March 31, 2011. The Campaign for Nebraska began in July 2005 and will conclude December 2014.

Connecting to the community

Creating Community Fellowships is a campaign priority for UNO.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha is committed to building bridges between the campus and the community. To reinforce this commitment, UNO seeks to raise $5 million through the Campaign for Nebraska to create Community Fellowships. As the university’s highest ranking fellowships, Community Fellows will serve two-year appointments addressing the most pressing concerns of the community. UNO has already awarded one fellowship to a graduate student in the area of service learning, furthering the university’s goal of improving the quality of life found in our community. To learn more, contact Lori Byrne at 402-502-4920 or lbyrne@nufoundation.org.

PHILANTHROPY MATTERS

Youngs Establish Scholarship Program A $1 million gift from Union Pacific CEO and Chairman Jim Young and his wife, Shirley, will help students in need attend UNO and maximize their educational opportunity. Their gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation establishes the Jim and Shirley Young Scholarship Program, specifically designed for low-income students — often firstgeneration college attendees who are ineligible for a federal Pell Grant. Nearly 85 percent of UNO students apply for financial assistance, but only 30 percent are eligible for a Pell Grant. Pell is the largest federal grant program, helping students from low-income families afford higher education. Young, a 1978 UNO graduate, worked several jobs to pay for his education, experiencing firsthand the challenges such students face. “Shirley and I have great respect for UNO and, in particular, its focus on students’ success,” Jim says. “For many, tuition funding is one among several supports needed to obtain a good education. This scholarship program will enable students to fully engage with their studies and the campus community in the face of their dayto-day and family responsibilities.” About 10 Young Scholars annually will receive assistance for the cost of tuition, fees and books, and an academic mentor who will

supply resources and support throughout their college careers. Additionally, Young Scholars will receive funding for on-campus housing — at times a critical factor in student achievement. Born, raised and educated in Omaha, Shirley and Jim recognize UNO’s role as a leader among metropolitan universities and a vital part of the community. Young currently chairs the UNO campaign committee that is part of the University of Nebraska Foundation’s Campaign for Nebraska. More than $115 million has been raised for UNO under his leadership. “Throughout the years, Shirley and Jim have displayed a deep commitment to UNO and the success of our university and, most importantly, our students,” UNO Chancellor John Christensen says. “This scholarship program will impact the lives of so many young people who may not have access to higher education without this tremendous support.” — Jenna Zeorian, University of Nebraska Foundation

the colleges

Leeding by example

By Wendy Townley, University Relations

recharge the aquifer and reduce the demand on storm sewers.

It’s been nearly a year since UNO’s College of Business Administration relocated to its stunning and state-ofthe-art new home, Mammel Hall. The 120,000-squarefoot facility opened Rick Yoder to rave reviews, and not just because it was easy on the eyes — it’s easy on the environment, too.

the first building within the University of Nebraska system to earn LEED gold certification for its green and energy-saving features. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized green building certification system. LEED provides third-party verification on construction projects built using strategies aimed at energy savings, water efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

“Many businesses have and are making the change to be more green, and many businesses are being created to provide green services and products,” says Yoder, director of NBDC’s Pollution Prevention Regional Information Center. “What I think most of us are happiest about is that Mammel Hall — and the evolving initiative in sustainability — is representative of what can be accomplished through the great work of a team of many people from across the campus and the community.”

Mammel Hall, however, isn’t CBA’s only eco-friendly initiative. The college in various ways is trying to help businesses reduce their energy costs, while faculty and staff incorporate green studies into assorted curricula.

Among the features earning Mammel Hall LEED certification:

Local, global

“As nice as it is to be working in a great facility,” says Rick Yoder of CBA’s Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC), “it’s even nicer to have the collective efforts of campus and community working for future improvements.” Granted, those efforts shine most brightly with Mammel Hall. In January it became

Expansive windows that allow significant sunlight to stream in throughout the day. 97 percent of Mammel Hall’s construction waste was diverted from landfills. Proximity to campus and city bus routes. Energy-efficient light fixtures that reduce overall energy consumption up to 30 percent. Diversion of 20 percent of the rainwater that falls on and around Mammel Hall to

CBA’s other eco-friendly strides are taking faculty and students through Omaha and around the world. In recent years the college has participated in a tour of homes with the best green practices. Yoder also points to an economic and marketing research project that the Omaha Public Power District funded. “OPPD has about 12 programs for businesses to help them reduce their energy costs,” Yoder says. “Our marketing professors

the colleges sought to discover what language helped to motivate participation in these energy programs. Our researchers are studying OPPD’s communication and marketing components and will share the results with OPPD.”

Prairie Professor

CBA faculty Jonna Holland and Phani Tej Adidam, meanwhile, have added green components to their courses in the college’s Executive MBA program. Holland and five students traveled to Costa Rica for two weeks last fall to work alongside students at EARTH University. A private, international, nonprofit entity, EARTH University’s mission is to contribute to sustainable development in the tropics by seeking a balance beJonna Holland tween agricultural production and environmental preservation. Holland says her students learned extensively about the university’s sustainability efforts and programs, such as how to deal with waste produced by banana plantations throughout Costa Rica. Adidam’s students visited major airports in Madrid, Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris last fall to examine how ground power units (GPUs) in Europe compare to those in the United States. Airlines use GPUs as a temporary and alternative power source while passengers deplane and board.

UNO’s LaReesa Wolfenbarger explores man’s impact on native tall grasses and their inhabitants Considering it’s in the heart of the Great Plains, Nebraska surprisingly has little undisturbed tall grass prairie left — 99 percent of it has been altered for some other use.

directly in those locations,” Wolfenbarger says. “We know that increasing the use of pesticide is something we want to avoid or minimize because those chemicals may impact humans in some way.

“Most of it has been converted to some sort of farmland,” says UNO Biology Professor LaReesa Wolfenbarger.

“We also put a lot of effort in agricultural policy to avoid soil erosion. Controlling soil erosion has benefits to wildlife as well as benefits to humans.”

That’s bad news for birds like the Eastern and Western Meadowlarks and Grasshopper Sparrows, which need tall grasses to survive. They’ve at least got a great advocate on their side — Wolfenbarger.

Phani Tej Adidam

Planes can sit at gates from 30 minutes to two hours or more, emanating exhaust and wasting fuel. Switching to a GPU at such times is a cleaner way to keep the plane on auxiliary power while on the ground.

A researcher at UNO for 10 years, she studies how land use affects species that traditionally live in tall grass prairies. Her field research has brought her to a part of the country she loves after spending a couple of years carrying out policy work as a scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency.

The trip provided Adidam’s students a global view of an initiative designed to make air travel slightly kinder to the environment.

Understanding the impact of agriculture is important to everyone — from the farmer in the field to the consumer buying food for their family, Wolfenbarger says. Those impacts can range from the unknown effects of genetically engineered crops to the overuse of chemicals, damaging ground water.

Back home, that’s something the folks in CBA know more than a little about.

“When humans degrade ecosystems there are cascading effects that affect humans

For two weeks, Adidam and four students studied ways to display and store the green GPU hardware, varying from a dangling black cable (cost: around $3,000 per unit) to a glass-enclosed box ($14,000 per unit).

One project she is particularly excited about is the compilation of a large agriculture/environment database that will look at farming practices over time, in some cases more than a century, and the resulting changes in environmental quality. While it will take years to assemble, the hope is once the information is in place computer modeling will provide accurate predictions about land use and its impacts. Another project, sponsored by the state’s Game and Park Commission, has Wolfenbarger examining the environmental impact of wind power (see Page 24). Birds and bat populations can be negatively affected if the giant turbines are placed incorrectly. “It’s got me really interested in how do we provide the right ecological information to agencies and developers so that wind power is a win-win,” she says. — Tim Kaldahl, Associate Editor

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Sustainability initiatives are taking place all over campus UNO’s campus-wide sustainability initiatives might be enough to turn other universities green with envy.

Aiding an Audit

Elmwood Park Pavilion

UNO students carry out energy assessments of city buildings

Since January 2010, UNO students have been visiting Omaha fire stations, libraries, park pavilions and other city locales. But not on field trips. Lacking the manpower to carry out an energy assessment project funded by a federal stimulus grant, the City of Omaha turned for help to UNO students and faculty in the College of Information, Science and Technology and the College of Engineering. They’ve conducted audits on nearly 90 city buildings, including community centers, park caretaker residences, and more. Consultants from the Kiewit Building Group provided assistance. “We did a complete interior and exterior inventory of the building envelope, including building footprint measurements and visual assessment of the mechanical and electrical equipment on the roof,” says Terri Norton, acting coordinator and assistant professor of the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction. “We eventually had two students who did the energy assessments and two others who worked on data analysis. Another student developed a database. Each student had a minimum of 20 hours of work per week and on average they visited two to three facilities each week.” Norton says the projects have allowed the students to apply classroom theory in the real world. “I think it also has developed a good relationship between the university and the city, and in the second phase we’re incorporating this project into a course where our students can have more interaction with the city.” — Tim Fitzgerald, University Relations

Across its 230 beautifully landscaped acres, colleges, departments and individuals are positively affecting UNO’s energy use and economic impact in a variety of innovative ways.

South of Elmwood Park, on UNO’s Pacific Street campus, the new College of Business Administration building, Mammel Hall, has garnered recognition for its green and energy saving features (see page 14).

“To be sustainable, we must consider the triple bottom line — people, planet and prosperity,” says Patrick Wheeler, founder of GreenUNO, a task force that since 2008 has promoted sustainability at UNO. “Think of it as Other recent green efforts at UNO: living well today, while preserving the ability School of Health, Physical Education of future generations to do the same. and Recreation faculty and students introduced a Bike Share Program to “On campus, that means not only practicing encourage physical activity and reduce good stewardship so that we may continue to carbon emissions. enjoy good health, prosperity and a healthy planet, but instilling in our students the knowledge and duty to do the same.” Students have noticed such stewardship firsthand in the Milo Bail Student Center, where UNO Food Services last year began using compostable and biodegradable PLA (polylactic acid) containers and serving utensils. “This change in the UNO Food Services operation is a proactive and responsible step, and very much in keeping with UNO’s mission to be student-focused and community-engaged,” says Bill Conley, UNO vice chancellor for business and finance and a GreenUNO taskforce member. “This change had very strong support throughout campus with students, faculty and staff, and it demonstrates our campus concern for sustainability and the environment.”

Environmental Services has instituted an active, campus-wide single stream recycling effort. Facilities Management and Planning conducts ongoing building energy audits, initiates a campus-wide building temperature policy, and replaces incandescent light bulbs with more energy-efficient, compact florescent bulbs. Information Services put in place green technology polices (i.e. suggesting that equipment purchased is Energy Starcompliant). The grounds department is planting perennials for outdoor landscape, reducing water consumption. The student-led UNO Environmental Club continues to host an annual Earth Day celebration, guest speakers and a movie series on sustainability issues.

Elsewhere on campus, Planning and Architectural Services in April began replacing 249 windows in the Eppley Administration For information on other UNO’s Green Building and Allwine Hall. The project, UNO Task Force initiatives, visit aimed at increasing energy efficiency in the http://www.unomaha.edu/green. buildings, is being funded by Department of — Becky Bohan Brown, Energy grants totaling more than $640,000. University Relations

the colleges “I think it’s one of the most interesting and important kinds of projects that has legs in the college right now,” Boocker says. “It is not just a research station; it is a research station that has a strong educational mission and outreach into schools. That’s really what sells me more than anything else.” The outreach programs include the proposal and operation of experiments by high school students from the Elkhorn River area. That could include stipends to carry out the work.

And a River Runs By It

“If you have an experiment that you can design, you can come to our research station and run your experiment and we will pay you to do it,” Kolok says.

It’s unlikely many Omahans have heard of the T.L. Davis Prairie, a 23-acre plot hugging the Elkhorn River in southwest Omaha. For more than a dozen years, though, this has been a second home of sorts to UNO Biology Professor Alan Kolok (pictured) . From the prairie, Kolok has been able to access the Elkhorn, monitoring the river’s health as director of UNO’s Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory. Now, with the construction of a $375,000, 200-squarefoot research station on the river’s bank, Kolok and students can improve on that research. Kolok’s interest in the Elkhorn River began in 1998 when he worked with University of Florida researchers to determine how nearby cattle feedlots contaminated the waterway. The research, published in 2004, showed that contaminants were causing female fish to lose their ability to reproduce. But, says Kolok, the Florida group’s research left him wanting more. “They … collected samples feverishly for a week, flew back and they’ve never been back,” Kolok says. “Well, we can do a lot better than that.”

Arbor Day Foundation names UNO a Tree Campus USA University

The first step toward better data collection came when the University of Nebraska Foundation provided the T.L. Davis Prairie to UNO in 2005 via a perpetual lease. The land had been donated by an Omaha businessman and named in honor of his father. Four years after UNO acquired the land, Kolok and others, including College of Arts and Sciences Dean David Boocker, began to obtain research funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Papio-Missouri River National Resources District. UNO’s College of Arts and Sciences and Academic and Student Affairs also contributed.

“What we’re really looking at is the concept of students teaching other students,” Kolok says. “It’s kind of cool and innovative from that perspective.” The importance of this kind of outreach, Kolok says, is that many students today have to deal with information overload.

Construction of the research station began in October 2010. Inside it includes 12 aquaria stocked with species from UNO’s fish colony. It is electronically connected to UNO for transfer of real-time water quality data and other information.

“I don’t care whether we find contaminants or if we don’t — that’s irrelevant,” he says. “The point is that we’re going to have a mechanism by which we can ask the questions and then get those questions into information that’s useful.”

Kolok began collecting data in April. He’ll continue to do so each year from spring through November, determining how much contamination in the river is coming from rural runoff, pesticides, animal steroids and industrial waste. He’ll post his findings online.

For Kolok and Boocker, the Elkhorn River is just the beginning of what they would like to see happen with the project. “What we’re doing in the Elkhorn I think is a prototype for what could be done on any and every river,” Boocker says. — Charles Reed, University Relations

The Arbor Day Foundation on Arbor Day bestowed Tree Campus USA recognition upon UNO. It is the first time UNO has been so honored. Nearly 100 schools have earned the designation since 2008. In recognition of the honor UNO’s Student Government on May 3 planted a gingko tree on the northwest corner of Arts and Sciences Hall.

Omaha University President Rowland Haynes, second from left, assists in an Arbor Day planting on campus in 1938. Also pictured: Omaha architect Frank Latenser, far left, student Harriet Salmon, Student Council President Edgar Howe and Regent D.E. Emmett Bradshaw.

Students will produce short videos that take others through the scientific process, from the initial question to the results of the study. The videos would be posted online for other students to look at and use as starting points for future research at the station or in other areas.

UNO met Tree Campus USA’s five core standards of tree care and community engagement: establish a campus tree advisory committee; evidence of a campus tree-care plan; verification of dedicated annual expenditures on the campus tree-care plan; involvement in an Arbor Day observance; and, institution of a service-learning project engaging the student body.

Trees were among the university’s priority when it moved to its present site from the original campus at 24th and Pratt Streets. OU in 1938 carried out a “campus beautification” project, using $110,000 in federal grant (Works Progress Administration) money to plant 170 trees and 2,600 shrubs. Today there are an estimated 1,500 trees on UNO’s Dodge, Pacific and Center Street campuses. The university is conducting an official tree census through 2011. UNO has at least one historical tie to the foundation. In 1945 Sterling Morton, grandson of Arbor Day founder J. Sterling Morton, made a $10,000 gift to then-Omaha University as a memorial to his other grandfather, George Lake, a Nebraska pioneer, lawyer and state chief justice.

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UNO Announces Plans for Community Engagement Center As a front door welcomes guests into a home, UNO’s Community Engagement Center will welcome the community to its campus. Through the University of Nebraska Foundation’s Campaign for Nebraska, UNO seeks to develop the Community Engagement Center — a facility that will support expansion of universitycommunity partnerships, enrich student and faculty engagement in the community, and extend campus resources to the nonprofit community. The center will be located between the Strauss Performing Arts Center and Criss Library. It will feature offices for nonprofit and university partners, collaborative work and meeting spaces, conference rooms, distance-learning laboratories and more. Funding for the $24 million project is more than half complete, but a need for financial support remains. One of the passionate leaders in the project, the Weitz Family Foundation, has issued a challenge to inspire others to support the initiative. The Weitz Family Foundation will match additional gifts one-to-one, up to $3 million.

“The Weitz Family Foundation is so excited about the possibilities that the Community Engagement Center at UNO has for exponentially expanding the city’s agencies and government services’ capacities to serve all of its citizens,” Barbara Weitz says. “We have seen the collaborations between university professors and students with community agencies and school systems unleash energy and ideas that have brought immense value to all involved.” By creating the center, UNO and community partners will have a defined area to develop new research, outreach and learning initiatives and to expand and strengthen existing initiatives. A student/community resource center will connect individual students and student groups with local community service or volunteer opportunities, creating a single contact for potential volunteers and the organizations that seek them. “Creating a space where the community and university can come together to build better infrastructures, nurture collaborations, and use the best resources of all seems likely to lead to outcomes beyond our dreams,” Weitz says. “We feel honored to be a part of this project.” For information on supporting this project, contact Lori Byrne at 402-502-4920 or lbyrne@nufoundation.org. — Jenna Zeorian, University of Nebraska Foundation

Professor, grad, helping Omaha businesses chill cooling expenses If big air-conditioning bills get you hot under the collar every summer, the work of a UNO faculty member and UNO graduate might one day help you chill out. UNO engineering Professor Mingsheng Liu and 2010 UNO graduate Matt Kasprzak have helped develop the Digi-RTU (digital rooftop unit) Controller, a device that can be installed into an existing heating, ventilating and air conditioning unit to regulate its speed and reduce total energy consumption. The device is being developed for DTL Controls, an Omaha-based development and manufacturing company that provides building automation solutions.

Liu is DTL president and CEO; Kasprzak (MS, architectural engineering) is a DTL product developer. Kasprzak says tests last summer in small commercial buildings across metropolitan Omaha showed that the Digi-RTU reduced energy consumption by about 50 percent. That amounted to an average of $700 in savings. “As of right now it appears we’re the only company in the market that has such technology to do that,” Kasprzak says. Such a unit also can benefit power companies like the Omaha Public Power District. Kasparak says lowering

the rate of energy consumption can help OPPD “expand the life of their facilities.” OPPD is encouraging the unit’s development, helping DTL market he Digi-RTU and connect it with potential customers. Power company representatives also have presented information about the unit at conferences. Kasprzrak says DTL is exploring expansion of the DigiRTU into other states and possible conversion for use with residential systems. “We’re constantly trying to evolve this project and expand,” he says. — Charles Reed, University Relations

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Students making a world of difference through Global Youth Service Day

The Bag Monster Cometh There’s something strangely compelling about watching the Bag Monster shimmy and shake to Jack Johnson’s “3R’s” song about “reduce, reuse, recycle.” The Bag Monster — aka Health, Physical Education and Recreation Professor David Corbin — is created from more than 500 plastic bags, the average number that each American uses annually. Corbin has taken the Bag Monster around Omaha and across the United States, preaching about the hazards the non-biodegradable bags pose to the environment and to wildlife.

The world’s largest international service day — Global Youth Service Day — is beginning to make a world of difference in Omaha. Thanks in large part to UNO’s Service Learning Academy. Focused on environmental stewardship, the oneday event attracted more than 500 Service Learning Academy volunteers on April 15 — twice the number of 2010 participants. UNO has taken part in GYSD, involving 90 countries, for four years.

See the Bag Monster get down at www.unoalumni.org/bagmonster

“It’s a day about conservation and recycling and ecology,” says Kathy Oleson Lyons, the academy’s assistant director. UNO students and staff lead and organize betterment projects at locations like City Sprouts, Fontenelle Park, Allwine Prairie and other local trails and city recreation areas. This year, GYSD participants also collected funds (and new friends and supporters) for the local nonprofit agency Hike to Help Refugees, which supports the humanitarian work of the United Nations Refugee Agency.

— Becky Bohan Brown, University Relations

TICKET TO RIDE

Tina Buda, a teacher at Western Hills Magnet Center, says it’s important for primary school pupils to get involved. About 15 Western Hills students and a pair of staff members participated in UNO’s GYSD efforts. Others at the magnet center (which numbers 400 students and staff) worked on the school’s outdoor classroom and cleaned the neighborhood around 66th and Western streets. “This has become such a big deal for us,” Buda says. “We’re doing such a better job of embedding this into the curriculum.” Volunteer activities in UNO’s closest park — Elmwood Park — included cleanup efforts and several information stations UNO students created about clean water, local plants and animals, and recycling. GYSD is among numerous green outreach and service projects the Service Learning Academy sponsors. Participants in Seven Days of Service in the spring and Three Days of Service in the fall try to minimize waste on projects. “If we can recycle it, we do,” Lyons says. “If we can do things in areas we are working on that are energy-conserving we do that, too.” — Tim Kaldahl, Associate Editor

Students were taken for a ride earlier this year – in a good way – thanks to a new partnership between Omaha’s Metro (formerly Metro Area Transit) and UNO. Upward of 400 students picked up free Metro bus passes during a special event on campus in February. The MavRide prepaid bus cards provided free public transit transportation to and from campus during the spring semester. Metro and UNO Student Government jointly funded the $40,000 program, designed to ease campus parking congestion and make Omaha a greener city – one bus ride at a time. “The MavRide program has been an invaluable resource that I hope we continue to utilize for many years to come,” said Megan Schmitz, Student Government public relations officer. “Student Government’s hard work on this project is a win-win for everyone, and I look forward to the program gaining steam as the semester progresses.” — Wendy Townley, University Relations

athletics

Throwing Strikes

Pro prospect Holtmeyer keeps opposing batters whiffing There’s a new strikeout king at UNO. Junior right-handed pitcher Joe Holtmeyer in March got 12 batters to whiff during a 5-2 win over then-No. 1 Emporia State, giving him 279 career strikeouts. That eclipsed the mark of former Maverick Tim Huber, who had 277 strikeouts in four seasons. Holtmeyer padded that total during a season that ended in an MIAA tournament championship game loss to Central Missouri. He finished with 94 strikeouts, giving him 323 for his career. He also had an 8-2 record and was named to the 2011 Daktronics All-South Central Region Team. As a sophomore the Omaha native and Creighton Prep graduate was Division II’s national strikeout leader. He tossed a teamhigh 87.1 innings, fanning 152 batters en route to a 9-2 record and 2.89 earned-run average. The strikeouts were a UNO singleseason record.

Holtmeyer was named MIAA Pitcher of the Year, South Central Region Pitcher of the Year, and a first-team All-American. He also was nominated for the Tino Martinez Award given to the top player in Division II baseball. Last summer, Holtmeyer pitched for the Harwich Mariners in the prestigious Cape Cod League. He was among that league’s top 15 strikeout leaders with 37 and held opposing hitters to a .184 batting average. More summer ball could be in his future. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Holtmeyer is garnering the attention of professional scouts, who considered him a top prospect for June’s Major League Baseball draft. “Joe is easily one of the top pitching prospects in the Midwest,” Maverick Coach Bob Herold says. — Bonnie Ryan, UNO Athletic Media Relations

On the mound and at the plate

Lindsey Slocum was among the most versatile players in Maverick softball history UNO’s loss to West Texas A&M in the regional finals put an end to one of the best — and most versatile — careers in Maverick history.

Slocum was named a Daktronics First-Team All-American last year, too. She went 21-3 as a pitcher with a 1.95 ERA and a perfect game.

Lindsey Slocum, one of three seniors on the 2011 Maverick softball squad, was a cornerstone to the team’s success with her arm and her bat the past four years, ranking among the top 10 career leaders in 48 different categories.

Slocum started all 63 games for the Mavs as a junior, either as a pitcher or an outfielder. In 2010 she ranked second on the team with a .371 batting average, adding 12 home runs. UNO went 50-13 last year, falling a game short of the South Central Regional final.

A graduate of Marian High School, Slocum this year was named an NFCA Division II All-American as a utility player after batting .299 with eight home runs, 38 RBI and a teamleading 14 doubles. She also had a 15-5 record on the mound with a 1.84 ERA. Teammate Beth Haley also was named an NFCA All-American (second team) as a pitcher. UNO finished 47-11.

For her career Slocum started 221 of 226 games and finished with a .318 batting average, 145 runs scored, 218 hits, 27 home runs and 153 RBI. Her 54 doubles are second most in UNO history. She also pitched 444.2 innings in 83 appearances, posting a 52-12 record and 2.03 ERA.

athletics

The UNO athletic department rolled out a new look for its teams at the third annual Night with the Mavericks fundraiser at the Embassy Suites. UNO unveiled new primary and secondary logos that will be worn by all of its teams as the department begins its reclassification to Division I next fall. The new primary logo will be an “O” with intertwined red and black elements. The secondary logo is a reimagining of the familiar Maverick bull head that has been a staple of UNO hockey jerseys since the team came into being in 1997. A third logo, “UNO Graphic,” is an alternate to the “O” logo. The Night with the Mavericks crowd of almost 400 people also heard from former Nebraska volleyball coach Terry Pettit, who was the keynote speaker. Pettit, a national champion coach with the Huskers, spoke to UNO’s future challenges during its reclassification to Division I and encouraged athletic staff members and boosters to work together as a team to ensure the success of the program moving forward.

UNO Charts New Course For Athletics The UNO Athletic Department took a bold step forward in March, one designed to secure the future of Maverick athletics for decades to come. On March 25, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved a proposal by Chancellor John Christensen and Director of Athletics Trev Alberts to reclassify as a Division I program and accept a membership invitation from the Summit League, a Midwestern-based association of schools that closely resemble UNO in mission, enrollment and academics. The Board approved the proposal, 8-0. “We look forward to an exciting level of competition with institutions who mirror our commitment to their students, academic excellence and their communities,” Christensen said. The vote was the culmination of a process begun a year ago by the Christensen, Alberts and a committee of local community leaders to determine the direction for the UNO campus both academically and athletically.

University in St. Louis announced that it had hired former UNO Wrestling Coach Mike Denney to lead its start-up Division II wrestling program. Many of his former Maverick wrestlers were expected to enroll at Maryville and wrestle for Denney. In the place of football and wrestling, UNO will add men’s soccer and golf, two sports that are sponsored by UNO’s new conference. While acknowledging the many challenges and difficult decisions made during the transition, UNO’s coaches were enthusiastic about the move to Division I. “This is an exciting time to move our program to Division I status and to the Summit League,” said Derrin Hansen,

Joining The Summit League and Division I is the next step in UNO’s continuing transformation and forward momentum.

UNO’s head men’s basketball coach. “Our — Chancellor John Christensen current and “Our reclassification will ensure future studentthe success of Maverick athletics athletes will for many years to come,” Alberts said. be able to compete with Division I programs that we’ve The move was not made solely to bring the Mavericks to never had the opportunity to play before in regular-season a higher level of competition. At its core, UNO’s move to competition. Division I is designed to bring financial stability to an Those sentiments were echoed by Jeanne Scarpello, head athletic department that had become more dependent on coach of the UNO softball team. state subsidies, subsides that were increasingly difficult to justify during a state-wide budget crunch. The proposal set into motion by the Regents’ vote was not without painful decisions. As part of the reclassification, UNO no longer will field a football or wrestling team. Football is being dropped because of the cost of sponsoring the program at the Division I level. UNO football had consistently run deficits of more than $1 million as a Division II program, and the additional cost of scholarships needed to compete as a Division I program made its continuation prohibitive. Also, the Athletic Department would have had to add more women’s teams and scholarships, thereby assuming more costs, to comply with Title IX, the law requiring gender equity for males and females in every educational program that receives federal funding. Wrestling is being discontinued because it is not a sport sponsored by the Summit League. On April 28 Maryville

“We’ve played teams in the fall and in the past from the Summit League and have played right with them,” Scarpello said. “We can compete for the local talent in this area, and those student-athletes will have more opportunities to play Division I softball close to home. It’s just a great opportunity to keep local talent here in good, competitive programs.” UNO’s membership in the Summit League becomes official July 1, although it will not begin competition in the new conference until the 2012-13 season, playing a collection of games against Division I and II schools in that first year. During its four-year transition to Division I status, the Mavericks will not be permitted to compete for any league or NCAA championships, except in hockey where they already field a Division I team. In 2015-16, UNO will be eligible for all regular season and tournament championships when approved by the NCAA for active Division I membership.

For more on the Summit League, visit www.thesummitleague.org

By Dave Ahlers, Director of Athletic Media Relations

athletics

UNO was in a hiring mode in April, taking on two new coaches in sports transitioning to Division I athletics. The Mavs on April 16 announced that Chance Lindley was named the school’s new head women’s basketball coach. Six days later Jason Mims was introduced as the first men’s soccer coach in school history. UNO Women’s Head Basketball Coaches 1971-73 1973-76 1976-98 1998-00 2000-04 2004-11 2011

Joyce Morris Dee Grindle Cherri Mankenberg Paula Buscher Lisa Carlsen Patty Patton Shearer Chance Lindley

Jason Mims Men’s Soccer

UNO Athletics named Jason Mims the first head men’s soccer coach in

Chance Lindley

Women’s Basketball chance Lindley, previously assistant women’s coach at the University of Arizona, is the seventh head coach in school history and the first male to lead the 40-year-old women’s program. He replaces Patty Patton Shearer, who resigned March 2 for personal reasons. A Wichita, Kan., native, Lindley posted a 148-33 record during eight years as a head coach in the high school and junior college ranks in Kansas. He became an assistant at Arizona under Niya Butts in 2008. With the Wildcats, Lindley was in charge of all defensive game planning and in-game offensive and defensive strategy. He worked with post players in practices and assisted with recruiting. “I am very grateful and fortunate to be a part of the UNO family,” Lindley said. “This is an exciting time for the athletic department as it moves to Division I, and I’m looking forward to contributing to a new era for Maverick athletics. “We are going to bring in outstanding studentathletes who will work hard and eventually compete for championships in the Summit League. This will be a team fans will enjoy watching and be proud to call Omaha’s Team.” Lindley, 35, helped the Wildcats to a 21-12 record in 2010-11, the most wins for the program since 2004. Arizona finished fourth in the Pac-10, its highest

conference finish since 2004, and appeared in the postseason for the first time since 2005. Prior to his stint at Arizona, Lindley led Barton County Community College to a school-record 34-4 mark and a fourth-place finish at the NJCAA Tournament in 2007-08. The Cougars won the Region IV Championship, and Lindley received several coach-of-the-year honors. Lindley also has coached at Wichita Independent High School and Wichita Collegiate High School. The latter school went 26-0 and won a state championship in 2006. Lindley graduated cum laude from Wichita State in 2000. He and his wife, Melissa, have a 4-year-old daughter, Brookelyn.

school history. He had been the first assistant for the men’s soccer team at Penn State University.

forward to creating more opportunities for Nebraska kids to play Division I soccer here in the state.”

Mims had spent 10 years as an assistant coach at Creighton University, helping then-head coach Bob Warming, now the head coach at Penn State, create the Bluejays’ program from the ground up. Mims helped lead Creighton to eight straight NCAA tournament appearances and six Missouri Valley Conference Championships. He was a two-time finalist for the AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year award, the 2008 MVC Assistant Coach of the Year, and the 2008 NSCAA Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year.

Mims recruited 10 All-Americans, eight conference players of the year, 21 all-region honorees and 50 all-conference picks at Creighton.

“I am extremely grateful to Trev, Mike and the rest of the UNO staff for this wonderful opportunity,” said Mims. “I am very excited to be coming back to Omaha and to be a part of something special at UNO. I look

Mims also coached club soccer for six years while in Omaha, winning the Nebraska state tournament each season and qualifying for the national tournament. In 2007 he was a NSCAA National Youth Coach of the Year finalist and the regional coach of the year. The native of Memphis, Tenn., played soccer at Saint Louis University, where he was a two-time AllConference USA selection and an NSCAA All-Midwest Region pick in 1997. Mims also played professionally for one season with Cincinnati of the A-League. He graduated from Saint Louis in 1999. The Mavericks begin play in men’s soccer this fall.

we asked

Bing Chen Professor/Chair, Computer Electronics & Engineering

Photo by Eric Francis

GET TO KNOW

What is your greatest resource and why? Treating the opinions of others with a zone of tolerance by looking through their eyes and trying to see the big picture.

he answered

what was your first job Summer counselor for the Boys Club of NYC at Camp Carey, Long Island, 1960. Your favorite weekend hangout Sitting on the rim of the Grand Canyon or watching the koi swim around in the pond while listening to the sounds of falling water. THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS IS: To enjoy every possible moment, to discard negative thoughts and to connect with those you come into contact with. I hate to waste The human potential of our young throughout the world.

we asked

what is your greatest resource?

The greatest resource I have is my landscape crew. When I get that call at 2 a.m. for snow removal, it’s always nice to call in my crew, as well to enjoy removing the snow and ice in the middle of the night.

My greatest resource is definitely my husband, Bill. Not only is he my closest friend and most trusted advisor, but he’s also my own personal IT guy and he cooks dinner for me every night.

answered

Lowell Neuhaus Manager, UNO Environmental Services

Denise MacMillan (’85) Team leader, Environmental Protection Agency

My greatest resource is the sun and my two sons. The sun because its photons brighten my day and excite the electrons in the photovoltaic solar cells to generate renewable energy; my sons — because of them I am driving a hybrid car to reduce my carbon footprint.

answered Mahmoud Alahmad Professor, Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction

Text, photos by Jenna Zeorian

My greatest resource is the players on my team. Omaha is a great city, UNO is a great academic institution, we have great facilities, tradition, coaches — but it’s the players that make the difference in whether our team is successful.

answered Dean Blais UNO Hockey Coach

The greatest resource of energy is wind energy. I am doing my research in real-time power monitoring and energy conservation, yet I am still convinced that we would not need to worry too much about how much energy we spend if we had more energy provided from green sources such as wind and solar energy.

answered Wisam Nader Graduate student and iSave project leader (see page 38)

Wind power is gaining in popularity, but not everyone is setting sail Photo and text by Don Kohler

Wonders &Worries Nearly halfway between Omaha and Iowa’s capital city of Des Moines rests a small town that oozes history. Established in 1871 and coined Iowa’s Antique City, Walnut, Iowa, and its 877 residents annually welcome more than 80,000 tourists to its historic, brick-lined main street of specialty shops and restaurants. It is, as its website notes, “A Town that Measures in Yesterday’s Treasures.” But winds of change have altered the landscape of this tradition-rich rural community. Walnut is home to one of MidAmerican Energy Co.’s awe-inspiring wind technology projects — 102 General Electric turbines that stretch for miles across surrounding farm fields in east Pottawattamie County. They generate enough electricity to power approximately 52,000 homes. The turbines, which tower 263 feet from ground to hub, give motorists bustling along Interstate 80 another reason to take a look at Walnut. But these are not your great-grandfather’s picturesque windmills. And not everyone is pleased with the change. “As you drive by they are somewhat pretty interesting,” Walnut Mayor Gene Larsen says. “Environmentalists smile a lot when they drive by, most of our residents, not so much. The power companies are only building these towers to meet some perceived government green requirement down the road. In my opinion, it will undoubtedly increase everyone’s electric bill. “As to the effect on our community, the land owners like the fees they receive, the farmers don’t like the disrupted farming process, and the unfortunate folks that live close to the towers are constantly bothered by the noise they create.” Answers to energy demands might be blowin’ in the wind, but questions about its use also are swirling. For instance, how do turbines impact the scenic landscape and wildlife? And how can wind be harvested at the residential level? UNO researchers are exploring these and other issues. “There are tradeoffs,” notes LaReesa Wolfenbarger, UNO associate professor of biology.

Wind in the Corn Belt Iowa is among the leading states reaping the benefits of those tradeoffs. The state ranks first in the production of electricity from wind and second in the number of installed megawatts (3,675), says Dr. Harold Prior, executive director of the Iowa Wind Energy Association. “Iowa also has more major component manufacturers than any other state,” Prior adds. According to the American Wind Energy Association, a nation-best 14.2 percent of all Iowa power comes from wind, generating enough power for 900,000 homes. MidAmerican, No. 1 in the nation in ownership of wind-powered electric generation among rate-regulated utilities, currently has wind energy facilities at nine sites across Iowa. It has received approval by the Iowa Utilities Board to add up to 1,001 megawatts of wind generation prior to 2013. Nebraska lags far behind its bordering neighbor. Nebraska had 213 installed megawatts at the close of 2010, enough to power 60,000 homes. The lower numbers are due in part to the influence of public utilities in Nebraska, says Graham Christensen, public affairs director for the Nebraska Farmer’s Union, which advocates wind energy production. His organization is under contract with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to educate Nebraskans about the benefits of wind energy. Other factors he says limits the development of wind power in Nebraska include the lack of a “super grid” of transmission lines to carry the energy, limited export opportunities for that energy, and an ample supply of existing coal and nuclear energy. With more megawatts of energy scheduled to go online in 2011, Christensen is optimistic about the future of wind energy in Nebraska. “Wind energy has such a huge economic potential, we need to stay focused,” Christensen says. “However, being a 100-percent public power state created some challenges because the No. 1 incentive, the production tax credit, only can be used by private utilities. Public utility incentives are hard to come by and typically unreliable.” The National Renewable Energy Lab ranks Nebraska’s wind “resource” as fourth most in the nation, as measured by annual average wind speed (Iowa is seventh). The AWEA notes that such resource “could provide the state’s current electricity needs 120 times over.” That’s the kind of potential Christensen might like. “Wind technology gives our state a chance to create jobs through wind technology manufacturing,” Christensen says, “and this could be a big boom for Nebraska. We are very strategically located to be a leader in wind and most other forms of renewable energy production.”

Wind and Wildlife The environmental impact such a boom in wind power might have in Nebraska is driving the research of Wolfenbarger. The UNO professor is collecting data from the United States and Europe on the impact of wind farms on wildlife and the environment. She says she understands the

concerns of Walnut’s mayor, but her focus is on the presence of large wind farms in non-farmland areas in Nebraska. “An agriculture mosaic has its own set of wildlife that can co-exist with farmland,” she says. “The higher degree of concern is when you start modifying habitat that isn’t farmland.” One area of concern in Nebraska, Wolfenbarger says, is the bird migration habitat in the state. “The special concern in Nebraska is that we have this world-class, spectacular migration event of wonderful cranes, waterfowl and shore birds occurring between February and May,” Wolfenbarger says. “You have millions of individuals coming through a region of Nebraska. You have 600,000 people that converge on central Nebraska to watch the migration, and that brings large revenue to those municipalities. The challenge is that we’ve got the potential for incompatible goals in those areas.” Wolfenbarger says she hopes to develop a synthesis on the impact of wind farms on wildlife that can be used in future decision-making by government and industry leaders. “Definitely, renewable energy sources are something this country needs. But, there will be noticeable effects of large wind production operations on wildlife and the environment. It is going to take some working together between agencies to figure out how to operate wind farms in a way that they are compatible to the wildlife in the area.”

Wind on Roofs While building commercial wind capacity has its own set of challenges, UNO students are carrying out hands-on research on the viability of introducing turbines into the residential landscape. More than 200 students have been involved in research and construction of the ZNETH (Zero Net Energy Test House) in Omaha (see Page 36). Avery Schwer, professor at the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, says the college received a special use permit from city officials to include a wind turbine atop their test home. “I am an advocate of commercial wind, but the jury is still out on residential wind because there are a lot of issues to still address,” he says. “We are doing this because it is a test house. We want to see how these perform, and how much energy is actually produced by these wind turbines. A residential wind turbine is like a new frontier because it is not very widely applied.” Schwer says that prior to the erection of the Honeywell WindTronics turbine on the ZNETH House, students must consider issues such as site orientation, ventilation into the home and the effects of inclement weather on the structure. “These are issues to look at and to be concerned with, because we want to do it right and make sure this is installed properly,” Schwer says. “Would I tell a homeowner to go out and do this? Not yet. We’ve got our homework to do.”

Solar energy was all the rage in the 1970s. But after cooling off in the following decade, the solar industry sees bright days ahead once again

A solar panel for every split-level, ranch and two-story? Not quite. But optimism was high in the 1970s. “I think that solar heating should be very common for residential and commercial use within 10 years,” prophesied UNO Professor Bing Chen in a 1977 UNO alumni publication. By 1987, though, dark days had descended upon the solar scene. What happened? “Early euphoria came to a halt with the administration change in the 1980s,” says Chen, housed at the Peter Kiewit Institute and chair of the computer and electronics engineering department administered by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “The funding dried up. The attitude was: ‘This is not important to the future of the country.’” Emphasis went to fossil fuels, and funding was cut drastically for researchers, including those at the Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico. The commercial market was likewise scorched.

By Sonja Carberry

Dollars and

Sunse

SUNNY SIDE UP

Often, one of the questions the solar-curious ask is, “Where’s the money?”

UNO’s Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) points people in the right direction for solar loans and tax credits.

“There are a lot of incentives available,” says Jean Waters, NBDC senior community service associate. “People don’t take advantage of the incentives like they should.” Small business owners willing to do the legwork can reap long-term benefits. Waters pointed to Laundromat operators on the Winnebago Indian Reservation who found a loan for a solar water heater. “They save a lot of money from that,” Waters says. “When you have a business that uses a lot of hot water, it’s definitely something you should look into.”

Another winning scenario? “Farmers will install a solar panel to run a pump or a small piece of equipment that’s not near the power grid,” Waters says. “In that case, it’s economically viable.” The NBDC website (http://nbdc.unomaha.edu/energy) lists incentives by state and utility company. The USDA, U.S. Department of Energy and IRS, for instance, offer incentives for investments in solar water heat, solar thermal electric, photovoltaics and other technologies. The Nebraska Energy Office, meanwhile, offers commercial loans for solar installations at an interest rate of 2.5 percent, plus tax credits. Need help figuring it all out? The NBDC offers assistance locating financing for energy improvements, plus energy efficiency screening.

Bill Hillman had launched Southwest Iowa Solar in 1979. Early success installing residential solar collectors fell away when Hillman lost a key selling point — a 30-percent federal tax credit and a 40-percent state tax credit. “The first thing Ronald Reagan did was get rid of the tax credit,” Hillman says. “The business just dropped off.” Reagan took office in 1981. By 1983, Hillman’s solar business in Shenandoah, Iowa, was toast.

“The Chinese technologies have in essence forced the prices of various renewables downward,” Chen says. “It’s been a free-fall drop in the cost of materials.” Increasing demand as a generation grows up greener is another, and President Barrack Obama has voiced support for renewable energy forms. Chen isn’t ready to grade the current administration on action, but he says politics indeed play a role.

“The movement has recovered in part, but not completely,” Chen says.

That can be seen in Germany. Buoyed by the environmentally friendly Green Party, residents there installed 3,800 megawatts of photovoltaic solar in 2009, compared to 500 megawatts in the United States the same year, according to a report by Renewable Energy World.

Points of optimism include price decreases. China, once seen as staunchly anti-environmental, has begun tapping solar on a large scale.

What makes that figure particularly ironic, according to solar advocate Richard Komp, is that Germany isn’t nearly as sunny as the United States.

Fast-forward to 2011. Interest in renewables is on the rise. Will the sun shine again on solar?

Solar VOCAB 101 Passive Solar Sit back and soak it in. Passive solar applies simple-to-complex design techniques to capture and store heat. Some approaches: Southern exposure: Homes designed with copious windows facing south generate warmth. The Greeks positioned their homes to maximize heat intake from the winter sun 2,500 years ago. Solar chimneys: As a blackpainted chimney heats up in the sun, hot air inside the chimney creates an updraft. Suction at the chimney’s

“Nebraska has a physical climate which is ideal for solar,” he says. Komp, dubbed the “Pied Piper of Solar,” by Chen, teaches solar techniques everywhere from Nicaragua to New York. The reason a place like South America has more solar power than the United States, he says, is that push simply hasn’t come to shove here. “We have it too good,” Komp says. “Our electricity rarely goes off for very long.” In other countries, electricity simply isn’t plentiful — never mind the cost. They’ve already figured out what many in the United States are waking up to. “Mechanical cooling is not a good use of energy,” says Chen.

Wide-ranging solar options and terminology can generate confusion. Here are a few basics.

base pulls hot air out of the building, creating ventilation. This technique is prevalent in the Middle East. Solar water heating: A storage tank is mounted above a rooftop solar collector panel. As the water gets hot, it rises (the thermosiphon effect) and is collected in a tank, which is gravity-fed via tubing into the home for use. This approach becomes active if a pump is added.

Active Solar Get it moving. Active solar techniques require electrical or mechanical equipment to move heat energy. There are two main categories — solar thermal and Photovoltaics (PV). Solar thermal: Rooftop solar panels are active if a pump or motor is used to move hot air or liquid through tubes from the panel to a collector. Solar thermal systems can heat swimming pools, homes and buildings. On a larger scale, solar thermal mirrors, lenses and troughs produce electricity on solar farms in California and Spain.

Photovoltaics (PV): These solar panels convert solar rays into direct current (DC) electricity using semiconductors. It’s the same technology that makes calculators work without batteries. The secret is the photovoltaic effect, in which electricity is created when photons of light knock electrons into a higher state of energy. Photovoltaics have become more popular as raw material costs have dropped in recent years. One PV solar panel can power an emergency phone. An array of multiple panels is needed to power a house.

Sources: Bill Hillman; “Practical Voltaics,” by Richard Komp; “Path to Passive” by Bing Chen et al; “A Golden Thread” by Ken Butti and John Perlin; www.energysavers.gov

Testing Ground

Photo by Eric Francis

How much sun is enough? That was the question in the 1970s. Skeptics assumed solar wouldn’t work in harsh-wintered Nebraska. UNO Professor Bing Chen took on the naysayers. He put a group of UNO students to work building and monitoring three toolshed-sized structures on the west side of campus (top photo). They were testing the trombe wall approach — a passive solar technique that lets the sun heat a southfacing masonry wall through a transparent cover, warming the air inside. As the temperature increases, convection draws cooler air out of the structure through low-lying vents.

The sheds weren’t attractive — but they were effective, as Chen’s team discovered after analyzing two years of data. “We proved that it worked — that it worked very well,” Chen says. Today, UNO’s Passive Solar Research Group — led by Chen and including UNO researchers and students — furthers study in solar techniques, such as the cool roof concept. It applies “insanely simple technology,” Chen says, with dramatic results. Scientist Harold Hay pioneered the first cool roof during the 1950s in India. He placed large bags of water on rooftops, opening them at night to radiate heat energy into the night sky and thus cool the building below. Chen and colleague Richard Bourne collaborated on a new approach called the Nebraska Modified Roof Pond. Instead of bags of water they lined a flat roof with rubber, then topped it with water and a layer of insulation. During summer nights, a submersible pump sprayed water above the roof. That water cooled in the night sky and migrated back down to the liner, cooling the surface below. “What this does is reduce cooling needs in the summer,” Chen says. Bourne built a home in California using the technique. It works so well that he has no A/C backup. “He’s laughing all the way to the bank,” Chen says. UNO’s Allwine Prairie is home to the Passive Solar Research Group’s “cool tube” research model. “It’s one of the few full-scale test setups in the U.S,” Chen says. The one-story structure features a tall chimney and a pipe that runs 10 feet into the ground, where air temperatures are around 50 degrees. On hot days, the solar chimney acts like a giant straw, sucking heat from the building and

pulling cooler air into the building from the pipe. “You can feel cool air coming up,” Chen says. The Chinese employed this technique after World War II, chilling buildings by drawing cold air from tunnels dug as shelters during the war. Also being studied at UNO are applications for photovoltaics (PV) — solar panels that produce energy. One project has solar doing double duty as a pump and water desalinator. A PV solar collector powers a pump, which brings in dirty water. As the sun-heated water evaporates in the collector, clean water droplets are piped away for use.

Going off the Grid Going solar can save serious coin. Just ask Richard Komp, whose off-the-grid house in northeastern Maine is electric-bill free. Komp authored the solar go-to book Practical Photovoltaics in 1984. Since then he’s taught workshops everywhere from Nicaragua to Mali to Nebraska (stopping at UNO in 2009 for two-days of interactive classes). Kemp’s first step is demystifying the technology for new users. There’s no magic to it, he says: “Every single part is something you can buy in a hardware supply store.” And cost shouldn’t be a hindrance — for the farsighted. “The cheapest way that you can heat your water, anywhere in the U.S., is with a solar water heater,” Komp says. Deciding what solar components to get — panels just to heat water or a full system to go off the grid — requires study. Komp’s “Practical Photovoltaics” covers everything from calculating wattage and sizing solar arrays to assembling a panel DIY-style. For information on passive solar approaches there’s Path to Passive: Nebraska’s Passive Solar Primer. The book is available for download at the Nebraska Energy Office website at http://www.neo.ne.gov/ publications/pathtopassive.htm. Komp also wrote The Maine Solar Primer, available at www.mainesolar.org/ MESEAstore.html. It includes plans for solar air heaters, cookers, water heaters and greenhouses, plus details on photovoltaic techniques. While applications evolve, Komp says solar’s basic principles remain constant — and the materials are equally durable.

“The collector is its own power source,” Chen says. “You stick one end into brackish water, and out the other end comes pure water.” He sees applications of this technology in tsunami-stricken areas and in places like Bangladesh, where loss of ice cover on the nearby Himalaya Mountains and deforestation from overcutting of trees has led to flooding. Such solar becomes not only an energy conserver, but also a problem-solver. Better to conserve now, Chen says, wherever possible. “We as a species have the gift of far sight and it seems like recently we’ve decided to abandon that farsightedness,” he says. He challenges his students to think about their roles as stewards for all life on planet earth. “Can we think beyond our own self-interest?” Chen says. “Energy is one aspect of that.”

I haven’t paid an electric bill in 23 years. That’s usually more impressive to people than my Ph.D.

— Richard Komp

A typical solar panel will last 20 years and beyond, offsetting manufacturing costs. Bill Hillman, former owner of Southwest Iowa Solar, says each solar approach requires different skill sets. “If you chose water systems you need to know a lot about plumbing,” Hillman says. “Photovoltaic systems require knowledge in electricity. Passive systems require knowledge in building and design.” Subcontractors can help, or the adept can go the do-it-yourself route. Materials for Hillman’s first solar panel included salvaged storm door glass and copper tubing. His home in Shenandoah, Iowa, currently is warmed with solar panels left over from his business. “I have 14 collectors which heat my indoor pool and about half my house when it’s around 30 degrees,” Hillman says. That swimming pool closes the solar loop by holding heat in liquid form, “and it’s more fun than a storage tank,” Hillman says. Yes, solar investments take time to payback. But the payback could come sooner than you think. “The cost of energy is climbing at a fast rate, and future utilities may be disrupted or very expensive,” Hillman says. “Solar in most cases is there to reduce your energy used.”

Cr tical Mass By Andrea Ciurej

That drum-beating bunny might energize plenty that’s critical, but even he has his limits. For instance, says Richard Lomneth, UNO biochemistry associate professor, “I can’t imagine airplanes flying on batteries anytime that I can foresee.” Corn or some other biomass, however, might come in handy. Richard Lomneth, UNO biochemistry associate professor

“If you can replace the jet fuel and have a good, viable biofuel,” Lomneth says, “that would be a market that would be there.”

Farm waste and other biomass — biological materials such as wood, waste, gas and alcohol fuels — are among alternative energy sources that can leave a greener footprint. And as technology improves, biofuels have the potential to become a less-expensive component of that which powers our engines, Lomneth says. The use of biofuels is nothing new. Cultures around the world, for instance, have used cow manure to cook with and generate heat. Today, however, biofuels are put to more powerful uses. Cow manure now can be can be transformed into electricity to power farms. Using an anaerobic digester, bacteria convert farm waste into methane gas, which can fuel an electric generator to create electricity. That’s a lot of cow power considering one bovine can produce more than 30 gallons of manure a day. “You can basically take that waste, convert it into something useful and eliminate all of these other problems,” Lomneth says. “Not only to make fuel, but also limit the release of greenhouse gasses.”

Biofuel More such ingenuity is expected. By 2050, according to the International Energy Agency, biofuels could provide 27 percent of all transport fuel and contribute to the replacement of diesel, kerosene and jet fuel. There are many types of biofuels, says Dave Neubauer, vice president and general manager of Tenaska BioFuels, a marketing affiliate of Omaha’s Tenaska Inc. Its founder and chairman is 1971 UNO graduate Howard Hawks.

“Some biofuels are used to generate power, while others are used as transportation fuels or for fuel blending,” says Neubauer, whose company helps ethanol, biodiesel and food processors find markets for their products. With approximately 14 billion gallons produced annually in the United States, corn ethanol — intended for gasoline-powered engines — is the most common type, he says. “Most gas stations in Omaha have ethanol-blended fuels,” Neubauer says. “There are some E85 stations, which carry 85-percent ethanol blends.” Ethanol can be derived from corn using industrial fermentation, the use of microorganisms to make products useful to humans. Chemical processing and distillation also are part of the process. Burning corn ethanol can cut greenhouse-gas emissions by about 20 percent compared to non-blended gasoline, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s website. Over time, the reduction could be as great as 52 percent. “The ethanol … gives something to help the gasoline burn cleaner,” Lomneth says. “So there is another impact people don’t think of when people buy the 10-percent ethanol gasoline.”

Biodiesel Biodiesel is the most widely produced biofuel, Neubauer says. Depending on the source (vegetable oils, animal fats), biodiesel can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by 60 to 80 percent, according to the Biodiesel National Board’s website, making it the best carbon-reduction tool of any liquid fuel commercially available. Lomneth is interested in biodiesel beyond the classroom. He and Alan Gift, an assistant professor of analytical and general chemistry at UNO, are part of a venture constructing the first integrated cellulose ethanol and biodiesel production facility in Nebraska. It involves Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems and Tighe Biodiesel of Springfield, Neb. A spectroscopist (one who measures the response of matter as it interacts with energy), Gift is developing a cost-effective technique to analyze the methanol content in biodiesel using near-infra red light. That helps determine how clean and effective the biodiesel is. “This technique is a faster, less-expensive way of determining methanol concentration than the traditional ASTM [American Society for Testing and Materials] tests,” Gift says. There are drawbacks to biofuels. Despite having a greener footprint, they require a relatively large land footprint. “There’s not a good infrastructure for handling the material,” Lomneth says. “They also take a fair amount of water for growing the feedstock and making the fuel.” Biofuels also have a higher price point. “I think they offer a segment of liquid fuels market,” Lomneth says. “They will not replace petroleum fuels at the current scale we use them, but they offer alternative material that is domestically produced, so it doesn’t have quite the great price point as we see in petroleum.”

Gassing Up By Kevin Warneke

finding it, pricing it, conserving it and more Everyone, it seems, has a story to tell about gas prices “back in the day.” From 1949 to 1952, OU grad Don Hansen worked summers at the Sears & Roebuck service station at 30th and Farnam. He’d fill cars at 23.9 cents per gallon for regular, 25.9 for leaded. “Along with that we checked the oil, washed the windshield and aired the tires if the customer asked,” he says. “Pretty girls,” he adds, “didn’t have to ask.” Fellow grad Arthur Croft also pumped gas, working for Hamilton Brothers Oil in Ralston in the late 1950s. “Most customers would come in and ask for $2 worth of regular gasoline, which was 10 gallons,” Croft recalls.

he reports, gas accounted for 2.09 percent of consumer expenditures. By May of this year he estimated it was as high as 4.75 percent.

A bit more than a century ago, folks were seeking fuel of a different sort for their Come the 1970s, though, the recollections transportation — oats. In 1900, notes aren’t so fond. OU grad Howard Munshaw Ira Rosofsky in “The History of the Gas was working in Station,” there were 20 million horses in the These days, there’s been plenty Cleveland then and had United States and just 4,000 cars. The oil a long commute. “The industry then mostly produced kerosene — of shock to go around as gas 75 cents or more [per gasoline was just a byproduct of the process prices have gone up. In May the gallon] was a big shock and typically was thrown away. Those with national average for a gallon of to the budget,” he says. cars went to their local general store or gasoline was$3.83. “The company I worked kerosene refinery and left with gasoline in for went to a four-day a bucket. “Not exactly convenient or safe,” * That compares $1.68 per gallon work week, working Rosofsky wrote. in December 2008 and $.98 a the same 40 hours, to Filling up is a lot easier these days — and conserve energy.” gas is guzzled globally.

gallon in December 1998.

Today’s rise leaves less for other spending, notes Dr. Christopher Decker, a UNO associate professor of economics. In 1990,

*according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“At present,” says Dr. Robert Schuster, UNO associate professor of geology, “fuel is what is driving our energy picture now and for the future.”

Drill A UNO graduate stakes her claim in the oil industry

Fill ’er up!

That could have become a common request on the UNO campus. In 1970, with gas prices at a national average of .36 cents per gallon, UNO Student President Steve Wild began plans to construct a student-owned and -operated cooperative gas station. One suggestion put the station in front of the Eppley Library (now the Administration Building). In a 1971 presentation to the UNO Student Senate, “Report on the Feasibility of a Student Gas Co-op,” Wild estimated gas could be sold for . 26 cents a gallons, saving students $50 to $150 a year. Student Senator Cliff Herd mentioned the possibility of an accompanying “grease rack” and student-issued credit cards. It was not so far-fetched of an idea. Gas co-ops were operating then at the University of Texas, the University of California at Berkeley and Wisconsin University. UNO administrators nixed the plan, though, citing campus space limitations. Purchase of an existing gas station or construction of a new one off campus also was explored, but no cooperative ever was instituted. Wild, though, never lost his flair for big ideas — or for cooperation. The UNO graduate later became a successful businessman and in 2006 funded the UNO Center for Collaboration Science. The interdisciplinary initiative involves about 25 faculty members from all six UNO colleges, “bringing their diversity of knowledge to bear on improving collaboration for organizations in Omaha and the nation at large.”

OU Digs f o r Black Gold

OU farmland way out in Kimball, Nebraska, once had the university dreaming of striking it rich. Black gold fever can be hard to shake, so when oil was discovered in Nebraska’s Kimball County in the 1950s, even the University of Omaha had dreams of cashing in on “bubblin’ crude.” OU had owned 160 acres of Kimball farmland since 1934, acquiring it via foreclosure from defendant Alfred Watson. “It looks like OU loaned some of its endowment funds for a farm mortgage,” says UNO Archivist Les Valentine. “When the loan defaulted, OU got the farm.” The quarter section of land, located just south of the town of Kimball, was worth $1,700 then. The university leased it for 20 years for wheat farming.

Beginning in 1950, though, Kimball landowners discovered oil-bearing sands thousands of feet beneath their crops — including farms neighboring OU’s spread. University officials got to drilling. In July 1954 OU contracted Rogers Oil to explore its property. By August the company had gone 6,440 feet deep. Telegraphs reporting moist earth, “aroused a flurry of excitement at the University,” reported the Alumni Newsletter. But no oil was found. The drilling was abandoned and wheat farming resumed. The 1957 crop brought $700 to OU coffers. In 1958, Kimball resident L.L. Nickle thought the land could yield even more. At public auction he won the

rights to lease the property from OU and drill again. OU would receive oneeighth royalties on oil and gas. Once more, drilling came up bust. In September 1961 the land was sold to Fern A. Jones for $5,760. University Regents recommended that proceeds fund the “Kimball County Greenhouse” on campus. The deed mentions the university retains one-half interest in oil, gas and mineral rights. Kimball would become known as the “Oil Capital of Nebraska,” producing the most barrels in the state in 1960. Today, State Highway 71 borders OU’s former Kimball Farm to the east. To the north is Interstate 80 and an abandoned Burger King. — Anthony Flott, editor

Baby

Erin Young isn’t afraid to admit it: She actually read her college geology textbook. “Because I was interested, not because I had to,” the 2007 UNO graduate says. That revelation was part of Young’s transformation from aspiring high school science teacher to real-world geologist now employed in the oil industry. Dr. Robert Shuster remembers the day Young stepped into his office at UNO to discuss a change in majors and a career in geology. “She knew she wanted to be a professional geologist from our first conversation and she pursued that goal,” says Shuster, associate professor of geology. Young handled the change in coursework, including the more difficult calculus classes. She enjoyed her summer spent in southwestern Colorado mapping the region’s geologic qualities with students from a variety of colleges and universities. Next came a master’s program at the University of Kansas and more field work.

These days, Young is an operations geologist (she describes herself as a newbie) for Anadarko Petroleum Co., one of the world’s largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. Young’s job is to make sure the drill rigs keep running and operating at top efficiency. Technology means Young isn’t working in the field, but from behind a computer in Anadarko’s offices in Denver. The Bellevue, Neb., native interprets data captured from geophysical sensors sent down to well bores at drilling sites in northeast Colorado. The captured data includes information about such geologic features as rock porosity and permeability. Young’s duties also include drill site selections. She makes her predictions based on sub-surface maps based on well logs. With hundreds of potential drill sites in the Anadarko inventory, Young is still waiting for her first well to come in. “That will be so rewarding to know you picked a good spot for getting oil and natural gas.”

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Going Natural Savings can add up with a Compressed Natural Gas vehicle

Memories of long lines at the pumps during the 1970s prompted Barbara Ihle to take action when talk of gas shortages resurfaced. At first, Ihle’s natural gas 2009 Honda Civic GX meant her husband, an orthopedic surgeon, would always have a way to work in Fremont, Neb. Now, the vehicle is providing a return on the Ihles’ investment. While a CNG (compressed natural gas) Honda Civic GX costs about $5,000 more than a standard Honda Civic, savings come through tax incentives and lower prices at the “pump.” For the Ihles, that means refueling through a device installed in their garage — at about $1.30 per gallon. Doug Clark, president of the Metropolitan Utilities District, doesn’t hesitate to cheerlead for natural gas vehicles. Over its lifetime, Clark says, a natural gas-powered vehicle will provide savings while having a positive impact on America’s air quality and environment. Natural gas vehicles, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 to 30 percent and carbon monoxide emissions by 70 to 90 percent.

Sunny with a $ chance of

per gallon

There’s something about the threat of $4 gallons of gasoline that people notice. So pay attention, because they’re coming, says Brian Youngberg, a senior analyst covering energy and utilities for Edward Jones. “We’re moving into the peak driving time of the year, and there’s nothing out there to push prices down,” says Youngberg, a 1986 UNO graduate. “Nothing out there,” Youngberg says, means turmoil in the Middle East is not likely to dissipate, demand for gasoline in the United States is not likely to slacken, and the U.S. dollar is likely to remain weak. Demand traditionally drives prices up, Youngberg notes, and demand for gasoline in the United States remains higher in 2011 than in 2010. In addition, the U.S. dollar and gas prices typically move in opposite directions, he says. Last year, when Greece and Ireland faced economic crises, the U.S. dollar strengthened. “Oil prices fell $15 a barrel,” Youngberg says. The question Youngberg poses is whether motorists will begin to drive less in the face of $4 or more for one gallon of gas. “It’s a mental barrier,” he says. “It’s psychological.” Dr. Christopher Decker, a UNO economics professor, also sees gas prices reaching the $4 threshold and beyond this summer. “The days of $2 gas prices are pretty much gone,” Decker says.

Clark says he was sold on natural gas vehicles while driving one on his many trips to the Nebraska Unicameral. MUD’s fleet of work vehicles, by the end of 2011, will include 130 natural gas vehicles. Before beginning to convert its fleet of vehicles to natural gas, MUD did the math to ensure the savings would follow. “You can’t spend money wastefully,” he says. “There has to be a payback.” The utility district also plans to make Omaha more inviting for out-of-town guests who bring their natural gas vehicles to town. MUD plans to open two public refueling stations in Omaha this summer. The price of a gas-equivalent gallon of natural gas will run about $1.93 —well below standard gas prices. Clark’s devotion has become personal — he’s having his own vehicles converted to run on natural gas. “At some point, it’s time to stop talking. You have to put up or shut up,” he says. Ihle, a self-employed business owner and a 2007 UNO graduate, charts her CNG savings on a spreadsheet. “We’re so pleased, we’ve actually talked about a second one,” she says.

On the Right Track Union Pacific Railroad describes its fleet of locomotives as the greenest in the industry. “Our employees understand that protecting the environment is part of every job, and they are creating and implementing world-class energy conservation techniques that are helping us to move more freight with less fuel,” says 1978 UNO graduate Jim Young, UP’s chairman and chief executive officer. According to the railroad, freight trains are almost four times more fuel-efficient than over-the-road trucks and have less impact on greenhouse gas

emissions than trucks. In 2010, UP reduced its fuel consumption by 3 percent compared to 2009. That reduction, according to the railroad, translates into 27 million less gallons of diesel fuel used. To aid its energy-savings efforts, Union Pacific has turned to the Genset Switcher and the Green Goat. UP’s low-emissions switch locomotive, the Genset Switcher, uses modified, lowemissions EPA-certified “off-road” diesel engines. It is projected to reduce emissions of

The Front End of Change UNO graduate Susan Brennan is leading the auto industry’s charge into sustainable vehicles — and the charge of women into the industry Photo by Kyle Thigpen, Nissan North America

Susan Brennan knows she’s part of something special. Make that part of two special things. First, as one of the highest-ranking women in the auto industry, Brennan, a 1991 UNO graduate, is part of the Nissan Motor Co.’s rollout of the Nissan Leaf. The Leaf, which was named the 2011 European Car of the Year, features zero tailpipe emissions and is 100 percent electric-powered. The Leaf can travel up to 100 miles between charges and can reach speeds up to 90 mph. And, she says enthusiastically, it can accommodate five passengers and has a trunk. The second something special — which Brennan hopes is her other legacy — is her efforts to open doors for more women in the auto industry. To do so, she serves as president and is a founding member of the Southern Automotive Women’s Forum, a professional organization that aims to promote the advancement of women in the auto industry in the southern United States. The nonprofit’s efforts are geared toward middle-school-age girls to turn them on to science and math, while helping them realize anything is possible when they choose a career. Just ask the future auto executive who got turned on to science as a fourth-grader attending an ecology class in the summer. “That’s what you got for being smart,” Brennan says. “You got to go to summer school.”

oxides of nitrogen by 80 percent and particulate matter by 90 percent. All while using as much as 37 percent less fuel compared to current older switching locomotives. To reduce emissions in rail yards, Union Pacific in 2002 tested the Green Goat — the world’s first diesel-battery hybrid switch locomotive. The Green Goat is similar in concept to the Toyota Prius automobile, which relies on a gasoline engine and a battery-powered electric motor. The Green Goat, however, depends entirely on its small, diesel-powered engine to charge onboard

storage batteries to provide all propulsion power. It is estimated to reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter by up to 80 percent, and reduce fuel consumption by at least 16 percent, compared to a conventional switch locomotive. A Fortune 200 company, Union Pacific is the largest employer of UNO interns. About 80 percent of the company’s new hires previously were interns.

Brennan says science became her passion as a youngster, partly as a response to her father’s death of congenital heart disease when she was 5. She wanted to know how the body works. The summer school class later helped spark an interest in the environment. Helping Nissan produce a vehicle that will impact the environment would come later. Brennan first embarked on a career in the health sciences as a medical researcher. While living in Emerson, Iowa, Brennan earned her master’s degree in business administration at UNO. The program was outstanding, she says, but the commute for classes wasn’t as enjoyable. Still, she walked away with a strong foundation of business principles and fond memories of learning from Drs. Louis Pol and Lynn Harland. The college’s dean and associate dean, respectively, were faculty members during Brennan’s time at UNO. She spent five years as a chemical and biological researcher and conducted a breast cancer epidemiological study at M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston at a time before “Race for a Cure” was an everyday phrase. Tracing genetic links in breast cancer patients — before genealogy software and when women were reluctant to seek treatment — made her work challenging. The research was rewarding, but Brennan says it also was isolating — the result of working in a lab without much interaction with others. She later spent 16 years working for Douglas & Lomason Co. and Ford Motor Co. before joining Nissan Motor Co. In 2005, she was named by Automotive News as one of the Top 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry. She now serves as vice president, manufacturing—Smyrna and Decherd for Nissan North America, and is responsible for operations at Nissan’s two Tennessee-based plants. Safety, quality and environmental compliance fall under her domain. Brennan says she’s excited about the Leaf and the potential impact she expects it to have on the auto industry and the environment. She admits that the vehicle won’t singlehandedly lessen America’s reliance on oil, but it will have a huge impact. She says skeptics who question the viability of vehicles that operate on alternative energy sources don’t discourage her. “I want to be on the front end of change.”

Photo by Eric Francis

UNO’s Patrick Wheeler and Dr. Avery Schwer.

Homing In On Savings As temperatures rise, so will energy bills. And the need for power throughout the year doesn’t look as if it will cool down any time soon — the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts a 14-percent increase in U.S. primary energy consumption by 2035.

To help homeowners, UNO researchers are working on both the feasible — practical steps to reduce energy bills — and what seems like fantasy — a home that completely eliminates energy costs. Technological advancements are key. But as two current UNO projects illustrate, the biggest factor in energy savings is … you.

Stories by Amanda Hackwith

Building a Better Home: ZNETH UNO students are creating a house that they hope doesn’t just save energy, but that eliminates energy bills altogether. That’s the ambitious goal of ZNETH, the Zero Net Energy Test House. UNO graduate students, led by Dr. Avery Schwer, are building the test house in Omaha, just east of the Peter Kiewit Institute, one of the project’s collaborators. Others include the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Colleges of Engineering and Architecture, the U.S. Green Building Flatwater Chapter and the Green Omaha Coalition. UNO graduate student Brad Cory is one of the researchers on the project. Cory says his passion for the outdoors and interest in the environment fueled his participation in ZNETH. He’s seen the impact energy use has on human life and knows that home energy savings can free up family pocketbooks, helping the economy. Increasing home energy savings, he says, is the “responsible way to help the next generation have enough fuel to heat and cool their homes.” ZNETH can do just that. The 2,000-square-foot home demonstrates the potential of sustainability through an array of technology: • Roof-based solar panels as thin as laminate stickers that convert the sun’s rays to electricity. • A geothermal system that captures the earth’s temperature to heat and cool the home. • Cisterns buried in the lawn to collect rainwater to be used for a garden and plants. • A wind turbine that converts those frequently blustery days into energy (see more on page 24). • Radiant floor heating, bamboo flooring, paperless drywall, a real-time energy management system, countertops made from recycled materials, and more. The results can be dramatic. The geothermal system alone could lower energy bills up to 60 percent. Combined, the technology is meant to produce more energy than the home consumes. The ZNETH home is nearing completion and the research team doesn’t intend to stop there. “We are looking to build a second ZNETH house,” Cory says. “We eventually want to build an entire sustainable community with multiple zero-net homes. And what they learn can be applied to existing homes. “I can see wind turbines, geothermal and PVL strips as standard additions to any new home in the future,” Cory says. When completed, students will be living in the home to verify results. Researchers will share findings to further similar projects worldwide, and ZNETH staff will offer tours of the home to the community.

Lower Your Bills Now ZNETH and I-SAVE paint a bright future, but Brad Cory and Dr. Mahmoud Allahabad both emphasize that homeowners can lower energy bills now outside of such projects. “The first step is to get educated,” Cory says. “For most people, the state of their home is highly inefficient and they are not aware of simple steps to save money and make their lives better.” Cory recommends homeowners first get an energy audit (typically offered by a utility such as Omaha Public Power District). This will specifically identify areas most needing energy improvements and help homeowners focus their efforts. The ZNETH project identifies simple improvements, including:

I-Save. You-save. We All-save. Once homeowners see how they spend their energy dollars, the energy — and dollars — often begin to flow elsewhere. Especially when they discover that up to 40 percent of home energy use is wasted. “When consumers are presented with feedback on their own energy usage they are more likely to change energy usage behavior,” says Dr. Mahmoud Alahmad, a UNO assistant professor in the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction. Alahmad and UNO students are hoping to facilitate such change through the I-Save project. Students include Wisam Nader, Hosen Hasna, Evans Sordiashie, Xueyi Wang, Tim Wisnieski, Adam Brumbaugh, Caitlin Brow, and Sean Bergstedt. It was developed in part with a $10,000 grant issued through the Environmental Protection Agency’s P3 (People, Prosperity and the Planet) college competition program. I-Save was inspired by an earlier energysaving project conducted at UNO in 2008, the Energy Saving Potential Program. That program’s goals were to influence energy consumption behavior using real-time monitors in participant homes. The effectiveness of the devices varied, however, due to ineffective interface design. Alahmad saw the need for a comprehensive way “to not just monitor but also control” energy use in an easy and convenient way to the user. Thus was born I-Save.

The new device alleviates information overload and guesswork about energy waste for the user. I-Save is a centralized, wireless, real-time monitor that can control an entire home’s energy use with the push of a button. It communicates with sensors plugged into outlets and can suggest what devices to turn off. A simple “go green” button would turn off all non-essential devices when a homeowner leaves. All that can have a considerable impact. Alahmad says that homes using such a system can expect an average energy consumption savings of 20 percent. Existing monitors provide reductions of 2 to 11 percent. For the average homeowner, a 15 to 30 percent reduction in energy use can mean a pocket savings of up $450 annually. I-SAVE also would reduce carbon emissions. Such changes have people talking. Alahmad, in March was featured on the PBS show “Nightly Business Report.” It’s possible, the show reported, that I-SAVE could reach the market in two to three years. In April, the I-SAVE project received an honorable mention during the EPA’s P3 Award competition at the National Sustainable Design Expo in Washington D.C. (team pictured). A 4-minute video about the I-SAVE project, including interviews with Alahmad and student team members, can be viewed at www.engineering.unl.edu/movies/i-save.

• Installing low-flow aerators for faucets and showers. • U tilizing high-efficiency toilets and appliances, such as those labeled with Energy Star or Water Sense ratings. • Changing furnace filters every one to three months with filters having a MERV Rating of 8 or higher. • Insulating exposed joists, especially in unfinished areas like an attic or basement. Alahmad encourages homeowners to change their behavior in order to lower their bills. Get your family to turn off lights when leaving a room, even if only for a moment, Alahmad says. He concedes that’s not so easy to do. “My kids always say, ‘But I’m only leaving for a short time!’” Other recommendations: • Use area lighting to avoid lighting an entire room. • Use compact fluorescent light bulbs; CFLs save energy and money. • Check air registers. Make sure furniture and drapes do not restrict airflow. • Unplug equipment that is using energy while in stand-by mode. UNO can help, too. The university’s Neighborhood Center is dedicated to community outreach to lower home energy costs. In 2009 it partnered with OPPD to offer the Neighborhood Energy Saving Program (no longer offered). For homeowners looking to learn more, Neighborhood Center Director Ronald Abdouch recommends visiting OPPD’s website to learn about energy-saving techniques and about up-coming energy-saving workshops. Abdouch emphasizes that even a single step at home can help. “Don’t just think big,” Abdouch says. “Small can make a big difference.”

the FYI on WFH More and more companies are sending their employees home — to work By Jenna Zeorian

Dolly Parton may need to write a new workweek anthem. As telecommuting gains popularity, working “9 to 5” could be on its way out the door — taking offices, cubicles and commutes along with it. Put another way, more people and more people are “WFH” — working from home. “You’ve got to wonder why we have hung on to cubicles for so long,” says UNO graduate Amanda Hackwith, a work-from-homer. “Some roles complete all their work via computers anyway — why do we insist on driving to little cubicles across town to work on this computer rather than that computer?” Telecommuting — using computers and other telecommunications equipment to work from home — is far from the norm. According to the 2005-2009 American Community Survey issued by the U.S. Census Bureau, 4 percent of Americans who are active in the workforce work from home — 4.8 percent in Nebraska. Though not everyone who works from home is a telecommuter, the statistics do indicate that a portion of the population is putting the kibosh on commute. An uncertain economy, rising energy costs and environmental concerns are some of the reasons for the trend. So is improved technology. Desktop-to-desktop video, for instance, is greatly improved from its infancy, allowing better employee and customer interaction across any distance. In a recent survey by Skype, a company offering online phone and video connections, 62 percent of the companies questioned have remote workers. Of those companies, 34 percent of their workforce occasionally works remotely, and of that 34 percent, WFH employees say they spend around 40 percent of their work hours at home.

Saving some green Jean Waters, energy and environmental engineer at the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC), says the center recommends telecommuting to business owners.

Photo by Bryce Bridges

“It can be a positive thing for both the employee and the business,” she says. Adopting such a business model allows owners to cut business costs by lowering or eliminating overhead for real estate, office space, workstations, utilities, maintenance, parking and more. With the demand for more environmentally sustainable business practices,

employers also are able to better attract and retain employees who seek progressive work environments. “We have push and pull factors going on at the same time,” says Samantha Ammons, an assistant professor of sociology at UNO whose research focuses on the intersection of work and family. “It (telecommuting) is a cheap and easy benefit for employers to offer … and workers want the benefits and arrangements.” Cutting the daily commute is not only environmentally friendly but it also saves employees resources and money, an especially important factor considering rising fuel costs. It saves time, too — time that can be used on other important tasks, Ammons says. “Working remotely is appealing to those who have family or personal demands that do not fit well with the standard workday,” she says. “Not everyone wants to take their work home with them, but many people like the flexibility that this affords.”

Generation WFH Flexibility, it seems, is a key incentive. Hackwith conducted a massive survey of freelance workers for her recently published book, Freelance Confidential. She found there is a new generation of workers who value flexibility in their work over all other traditional job rewards. “Flexibility is something that’s really valued by my generation of professionals that was not so important before,” Hackwith says. “More than money, more than status, more than perks — we want to have flexibility and control over our work.” Hackwith knows the benefits of WFH flexibility firsthand. From her La Vista, Neb., home Hackwith is managing editor for Rockable Press, a publishing house owned by an Australian company headquartered in Melbourne. She has been with the company for more than two years and enjoys the freedom that telecommuting provides. “Freedom means I’m able to work a little later one day in order to take a break in the middle of the afternoon; I can work on weekends to free up some time for later in the week,” she says. “Plus, my job isn’t tied down to a specific location or local economy.” Hackwith admits that telecommuting is “certainly not everyone’s cup of tea,” nor is every role or job fit for remote working. But for jobs that deal mainly in information and for workers who want a flexible lifestyle, she believes telecommuting makes perfect sense. “As a telecommuter, I get to entirely dictate what tools I use, what hours I keep — every aspect of my work.” As Dolly might say, what a way to make a livin.’

Getting Green to go Green Green. It seems, is the busiest buzzword around these days. But can businesses really get some green, or save some green, by going green? The short answer: Yes. Whether through increased efficiency, incentives offered by the government or power companies, or increased business driven by green marketing, it can pay to go green. But getting there isn’t as simple as rolling out a slogan or slapping a logo onto a website, say business owners, academics and power experts. Getting green to go green often requires a large upfront investment in capital, thorough and sometimes exhaustive research, and commitment. “We actually got more involved in the design than we wanted to,” says Signs & Shapes International co-owner Scott Bowen of his company’s implementation of energy-saving features. For two years now, UNO’s Nebraska Business Development Center has been putting special emphasis on helping businesses go green by assisting them with energy and sustainability initiatives. A center of the College of Business Administration, NBDC can help clients obtain green-related grants, financing, employee training and more.

UNO’s Nebraska Business Development Center helps companies cash in by greening out, but making money is no guarantee. By Kalani Simpson

NBDC executives say they’re seeing a definite rise in green business demands and an increase in hiring for environmental/energy jobs. There are enough sustainability managers in Omaha, they say, that they hope to gather them for a conference at UNO this fall.

Blowing up Business

There are months when some employees have home electric bills nearly as big as those for the 20,000-square-foot industrial workspace.

Among NBDC clients is Signs & Shapes International, Scott Bowen an Omaha company that makes inflatable mascots for co-owner Signs & Shapes International college and pro teams (like UNO’s inflatable Durango and UNL’s Lil’ Red). NBDC has helped the company, which boasts customers in 63 countries, adopt sophisticated software packages, train its personnel and provide employment for adults with autism. The company had leased plant and office space for 18 years. In 2009 it completed construction of its own building, doing so with a major commitment to energy efficiency. Features include skylights, revolutionary “sandwich” wall panels for enhanced insulation, and a geothermal well that draws heat from the Earth’s core. The results have been incredible. Getting there, however, was not stress-free, simple or quick. Signs & Shapes didn’t go green just to get a gold-star rating or insignificant tax break. It wanted its changes to have a meaningful, bottom-line impact on its energy use — and expenses. That proved difficult. Bowen says most information and infrastructure available is geared toward getting those ratings and breaks, rather than toward what his company was trying to achieve. He grew frustrated by a lack of available expertise and chafed at government restrictions. It wasn’t his plan to do so, but Owen found himself becoming an expert on this stuff. The company dug into research, consulting with experts from across the country. Owen and others interviewed people at 40 to 50 different green buildings to talk about what they were doing and how it was working. Sometimes, they’d talk to the janitors to get the real story.

Their findings? “The majority of people who are doing geothermal are doing a poor job and don’t understand the technology they’re working with,” Bowen says. They’d gotten the incentives and tax breaks — but sometimes the janitor said it didn’t really work. Signs & Shapes set out to find what did work. Trouble was, what the company was trying to do —with geothermal and skylighting — didn’t always jive with government code. Eventually, Signs & Shapes got the City of Omaha to grant the necessary exemptions. That paved the way to real results. Payback on the energy-efficient investments was to have been six to seven years. That’s been accelerated. “Our utility bills have so far been a third of what (had been) estimated,” Bowen says.

Cleaning Up Another NBDC client, ServiceMaster PBM of Lincoln, also has seen mixed results in its green initiatives. Jon and Angela Paolini bought ServiceMaster in 2009 after Jon spent 15 years as its general manager. NBDC helped them secure the purchasing loan. One of the Paolinis’ goals was to continue ServiceMaster’s commitment to green practices. Today the full-service janitorial and commercial cleaning business is the only company in Nebraska certified by Green Seal under its GS-42 certification. Getting that distinction, Angela Paolini says, was “a rigorous process.”

Photo by Bryce Bridges

Understandably so. ServiceMaster’s green cleaning system is crucial for buildings that are LEED-certified (such as UNO’s Mammel Hall) or on the road toward LEED certification. LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — is the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of highperformance green buildings. The Green Seal-certified cleaning service is a great marketing tool, Paolini says, and offered to customers for the same price as its standard service. Granted, ServiceMaster has not yet seen a marked increase in business as a

result, but with LEED certification and the green movement becoming more important, a bump in business is expected. ServiceMaster has seen, however, an improvement in its bottom line. Its green service uses less water and uses a more efficient microfiber broom, speeding the cleaning process. “In (cleaning) a bigger facility, we have seen a cost reduction,” Paolini says.

Marketing the Move ServiceMaster’s approach fits the model that most likely will appeal to companies, says UNO marketing Professor Phani Tej Adidam. If something makes sound business sense, if it can be delivered at a comparable cost, without too much extra effort, companies will be happy to go green. Otherwise, slapping a “green” label on something isn’t enough to attract customers. “That might sway 1 or 2 percent of the population,” Adidam says. Adidam also is director of CBA’s International Initiatives and is on the faculty at the Helsinki School of Economics in Finland. There, he and one of his students once decided to study “green marketing,” picking sales of hybrid vehicles as a test subject. Yet even in the Nordic region, quasi-world headquarters of the green movement, they could not find enough people who had bought hybrid cars to do a proper study. “After that,” Adidam says, “I’ve been taking (green marketing) with a big pinch of salt.” He’s also unsure as to the sustainability of the green market. The government is doing what it can to drive the market in that + =direction — and that’s one reason Adidam is leery. If going green is so great, why are incentives needed? He admits such thinking goes against the grain, but adds, “That’s the advantage of being an academic.” Others sound more optimistic of where things are headed. “This is where new jobs will come from,” says Rick Yoder, CBA’s sustainability coordinator and director of NBDC’s Pollution Prevention Regional Information Center. “This is where the economy will thrive.” For an economy bleeding so much red, green like that sounds promising. See more of what NBDC offers and how it can help your company at http://nbdc.unomaha.edu/energy

Paying Now, Saving Later

Why would a company that sells power give its customers incentives to use less of it? Two things, OPPD officials say. First, one of the “Ps” in OPPD stands for “public,” not “profit.”

heat pumps and the like. It also is working on a pilot program for energy-efficient rooftops.

Second, says Bill Lenagh, OPPD division manager of customer sales and service, lessening demand can help the utility avoid the cost of building a new baseload power plant.

The payoffs can be substantial. OPPD’s Energy Commissioning and Optimization (ECO 24/7) program has participating business customers typically saving 15 to 50 percent in heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) costs. One client, Peter Kiewit Sons, saw its Kiewit Plaza expenses drop 66 percent for HVAC electricity and 50 percent for gas consumption — an annual savings of $190,000.

“There is a tremendous incentive for what you would call a megawatt saved,” Lenagh says. “You can afford to incent customers to reduce load.” OPPD offers a number of incentives for businesses looking to reduce energy usage — retrofit lighting,

Granted, large companies often have more flexibility to make the kind of upfront commitment/capital needed

for savings that come down the road. “One of the challenges for our customers is having a payback,” says Chad Ballain, OPPD product and services marketing engineer. “In the private sector, a payback of seven years is sometimes difficult to sell.” But, he adds, “Incentive programs drive that payback down.” UNO’s Nebraska Business Development Center can help businesses identify and secure such energyefficient incentives. See more at http://nbdc.unomaha.edu/energy — Kalani Simpson

Looking beyond food for an energy lift

Body Boost By Tom McMahon

Photo by Eric Francis

At least that’s what UNO Professors Dustin Slivka and Melissa Berke might tell you. While so many others focus on use of the earth’s energy sources and how that affects the environment, Slivka and Berke look at how environment affects individual energy levels. Slivka (left) , an assistant professor in UNO’s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, explores the impact of heat and cold. Berke, professor and chair of UNO’s music department, plumbs the power of music.

And what they’ve learned can mean much more than just finding a way to shake off the morning blahs or get through a grinding workout. “We usually think of someone jogging down the street with an iPod,” Berke says of music’s energy boost. “But it can be rehabilitating a stroke victim by using a steady musical beat to propel the person.”

Calories In, Energy Out To understand how energy is impacted, it helps to understand what energy is. Slivka’s physiological definition of energy is the human body’s ability to work. He does not differentiate between physical and mental energy. “The body works as a system,” Slivka says. “You can’t separate the two.” Human energy, Slivka says, comes from food sources, primarily carbohydrates and fats.

The energy in food is measured in calories, a calorie being the energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree. Calories — food energy — are transferred to do the energy of work in a chemical process called metabolism. Carbohydrates are the human body’s key energy source, providing four calories of energy per gram. Slivka says that when the body breaks down carbohydrates, glucose is produced. Glucose is critical to helping maintain tissue protein, metabolize fat, and fuel the central nervous system. Some glucose is stored in our bodies as glycogen or sent to fat cells where it is stored as fat. Glycogen is the body’s auxiliary energy source, tapped into when we need more energy, Slivka says. “People’s ability to change food sources to energy varies, he says. “Exercise is the No. 1 way by far to convert these food sources into energy.”

Chilling Out But it’s not just food that affects energy. Slivka has studied how temperature and altitude also impact energy production. In one study, Slivka’s research subjects rode stationary bicycles for one hour in a temperaturecontrolled lab chilled to 44 degrees. Preliminary data indicates that riding in colder environments stimulated energy production capacity, as measured by mitochondria. Heat may repress that process. In another of his studies, Slivka found that subjects who entered a 91-degree room following exercise did not respond favorably in terms of energy production capacity as those who exercised at room temperature. Slivka’s findings are significant beyond the gym. The UNO researcher says the temperature studies

have the potential to help in the treatment of diabetes, the aging process and a host other disorders associated with metabolic dysfunction. “Further stimulating these functions (using the temperature results) may improve therapeutic interventions,” he says.

Moving to the Beat Like temperature, music also impacts energy. “It definitely can have an impact on a person’s energy,” Berke says. “And different types of music affect people differently. Some may respond positively to classical, while others prefer a lively beat.” And, as noted previously, music can help heal. Berke says music has proven useful in the recovery of motor skills — studies have shown music in combination with traditional gait therapy improved the ability of stroke patients to walk. Others use music to increase activity in depressed patients. Neonatal nurses, meanwhile, use music to help premature newborns learn the sucking reflex. “Music also evokes feelings,” Berke says, “and is often used to help those with eating disorders, depression, Alzheimer’s disease and other issues get in touch with their emotions.” That might not be what most of us are after when we turn the dial — on our radio or thermostat. But doing so might just put some extra pep in our step.

Photo by Eric Francis

Forget about wind turbines, solar panels, biofuels and other alternative energy sources. Finding a power boost sometimes can be as simple as lowering the thermostat or putting on some tunes.

Energy drinks promise plenty of pep. What’s the downside?

lightning in a bottle

One look at the muscles bulging under his shirt and it’s clear that UNO senior Jess Bethel is a HPER regular. Sometimes, though, the 21-year-old exercise science major needs a bit of helping getting into the gym — or class. That’s when the Maverick senior might gulp down a Red Bull. He first tried energy drinks in high school, and he says they help him feel more alert.

“It’s either that or fall asleep in class,” Bethel says. “I might as well not go.” He admits that hitting the sack earlier might help. Without it, though, he is among a growing number of people who put pep in their step with energy drinks or shots, according to market research firms Mintel and SymphonyIRI Group. Mintel reported a 136-percent increase in energy drink sales from 2005 to 2009 and had forecast $10 billion in sales for 2010. SymphonyIRI reported a 13.3 percent sales increase last year, thanks in part to a “significant boost” from energy shot sales at convenience stores. Bethel says the majority of his college friends consume energy drinks, noting that they can be purchased on campus for about $2.50 a can. Drinks like Monster Energy, Rockstar, 5-Hour Energy, FeelGood 7 and Bawls promise better energy, performance, alertness and endurance. They usually contain caffeine, vitamin B, amino acids such as taurine, and herbs. Some have a healthier fruit component; most have a large sugar content (though diet versions are available). HPER Assistant Professor Dustin Slivka says the drinks are more likely to give a perception of energy rather than real energy. “They work through stimulants,” Slivka says. “It is similar to coffee or soda. The caffeine gives you a boost then wears off.” Real energy, he says, comes from the body converting food, primarily carbohydrates and fats (see main story). Sugars are a form of carbohydrate and can be converted to energy through exercise, but too much is unhealthy, Slivka says. “Some of the stimulants have been reported to have adverse side effects, including cardiac dysfunction,” Slivka says. “But, some positive health benefits are also reported, such as taurine having a positive effect on cholesterol.” Some countries have banned energy drinks. Others require warning labels. According to a new study published in the March issue of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics journal, energy drinks may pose a risk for serious adverse health effects in some children, especially those with diabetes, seizures, cardiac abnormalities or mood and behavior disorders. The AAP reported that youth account for half of the energy drink market, and that according to surveys, 30 to 50 percent of adolescents report consuming energy drinks. The Food and Drug Administration has not put restrictions on such drinks. It did, however, issue letters to four companies which produced caffeinated alcoholic drinks last November saying they were “unsafe.” Several states have banned energy-alcohol drinks. Slivka says it’s a dangerous mix. “You lose the perception of how drunk you are and that can lead to more drinking,” he says. “It’s like your body is getting two different messages — the alcohol is saying you’re drunk, but the energy drink is saying you’re fine.” Bethel agrees. “A lot of students drink vodka or Jägermeister with Red Bull or Monster,” he says. When he tried such a combo, Bethel noticed his heart racing. “I don’t recommend it,” he says. — Tom McMahon

Poll Stories by Greg Kozol

Photo by Bryce Bridges

Sol

lution

It’s not the music or the multiple conversations in the room that makes it hard to hear. It’s the concrete floor, the brick walls and the tin ceiling. They look great, but they reflect sound back and forth like a pinball. “It’s real simple,” the UNO physics instructor says. “Hang tapestry. Hang towels in the ceiling. It’s a lot quieter.” Kriegler isn’t unique in knowing that sounds, from rustling leaves to a jet engine, are different. But he understands the physics of sound and why its power should be respected. “I don’t think anyone would believe going to a loud rock concert on a daily basis is healthy,” he says. The average person won’t encounter a rock concert or jet engine on a daily basis. But experts like Kriegler and Joel Edwards, a clinical audiologist at Boys Town National Research Hospital, worry about the impact of iPods or MP3 players as the personal listening devices become a common feature in libraries, gyms, offices — seemingly everywhere.

lution The UNO professor learned the value of sound while researching one of the most basic human movements: walking.

His findings suggest that certain types of sound will improve a walker’s gait. That may seem … pedestrian, but such research has the potential of improving the mobility of the elderly and those with Parkinson’s disease. “It shows great promise,” says Stergiou, director of the Nebraska Biomechanics Core Facility at UNO. “It is possible that some of this will benefit people who have movement disabilities.” Stergiou and researchers in UNO’s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation studied the

movements of people listening to Beethoven’s “Für Elise” while walking on a treadmill. In the study, a walker would hear music with different underlying beats: a rhythmic metronome version, a jumbled

David Kriegler can walk into a bar and tell you why it’s so hard to hear yourself talking. Edwards, who received his undergraduate degree from UNO and teaches a course in hearing science at the university, has witnessed the impact of listening to loud music at concerts. The popularity of iPods and similar devices creates another danger, he says. “There are many sad cases of hearing loss that could have been prevented,” he says. “We usually don’t evaluate a person with hearing loss until the damage has been done.” Understanding the limits of the human ear, and the way that sound intensity is measured, could go a long way to preventing hearing loss. Individuals with normal hearing can listen to continuous loud noise at 85 decibels for eight hours or 90 decibels for four hours, Edwards says. The standard output on most iPods or similar devices is 100 decibels at maximum volume, so he suggests setting the volume at 50 to 70 percent, which corresponds to 70 to 80 decibels. The maximum setting would be safe for one hour. “Be a smart consumer and know your volume control,” Edwards says. The difference between 50 and 100 decibels is significant. The decibel scale is logarithmic and uses multiples of 10. A reading of 10 is 10 times greater

than the lowest threshold of what a person can hear. Some examples of decibel levels include 10 for rustling leaves, 30 for hushed library conversation, 65 for a normal conversation, 70 for city traffic, 85 for factory noise, 120 for a power saw or a rock concert and 140 for a jet engine. “Sometimes it only takes one time in a very loud environment to affect your hearing,” Edwards says. The problem with portable music players, Kriegler says, is that sound is directed into a small enclosure. That becomes a bigger problem with earbuds that are inserted into the ear. “You’re generating a super small compartment that the air has to go through,” Kriegler says. “When you shove it in you have this resonance going back and forth. You create a very intense pressure vibration.” The loud noise can damage the tiny hair cells in the cochlea, which is the organ of hearing. The damage can be permanent, so Edward is eager to get the word out before another patient shows up in his office, unable to enjoy the music. “We try to pick up the pieces and do the best we can,” he says. “I think educating the public about noise exposure is extremely important.”

For Nick Stergiou, silence is not always golden. rhythm that was harder to follow and a “white noise” version with no structure. Initial findings suggest that the jumbled version, called chaos, was the most beneficial to improving gait. Stergiou says this indicates that humans need structured music, rather than white noise or silence, to stimulate effective movement. “For sure, auditory stimulation has an effect with gait,” Stergiou says. “I believe that everything around us is chaos. Chaos is the spice of life, in other words. So we as part of nature prefer chaotic behavior.” Other research experimented with sounds in a person’s right and left ears to improve balance. “We can use that to train them so they will not fall,” he says. Stergiou is a fan of music, but his passion is more motion than sound. His research found a way to combine the two.

Growing up in Greece, Stergiou spent hours on the basketball court, where his thoughts would stray to a future that led to academia rather than professional basketball. He would ask himself why he couldn’t make the same shot, using the same perfect form, over and over again. “I practiced a lot,” he says. “I was always fascinated by the fact that you could never do it the exact same way.” Stergiou has entered into some initial discussions with sports officials in Australia to further explore that concept. For now, though, his research is geared toward helping people with disabilities regain mobility and independence. “Our research points to the direction where auditory stimulation can be useful,” he says. “The good thing about the field I’m in, it’s so unique. It explains human movement.”

taking sides

Nuclear Energy Can’t Compete Lynn E. Moorer, Attorney at Law As the crisis in Japan exposes some of nuclear energy’s enormous dangers, we should recognize a central truth: nuclear energy can’t compete with smarter energy choices because of its manifold risks and inauspicious realities. Following is an outline of some of these risks, realities and failures to compete. 1. Hazardous to Health: Nuclear energy is an inherently dangerous and uniquely toxic technology that creates plutonium and other highly radioactive materials simply to boil water. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has determined that there’s no safe level of radiation exposure; every exposure increases the risk of cancer, birth defects and other disease. 2. A Threat to Security: Nuclear is the only energy source where one miscalculation, calamity or malicious act can cause catastrophic damage. It’s the sole energy source that presents a security threat because of this vulnerability. 3. Large Carbon Footprint: Nuclear can’t compete as a “clean” energy source. Its carbon footprint is substantially higher than other energy sources. While nuclear reactors are low carbon-emitters, they’re carbon-intensive to build and the nuclear fuel chain supporting reactor operations results in substantial carbon emissions. Mining uranium for reactor fuel is both carbonintensive and dirty, producing extremely harmful environmental effects. 4. Toxic Waste: Unlike other energy sources, nuclear creates waste that remains toxic for hundreds of thousands of years. While waste storage in deep

geological repositories is considered the best plan, no such repositories operate anywhere globally. Reprocessing spent fuel isn’t a solution. It’s uneconomical, creates high waste volumes, and aggravates proliferation by producing weaponsusable plutonium. 5. Water Waste: Nuclear reactors, which require huge amounts of water throughout their lifecycles, divert increasingly scarce water supplies and harm marine environments. 6. Expensive to Build: Nuclear energy is spectacularly expensive and so economically risky that Wall Street won’t finance nuclear plants. Current capital cost estimates are $8 billion to $10 billion per reactor. These sky-high costs are magnified by the industry’s history of 250-percent cost overruns and tendency to run behind schedule. Former Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Peter Bradford observed that harnessing nuclear power to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases is like using “caviar to fight world hunger.” 7. Costs Not All Calculated: Most of nuclear energy’s risks (e.g., waste storage, accidents, nuclear weapons proliferation, terrorism) aren’t integrated into economic assessments and, therefore, not fully reflected in the technology’s costs. If they were, costs would be even higher. 8. Heavily Subsidized: Nuclear energy can’t compete financially on a level playing field with other energy sources. For more than 50 years the U.S. nuclear industry has been propped up by a generous assortment of taxpayer subsidies supporting every nuclear fuel cycle stage. Added together, these subsidies often have exceeded the average market price of the power

What side do you take?

produced, according to a Union of Concerned Scientists report. Subsidies include tax breaks, accident liability caps, direct payments, and loan guarantees. A Rocky Mountain Institute study concluded, “After more than half a century of devoted effort and a half-trillion dollars of public subsidies, nuclear power still can’t make its way in the market.” 9. Slow Response to Climate Change: The nuclear industry can’t deliver a worldwide nuclear “renaissance” to address climate change. Since nuclear plants require long lead times for design, permitting, and construction, new nuclear is too slow to contribute meaningfully. Moreover, the specialized workforce required for manufacturing reactors has deteriorated globally, along with the infrastructure for designing, building, managing and operating reactors. 10. Not a Smart Choice: Smarter choices, including efficient use of electricity, cogeneration (making heat and power together in factories or buildings), and renewable energy, are “sweeping the global energy market,” according to the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Amory Lovins. He noted, “Each dollar spent on a new reactor buys about 2-10 times less carbon savings, 20-40 times slower, than spending that dollar on [these] cheaper, faster, safer solutions …”

Lynn Moorer of Lincoln is an environmental advocate and attorney who practices primarily environmental law. A footnoted version of this article may be requested by contacting the author atlmoorer@windstream.net.

What’s your position on the use of nuclear power? Send us a Letter to the Editor at www.unoalumni.org/unomag-led

taking sides

Nuclear Power: Keeping America Running Ross Ridenoure There’s only one current technology that can keep America running and keep America growing in the future — clean, cost-effective, reliable nuclear power. Here’s why nuclear works for our energy future: 1. Zero Emissions: America’s 104 nuclear power plants produce 20 percent of our electrical power but represent more than 73 percent of our carbonfree electricity today. Wind and solar supply only 2 percent of America’s electricity and only 6 percent of carbon-free electricity. Nuclear power plants emit none of the air pollution produced when burning any fossil fuel — coal, natural gas or oil. 2. Cost Effective: Nuclear power plants produce electricity at or below the cost of wind, solar and coal. We think wind and solar is cheap (I’ve heard the word “free” more times than I can count) but people that think this way fail to factor in the huge government subsidies that keep prices for wind and solar artificially low. Without these subsidies, wind and solar power plants would be much more expensive to operate than any nuclear plant in operation today. This additional expense would result in you paying more — much more — for electricity. 3. Reliable: America’s nuclear reactors operate, on average, more than 91 percent of the time, which makes nuclear power our most reliable source of electricity. By comparison, wind and solar farms are classified as “intermittent power” and make

electricity about 33 percent of the time. Given that our economy and even our way of life is directly linked to the availability of cost-effective, reliable electricity, we simply cannot continue to enjoy our current standard of living if we have to rely upon power sources that supply electricity about onethird of the time.

7. Continuing Widespread Public Support: According to a Gallup poll in March 2011, 58 percent of Americans feel U.S. nuclear plants are safe even with the continuing, highly visible problems at the Fukashima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan. In communities that already have reactors, this support runs even higher.

4. Widespread Support: Widely recognized environmentalists like Patrick Moore (Greenpeace co-founder), James Lovelock (credited with the “Gaia” Theory), and Stewart Brand of the Whole Earth Catalog, all used to be strongly against nuclear power but have independently converted to supporting nuclear power. The reason? Each has concluded that if we continue to burn fossil fuels to supply our energy needs then we put our planet’s wellbeing in jeopardy from global warming. Of all of the technologies available today, only clean, reliable, zero-emissions nuclear power can supply our future energy needs.

9. What about Fukashima? While it will take months or even years to fully assess the damage to the nuclear plants at Fukashima and develop the “lessons learned” from this tragic event, once we do, the world’s nuclear power plants will be even safer than they already are. [Note: the Fukashima reactors withstood an earthquake seven times greater than they were designed for and the tsunami, not the earthquake, did most of the damage. The plants were designed for an 18-foot tsunami and the tsunami is now estimated at 45 feet at the plant site].

5. Jobs: Nuclear power plants put people to work. During construction, an average nuclear plant will employ 3,000 to 4,000 personnel at the construction site with even more people employed when you look across the entire supply chain. In operation, an average two-unit nuclear power plant employs between 1,000 to 1,200 people for at least 60 years with high-paying, highly skilled jobs. 6. Safety: Nuclear power plants are one of the safest — if not the safest — technologies in the world. In more than 3,100 reactor-years of operation, there has never been a death from a nuclear accident at an American commercial reactor. Neither has there ever been a nuclear-related fatality on an American nuclear Navy vessel in more than 5,500 reactoryears of operation. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that working in the nuclear industry is safer than working in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors.

Nuclear power is a clean, reliable, and cost-effective solution to our future energy needs but is not THE solution. We need nuclear, we need coal (at least for the foreseeable future), we need wind, we need solar and we need hydro. They ALL are part of the solution. Renewables do have a role — an important role — in meeting our future energy needs, but some see them as a silver bullet that will solve all of our energy problems. In fact, they won’t. I just hope that in the future we don’t wake up on a cold, cloudy, windless day wondering why the lights aren’t on and asking ourselves why we didn’t we make the choice — the smart choice — to build more nuclear power plants when we had the chance.

Ross Ridenoure is vice president of nuclear energy initiatives for Parsons, an engineering, construction, technical and management services firm. He is a 2002 (MBA) UNO graduate.

JUST FOR YOU

While this column is intended to provide practical advice on energy and the environment, you might be pleased to know that it will not be about light bulbs.

To make our country more secure, more energy independent, more economically robust and healthier we can and should: Include all the costs of energy systems in our market system so that they can work effectively. Avoid building anything, anywhere that a private company will not insure — i.e., avoid nuclear power plants in earthquake zones and homes in flood planes. Avoid burning outside what you wouldn’t burn inside your own house or high school gym — i.e., avoid creating deadly waste and burning things that let off toxic gasses. Measure genuine progress, wellbeing and happiness not just by money spent on material possessions — GDP includes your cancer treatment, cleaning up the BP oil spill etc. Support innovation and energy sources that are unlimited and forever renewable rather then

subsidizing outmoded legacy interests. Or at least keep them on an equal footing at a per-kilowatt basis so that the market can work. Do not go to war for oil. Buy as much food grown locally as possible, support local businesses and belong to a bank that invests in your community. Avoid burning money — make your home, office, world energy efficient. Don’t let corporations take precedence over the health and welfare of people. Finally, elect people who understand man’s connection to nature and who will care for God’s creation.

If that’s what you’re after, there are hundreds of websites that offer energy efficiency tips, including the Nebraska Public Power District (www.nppd.com) and Omaha Public Power District (www.oppd.com).

A collaborative effort is needed. If you have any thoughts or ideas I’d love to hear them at Renstrom@earthlik.net.

The practical advice I’m offering requires collective consent for significant progress to be made. But when Americans are motivated, they can move mountains.

Lisa Renstrom is a 1982 UNO graduate and is an active advocate of the environment. She was president of the Sierra Club from 2005 to 2007. She currently serves on the boards of ecoAmerica, Earth Justice and Interfaith Power and Light. She and her husband, Bob Perkowtiz, created Bonwood Social investments, investing in organizations that engage the public in environmental and climate solutions.

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bookmarks

Cooperating with Cuba

By Scott Stewart

A UNO Professor explores the country’s energy future — and how it might help the United States Apart from cigars and communist ideology, Cuba isn’t exactly known for its exports. But that could change — along with the country’s economic fortunes — if Cuba can capitalize on massive oil fields resting beneath deep water off its northwestern shores. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates Cuba sits on 4.6 billion barrels of oil — half the amount estimated beneath Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuge. Exporting that find, says UNO Professor Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, would “significantly alter everyday life in Cuba.” “It’s not going to make it a rich country,” Benjamin-Alvarado says, “but it’s going to allow it to invest in areas where it hasn’t in the past.” A leading expert on Cuba, Benjamin-Alvarado discussed Cuba and its current energy situation during a March appearance in the Old Market’s New BLK Gallery. He was there signing copies of his book, Cuba’s Energy Future: Strategic Approaches to Cooperation (2010, Brookings Institution Press). Assistant director for research and outreach in UNO’s Office of Latino and Latin American Studies, Benjamin-Alvarado has explored the topic in depth. In 2000 he published Power to the People: Energy and the Cuban Nuclear Program. That book and other research has led to appearances on NBC Nightly News, ABC World News Tonight and elsewhere to discuss Cuban affairs. He’s visited there several times, including a 2006 trip during which he had dinner with Cuban president Fidel Castro. This spring, Benjamin-Alvarado brought leading Cuban experts and dignitaries together for a one-day seminar in Omaha on Cuba’s energy future. Participants included Cuban expatriate Arturo Lopez-Levy of the University of Denver and fellow Cuba’s Energy Future author Jorge Piñón of Florida International University (Juan A. B. Belt, Chemonics International, and Ronald Soligo, Amy Myers Jaffe, Rice University, also contributed to the book). Benjamin-Alvarado says he is hoping to inform the conversation about Cuba’s energy situation to help U.S. leaders have alternative considerations for policy-making decisions.

Cuba once upon a time imported its energy from the United States. But its energy imports switched to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Some energy production did begin on the island in the 1990s, but Cuba remains energy dependent. It currently imports nearly Photo by Tim Fitzgerald 100,000 barrels of oil daily from Venezuela — worth about $2 billion annually. In exchange Cuba deploys nearly 20,000 physicans to the South American socialist state. Spain, Brazil and Russa have leased offshore areas for exploration, and China also is heavily invested in Cuba. Benjamin-Alvarado says the ideal shift on the part of the United States would be strategic cooperation — including technology transfer and narrowly targeted investments — in mutally beneficial projects. Such projects may not have an immediate affect on U.S. citizens’ pocketbooks, but cooperation would provide some stability for oil prices here — tempering jumps like those experienced this spring. Benjamin-Alvarado says U.S. policy-makers must understand three important premises related to establishing an energy partnership with Cuba: • U.S. energy independence is unobtainable; • Policy instruments for oil production disruptions are inadequate; and, • The United States needs a new vision to manage international energy interdependency. Considering Cuba’s increasing leadership role in the region, Benjamin-Alvarado says cooperation also would serve as a confidence-buider in a region where many are weary of U.S. interventionalism. Cuba, with the highest ratio of enegineers and Ph.D.s in Latin America, also is an underused resource for solving regional challenges. “The United States’ oil problems will not be solved by Cuba,” Benjamin-Alvarado says. “What I am hoping it does is that it engenders some positive confidence building and trust between the two countries that perhaps may lead to other cooperation.”

Know of a recently published book you’d like to see featured in Bookmarks? Tell us about it at www.unoalumni.org/bookmarkssubmit.

campus copies alumni authors

Author Brian Bogdanoff, Class of 1987 Book Three Bodies Burning: The Anatomy

Author Derek Fey, Class of 1987

of an Investigation into Murder, Money, and Mexican Marijuana, 1161 Press, LLC, 357 Pages.

Book We Were Born to Run: Taking the Road Less Traveled, self-published, 140 Pages.

Synopsis A one-time undercover narcotics officer with the Omaha Police Department, Bogdanoff presents a real-life look at a drug cartel, gangs and killings that led him and other investigators on a cross-country chase for cold-blooded murderers.

Synopsis An avid marathoner and now the head boys cross country coach at Omaha Westside High School, Fey celebrates running just for the thrill of it, or as an exercise regimen. He provides helpful techniques, coaching strategies and other tips for success.

Author John Kalkowski, Class of 2001 Book Red Cell, iUniverse, 164 pages. Synopsis Will Conlan discovers a connection between a TV ad and a terrorist plot. Now he’s on a mission to find the next target — and becoming a target himself.

NOT E S

CLASS 4

Send your classnotes to www.unoalumni.org/classnotes Get your class note online — keep your fellow graduates up to date with a posting on the UNO Alumni Association Facebook site at www.facebook.com/UNOAlumni

WENTWORTH CLARKE (BS; 1953, MS) was vice

president of his graduating class and taught history at Omaha Central from 1949 to 1961. He received his doctorate at UNL in 1964 then taught social science education in England. He later taught at the University of Central Florida in Orlando until retiring in 1988. Wentworth now has vacation homes in Georgia and Maine and engages in much world travel. UNO Magazine, he writes, is “really worth reading.” wentworthclarke@yahoo.com

FREDERICK R. WALTERS (BA) recently was elected national president of the Association of Army Counter Intelligence Corps Veterans (ACICV). He has served as an operations officer with the Central Intelligence Agency in Europe and the Far East. Walters has been retired for 25 years.

frbewalters@aol.com

REV. RODNEY MURRAY (BA) just started his

fifth interim pastorate at Presbyterian Church in Worthington, Pa. rod-gerri@hotmail.com JIM MCMAHON (BS; 1969, MS, 1972) was inducted into the NAIA Track and Field Hall of Fame in May. He has coached track and field, and cross country at Midland University in Fremont, Neb., for 32 years. track@mlc.edu

RICHARD D. BROWN (BS; 1975, MS) was one of

22 high school speech and debate coaches nationally to receive the Third Diamond Key Coaching Award of the National Forensic League (NFL). Brown became speech and debate coach at Creighton Prep in 2009. He previously taught for 36 years at Millard South while coaching speech and congressional debate there. Brown also teaches history and political science for Metropolitan Community College and is a senior contributing writer to the Midlands Business Journal. rdanfordbrown@aol.com

SHERRY WRIGHT (BS; 1981, MS) published

“Lonnie’s Book of Song” (If My Soul Could Speak).

CAPT. GEORGE B. MEEGAN (BSG) retired as a U.S. Marine Corps officer in 1978. Meegan is a past president of the Mesa Dobson Ranch Kiwanis Club in Arizona, a board member of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) - Superstition Mountain Chapter, as well as a retired security consultant and property manager of a home owner’s association. He volunteers as a reading and math tutor at an elementary school, and is the commanding officer of the Chandler

BOOKMARKS Mustangs Young Marines, formerly serving as the state commander. captaingeorgemeegan@cox.net

DR. BILL GRISHAM (MA) has been developing digital teaching tools at UCLA and offers those tools for free at his website: http://mdcune.psych.ucla. edu. “I am delighted Dr. Jeff French of the UNO Psychology Department is employing one of these modules to teach students in his Advanced Neuroscience Lab course,” Grisham writes. “It’s a great feeling to give back to UNO where I received such a great education.”

Dr.BillGrisham@gmail.com

MICHAEL PICCOLO (BA) was appointed by Gov. Dave Heineman to serve as a county court judge for the 11th Judicial District of Nebraska. In 2007, Piccolo founded a law practice in North Platte, his practice emphasizing domestic relations, custody, complex property matters, family law and mediation for civil cases. His legal experience includes court of appeals cases and Nebraska Supreme Court appeals. He graduated from Creighton University School of Law in 1984. He and wife, Teresa, have four children.

MARZIA PUCCIONI SHIELDS (BA) recently was promoted to area vice president of the Arthritis Foundation and now oversees the Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois Arthritis Foundation offices.

ROBERT E. MATHIASEN (MA) was named to Who’s

Who in College and University Professionals and Continuing

Education, 2010-11. He has been with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln since 1987, and currently is the assistant director of distance/online undergraduate programs. JAMES E. STREET (MBA) is vice president of human resources and administration for Kinder Morgan, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and Kinder Morgan Management. He oversees benefits, compensation, training and payroll for the company’s 9,000 employees. He previously was employed with Tejas Energy.

KATHY KRIEGLER (MS) has spent 25 years in the counseling field. She recently was promoted to clinical supervisor of mental health and substance abuse programs at the Richmond Center, Community and Family Resources in Ames, Iowa.

kakriegl@mchsi.com

ROBERT DAISLEY (BFA) was recently promoted to President of Broadview CTL Capital, a leading source of private placement capital for credit tenant loan financing nationwide since 1996. Daisley has more than 25 years of commercial real estate experience in asset management, commercial mortgage loan servicing, corporate real estate administration and legal counsel. He previously was on Mutual of Omaha’s lead team developing, managing and leasing space for Midtown Crossing, a $350 million mixed-use development project.

Log On!

BARBARA GRABOWSKI COLEMAN (BA) was awarded the 2011 United Way Volunteer Business Award. She is founder and CEO of the nonprofit Fund Fighting Fibromyaglia (FFF). Fibromyaglia (fibro) is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread pain that can result in greatly diminishing a person’s quality of life. Coleman notes that some 10 million individuals nationwide, an estimated 56,000 in Nebraska, suffer from this disease, mostly women.

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class notes DENISE FANDEL (MS) was inducted into the Mid-America Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in honor of her dedication, character and leadership. She has spent her entire professional career serving MAATA while shaping the athletic training profession with the establishment of the Board of Certification (BOC). Fandel is executive director of the BOC. She formerly was UNO’s head athletic trainer.

KEN ARCHER (BS) lives in Summerfield, Fla., and writes that, “After 5-years as communication academy instructor at the Villages High School, accepted the position of director of multi-media Productions at the Benjamin School in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.”

veinert@yahoo.com

JAMES HOING (BGS) is a vice president for WhettStone Business Solutions in Omaha.

jhoing@whettstone.com

ROSS ELS (BS) was named linebackers coach for the University of NebraskaLincoln, leaving a similar post at Ohio University.

GREG GUNDERSON (BS) was made vice president and chief financial officer of Webster University in St. Louis. He previously was assistant vice chancellor for business and operations in the Office of Academic Affairs at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He also has worked for ConAgra Foods, Cray Research and Arthur Anderson & Co. He earned a master’s in business administration from the University of St. Thomas and a doctorate in philosophy in education studies from UNL. published “Lonnie’s Book of Song” (If My Soul Could Speak). IVAN GILREATH (MBA) was named president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands. He serves on the national advisory board of UNO’s College of Business and with the board of counselors at UNMC. “I am a product of my club and my community,” Gilreath says. “I hope my story and my experiences will inspire the youth of our clubs to dream bigger and expect more of themselves and their futures.”

WILLIAM BENTON WHISENHUNT (MA) is a history professor at the College of DuPage in Illinois. He has published three books on Russian history and often leads groups of students to Russia. He lives in Sycamore, Ill., with his wife and two children.

whisen@cod.edu

ROBERT POLAK (BA) was named midwest account manager for Innovacyn, a healthcare company based in Southern California. He will oversee sales of the company’s Vetericyn and Puracyn products in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas. Polak also will be responsible for sales training, providing dealer support, attending trade shows and distributor sales meetings.

KEVIN WARNEKE (MA) was named campaign manager of the Steier Group of Omaha. He previously worked as the chief executive officer of the Omaha Ronald McDonald House Charities for the past 11 years. He is a longtime contributor to UNO Magazine.

DANIEL MORRIS (BA) is an online search marketing expert, mainly working with small businesses. He lives in Tennessee but his clientele come from around the country. His company, Dan Morris Marketing, also does pro bono work for charities to help improve the flow of charitable contributions.

tri4time@gmail.com

MICHELLE WEISS BROZEK (BS) is president OF WhettStone Business Solutions in Omaha.

DEE DROZD (Ms) was one of seven new associates welcomed to Talent Plus of Lincoln, Neb., joining the research and leadership consulting teams. She previously worked for Gallup and Mutual of Omaha.

MARK MCCORMACK (BA) is owner of Proforma Identity Marketing Group in Omaha, and recently was named the Sales Professional of the Year by Advertising Specialty Institute’s Advantages Magazine.

in memoriam

1948 Julia Rumery 1953 Charles “Luke” Phillips 1954 Angelo L. Amato Edward E. Stallcup

1956 Paul Phillip Blaufuss

William W. Kratville

1957 John W. Adams 1958 Rev. Ronald Claussen

Joyce S. Wright Vernon

1963 James Lee Gammon Philip Alan Howland Henry E. Simpson, Jr. Col. Lewis Weldon Wright III 1964 Buford E. Collings 1965 Jonathan L. Miller Louisa N. Oberg 1967 John A. “Jack” Hippe, Jr. Lt. Col. Richard B. “Dick” Noonan 1968 Douglas Arthur Carley 1969 Mary Jean Hammerstrom Vincent Pontani 1971 Fred W. Hover Kenneth E. Wertz 1972 Col. USAF (Ret) Barry M. Teitler 1974 Bessie Quantella Watson Ellington 1977 Cindy M. Goff 1983 Terry Jo Smith 1985 Rev. Barbara (Yazowski) Bauer 1988 James M. Gaughan 2000 Janet A. Dimon

When the Century Club began 38 years ago, Herb Sklenar said “Yes.” And he’s still saying yes to the University of Nebraska at Omaha today. Omaha University graduate Herb Sklenar, ’52, has been a member of the UNO Annual Fund Century Club since its creation in 1973. Today, he’s one of its two longeststanding members. “Education is vital for individuals to pursue whatever they might accomplish and we’re fortunate to live in a society like the United States where you have that opportunity. It’s something I’ve been fortunate to have and I try to help.” If you share Herb’s commitment to education, please join him in becoming a Century Club member.

To learn more or to contribute, visit unoalumni.org/give. Or contact Mary Kenny, mkenny@nufoundation.org, 402-502-4924.

87 89

Friendly Fire Tracy Benning

It was love at first sight. Tracy Benning’s zeal for fire ecology was ignited when taking her first ecology class with UNO biology Professor Tom Bragg.

“In a nutshell, I owe my interest and a lot of my success to Dr. Bragg,” Benning says. “He was a fantastic teacher and very committed to his work in grassland prairies. “It was from his knowledge and enthusiasm for the field that I decided to become an ecologist.”

Benning earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from UNO, then a doctorate in Environmental, Population and Organismic Biology from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Today she uses her pyro-proficiency to teach University of San Francisco students as an associate professor in the environmental science department.

Her work in the field often involves … work in the fields. That sometimes involves “prescribed burns” a Benning focus that helps relieve “physiologically stressed” forests. Without prescribed burns, such forests can harbor disease — and go up in megafires. The approach is controversial, especially because of the amount of smoke prescribed burns produce. “Unfortunately,” says Benning, “if you’re not willing to put up with the inconvenience of smoke from a controlled burn, you may later face a forest fire that destroys your home.” Benning’s research also addresses climate change, the functioning of ecosystems and controllable parameters to mitigate human environmental impact. Early this spring she was preparing to study rainforest developments and vegetation change in Hawaii. She also hopes to join the fire ecology efforts in the Tahoe Basin of northern California. A graduate of Omaha Central High School, she lives in San Rafael, Calif., with partner, Debra, and sons Jordan, 5, and Jace, 2.

PAUL R. COATE (BA; 2007, MA) was named director of education and audience development for the Bloomington, Minn., Theatre and Art Center, one of the largest art centers in the Twin Cities. “I have put my theatre degrees from UNO to good use on multiple fronts, and my current successes are due in no small part to the guidance and experience I had from the faculty of the UNO Theatre Department,” Coate writes. His most recent performance was as ‘Monostatos’ in “The Magic Flute” with the Minnesota Orchestra.

Greg Helgeson/ Minnesota Orchestra

Photo by Peg Skorpinski, Berkeley, Calif.

class notes

MARK BESS (BS) and coentrepreneur ZACH WIGGINTON (BGS), class of 2008, started Zotwave.com, specializing in Extraordinary Car Care Products. Their longtime friendship began at UNO’s Scott Village as roommates, and continued to grow to partners in their online endeavor, beginning in 2009.

The UNO College of Education honored seven alumni at its 23rd annual Hollie Bethel Distinguished Alumni Luncheon April 13 at the Thompson Alumni Center. Awards and recipients: Distinguished Service Award Thomas L. Harvey (1973, MS), assistant superintendent of Student and Community Relations with the Omaha Public Schools. Rebecca Vinton Dorn (1995, MA), associate director and Well Workplace Nebraska manager of WELCOM.

Promising Professional Award Antje S. Mefferd (2004, MS), assistant professor at Wichita State University.

Lifetime Achievement Award Kathy Solomon (1982, MS; 1986, Ed.S.), school counseling specialist, Omaha Public Schools. Bob Lykke (1976, MA), retired; former principal at Andersen Middle School, Millard Public Schools. Mary Lykke (1983, MS) retired teacher, Millard Public Schools.

Award of Distinction

www.netNebraska.org

Productions of NET Television

John T. Langan (1968, BS; 1969, MS), former dean of College of Education, president and member of Omaha Public Schools Board of Education. Presented posthumously.

class notes Benjamin Mark Vlcek , son of Kristine (Graff, ’02) and Ron (’00) Vlcek of Bennington, Neb.

future ALUM Submit a birth announcement (within 1 year of birth) and we’ll send you a certificate and an Ador-A-Bull T-shirt. Include baby’s name, date of birth, parents’or grandparents’ names and graduation year(s). Mail to UNO Magazine, 67th & Dodge Streets, Omaha, NE 68182-0010 or online at www.unoalumni.org/futurealums

Caleb Julius Schaben, son of Amber (Scheffler, ’01) and David (’95) Schaben of Omaha and grandson of Randy Scheffler (’65) of Papillion.

Georgia Jo Ann Johnson, daughter of Jordan and Heidi (Hanna, ’08) Johnson of Tekamah, Neb.

Ellian Olive Bass, daughter of Andrea Erin (Longfield, ’06; ’10) Zach (’02) Bass of Omaha.

Audrey Michelle Phillippi, daughter of Daniel Gunner James Seely, grandson of William Seely (’75) and Michelle (Carlson (’10) of Monticello, Ind. Phillippi of Bellevue, Neb.

Grace Lee Shoemaker , daughter of Jennifer and John (’02) Shoemaker of Omaha.

Sebastian T. Hernandez , son of Traci (Grindle, ’01) and Cesar (’01) Hernandez of LaVista and grandson of Patrick Grindle (’76) of Ellensburg, Wash.

Chyler Grace McIntyre, daughter of Corey and Jennifer (Fuller, ’98) McIntyre of Omaha.

Peter Thomas Fink , son of Mary (Schaffart, ’98; ’01) and Edward (’98) Fink III of Cloie Ann Clark , daughter of Kerry (Baumgart, Omaha and grandson of Edward Fink Jr. (’74) of Council Bluffs, ’01) and Tim (’01) Clark Iowa. of Bennington, Neb., and granddaughter of Roger Lucas Lee VanWinkle, Baumgart (’77) of Omaha. son of Ryan and Jackie (Kaup, Jackson Dean Allen, ’04) VanWinkle of Omaha.

Ethan Levi Smolinski, son of George and Amy Kayn Mae Flamig, daughter (Barron, ’01) Smolinski. of Grant and Tiffany (Petrzilka, Andrew Jason ’07) Flamig of Kearney, Neb. LaPorte, son of Leonard and Amy (Dush (‘98) LaPorte Peyten Jean Hansen, of Rome, New York. daughter of Teresa (Ford, ’05)

and Jeff (’03) Hansen of Omaha. Joseph James Poole, son of Colleen (Fransiscus, ’01) and Christopher (’04) Poole of Ralston, Neb.

Trysten John Krings, son of Kelly and Melanie (Schreiber, ’08) Krings of Omaha.

Gianna Anastasia Zachary Andrew Klein, Zak , daughter of John and Christina (Nixon, ’05) Zak of son of Meredith (Castilow, ’09) and Andrew Klein of Elkhorn, Neb., Omaha. and grandson of Nancy (’78) and Evelyn Claire Vacek , Dave (’73) Castilow of Elkhorn. daughter of Cam (Doan ’09) and Tommy (’08) Vacek of son of Halicia (’07) and Lance Mallory Mandl Grace Noah Jacob Prow, son of Elkhorn. (’07) Allen of Beethe, daughter of Greg Steve and Barb (Bremer, ’06) Papillion, Neb. and Terra (Schmidt, ’04) Prow of Omaha. Brooke Elizabeth Beethe of Louisville, Neb. Ann Ryba , daughter of William Robert Graham David Locken, son of Vicky and Brittney (Haak, ’04) and Jeff Makenna Lou Miller , Heinauer , son of Michael (’03) Ryba of Omaha and Robert (’06) Locken Jr. of daughter of Molly (Nelson, and Stephanie (Ohlsson, ’05) granddaughter of Robert Ryba Omaha. ’05) and Mike (’05) Miller of Heinauer of Gretna, Neb. (’3) of Omaha. Tekamah, Neb. Bryson Alec Tevis, son of Kris (Hess, ’02) and Shaun (’04) Tevis of Omaha.

Analyzing Energy

As a result, Wall Street Journal ranked Youngberg No. 1 in its “Best on the Street” stock analyst awards. He hasn’t rested on those laurels, either. Last year, Forbes Magazine placed him among the “Best Energy Analysts” in the industry. He’s been quoted in Time, Businessweek, the Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle and appeared on CNN, NBC Nightly News, PBS’ Nightly Business Report and elsewhere.

Youngberg relies on his 15 years of experience in the field to educate investors on what’s happening in the energy sector. He predicts an expansion of resource use.

Now a senior area analyst with Edward Jones Energy and Utilities, Youngberg’s specialty is equity research — analyzing a company’s fundamentals, forecasting future prospects, determining the worth of stocks and providing recommendations to investors if they should buy, hold or sell.

“Twenty-five years from now we will use more oil, natural gas and coal than we’re using today, despite strong growth in usage of alternative fuels, including wind, solar and biofuels,” Youngberg says. “Traditional fossil fuels are plentiful and relatively cheap compared to new alternatives.”

“The energy industry is interesting to follow on a daily basis as it impacts our economy and all of our lives,” Youngberg

An Omaha Burke High School graduate, Youngberg and his wife, Michele, have four daughters ages 12 to 20.

Few knew it then, but in 2001, the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history was just around the corner. Enron was spiraling out of control.

Wolfe Creative Media Services

Financial analyst Brian Youngberg was ahead of the game, though. The 1986 UNO graduate was on the frontline advising investors to sell their stock in the energy company.

says. “Utilities are usually thought of as not exciting, but seeking to differentiate companies and stocks that tend not to be significantly different is a great challenge.”

Charolette Belle Zeigler , granddaughter of Todd Stoney (’82) of Chandler, Ariz., and great-granddaughter of Larry Stoney (’64) of Phoenix.

Stay in the UNO Alumni Association loop and “Like” us today. Reconnect with former classmates, win marvelous Mav gear and receive exclusive information on our Facebook page: facebook.com/UNOAlumni

century club In 1973, the UNO Alumni Association created its premier giving society — the UNO Century Club — asking graduates to contribute $100 or more. The first 44 members of the Century Club contributed $5,250.

2010 UNO CENTURY CLUB

We’ve come a long way since then. Today, the Century Club includes 1,615 members, who each year give nearly $225,000. Through their leadership, Century Club members support traditional alumni programs, including UNO Magazine, events, student scholarships, and new, innovative programs.

The UNO Century Club is vital to UNO’s continued growth as one of the region’s finest metropolitan universities. Today, almost 40 years after its inception, Century Club gifts account for more than 80 percent of all UNO Annual Fund contributions. On behalf of the university, its students and faculty, the UNO Alumni Association and the University of Nebraska Foundation recognize the generosity of the UNO Century Club members who believe strongly in the university’s mission and support its ongoing success.

The following list includes donors to the UNO Annual Fund from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010. Mr. Robert E. Costello Mr. and Mrs. David H. Craft Ms. J. Richelle Crow-Johnson Mr. & Mrs. James Cullison Lt. Gen. Russell Davis Ms. Kathy L. Divis John W. & Nancy C. Estabrook Mr. Nathan Frink Mrs. James L. Gammon Dr. & Mrs. Patrick M. Gerbus Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Goldstein Mr. Francis R. Greguras Mr. and Mrs. John W. Hancock Jr. Mr. Darrald Harsh Diamond Club ($1,000-2,499) Mr. & Mrs. Timothy D. Hart Mrs. Arinda Adams Mr. David M. Juenemann Mr. & Mrs. Ray D. Barr Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Julian Mr. and Mrs. Fred J. Beschorner III Mr. and Mrs. Gerald E. Karlin Mr. William R. Boers Mr. John L. Keiser Chancellor & Mrs. John E. Christensen Dr. & Mrs. Paul R. Kenney Mr. and Mrs. Henry L. Clure Mr. and Mrs. Albert W. Kernen Mr. James E. Czyz Mr. & Mrs. Albert Luedtke Mr. and Mrs. Michael T. DeFreece Lt. Col. Louis A. Mallia, Retd. Mrs. Peggy L. Doty Mr. Gerald F. McDonald Mr. Donald L. Fjellin Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. McLarney Mrs. Cherianne Jacquart Ms. Margo L. Metzger Mr. & Mrs. John A. Jeter Marlene R. Meyer, M.D. Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Koraleski Mr. Charles Monico Mr. and Mrs. Harold B. Kosowsky Ms. Deena Murphy Mr. & Mrs. Scott R. Kubie Rev. Donald Nesheim Mr. Steven S. Martin & Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Nodean Dr. Amy M. Haddad Mr. and Mrs. William M. Ojile Jr. Mr. Dennis J. McMillen Sondra S. Peters Mr. & Mrs. Kevin D. Munro and Kermit C. Peters Mr. & Mrs. Leonard A. Noack Mr. William R. Peters Mr. & Mrs. Gary Penisten Cmdr. Gary L. Pritchard, Retd. Mr. Jack Petersen Mr. & Mrs. Louis J. Rotella Jr. Mr. Terry Stofferson Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. Sagehorn Lt. Col. & Mrs. Donald E. Treaster Mr. George B. Seliga Mr. & Mrs. Kevin L. Warneke Mr. Gregory C. Snyder Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin D. Wiesman Mr. Richard C. Stoufer Mr. and Mrs. Jack W. Williams Mr. & Mrs. Daniel P. Stromp Mr. Scott L. Struble Golden Club ($500-999) Mr. & Mrs. Daniel J. Thiele Mr. David W. Andersen Ms. Ginny M. Tworek Mr. and Mrs. Brian D. Asmus Mr. & Mrs. Ronald E. Withem Mr. Robert Carpenter Mr. & Mrs. Michael R. Cochrane

Platinum Club ($2,500+) Mr. & Ms. Richard Foster Mr. and Mrs. Steven M. Frye Mr. and Mrs. Mark E. Grieb George F. Haddix, Ph.D. Mr. Richard D. Holland Mr. and Mrs. R. William Johnston Mr. David G. Langevin Mr. Jim L. Leslie Ms. Louise A. Rinn Mr. and Mrs. Herbert A. Sklenar Mr. & Mrs. David L. Sokol Mr. Robert C. Stedman

Silver Club ($250-499)

Mr. Larry L. Adams Mr. and Mrs. Nathanael J. Adamson Mr. and Mrs. J. Patrick Anderson Mrs. Marlene K. Anderson Mr. and Ms. William M. Anderson Mr. & Mrs. Richard J. Andrews Mr. Charles C. Barbera Mr. & Mrs. Robin O. Bates Mr. and Mrs. Gary Baumann Mr. & Mrs. Michael F. Baumert Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Bianchi Mrs. Sarah E. Birdwell Ms. Marcia Blacker Dr. Ramakrishna R. Boppana, Ph.D. Mr. Dwayne Burgess Col. Wallace A. Burkett, Retd. Mr. & Mrs. Melvin R. Cerny Mr. and Mrs. Arthur M. Clendenin Jr. Pastor Frank Coniglio Laban C. Conner, Ph.D. Mr. & Mrs. Rodney and Annette Conser Lt. Col. Robert E. Courneen, Retd. Rev. and Mrs. Norman A. Crews Mr. and Mrs. Gary L. Crouch Mr. and Mrs. Michael E. Cuba Mr. and Mrs. Richard G. Cummings Mr. Donald L. Darling Mr. & Mrs. Lee Denker Jr. Ms. Dianne Desler Dr. & Mrs. James R. Dolan Mr. and Mrs. Delaine R. Donohue Mr. and Mrs. Guy O. Duncan Mr. and Mrs. James L. Easton Mr. and Mrs. Todd L. Engle Dr. Charles W. Eriksen Ms. Syntha E. Essex Mrs. Kathleen A. Fenn Mr. and Mrs. Terry G. Forsberg Mr. and Mrs. Alfred J. Fransen Mr. Alan F. Friebe Mr. & Mrs. Richard H. Goldstein Mrs. Connie D. Gore Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Grimaila Mr. & Mrs. Cliff Grosskopf Mr. Ernie J. Gubbels Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Gustafson

Mr. & Mrs. Myrton L. Hall Mr. and Mrs. Brian C. Hamilton Terry & Judy Haney Mr. Kenneth L. Hansen Mr. and Mrs. Willie L. Harper Lt. Col. Charles M., Retd., and Col. Janet R. Harris Mr. & Ms. Clifford S. Hayes Dr. & Mrs. Theodore W. Heise Mr. and Mrs. Roger H. Hinderliter Mr. Neil M. Hopkins Dr. & Mrs. Robert E. Houston Col. Delbert C. Huddleston, Retd. Mr. Connor A. Isgett Jr. Christine M. Jeffrey, M.D. Mrs. Mary M. Jetton Mr. John W. Johnette Mr. and Mrs. Mike D. Jones Dr. and Mrs. Barry J. Jose Mr. & Mrs. Philip Kaldahl Lt. Col. and Mrs. James C. Kasperbauer Mr. and Mrs. Donald G. Kathol, P.E. Mr. and Mrs. Eugene F. Kathol Mr. Timothy M. Kerrigan Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Killion Mr. John P. Kirk Dr. and Mr. Mark Klaas Mrs. Mary Guin Knoll Mr. & Mrs. Thomas D. Knox Mr. and Mrs. Curtis L. Koehlmoos Mr. and Mrs. Jarold L. Kohll Mr. and Mrs. Daniel L. Konopatzke Mr. David J. Kriegler Mr. & Mrs. Robert D. Lembke Maj. Daniel M. Littley Jr., Retd. Mrs. Ann M. Mactier Mr. & Mrs. John A. Mascarello Mr. A. Edward Gottesman & Ms. Patricia Matson Lt. Col. Robert L. McKaig Mr. Joseph McTaggart Mr. & Mrs. Hugh H. Menton Mr. and Mrs. Dennis M. Meredith Mrs. Farah Messa Mr. & Mrs. Dwight L. Morgan Mr. Jack A. Nelson and Mrs. D. Lori Welch Nelson Mr. & Mrs. Michael D. Nelson

Mr. Michael J. Nolan Mr. Grant P. Novak Dr. and Mrs. Joel M. Padmore Dr. and Mrs. Louis George Pol, Ph.D. Mr. Edward L. Powers Mr. & Mrs. William L. Powers Mr. and Mrs. John A. Prescott Thomas L. and Joan Quinlin Mr. & Mrs. Edwin D. Rasmussen Mr. and Mrs. George M. Reid Col. and Mrs. Michael E. Richardson, Retd. Mr. Ted L. Ridgway Mrs. Margaret A. Ringhofer Mr. Lloyd Roitstein Mr. and Mrs. Douglas W. Ruge, II Mr. Dennis & Dr. Beverly Schaffer Mr. & Mrs. Elroy J. Schroer Mr. Richard Scott Mrs. Marcia J. Shirk Dr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Shuey Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Gary P. Smith Mr. Thomas Smith Mr. and Mrs. Leonard M. Sommer Mr. & Mrs. Leonard M. Sommer Mr. Roger L. Sorenson Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Stewart Mr. and Mrs. Mark L. Stokes Lt. Col. Jarvis A. Strong Jr. Ms. Maureen R. Svagera Mr. David C. Teer Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Tews Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Thompson Col. and Mrs. Loren E. Timm, Retd. Drs. Dan E. and Suzanne Nelson Tolman Dr. & Mrs. Kynan C. Trail Mr. Jeffrey L. Wacker Mr. and Mrs. Clark H. Ward Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Warren Ms. Nancy J. Watson Mr. John J. & Dr. Elizabeth Wickstrom Jr. Mr. Marshall A. Widman Mr. Bernard A. Wieger Dr. Delmar C. Wilcox Dr. and Mrs. Robert L. Willice, M.D. Mr. & Mrs. James Winship Jr. Lt. Col. Wilson A. Younge Jr., Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Steven W. Zuckweiler

century club Bronze Club ($100-249)

Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Abel Lt. Col. Pascal Adamo, Retd. Mr. Frederick W. Adams Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Adams Mr. Steven R. Adams Mr. & Mrs. Joel Adamson Mr. & Mrs. William Adcock Lt. Col. Philip J. Adelman Mr. and Mrs. John L. Adler, P.E. Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence L. Adler Mr. Chris W. Albers Lt. Gen. Donald O. Aldridge, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Joel Alexander CM Sgt. and Mrs. James L. Alf, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Ronald R. Allman Mr. Park O. Ames Mr. & Mrs. Lee A. Anderbery Ms. Jean M. Andersen Mr. and Mrs. Louis M. Andersen Mr. and Mrs. Dale A. Anderson Mr. David M. Anderson Mr. & Mrs. Frank E. Anderson Mr. Garrett G. Anderson Lt. Col. and Mrs. John H. Anderson, Retd. Ms. Marcia K. Anderson Col. and Mrs. Steven L. Andraschko Mr. and Mrs. Raymond S. Angeli Mr. Milan E. Anich Ms. Sharon E. Appleby Mr. John F. Arkwright Mr. Raymond D. Armstrong Mr. William G. Arnold Mrs. Kimberly A. Ash Lt. Col. and Mrs. Eugene T. Atkinson, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Frank E. Babic Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Michael F. Badura Mr. Keith O. Bailey Dr. Ronald J. Baken Mr. & Mrs. Ronald B. Baldwin Mr. & Mrs. Roland E. Ballow Mrs. Beverly J. Banks Ms. Udoxie Barbee Capt. and Mrs. James F. Bard Jr. Mrs. and Mr. Julie K. Barrientos Mrs. Cecelia R. Barrington Drs. Sean G. and Stephanie L. Barry Mr. Howard W. Barton Mr. and Mrs. Eben S. Battaglia Mr. & Mrs. Roger Baumgart Mr. and Mrs. Peter K. Baumhefner Dr. and Mrs. David A. Baxter III Mr. Leonard Becicka Mr. and Mrs. Ken C. Beckman Mr. Michael F. Bednarz Jr. Mr. Steven Beins Dr. and Mrs. David L. Belden Mr. & Mrs. Thomas M. Belford Dr. Edward G. Belzer and Mrs. Phyllis Belzer Col. and Mrs. Lyle D. Bender Patti and John Benker Mr. and Mrs. Wilbert E. Beran Mr. and Mrs. Chris D. Berens Lt. Col. Loyd D. Berger, Retd. Col. Paul A. Bergerot, Retd.

Mr. & Ms. Lonnie Bernth John H. Besancon, LMHP Mr. and Mrs. Jerry F. Bexten Mr. and Mrs. George J. Bighia Sr. Maj. Gen. Edward C. Binder Mr. John S. Binderup and Mrs. Patricia L. Carrell Mr. & Mrs. Robert D. Binderup Mr. Gary G. Birge Dr. Thomas A. Birk and Mrs. Constance J. Sorensen-Birk Mr. Paul C. Birney Mr. & Mrs. Thomas M. Bizzarri Sr. Mr. and Mrs. David P. Blair Mr. and Mrs. Steven Bloch Mr. and Mrs. Wayne H. Bloebaum Mr. Carl Bloomer Mr. and Mrs. Leslie L. Blouin Col. and Mrs. Fred M. Blum, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. John Boatwright Jr. Mr. Larry J. Bockelman Mr. and Mrs. Philip Boehm Mrs. Nancy Jones Boersma Mr. Gary Boettcher Mr. and Mrs. Brian F. Bollich Mr. Bobby G. Bomgardner Mr. Richard L. Boone Mr. & Mrs. David R. Borcyk Lt. Col. and Mrs. Marvin L. Borgman Ms. Linda J. Bors Mr. & Mrs. Leo Boston Jr. Mr. and Mrs. David H. Bowman Jr. Ms. Linda G. Boyer Mr. Tom C. Boyer Mr. James M. Boyle Mr. and Mrs. Andy Bradley Ms. Mary Ann Bragg Mr. & Mrs. David N. Brandt Mr. and Mrs. Arthur J. Braun Mr. and Mrs. Lewis S. G. Braxton Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Gary E. Bren Mrs. Terrill A. Bresette Mr. and Mrs. Dennis G. Brewster Mrs. Patricia I. Brinkman CW3 (Retd.) Billy Broadway Mr. James Brochtrup Mrs. Cynthia L. Brodhagen Mr. & Mrs. Gregory Brokke Mr. Kenneth R. Brown Mr. Richard D. Brown Drs. Robert E. & M. Martha Bruckner Mr. James R. Brunson Jr. Mr. Douglas J. Buchanan Mr. and Mrs. Garold W. Burkholder Mr. and Mrs. Roger A. Burmeister Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Burress Mrs. Patricia L. Burton Mr. and Mrs. Donald P. Bush, CPA Mr. Dennis E. Bussom Mr. Daniel H. Bye Mr. and Mrs. Norman V. Cadorette Jr. Lt. Col. and Mrs. Richard J. Callahan, Retd. Lt. Col.and Mrs. Bennie E. Callis, Retd. Richard A. Callis and Nancy A. Callis Mr. and Mrs. Robert Calvert Col. David A. Camacho Mr. Robert E. Campbell and

Rev. April M. Davis Campbell Mr. and Mrs. Thomas L. Campbell Mr. Gary J. Campisi Mr. Eduardo Canas Dr. Ruben A. Candia Hon. D. Nick Caporale Mrs. Desiree C. Carbonell-Jacobsen Mr. and Mrs. Jarrod T. Carley Lt. Col. & Mrs. Virgil V. Carlsen, Retd. Mrs. Debra R. Carlson Ms. Patricia M. Carlson Mr. & Mrs. Thomas D. Carney Mr. & Mrs. Cody F. Carse Mr. & Mrs. Steven R. Caswell Mr. William D. Ceely Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Augustus Cerillo Jr. Mr. Robert F. Chandler Dr. and Mrs. Dale A. Chapman Mr. John A. Cherica Mr. Jerald Chesnut Mr. & Mrs. Raymond D. Christensen Mr. & Mrs. Wayne E. Christensen Mr. & Mrs. William L. Christensen Mr. & Mrs. Rodney E. Christenson Mr. & Mrs. Gary A. Christiansen Mr. Mike Cihal Capt. and Mrs. David Clark Ms. Karen N. Clark Mr. Paul M. Clark Mrs. Susan M. Clark Mr. & Mrs. Timothy J. Classen Mr. Craig S. Clawson Ms. Linda M. Clawson Mr. Robert R. Clay Mr. Bruce Clure Mr. and Mrs. James Cobbs Mr. George Cockle Mr. Oscar Coleman Dr. and Mrs. Richard E. Collins Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Combs Mrs. Mary G. Conley William & Silvia Conley Mr. & Mrs. John B. Conway Mr. Everett L. Cook Mr. and Mrs. Samuel W. Cooper Mr. and Mrs. Michael W. Coppess Mr. Kevin R. Cornett Mr. Herbert Cossano Dr. and Mrs. Richard T. Cotton Mr. David J. Coulton Mr. Herbert Cousins Jr. Dr. Hugh P. Cowdin Marilyn L. Cowger, M.D. CM Sgt. Will N. Cox, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Douglas P. Cramer Mr. and Mrs. A. Mort Crim Mr. and Mrs. John S. Crookham Jr. Lt. Col. Richard E. Crotty Mrs. Tracy L. Crowell Mr. Francis J. Cuba Mr. Clyde E. Cummings Mr. Paul M. Curry Jr. Mr. Dennis M. Curtis Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Curtis Mr. & Mrs. James G. Czeranko Dr. and Mrs. Mark L. D’Agostino Mr. T. Eugene Dahlgren Rev. Sandra Daily

Dr. & Mrs. Harl A. Dalstrom Mr. Scott W. Darden Mrs. Rita J. Dargaczewski Mr. and Mrs. Scott J. Darling Ms. Linnea A. Davidson Mr. Richard Davis Mr. & Mrs. Melvin S. Decker Rev. and Mrs. Terry L. Deffenbaugh Mr. John P. Devries Mr. Dennis S. Dickinson Drs. Roger W. & Colleen W. Dilley Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey A. Dinzole Mrs. Elma I. Dodder Mr. & Mrs. N. Phillips Dodge Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Richard E. Donaldson Mr. and Mrs. Douglas A. Dougherty Mr. James Douglas Mr. & Ms. Patrick Dowling Mr. Robert C. & Dr. Diana L. Doyle Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Drake Mr. and Mrs. Darrel W. Draper Dr. & Mrs. Charles S. Dresher Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Drew Mr. & Mrs. Michael C. Drey Mr. and Mrs. David J. DuCharme Dr. & Mrs. Timothy M. Durham Mr. & Mrs. David A. Dwornicki Mr. Paul F. Ebisch Mr. James Ecker Mr. and Mrs. Craig L. Edmundson Mr. Blake T. Edwards Mr. & Mrs. Lennie O. Edwards Jr. Col. and Mrs. James C. Egan Jr., Retd. Mr. Ralph G. Egenmaier Dr. Steven Eggers Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Eissler Lt. Col. Arthur R. Ellisen, Retd. Lt. Col. Robert L. Elsasser, Retd. Mr. & Mrs. David A. Emry Mr. & Mrs. Steve R. Epstein Mr. and Mrs. Abbott E. Erickson Mr. & Ms. Brian Erickson Mr. & Mrs. James Erixon Michael W. Erwin, Pharm.D. Mr. Ronald Euler Dr. & Mrs. Frank J. Evans Ms. Monica M. Evans Col. & Mrs. Richard J. Evans Mr. and Mrs. Douglas A. Ewald John W. & Viv L. Ewing Chief Terry L. Feeney Ms. Jill M. Feilmeier Mr. and Mrs. Eugene D. Feit Ms. Laura A. Feld-Mushaw Col. & Mrs. Lorenzo E. Fesler Jr. Mr. & Mrs. John M. Fey Mr. & Mrs. Walter Fichter Mr. and Mrs. John A. Fiscus Mr. Don Fitch Mr. & Mrs. Thomas C. Fleckten Mr. Daniel B. Flood Mr. and Mrs. Gerald J. Flood Mr. Anthony W. Flott Mr. Harland T. Fogle Dr. & Mrs. Robert J. Fonda Mr. William A. Forsee Drs. Edward T. and Mary L. Foster

Mr. Bruce Fowler Mr. & Mrs. Don C. Fox Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey E. Fox Mr. John Francavilla Mr. Stephen R. Frantz Capt. and Mrs. Robert P. Frizzell, Retd. Mr. Jack A. Frost Lt. Col. William H. Frye, Retd. Mr. & Mrs. Gary G. Funkhouser Mr. and Ms. Steve Furbush Mr. & Mrs. John C. Furstenberg Lt. Col. Robert C. Gaddi, Retd. Mr. & Mrs. James Garbina Mr. and Mrs. Dante H. Garrido Jr. Mr. & Mrs. James C. Gathmann Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Gauck Mr. and Mrs. David Gaul Ms. Anne B. Gee Mr. and Mrs. John S. Gelecki Mr. & Mrs. Barry L. Gerken Lt. Col. & Mrs. Stephen C. Gibson Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Giles Jr. Mr. & Mrs. G. P. Gillaspy Mr. Michael J. Glaser and Mrs. Joyce A. Glaser Mr. and Mrs. Morton L. Glass Mr. & Mrs. James T. Gleason Mr. William S. Glickfield Mr. & Mrs. William H. Gober Mr. and Mrs. Frank N. Goldberg Lt. Col. and Mrs. Norman Goldberg, Retd. Dr. & Mrs. Raymond B. Goldstein Mr. Eugene M. Gollehon Mr. and Mrs. Dan K. Gomez Mr. & Mrs. Larry M. Gomez Mr. and Mrs. P. J. Goodman Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Gordon Mr. & Mrs. James M. Gould Col. and Mrs. Judd H. Grace, Retd. Col. Edward S. Graham, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Richard R. Graham Mr. Mark D. Graybill Mr. & Ms. Patrick Gredys Dr. and Mrs. James P. Gregory Mr. Richard Gregory Mr. and Mrs. Fred M. Greguras Jr. Mr. Robert Gries Mr. and Mrs. John J. Griffith Mrs. Marilyn A. Griffith Mr. Charles B. Gruenig Mr. and Mrs. Larry R. Guenther Mr. Stephen P. Guenther Mr. and Mrs. Anthony A. Gum Mr. and Mrs. Mark H. Gurley Mr. Thomas Gurtner Mrs. Mary B. Gust Mr. John R. Gustafson Mr. & Mrs. Bryan P. Guy Ms. Jo Ann Haafke Mr. Richard A. Hague M Sgt. and Mrs. Paul N. Hall, Retd. Mr. Richard Hall Mr. & Mrs. Scott E. Halstead Mr. and Mrs. Thomas L. Hamburger Maj. and Mrs. Jesse Hamilton, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Edward G. Hammer Mr. and Mrs. James R. Hannibal

2010 century club Mr. and Mrs. Andrew M. Hansen Col. and Mrs. Donald C. Hansen, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Eric R. Hansen Mr. and Mrs. Michael F. Hansen Mr. and Mrs. Terry E. Hansen Maj. & Mrs. Marvin C. Hardin Lt. Col. and Mrs. Kurt C. Haripar Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Harling Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Harmon Dr. and Mrs. Roger K. Harned Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Harper Mr. Jack R. Harper Mrs. Linda M. Harr Mr. and Mrs. James R. Harrington Mr. Melvin H. Harrington Mr. Jeffrey S. Harrison Mrs. Judith S. Harvey Mr. Robert M. Harvey Mr. John Harvoy Mr. and Mrs. Louis G. Hatch Mr. and Mrs. David P. Hawk Mrs. Betty J. Hawkins Mr. Gerald L. Hawley Martin D. Haykin, M.D. Mr. Terrence Healey Mr. Robert Hearron Mr. and Mrs. Lars Hedstrom Jr. Jack Heidel, Ph.D. Mr. and Mrs. Dennis R. Hein Mr. and Mrs. Richard F. Hekl Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Floyd G. Hellyer Mr. Roger C. Henderson Maj. Gen. and Mrs. Clyde A. Hennies, Retd. Col. George A. Henry Jr., Retd. and Mrs. Jane I. Teixeira-Henry Mr. and Mrs. Gary D. Henson Mr. and Mrs. H. Robert Herold, II Mr. & Ms. Robert G. Herrera Mr. Gary Hickson Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Higgins Jr. Dr. John W. Hill and Ms. Tommie C. Parker Mr. Robert C. Hill Mr. Frank W. Hoch Dr. & Ms. William L. Hoevet Ms. Tammy J. Hoffman Mr. & Mrs. Daniel R. Hoffmann Shari R. Hofschire Mr. & Mrs. Paul R. Hogan Col. and Mrs. Robert L. Hohman, Retd. Dr. Peter J. Hohnstein & Ms. Deborah Schark Col. Charles W. Holderness, Retd. Brig. Gen. Robert A. Holloman III, Retd. Mr. & Mrs. Frank I. Holmes III Mr. & Mrs. Richard E. Hood Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Horak Lt. Col.and Mrs. Guenther O. Horn, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Horner Mr. John Horton Mrs. Jeanette Hosek Mr. & Mrs. Donald R. Hotz Jr. Mrs. Helen L. Houston Mr. and Mrs. Wally Houts

Mr. and Mrs. Roman L. Hruska Jr. Mr. Henry G. Hudson Lt. Col. Hans G. Huettig, Retd. Ms. Marilyn A. Hughes Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Iburg Mrs. Arline M. Irey Mrs. Mary L. Irwin Mr. Charles E. Iverson Mr. Azar A. Jackson Mr. Leo Jackson Mr. and Mrs. Thaddeus E. Jackson Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Eric M. Jacoba Mr. & Mrs. Dean G. Jacobsen Mr. & Mrs. Larry R. Jacobsen Mr. Roger Jacobsen Mr. Allen F. Jacobson Mr. & Mrs. Thomas W. Jamieson Mr. & Mrs. Mark R. Jefferson Mr. & Mrs. Dennis J. Jenkins Mr. & Mrs. Stefan G. Jenkins Mr. & Mrs. Gene Jensen Mr. & Mrs. Norman K. Jensen Mr. Thomas Jensen & Ms. Theresa Tworek-Jensen Mr. Timothy J. Jensen Col. and Mrs. Wendell W. Jernigan Mr. and Mrs. John J. Jesse III Mr. and Mrs. Dennis O. Jett Mr. William O. Johns Mr. & Mrs. Carl A. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. David M. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Dwight E. Johnson Mr. & Mrs. William A. Johnson Mr. Richard A. Johnson Mr. Michael A. Jones Mr. Dennis D. Jorgensen Ms. Nancy L. Jorgensen Mr. Larry C. Juul Mr. William F. Kabourek Mr. Hugo Kahn Mr. & Mrs. Jerome J. Kaiman Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Kaiser Mr. & Mrs. Kurtis K. Kammerer Mr. and Mrs. George W. Kane Mr. & Mrs. Christopher J. Kankousky Mr. and Ms. Gary Kaplan Mr. & Ms. Stanley Kapustka Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Karrer Mr. John E. Kasun Mr. Timothy J. Kasun Ms. Micaela R. Keeton Mrs. Eileen L. Kegley Mr. William J. Keiderling Dr. & Mrs. Ralph H. Keill Jr. Mr.& Mrs. Lawrence Kelberg Mr. Richard Kellems Mr. Timothy Kelley Ms. Rolee Kelly Ms. Kathleen Kersey Maj. & Mrs. Richard R. Keskinen Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Ketchum Mr. Clyde W. Ketelsen Ms. Ann T. Kieffer Mr. Franklin Killebrew Lt. Col. Edward L. King Mr. and Mrs. Gerald F. King Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Kingery

Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Kingston Mr. Peter Kink Jr. and Mrs. Bonita E. Allred Mr. & Mrs. Gary Kinsel Mr. Edward Kirby Mr. Kevee C. Kirshenbaum Mr. Jack A. Kiscoan Mr. James Kjosa Ms. Joan Klanderud Ms. Shirel Klimaszewski Dr. & Mrs. Gregory M. Kloch Mr. Michael C. Knebel Mr. Sever Knutson Mr. and Mrs. Craig A. Knutzen Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth J. Koehler Mr. & Mrs. Steve Kohler Dr. and Mrs. Richard L. Kolowski Ms. Sandra M. Kopietz Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth J. Kopocis Mr. and Mrs. James J. Koranda Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Kotch Mr. Donald R. Kotrc Mr. James J. Kozak Mr. John Kozak Mr. and Mrs. Leroy F. Kozeny Mr. Gerald Kramer Kevin C. Kratz, Pharm.D. Mr. and Mrs. John A. Krecek Mr. & Mrs. Douglas V. Krenz Mr. & Mrs. James B. Kresnik Mr. and Mrs. David J. Kroeger Dan & Kathy Kruse Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Kubat Jr. Mr. John E. Kuhfahl Jr. Mr. William M. Kult Ms. Carolyn J. Kundel Mr. Joseph F. Kurgan Mr. William & Dr. Mellanee Kvasnicka Mr. and Mrs. Arthur L. Lacey Mr. James R. LaMaster and Mrs. Mary K. LaMaster Mr. & Mrs. Louis E. Lamberty Ms. Lou Ann Landholm Ms. Cynthia Lapole Mr. Michael Larkin Maj. Mensvil N. Larson, Retd. Mr. James A. Lastovica Dr. & Mrs. C. Rex Latta Ms. Fredericka M. Laux Mr. Patrick J. Lavelle Mrs. Carolyn J. Law Mr. and Mrs. Michael L. Lawson Mr. & Mrs. Don Leahy Joel D. Lebsack, Ed.D. Mr. Walter L. Lee Mrs. Judi L. Leibrock Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Leichner III Mrs. Margaret K. Lemen Mr. and Mrs. Vincent P. Lenz Mr. and Mrs. Larry T. Leverett Mr. & Mrs. Roger L. Lewis Dr. Standley E. Lewis Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Lewis Dr. Mary J. Lickteig Theresa M. Dowling-Liekhus Mr. & Mrs. Galen K. Lillethorup

Mrs. Sandra A. Lim and Mr. Sun-Ha Lim Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Lodes Ms. Lorraine J. Loeffler Mr. Darrell J. Logemann Mr. and Mrs. Norman E. Long Ms. Joan L. Lukas Mr. & Mrs. Lubbo C. Luken Mr. Walter J. Lukken Mr. Steven J. Lustgarten Mr. and Mrs. Bob L. Lykke Mr. Sean A. Lynch Mr. & Mrs. Henry P. Maass Jr. Dr. William Mackley Jr. Ms. Andrena L. MacLeod Mr. William MacQuarrie Mrs. Marion S. Maddocks Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Madison Dr. Susan N. Maher Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Malashock Mr. Dennis Malloy Mr. Roger L. L. Mansfield Mr. Dale I. Marcum Mr. and Mrs. George L. Marling Mr. and Mrs. Melvin L. Masek Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Mattson Mr. & Mrs. Leonard A. Mauro Mr. William G. Mavity Mr. & Mrs. Luama Mays Lt. Col. Lawrence A. Mc Intyre, Retd. Martha W. McAvin, Ed.D. Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie B. McCaa Mr. & Mrs. Joe T. McCartney Jr. Mr. and Mrs. James T. McConnaughay Mr. and Mrs. Mark T. McCormack Mr. & Mrs. Keith McCormick Mr. & Mrs. William M. McCracken Mrs. Mary McCully Mr. & Mrs. Daniel P. McElligott Mr. and Mrs. Paul R. McGilvray Ms. Loretta I. McGowan Ms. Martha J. McKeone Mr. David McKernan Mr. Tim S. McMahan Mr. and Mrs. R. K. McMillan SM Sgt. Wilson H. McMillan, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Frank D. McMullen Lt. Col. John J. McOscar, Retd. Mr. Christopher J. & Dr. Patricia H. McVeigh Mrs. Rebecca L. Means Maj. and Mrs. Michael J. Mears, Retd. Mr. & Mrs. Robert F. Mehaffey Jr. Mr. David Meier Miss Mildred A. Melia Mr. and Dr. David C. Melliger Marilyn F. Mellor, M.D. Mr. James D. Melson Mr. Norman J. Melton Mr. and Mrs. Michael L. Mench Ms. Gloria A. Wallen-Mendez Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Meyer Mr. Daniel Meyer Mr. and Mrs. Garry E. Meyer Mr. and Mrs. George J. Meyer Jr. Mr. and Mrs. William F. Meyers Mr. & Mrs. Ronald C. Milfs Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence M. Militti

Mr. and Mrs. Carter D. Miller Mr. & Mrs. Dennis R. Miller Mr. and Mrs. L. A. Miller Lt. Col. Martha D. Miller Mr. Scott L. Miller Ms. Shirley M. Minick Dr. & Mrs. Vincent F. Miscia Capt. Ralph W. Mitchell Mr. Joseph L. Mlnarik Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Moenssen Robert G. Money, D.D.S. Drs. David C. & Marilyn S. Moore Ms. Juanita Moore Dr. Russell P. Moore Jr. Mr. Walter F. Moore Mr. William H. Moore Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Moran Mr. & Mrs. Darrel Moreland N. Leonard Morgenstern, M.D. Ms. Nancy T. Morris & Mr. Joseph Muller Ms. Sue E. Moskovits Mrs. L. Louise Moss Mr. and Mrs. Doug Mossberg Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Muhlbauer Mr. James J. Munchrath Dr. & Mrs. Willis P. Mundt Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Mundy Mr. William F. Munoff Mr. and Mrs. William W. Musgrave Mr. & Mrs. James M. Nachreiner Mr. & Mrs. John E. Nahas Mr. and Mrs. Willie Nantz Mr. and Mrs. A. Richard Nattrass Mr. Rohit R. Nayak Mr. and Mrs. Daniel J. Nealon Lt. Col. & Mrs. Thomas D. Needham Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Negley Mr. and Mrs. William D. Nelsen Mr. and Mrs. Bradford J. Nelson Mr. Darold N. Nelson Mr. and Mrs. Irwin H. Nelson Ms. Jacqueline Nelson Lt. Col. and Mrs. Phillip H. Nelson, Retd. Mr. Marvin O. Nevins Dr. and Mrs. John M. Newton Mr. Phillip N. Nguyen Mr. and Mrs. Rick Niday Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Nistl Mr. & Mrs. Michael H. Noesen Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Nun Mr. and Mrs. Robert O’Brien Mrs. Joyce M. O’Connell Mr. James E. O’Connor and Ms. Diana C. Fuller Mr. John M. O’Doherty Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. O’Donnell Mr. Pedro E. Okoruwa Mr. Richard L. O’Larry Mr. and Mrs. Carl J. Olsen Mr. & Mrs. Curtis Olson Mr. and Mrs. Conrad M. Olsson Mr. Paul E. Oppel Dr. and Mrs. Robert C. O’Reilly Mr. and Mrs. Ronald L. Orndorff Rev. & Mrs. William Osick Mr. Michael B. Ostrom & Ms. Benita M. Seliga

2010 century club Dr. Dorothy A. Ostrowski Mr. Oscar Over Ms. Susan E. Paraska Maj. James G. Parks, Retd. Drs. Michael D. and Laura J. Parr Capt. Dennis R. Partenheimer, Retd. Mr. Ronald J. Pasanen Ms. Dorothy M. Patach Mr. & Mrs. Donald J. Pavelka Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Keith V. Payne Mr. Gilbert W. Peers Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur D. Pepin Mr. Maurice L. Pepper Jr. Mr. Gerald F. Pesek Mr. and Mrs. Terrance E. Pesek Mr. Edward Peters Mr. and Mrs. David W. Peters Ms. Beverly M. Petersen Mr. and Mrs. Dale L. Petersen Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick M. Petersen Mr. and Mrs. Norman E. Peterson Mr. & Mrs. Thomas R. Peterson Mr. & Mrs. Dieter Petz Mr. & Mrs. Aaron J. Pfeifer Mrs. Jenifer E. Piatt Mr. and Mrs. Stephen R. Pitzer Mrs. Terri Pitzer Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Polk Ms. Mary A. Poppino Col. and Mrs. Donald L. Porter, Retd. Mrs. Joyce L. Porter Mr. & Mrs. Clifford H. Pountney Mr. Steven Povich Mr. Patrick & Dr. Clare Prince Mr. Elza Pringle Mr. Jerome Prismantas Mr. and Mrs. David Prochnau Mr. & Mrs. Warren W. Pryor Mr. & Mrs. Gerald A. Radek Lt. Col. and Mrs. William L. Raincsuk, Retd. Mr. & Mrs. Richard W. Ramm Ms. Athena K. Ramos Ms. Marilyn Raupe Mr. and Mrs. Raymond P. Rawe Ms. Francie C. Rebolloso Mr. Guy L. Reece, II and Mrs. Shirley A. Rogers-Reece Mr. & Mrs. Hugh J. Reilly Mr. & Mrs. Richard S. Reiser Mr. Wesley R. Reisser and Mrs. Frances E. Wozny Mr. and Mrs. William C. Reitan Rev. and Mrs. Jim C. Ressegieu Maj. Raymond R. Reusche, Retd. Mrs. Susan E. Riccio Mr. Edward D. Rice Dr. & Mrs. Andrew J. Rikli Mr. John Ritner Dr. Joseph P. Higgins and Ms. Peggy J. Robb Mrs. Anna E. Roberg Mr. & Mrs. C. Spence Roberts Mr. Stewart H. Roberts Mr. Zane O. Gresham and Ms. Carol J. Robinson Drs. William H. & Jane S. Roccaforte Mr. and Mrs. John C. Rogers

Mr. & Mrs. Robert P. Rohrbough Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Root Mr. Ronald L. Rosberg Mr. David E. Rosenau Mr. and Mrs. William F. Ross Mr. and Mrs. Craig Rothfuss Mr. and Mrs. Daniel A. Rowe Mrs. Joanne K. Rowney Maj. and Mrs. Richard L. Ruffcorn, II Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Runyon Mr. and Mrs. Wayne L. Russell Mr. & Mrs. William K. Ryan Margaret F. Ryan-Turner, Ph.D. Mr. Sterling M. Ryder Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Rymph Mr. and Mrs. Paul G. Saathoff Mr. Scott Safranek Dr. Paul W. Saltzman, M.D. Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Sambasile Mr. and Mrs. Joeseph M. Samson Mr. Thomas J. Sandene Ms. Kathy M. Sangimino Mr. & Mrs. Lee A. Sapp Mr. Paul W. & Dr. Linda K. Sather Mr. John M. Savage Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. Schaefer Lt. Col. Stanley O. Schaetzle Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Q. Schiefer Dr. & Mrs. Robert C. Schleiger Mr. William R. Schlott Lt. Col. and Mrs. Frank W. Schnee, Retd. Mr. & Mrs. Scott C. Schneider Mr. & Mrs. William E. Schneidewind Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Helmer A. Schoenfeld Mr. Barry K. Schonlau Mr. William J. Schonlau Mr. and Mrs. Craig A. Schubert Lt. Col. and Mrs. Magnus R. Schuldt, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Schutte Ms. Karen L. Schwartz Ms. Charlyn Scott Mrs. Bonnie J. Seem Lt. Gen. Richard J. Seitz, Retd. Larry and Nancy Sekyra Mr. and Mrs. Steve W. Seline Mrs. Susie Severson Ms. Pamela M. Seward Col. H. Kenneth Seymour, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Anthony E. Sgroi Mr. and Mrs. Fred L. Sgroi Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Shaw Jr. Mrs. and Mr. Joyce A. Sheridan Maj. and Mrs. Donald E. Sheriff, Retd. Mr. William L. Shimek Mr. Parker L. Shipley J.D. and Mrs. Velma C. Shipley, Ed.D., J.D. Col. William L. Sickenberger, Retd. Ms. Shirley K. Siebler Dr. & Mrs. Curtis B. Siemers Mr. Daniel Silvea Lt. Col. Billy G. Sims, Retd. Linda A. Sing, M.D. Lt. Col. and Mrs. Joseph V. Sinnett Jr., Retd. Mr. Leonard R. Skillan Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Sklenar

Mrs. Roberta L. Slais Ms. Diane Slawson Mr. and Mrs. Kevin F. Sliwinski Mrs. D. Eileen Smith Mr. David G. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Glenn D. Smith Maj. Gen. and Mrs. James C. Smith, Retd. Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey H. Smith Rev. Kenny Smith Mr. and Mrs. Rodney S. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Scott H. Smith Mr. & Mrs. David Snow Maj. Albert L. Snyder, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Larry E. Socha Mr. Frederick V. Sohle Mr. Laurence J. Sokol Mr. Donald B. Solwold Mr. and Mrs. James W. Sorensen Mr. and Mrs. Louis Soukup III Dr. Robert Kreitner & Ms. Margaret A. Sova Mr. and Mrs. Hugh E. Spellman Mrs. Dorothy J. Spence Ms. Shirley A. Spieker Mr. and Mrs. Craig R. Spinharney Lt. Col. Duane R. Sprick, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Sramek Mr. and Mrs. Stanley W. Standifer Sr. Dr. William R. Staplin and Ruth A. Staplin Mr. and Mrs. Troy A. Staroscik Mrs. Betty K. Start Mr. & Mrs. William A. Startzer Mr. and Ms. Brandon L. Steenson Mr. and Ms. Peter F. Stehr Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Stein John A. Stephens, Ph.D. Mr. and Mrs. Donald R. Stewart Ms. Joanne M. Stewart Mr. & Mrs. Lee R. Stickman Mr. John A. Stirek Mr. Dan J. Stoney Mrs. Cheryl A. Straub Mr. & Mrs. Robert F. Stubblefield Mr. Reginald L. Stupp Dr. Xiaolu H. Sturgeon, Ph.D. Mr. Robert J. Stutzman Mr. and Mrs. Emil L. Sulentic Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Sullivan Maj. Raymond L. Sumners Mr. Ronald L. Swain Mr. and Mrs. Donald D. Swanson Mr. Ernest Swanson Mr. and Mrs. Warren C. Swanson Mr. & Mrs. William R. Swanson Mr. Frederick Swift Mr. Robert E. Synowicki Jr. Mr. Ralph M. Tait Mr. and Mrs. Wayne J. Tannahill Lt. Col. Maynard Tatelman, Retd. Mrs. Barbara T. Taxman Maj. and Mrs. Burgess L. Taylor Mr. Charles R. Taylor Ms. Patricia A. Taylor Mr. Turner M. Tefft Jr. Mr. James B. Temme Mr. and Mrs. Barry J. Thoendel

Mr. Leroy Thomas Sr. Ms. Angela K. Thompson Dr. & Mrs. Austin B. Thompson Col. James D. Thompson, Retd. Mr. John C. Thomsen Mr. Wade H. Thomson Mr. John P. Thorslev Mr. John Thurber & Ms. Karen Ekberg Mr. Donald K. Tickler Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Tiehen Mrs. Margaret A. Timmerman Mr. Ben Tobias Mrs. Dorothy E. Todd Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Todd Mr. Thomas N. Tomaszewski Maj. James Tomes Lt. Col. and Mrs. Charles E. Toomer, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Tosoni Mr. Richard V. Treakle Mr. & Mrs. David J. Treinen Col. Milo Treska, Retd. Mrs. Barbara L. Tripp Mr. and Mrs. Richard P. Tripp Mr. and Mrs. William Trotter Mr. and Mrs. Eugene A. Trout Mr. and Mrs. Omer C. Trout Jr. Mrs. Jean C. Tuohino Mr. Jeffrey Turley & Dr. Mary Ryan-Turley Mr. Lawrence E. Turner Lt. Col. and Mrs. Patrick A. Turner Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Turner Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth R. Tusha Ms. Margaret A. Twohey Dr. & Mrs. Francis A. Tworek Maj. and Mrs. James F. Tynan, Retd. Mr. Timothy J. Vail Mr. Leslie Valentine & Ms. Carol Gutchewsky Mr. and Mrs. Brett A. Vasek Col. Dennis P. Vasey, Retd. Mr. Lee D. Velde and Mr. Healy Leong, AIA Lt. Col. Carl F. Vercio, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Terry J. Vermaas Mr. and Mrs. John P. Vogt Mr. & Mrs. Neil S. Volker Mr. Emil H. Vollman Dr. and Mrs. William O. Wakefield Mr. & Mrs. Tom Waldman Mr. Doneley H. Watson Mr. and Mrs. Larry L. Watson Mrs. Sharon M. Watts Mr. & Mrs. Robert B. Way Mrs. Gloria O. Webb Dr. and Mrs. Vincent J. Webb Mr. and Mrs. Larry J. Weber, CPA Maj. Verne A. Weber Jr., Retd. Col. and Mrs. Freeman J. Weedman, Retd. Mr. & Mrs. Charles E. Weeks Mr. and Mrs. Lynn A. Wegehaupt Mr. and Mrs. Steven D. Weidenhammer Mr. Glenn A. Welz Mr. Robert R. Wemhoff Mrs. Linda F. Wendel

Capt. and Mrs. Thomas P. Westgaard, Retd. Mr. Stuart A. Westphal Dr. Dennis A. White Mr. and Mrs. Michael L. White Mrs. Susan H. White Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Whitehouse Mr. and Mrs. Don A. Whitmer Ms. Carla M. Wieser Dr. & Mrs. Dan L. Wilcox Mr. and Mrs. Gregory E. Wilcox Mr. and Mrs. Paul Wild Mr. and Mrs. Lowell R. Wilhite Mr. and Mrs. David J. Wilkie Mr. and Mrs. Jerome W. Wilks Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey A. Willard Dr. and Mrs. Eric M. Williams Maj. and Mrs. Theodore H. Williams, Retd. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Williams Mr. Edward D. Williamson Mr. Robert M. Wilmes & Dr. Mary Jo Wilmes Gen. Johnnie E. Wilson Sr., Retd. Mrs. Mary C. Wilson Mr. Nick A. Wilson Mr. Harry M. Wines CM Sgt. and Mrs. Laverne Wingate Dr. and Mrs. Thomas D. Wintle Mr. & Mrs. Robert P. Wintz Mr. & Mrs. Steven H. Wittmuss Maj. Harry B. Wolfe Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth S. Womack Mr. and Mrs. Vernon H. Wood Jr. Sara and Kirby Woods Mr. & Mrs. Louis A. Worm Mr. & Mrs. John K. Wotherspoon Mr. Curtis Wrenn Dr. and Mrs. Danny D. Wright Lt. Col. and Mrs. George L. Wright Dr. and Mrs. Robert G. Wright Mrs. Jean A. Wulf Mary M. Wurtz, M.D. Mr. and Mrs. Timothy J. Yager Ms. and Mr. Karen C. Yamaguchi Mr. & Mrs. Michael C. Yankus Mr. Paul A. Yochum Mr. and Mrs. Arthur L. Young Mr. Francis Young Mr. & Mrs. Scott A. Young Dr. and Mrs. William B. Young, Ph.D. Mr. Lawrence J. Zahm Mrs. Martha K. Zajicek Dr. & Mrs. Raymond Ziebarth Mr. Spencer E. Zimmerman Mr. Louis F. Zylka

retrospect

Over the years

1938

1959

1970

From its start, UNO’s campus has been the scene of numerous energy- and environmental-related initiatives and experiences. A few instances: 1930s University of Omaha receives donation of $438.38 in Standard Oil Company Stock for endowment purposes.

1935 OU bans smoking in all university buildings.

1938 To cool the new Administration Building (now Arts & Sciences Hall) the university sinks three artesian wells 70 feet to tap the springs beneath campus. The water is pumped into a 200,000-gallon tank in the building’s basement, cooled further and then used to chill the air. “The equivalent of 305 tons of free air conditioning,” reported the Gateway in a 1962 overview of the system. The system’s air intake was located in the cupola atop the building. The wells later cool the library (now Eppley Administration Building) and are used to water campus lawns. The wells were taken out of service in 1975 when the university constructed its Central Power Plant.

1941 OU basketball team loses 36-19 to the Phillips 66 Oilers, No. 1-ranked and defending AAU National Champions. The Phillips 66 Oil Corporation sponsored the team.

1944 OU’s basketball game with Dana postponed in part due to the “lack of gasoline to make the trip.”

1945 OU Chemistry Professor William Noyce at the student council-sponsored “Coffee Hour” discusses “the nature and probable uses of atomic energy.” Noyce had spent the previous year on Iowa State’s campus as part of the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb. Iowa State produced one-third of the uranium metal used in the first atomic bomb. In an article discussing Royce’s work, the Gateway discussed one prediction that within two years atomic power will be used for automobiles. Noyce doubted such cars would

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1975

2006

be common so soon, but added, “It may be 1972 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Dr. that an experimental model will be developed Norman E. Borlaug speaks on “Problems of by then.” Population — Food, Production, Ecology.”

1952 Classes canceled for a week as 1,000 1973 The UNO Biology Club hosts “The Last OU students contribute 60,000 man hours of labor fighting flooding along Missouri River.

1959 Antoinette and Arthur Allwine deed to the university their 160-acre farm (now Allwine Prairie).

1975 University establishes special carpool parking permits — $3.50 per vehicle for one semester.

1961 Omaha University receives an $11,371 grant from the Atomic Energy Commission, the monies to be used in nuclear science and engineering programs. Physics department Chair John McMillian, says grant to be used for “everything from lead bricks to radiation protection survey meters.”

1978 Amory Lovins, physicist and world renown energy expert, speaks at Performing Arts Center on ways to reduce nation’s use of energy.

1978 Alaska Gas Line Services in Anchorage ran an advertisement in the Gateway promoting summer jobs working on the Alaska Oil Pipeline “with salaries of $2,000 a week.”

1970 Students and faculty participate in the first Earth Day with Environmental “Teach-In” featuring 13 speakers.

2006 UNO’s Criss Library displays

1972 UNO Student Government negotiates a 2-cent-per-gallon student discount for gas at Townhouse Sinclair Service station.

4:00 p.m.

Great Recycling Marathon,” collecting 18,000 pounds of newspaper, 2,500 pounds of tin and “oodles and oodles” of recyclable glass.

“The Nest,” a sculpture by graduate Bart Vargas composed of keyboards, cables and miscellaneous other discarded computer parts. Vargas’ works mostly are made from trash.

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inside

Wonders and Worries

Exploring wind power.

Gassing Up

Homing in on Savings

Finding it, pricing it, conserving it and more...

Ways UNO can help homeowners save money on energy.

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