Nebraska Magazine Spring 2016 Issue

Plus

ALUMNI AWARDS / WRITING CONTEST WINNERS / PERLMAN TIMELINE

NEBRASKA Magazine EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEMBERS OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN

I-Robot

MAKER Travis Deyle (’05)

Volume 112 / No. 1 /Spring 2016 huskeralum.org

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Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. Discount amount varies in some states. One group discount applicable per policy. Coverage is individual. In New York a premium reduction may be available. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. GEICO Gecko image © 1999-2015. © 2015 GEICO

INSIDESPRING 5 Alumni Voices 14 University Update

22 Alumni Authors 44 Alumni News 46 Chapters & Affiliates

48 Class Notes 49 Alumni Profiles Ben Blomberg, ’04; Brock Weeldreyer, ’12 Kristine Johnson, ’94 Scott Sanford, ’97 Clayton Yeutter, ’52, ’63, ’66

63 2016 Football Ticket Member Lottery

The first blooms of spring appear on the Donald and Lorena Meier Commons and Plaza, with the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center and the Nebraska Union in the background.

6 24 32 38 40 42

Perlman Timeline After 87 groundbreakings, 14 budget cuts, 71,382 new graduates, elevating research expenditures to nearly $300 million and developing Nebraska Innovation Campus, Harvey Perlman is retiring as chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

2016 Alumni Awards Recipients

A network sports broadcaster, a clothing designer on “Project Runway” and a student who helped UNL Speech and Debate win a fifth straight Big Ten title are among 19 alumni, eight students, a retired faculty member and an alumni family who will be honored at the 2016 Alumni Awards Banquet.

I, Robot Maker Travis Deyle is one of the smartest young hardware engineers and robotics inventors in the world today – according to the MIT Technology Review, which last year named him to its super-prestigious list of “35 Innovators Under 35.”

High and Dry, One Leg at a Time Writing contest winner Jim Schaffer profiles Willie Shafer, a retired teacher who has become an underwear angel for thousands of children.

Dr. Les Whipp: A Lighthouse Teacher Writing contest winner David Martin recalls the UNL English professor who most influenced and inspired his teaching career.

There is No Trash Like Nebraska’s Writing contest winner John Mohr’s most memorable times at Memorial Stadium came on Sundays, not Saturdays, when ROTC students cleared the stands of trash.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 3

alumnivoices NEBRASKA Magazine For alumni and friends of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Shelley Zaborowski, ’96, ’00 Executive Director, Nebraska Alumni Association Andrea Wood Cranford, ’71 Editor Move Creative Design Kevin Wright, ’78 Layout and Photography; Class Notes Editor Nebraska Magazine (USPS 10970) is published quarterly by the Nebraska Alumni Association, the known office of publication is 1520 R St., Lincoln NE 68508-1651. Alumni association dues are $50.00 annually of which $10.00 is for a subscription to Nebraska Magazine. Periodicals postage is paid at Lincoln Nebraska 68501 and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster send address corrections to: Nebraska Magazine in care of the Nebraska Alumni Association, 1520 R St., Lincoln, NE 68508-1651.

Requests for permission to reprint materials and reader comments are welcome.

Send mail to: Nebraska Magazine Wick Alumni Center / 1520 R Street Lincoln, NE 68508-1651 Phone: 402-472-2841 Toll-free: 888-353-1874 E-mail: nebmag@huskeralum.org Website: huskeralum.org Views expressed in Nebraska Magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Nebraska Alumni Association. The alumni association does not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran’s status, national or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.

Alumni Association Staff Shelley Zaborowski, ’96, ’00, Executive Dir. Emily Anderson, ’10, ’15, Asst. Dir., Bus./Alum Relations Alex Cerveny, ’13, Alum/Student Relations Coord.

Jenny Chapin, Dir., Venues Andrea Cranford, ’71, Sr. Dir., Publications Charles Dorse, Custodian Derek Engelbart, Assoc. Exec. Dir., Alum Relations Jane Epley, ’77, Projects Asst.

Brooke Goedert, ’14, Venues Mgmt./Event Spec.

Paul Goedert, ’14, Gameday/Facility Operations Mgr. Jordan Gonzales, Asst. Dir., Student Programs Sarah Haskell, ’09, Dir., Alum Engagement Ryan Janousek, Venues Mgmt./Oper. Spec.

Wendy Kempcke, Admin. Asst.

Jessica Marshall, ’11, Dir., Written Comm.

Charley Morris, Graphic Design Spec.

Carrie Myers, ’03, ’11, Dir., Alumni

Engagement Heather Rempe, ’03, Asst. Dir., Digital Comm.

Larry Routh, Alum Career Spec.

Viann Schroeder, Alum Campus Tours Deb Schwab, Assoc. Dir., Venues Andy Washburn, ’00, ’07, Assoc. Exec. Dir., Oper./Mbr. Judy Weaver, Projects Asst.

Sara Werner, ’14, Exec. Asst.

Katie Williams, ’03, Sr. Dir., Marketing Comm.

Hilary Winter, ’11, Asst. Dir., Digital Strategy/PR Kevin Wright, ’78, Dir., Design

4 SPRING 2016

Spring 2016 n Vol. 112, No. 1

A Note from Chancellor Harvey S. Perlman Some 16 years ago then NU President Dennis Smith asked if I would serve as interim chancellor of UNL. I agreed with the understanding I had no interest in the permanent position. Yet as the interim year progressed, I began to see the potential for UNL and, more importantly, signs that whoever was chancellor might be able to marshal the support to pursue that potential. In the end, of course, I applied and was appointed and have never regretted that decision.

Potential alumni support was crucial to my decision. Certainly philanthropy has played a major role in the advances we have made – whether it is scholarship funds to help increase enrollment, chairs or professorships to permit us to recruit top faculty, or new facilities to allow us to pursue modern instruction and research.

In addition, alumni have contributed their time and their counsel in so many ways – at the department, college, or university level – as a reality check on our goals and methods.

I believe one of the critical initiatives during my time as chancellor was the reformation of the Nebraska Alumni Association. Through the efforts of many, it has become a truly integrated partner with the university and the Nebraska Foundation to drive university success.

While it has continued its traditional role of facilitating alumni gatherings, at football games and on other occasions, it has also expanded its portfolio of mentoring students, helping us recruit more students, recognizing faculty and alumni accomplishments and engaging alumni, of all ages and interests, in a variety of new ways. The change has been profound.

Change was not, however, easy. Significant leadership came from members of the then Alumni Board of Directors, to implement a change of leadership and a new governance structure. The newly formed Alumni Advisory Council helped explore with us ways alumni could be useful. We were extraordinarily fortunate to convince first Diane Mendenhall and now Shelley Zaborowski to serve as executive director.

I just want to take this opportunity to thank the association and all of the alumni with whom I have interacted over the last 16 years for your encouragement and support, as well as your forbearance with Tommy Lee, Perls of Knowledge and even more serious episodes of craziness.

Some of you have become close personal friends. Some of you continue to remind me of my mistakes. All of you who engage with the university make it a stronger institution.

While I am comfortable as I step down as chancellor that the university trajectory is on an upward course, there is much more to accomplish. We need to grow enrollment. We need to grow research. We need to serve Nebraska and we need to serve the world. Our potential for contributing to a more educated citizenry through our teaching and to an increase in the quality of the human condition through our research remains significant. That is, after all, what universities are about. It is an exciting mission and alumni play an important role. I am confident that you will provide my successor with your continuing involvement and support.

As I step down, I plan no victory tour, no wild celebration. I hope to quietly stroll back to the College of Law and see how rusty my teaching has become. From that perch I intend to applaud loudly, as an alumnus, while the university continues to grow and prosper. I am sure there will be occasions when our paths cross once more. Until then, Go Big Red!

alumnivoices Emails

2015-2016 NAA EXECUTIVE BOARD Bill Mueller, ’77, ’80, President, Lincoln Erleen Hatfield, ’91, ’96, New York, N.Y. Bill Nunez, UNL L.G. Searcy, ’82, ’91, Lincoln Joe Selig, ’80, ’87, NU Foundation Judy Terwilliger, ’95, ’98, Lincoln Steve Toomey, ’85, ’89, Lenexa, Kan.

2015-2016 Alumni advisory council Damon Barry, ’00, Denver, Colo.

Stephanie Bolli, ’89, Omaha Jennifer Christo, ’97, ’99, Omaha John Clarke, ’74, Mitchell, S.D. Daniel Dawes, ’06, Mableton, Ga. Lynn DiDonato Canavan, ’86, McKinney, Texas Megan Dreyer, ’03, Lincoln Kendra Eberhart, ’79, Peoria, Ariz.

Rick Grady, ’98, ’98, ’04, New Albany, Ohio Betsy Hardin, Current Student, McCook Pam Hemann, ’70, Pasadena, Calif.

Troy Heuermann, ’92, Saint Paul, Minn.

Jane Hirt, ’89, Chicago, Ill.

I just wanted to drop a note to tell you how exciting it was to read your article on the black lives matter movement in the UNL magazine. I was thrilled to see that my alma mater has a strong record of inclusiveness. I was sharing it with friends and relatives and boasting about our rich history of diversity, tolerance and acceptance. Thanks for using your platform to highlight this important issue.

Daniel E. Dawes, ’06, Mableton, Georgia

After reading the Winter 2016 edition of Nebraska Magazine, I was bursting with pride about my alma mater. The profile of a philanthropic and successful alum, Jay Yost, who celebrated his relationship with his male partner on campus, was heartwarming and empowering as a NU alumnus myself with a husband and child. It was gratifying to read the story about the Black Lives Matter rally and to learn that the administration is taking steps to make meaningful, critical changes to help all students feel welcomed, supported and empowered. So proud of my NU! Andy Schuerman, ’00, Kansas City, Missouri

Great timing on the Tyronn Lue cover story [Winter 2016 Nebraska Magazine]. He was elevated to head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers within the past hour [email sent Jan. 22]. Just another example of what makes your magazine great!

Dave Sittler, ’73, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Greg Johnson, ’89, ’93, Denver, Colo.

Ka’Ron Johnson, ’00, Houston, Texas

@NebraskaAlumni tweets and retweets

Lauren Kintner, ’92, Papillion Jeffrey Kratz, ’03, Washington, D.C. Duane Kristensen, ’76, ’78, Minden

Desi Luckey-Rohling, ’81, Edgerton, Wis. Steven Miller, ’81, Lincoln Bill Mueller, ’77, ’80, Lincoln Gregory Newport, ’76, Lincoln

March 11 – Packed house this morning at the @NIC_InnovatesConference Center for the 2016 @NWLNetwork Spring Conference.

Nebraska Alumni@NebraskaAlumni

Jamie Reimer, ’03, ’08, Papillion

Russ Ripa, ’99, Lincoln Kevin Scheider, ’85, Raymond

March 7 – Great crowd of #Huskers for the Big 10 Ag Alumni gathering! @UNLincoln @NebraskaAlumni #UNL Jill Kruger Brown @jillbrownhusker

March 3 – @Daniel_Duncan1 shares the NIC story with @NebraskaAlumni Young Alumni Academy members!

NIC @NIC_Innovates

Feb. 29 – Congrats to these @UNLSG members who were tapped into @UNLMortarBoard and @ODKNebraska today!

Nebraska Alumni @NebraskaAlumni

Feb. 25 – Great to get to meet the newest “Knights” of the @UNLSG at the @NebraskaAlumni Wick Center.

Ronnie D Green @RonnieDGreen

Robert Scott, ’94, Lincoln Christine Scudder Kemper, ’87, Kansas City, Mo. L.G. Searcey, ’82, ’91, Lincoln Dale Tutt, ’88, Wichita, Kan. Renee Wessels, ’82, Omaha

CONNECTION BOX huskeralum.org

twitter.com/NebraskaAlumni facebook.com/UNLalumni vimeo huskeralum.org/linkedin alumni@huskeralum.org

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 5

A Look at Harvey Perlman’s After 87 groundbreakings, 14 budget cuts, 71,382 new graduates, elevating annual research expenditures to nearly $300 million, turning State Fair Park into Nebraska Innovation Campus – and one very interesting semester with rock star Tommy Lee – Harvey Perlman is retiring as chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Here’s a look at his tenure:

April – Harvey S. Perlman, 1963 and 1966 UNL grad in history and law, former dean of the College of Law and interim chancellor since July 2000, is named to the permanent position of chancellor.

2001

Othmer Hall becomes part of the College of Engineering Complex and home to the dean’s office and the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

2002

April – A new gateway to the campus opens with the completion of the Van Brunt Visitors Center and Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center at the corner of 13th and R streets.

August – Teachers College and the College of Human Resources and Family Sciences merge to become the College of Education and Human Sciences. The dean’s office is located in a new connecting link between Mabel Lee Hall and Henzlik Hall completed in 2002.

2003 2004 The ANDRILL (ANtarctic geological DRILLing) Office is established at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to support international efforts to probe geological strata buried beneath the Antarctic Sea. UNL is one of the lead schools in the endeavor.

May – Almost 90 percent of the faculty vote their support of the Perlman administration’s handling of budget reductions during tough economic times. A poll of alumni shows similar support.

Photos courtesy of University Communications

6 SPRING 2016

June – External funding for research at UNL has grown from $49.2 million to $91.5 million, an 86 percent increase since 2000.

Tenure as Chancellor April – The Military and Naval Science Building is rededicated as the John J. Pershing Military and Naval Science Building during the annual Chancellor’s Review Ceremony.

August – The first apartment-style residence hall – Husker Courtyards – opens at 17th and Vine streets.

A similar structure, Husker Village is under construction at 16th and Y streets.

March – Students vote to fund a 30,000-square-foot Multicultural Center addition to the Student Union.

2006 October –The first few episodes of “Tommy Lee Goes to College,” the NBC reality show filmed at UNL in fall 2004, are aired.

2005 August –Movement on the Antelope Valley project has allowed for the addition of two parking areas east and north of the newly renovated Harper-Schramm-Smith complex and the new Husker Village. The Antelope Valley project is a flood control project that, when complete, will allow traffic to flow around City Campus.

June – After months of renovation, the former Clifford Hardin Nebraska Center for Continuing Education is rededicated as Hardin Hall, housing the School of Natural Resources and the Department of Statistics.

October – The Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film is dedicated, following renovation of the Temple Building, with a $5.3 million gift from Carson and a $5 million gift from his estate.

2007 October – The UNL Confucius Institute opens, with a mission of promoting and teaching Chinese language and culture. UNL’s partner institution in China is Xi’an Jiantong University in Xi’an.

November – UNL introduces the concept plan for Nebraska Innovation Campus, a research campus designed to facilitate new and in-depth partnerships between the talent of faculty and students at the University of Nebraska and private sector businesses for the purpose of transforming ideas into innovations.

Upon full build-out, NIC will be a 2.2 million-squarefoot research, meeting and office space with up to 5,000 people working at the site.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 7

March – The International Quilt Study Center & Museum opens at 33rd and Holdrege streets, housing three exhibition galleries and state-of-the-art textiles storage. It will become an international focal point for the study, conservation and exhibition of quilts.

2008

September – The J.D. Edwards Program is renamed and dedicated as the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at UNL. September – A redesign and renovation turns the office building on the south side of Memorial Stadium into the Paul and June Schorr III Center for Computer Science and Engineering at UNL. The Holland Computer Center and the most powerful supercomputer in the state are relocated to the new facility.

August – Dedication ceremonies take place for the $21 million, 74,000-square-foot Ken Morrison Life Sciences Research Center, housing the Nebraska Center for Virology, on East Campus.

2009 2010 February – A UNL team led by Chancellor Perlman visits India to forge agreements for a joint doctoral program and collaborative research in engineering, both with Anna University in Chennai; an academic partnership with India’s Ministry of Food Processing Industries; and an agreement with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.

8 SPRING 2016

April – The $8.7 million Jackie D. Gaughan Multicultural Center, funded by the family of Jackie D. Gaughan of Las Vegas and student fees, is dedicated.

July – The University of Nebraska-Lincoln officially becomes a member of the Big Ten Conference and the prestigious Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the nation’s premier higher-education consortium of toptier institutions.

October – Jorgensen Hall, the new home for the UNL Department of Physics and Astronomy, is dedicated.

August – The Robert E. Knoll Residential Center opens at 17th and R streets, and ground will soon be broken for another new, suite-style housing unit to the east of Knoll.

September – Whittier Research Center opens in an extensively restored former junior high at 22nd and Vine streets. It houses the Nebraska Center for Energy Science, the Nebraska Transportation Center and the newly founded Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute as well as the University Children’s Center.

2011 September – Perlman introduces a set of goals in his State of the University speech: • • • • •

Enrollment Growth (30,000) Growth of Student Success (70%+) Growth of Research ($300M) Increase Tenure Track Faculty by 160 Grow Faculty recognition nationally

November – Chancellor Perlman is named an Honorary University Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, China. This rare lifetime professorship further strengthens the relationship between the two schools.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 9

April – Chancellor Perlman and an NU delegation help celebrate the grand opening of the American Exchange Center at Xi’an Jiaotong University.

August - Commencement exercises are held at the new Pinnacle Bank Arena for the first time. Later in the fall, the men’s and women’s basketball teams will begin playing their games in this cornerstone facility of Lincoln’s $344 million West Haymarket Redevelopment Project.

August – A renovated Bob Devaney Center opens as the new home of women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s gymnastics and wrestling. An addition to the building, the Hendricks Training Complex, houses practice facilities for wrestling and men’s and women’s basketball.

June – The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil become partners in a new program that will give faculty, staff and undergraduate and graduate students from the schools’ respective agriculture and natural resources campuses opportunities to study and do research together.

2012

October – The new Lied Commons addition to UNL’s Lied Center for Performing Arts is dedicated.

October – UNL is named one of only 50 institutions in the nation as a Civic Learning Leadership Institution. For the past year, students have been able to earn a Certificate in Civic Engagement through the new Center for Civic Engagement, housed in the Student Union.

2013

September – The Voelte-Keegan Nanoscience Research Center, located north of Jorgensen Hall, is dedicated. UNL boasts one of the nation’s leading nanomagnetics research groups and expertise in laser-assisted nanotechnology.

10 SPRING 2016

November – Groundbreaking marks the start of Nebraska Innovation Campus construction.

August – The office of First-Year Experience and Transition Programs opens as part of the effort to assist students to be successful.

August – The East Memorial Stadium expansion project opens, integrating UNL’s athletic and research endeavors.

The facility houses the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior (CB3) where UNL scientists study genetics, neuroscience, physiology, cognition and other areas of brain science, notably concussion research. A few steps away, the Nebraska Athletic Performance Laboratory enhances the performance, safety, health and well being of student-athletes.

May – The Outdoor Adventures Center opens, incorporating climbing structures, expanded bike shops and lockers and outdoor gear rentals.

March – Construction begins on the Food Innovation Center and the Greenhouse Innovation Center at NIC.

July – The NIC Conference Center opens.

2014

September – “Perls of Knowledge” debuts on social media, featuring Chancellor Perlman ruminating on a variety of topics such as the phrase YOLO!, Crocs, the UNL Dairy Store and the secret behind why UNL is such a great place to be.

December – Chancellor Perlman is one of 30 individuals from around the world to receive a 2013 Confucius Institute Individual Performance Excellence Award. The honor is presented during the Eighth Confucius Institute Conference in Beijing, China.

Research expenditures have grown from $157.5 million in the 2001 fiscal year to $278.3 million in 2014, with half coming from external sources. The goal of $300 million in research funding announced in 2011 should be reached ahead of schedule.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 11

March – The Greenhouse Innovation Center opens at Nebraska Innovation Campus, housing the Lemnatec high-tech phenotyping system that allows researchers to gather information of individual plants throughout their growth cycle.

April – On the 14th anniversary of his appointment as chancellor, Perlman announces he will retire in June 2016.

April – Groundbreaking marks the start of construction for a $4.5 million, 14,000-square-foot addition to the University of Nebraska College of Law, as well as a $44.7 million Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center, both on UNL’s East Campus.

August – A new $14.9 million East Campus Activities Building opens.

2015

March – Ground is broken for a state-of-the-art College of Business Administration Building at 14th and Vine streets.

May – Construction of a new 370-bed East Campus Residence Hall, to replace Burr and Fedde halls, begins with the demolition of Biochemistry Hall.

July – The Food Innovation Center opens at NIC, supporting the research of food from every dimension.

July – Northwest of the NIC, Hibner Stadium, Barbara Hibner Field and the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center open for Husker varsity soccer and tennis athletes.

12 SPRING 2016

October – The grand opening of Nebraska Innovation Campus is held. In addition to previously mentioned facilities, the campus houses Nebraska Innovation Studio – a new maker space offering the use of manufacturing grade equipment through membership access for UNL students, faculty, staff and community members.

December – The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Confucius Institute is named a model institute by the Office of Chinese Language Council International, known as Hanban, a part of the Chinese Ministry of Education.

September – UNL’s new Student Veterans Resource Center opens in the Nebraska Union.

Viewed as an extension of the university’s FirstYear Experience and Transition Programs, the center will provide academic and transition coaching, peer mentors and empower and support all students in and out of the classroom.

December – UNL is named a 2016 Military Friendly School, Military Times Best for Vets School and 2016 STEM Jobs Approved College.

November – A $20 million gift from the Johnny Carson Foundation is announced to fund the new Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts at UNL, with a specialized emphasis in digital virtual production and design.

2016

January – The Adele Coryell Hall Learning Commons opens at Love Library as an academic hub in the center of campus, fostering a collaborative inter-disciplinary gathering location for students to study with interactive technologies.

The CY Thompson Library on East Campus will also be renovated to accommodate a Learning Commons.

September – Enrollment figures released for fall of 2015 reveal an all-time high of 25,260 students, surpassing the previous high enrollment of 25,075 in 1982.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 13

UNIVERSITY UPDATE

The Adele Hall Learning Commons at Love Library on the first floor of Love Library North is open 24 hours a day. Photo by Troy Fedderson, University Communications

ADELE HALL LEARNING COMMONS

A High-tech Space for UNL Students A newly completed $10 million space at the University of NebraskaLincoln where students can gather and collaborate 24 hours a day opened Jan. 11 and was dedicated in the memory of 1953 alumna Adele Coryell Hall in March.

Located on the first floor of Love Library North, the 30,000-squarefoot Adele Hall Learning Commons is designed to accommodate and promote intensive study and scholarly work. It offers a technology-rich informal space with movable furniture to accommodate group or individual study, with oversized windows providing a nearly 360-degree view of city campus.

14 SPRING 2016

The space also includes a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and baked goods cafe, 18 private study rooms, access to an ASKus area and Huskertech help station, and a One-Button Studio where users can easily record presentations.

It accommodates about 500 people at a time and has an outdoor plaza with additional seating.

The project was made possible with nearly $7 million in private donations made to the University of Nebraska Foundation. An undisclosed leadership gift was made by the family of Donald J. Hall, chairman of Hallmark Cards Inc., of Kansas City, in memory of Hall’s wife of nearly 60 years, the late Adele Coryell Hall.

The main study area along the entire north side is named the Kit and Dick Schmoker Study Center, in honor of a principal gift from alumni Kit, ’64, and Dick Schmoker, ’62, ’64, of Edina, Minnesota. Candy and Tom Henning, ’75, of Lincoln, also made a major gift to the project, and the Henning Family Café is named in recognition of them and their daughters, Cassie Henning Kohl, ’09, and Madeline Henning, ’12.

The Barbara J. Lawrence Arnold, M.D. ASKus Exchange, a central information and technology support desk staffed by library experts 24 hours a day, honors donor Barbara Arnold, ’65, an ophthalmology surgeon in Sacramento, California.

UNIVERSITY UPDATE De-icing Concrete Could Improve Roadway Safety PETER KIEWIT INSTITUTE/CIVIL ENGINEERING

A 200-square-foot slab of seemingly ordinary concrete sits just outside the Peter Kiewit Institute as snowflakes begin parachuting toward Omaha on a frigid afternoon in late December.

The snow accumulates on the grass surrounding the slab and initially clings to the concrete, too. But as the minutes pass and the snow begins melting from only its surface, the slab reveals its secret: this concrete has gone electric.

Its designer, UNL professor of civil engineering Chris Tuan, has added a pinch of steel shavings and a dash of carbon particles to a recipe that has literally been set in concrete for centuries. Though the newest ingredients constitute just 20 percent of Tuan’s otherwise standard concrete mixture, they conduct enough electricity to melt ice and snow in the worst winter storms while remaining safe to the touch.

Tuan’s research team is demonstrating the concrete’s de-icing performance to the Federal Aviation Administration during a testing phase. If the FAA is satisfied with the results, Tuan said the administration will consider scaling up the tests by integrating the technology into the tarmac of a major U.S. airport.

“To my surprise, they don’t want to use it for the runways,” Tuan said.

“What they need is the tarmac around the gated areas cleared, because they have so many carts to unload – luggage service, food service, trash service, fuel service – that all need to get into those areas.

“They said that if we can heat that kind of tarmac, then there would be (far fewer) weather-related delays.

We’re very optimistic.”

A unique bridge that resides about 15 miles south of Lincoln has given Tuan reason to feel confident. In 2002,

Tuan and the Nebraska Department of Roads made the 150-foot Roca Spur Bridge the world’s first to incorporate the concrete. Inlaid with 52 conductive slabs that have successfully de-iced its surface for more than a decade, the bridge exemplifies the sort of targeted site that Tuan envisions for the technology.

“Bridges always freeze up first, because they’re exposed to the elements on top and bottom,” Tuan said. “It’s not cost-effective to build entire roadways using conductive concrete, but you can use it at certain locations where you always get ice or have potholes.”

Potholes often originate from the liberal use of salt or de-icing chemicals that can corrode concrete and contaminate groundwater over time, Tuan said, making the conductive concrete an appealing alternative with lower operating and maintenance costs.

The power required to thermally de-ice the Roca Spur Bridge during a threeday storm typically costs about $250 – several times less than a truckload of chemicals, he said.

Tuan said the conductive concrete could also prove feasible for high-traffic intersections, exit ramps, driveways and sidewalks. Yet the technology offers another, very different application that doesn’t even require electric current.

By replacing the limestone and sand typically used in concrete with a mineral called magnetite, Tuan has shown that the mixture can also shield against electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic spectrum includes the radiofrequency waves transmitted and received by cellphones, which Tuan said could make the concrete mixture useful to those concerned about becoming targets of industrial espionage.

Using the magnetite-embedded concrete, Tuan and his colleagues have built a small structure in their laboratory that demonstrates the material’s shielding capabilities.

“We invite parties that are interested in the technology to go in there and try to use their cellphones,” said Tuan, who has patented his design through NUtech Ventures. “And they always receive a no-service message.”

While Tuan’s collaborations have him dreaming big about the future of conductive concrete, he’s currently enjoying its benefits much closer to home.

“I have a patio in my backyard that is made of conductive concrete,” he said with a laugh. “So I’m practicing what I preach.”

– Scott Schrage, University Communications

A slab of conductive concrete demonstrates its de-icing capability outside the Peter Kiewit Institute in Omaha during a winter storm in December 2015. The concrete carries just enough current to melt ice while remaining safe to the touch.

Photo courtesy of Chris Tuan and Lim Nguyen

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 15

UNIVERSITY UPDATE

DIOCLES EXTREME LIGHT LABORATORY

This artist rendering shows how a new X-ray source developed by UNL physicists could be used to detect nuclear materials hidden in a steel cargo container. A pencil X-ray beam, emerging from the right, penetrates through shielding and reveals an image of a hidden uranium object on a detector, at left.

Art courtesy of Diocles Extreme Light Laboratory, UNL

X-ray Method Could Detect Nuclear Materials Physicists at the Diocles Extreme Light Laboratory at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have demonstrated that their unconventional laser-based X-ray machine could provide a new defense against nuclear terrorism.

In proof-of-principle experiments, the UNL scientists used the laserdriven X-ray source to produce an image of a uranium disk no bigger than a stack of three nickels and hidden between 3-inch steel panels.

“For the first time, we have used our new X-ray source to detect a nuclear material inside a shielded container,” said Donald Umstadter, director of the Diocles Laboratory and leader of the project.

The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office of the Department of Homeland Security funds the research. The government is evaluating the technology.

Inspectors need tools to help find nuclear materials hidden behind thick shielding or smuggled inside any of

16 SPRING 2016

the 100 million-plus cargo containers shipped around the world each year.

Uranium is perhaps the easiest nuclear material to obtain and hide, Umstadter said.

The researchers demonstrated that laser-produced X-rays can detect an even smaller amount of uranium than the minimum amount required by current inspection standards (1 kilogram) and can penetrate much thicker steel than the walls of cargo containers.

The laser X-ray source offers a number of advantages. Much like a laser pointer can be directed across a large auditorium, the technology can shoot a thin X-ray beam long distances, enabling inspection of cargo ships before they reach port. Yet it emits much lower levels of radiation than conventional X-rays, making it safer for use around workers and bystanders.

Unlike previous sources of similar X-rays, which require stadium-sized facilities, this X-ray source is portable

and could be moved in a semi-trailer truck, increasing its potential for use as a nuclear site inspection tool.

“It’s not unusual for scientists to go beyond basic research to develop new technologies, as we did with our device,” he said. “However, the great urgency and importance of detecting smuggled nuclear materials compelled us to go even further and be the first to apply the new technology.”

UNL holds a patent on the new detection method, Umstadter said. The University of Michigan’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences provided numerical simulation support as a subcontractor on the project.

The next step in this project for Umstadter and his team is to improve the performance of the X-ray device as well as the precision with which it can identify shielded nuclear materials.

– Leslie Reed, University Communications

CAMPUS RECREATION

Breslow Ice Hockey Center opens A whole new level of cool has come to recreation facilities at UNL. With a fresh sheet of ice adorned with the Nebraska Iron “N” and chilled to 23 degrees Fahrenheit, the $11 million John Breslow Ice Hockey Center – UNL’s first indoor rink – opened to the public Dec. 15. The 53,000-square-foot facility at 433 V St. offers a single, NHL-sized sheet of ice that will be open 50 weeks a year for sports clubs, intramural leagues and public recreation.

Rink Management Services, a national leader in ice rink operations, manages the facility, partnering with UNL’s Campus Recreation and Lincoln Parks and Recreation for programming.

The rink is home to the UNL Hockey Club, which previously has played and

practiced in Fremont. UNL’s curling and broomball clubs also have access to the facility, as do intramural leagues offered through Campus Recreation.

“Being able to finally play and practice in Lincoln is going to help us recruit players and fans,” said Nate Sandercock, president of UNL hockey.

The rink is available for Lincoln-area sports teams to rent for practices and games. It also offers drop-in hockey games and skating lessons alongside regular public skating times. Half of the operating hours on weekdays and weekends are reserved for community rentals. Public skating is available a minimum of 16 hours each month.

Along with the sheet of ice, the rink offers five public locker rooms, two locker rooms for college teams, three

UNIVERSITY UPDATE

party rooms for rent, a conference room, warming room, concession stand, skate rental counter and skate sharpening services.

John Breslow, ’71, a former Nebraska state auditor and minority owner of the CONNECTION BOX NHL’s Phoenix breslowhockeycenter.com Coyotes, provided a $7 million donation that launched the rink build.

Additional funding was provided by the West Haymarket Joint Public Agency ($2 million), UNL ($1 million), donor support ($1 million) and the City of Lincoln ($200,000 and the land for the facility).

– Troy Fedderson, University Communications

Chris Margiotta, general manager, drives a Zamboni across the rink in UNL’s new John Breslow Ice Hockey Center. Photo by Troy Fedderson, University Communications

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 17

DEPARTMENT OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

UNL Students Track, Test for Salmonella

UNIVERSITY UPDATE

Disease Control and Prevention would going on under the hood with genomic Students earning degrees in food use to genetically match salmonella technology (while) showing them the science and technology typically leave bigger picture of how all the parts work isolated from patients and determine campus prepared to join the industry whether they were part of an outbreak, together.” in areas such as product development, Benson said.

Benson’s students gain this quality assurance and food marketing.

In addition to conducting traditional, understanding while systematically With the help of a course led by time-consuming salmonella testing, testing and tracking salmonella in raw Andrew Benson, UNL students are students use emerging technologies broadening their professional prospects agricultural commodities. Multiple from the partnering companies companies working in safety testing, by learning to identify and track to implement new tests that can sources of foodborne illness that afflict sequencing and bioinformatics – accelerate the process and provide including Neogen Corp., GeneSeek, about 1 in 6 Americans each year. much finer levels of detection.

Illumina and Metagenome Analytics – Food science programs rarely According to Benson, this technology have committed time and resources to instill the knowledge and skills that has either been commercialized within the laboratory course at no charge. students need to investigate foodborne the last two years pathogens such or, in some cases, as salmonella, will enter the food Benson said. industry shortly after Companies often current UNL students send contaminated do. samples to thirdBecause many of party labs for the technologies and specialized genetic techniques featured testing, he said, in the lab are also with most industry new to the industry, workers having students are in the little knowledge of unique position of what goes into that learning them at the testing. same time as their To address this Professor Andrew Benson discusses cultures with Shannon Rezac (center) and Melanie Heerman. Benson teaches a Food Microbiology Laboratory future employers, knowledge gap, course in the Food Innovation Center at Nebraska Innovation Campus.

Benson said. which Benson The class works with identifying classes of salmonella on raw food.

Photo by Craig Chandler, University Communications In this way, he described as “more said, Nebraska like a chasm,” he Innovation Campus can help bridge the Metagenome Analytics, a introduced a new facet to his Food chasm separating the biotechnology bioinformatics startup led by Benson Microbiology Laboratory course for sector and food industry by training and headquartered at UNL’s Nebraska undergraduate and graduate students.

Innovation Campus, has also partnered future professionals who will work at “The idea is to give the students the interface between the basic and with Neogen and GeneSeek to develop exposure to a combination of the applied sciences critical to public one of the products used by the standard diagnostic microbiology health. students. and high-resolution methods used “It’s extremely rewarding to hear The lab emphasizes source-tracking to systematically track (harmful) from former students currently working to determine whether salmonella organisms,” said Benson, the W.W. in the food industry who remember cultured from a large number of raw Marshall Distinguished Professor the great salmonella hunt and the agricultural samples are genetically of Biotechnology. “This is the only lessons they learned about systematic related to one another. This is the undergraduate laboratory course in food science I am aware of in the world same strategy that the Nebraska Public scientific inquiry,” Benson said.

– Haley Steinkuhler, IANR Media Health Laboratory or the Centers for that teaches students about what’s

18 SPRING 2016

UNIVERSITY UPDATE

Members of the UNL speech and debate team include (from left) Mattison Merritt, Ryan Eichenauer, Erin Sheehan, Linsey Armstrong, Christian Rush, Chloe Meier, Bryant Grimminger and Jonathan Baker.

SPEECH AND DEBATE

Speech Teams Wins Fifth Big Ten Title The UNL speech and debate team became five-time champions of the Big Ten with its victory at the Conference Challenge Tournament held Feb. 2021 at Northwestern University. The UNL team captured nine of the 11 individual Big Ten tournament titles and scored a two-day total of 182.5 points. Northwestern finished in

second place with 75 points.

Sophomores Erin Sheehan and Mattison Merritt, both of Omaha, led the UNL team at the tournament.

Sheehan won individual titles in persuasive speaking, extemporaneous speaking and impromptu speaking.

Merritt captured top honors in dramatic interpretation, program oral

interpretation and duo interpretation, along with her partner, Jonathan Baker, a junior from Hickman.

Sophomore Ryan Eichenauer of Blaine, Minnesota, and junior Linsey Armstrong of Scribner won informative speaking and communication analysis, respectively.

IANR SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES

IANR Establishes Nebraska State Climate Office The Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has established the Nebraska State Climate Office within the UNL School of Natural Resources.

The office will serve as the primary source of climate information for Nebraska.

By forming a state climate office, IANR is adding resources to help the state climatologist serve the needs of Nebraskans. Initially, employees in the office will focus on identifying services and monitoring climate and user engagement, especially in the agriculture sector.

“People use climate data for many different reasons so we’ll be assessing who’s regularly using our data and identifying ways we can better serve

them,” said Martha Shulski, associate professor in the School of Natural Resources and the newly named state climate office director and state climatologist.

Primary groups the state climate office will support include Nebraska Extension, UNL departments in need of timely weather and climate data for research and extension and a wide range of external stakeholders.

The data managed by the state climate office will come from a network of weather stations, termed the “Nebraska Mesonet,” at locations across the state. The network comprises 69 stations supported by the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources and individual station cooperators such as some of the

Nebraska Natural Resource Districts.

Previously the network was managed by the High Plains Regional Climate Center. However, these operations will transition to the state climate office, which will allow the center to focus on needs for a broader region which, in addition to Nebraska, includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and Kansas.

The office will hold a membership with the American Association of State Climatologists, which works to support a society in which climate-sensitive decisions are guided by science-based information derived from historical and current observed climate and scenarios of future climate.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 19

CAMPUS BRIEFS APPOINTMENTS n Richard Moberly has been appointed interim dean of the College of Law. A member of UNL’s law faculty since 2004, Moberly has been associate dean for faculty at the college since 2011.

He succeeds Richard Moberly Susan Poser, who accepted the position of provost at the University of Illinois-Chicago. n Associate Professor of Theatre Arts Harris Smith has been named interim director of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film for the spring semester, replacing Director Paul Steger who is on faculty development leave this spring and will return to the faculty next fall.

KUDOS n The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is one of five inaugural Sustaining Member Institutions of the National Academy of Inventors. New York University, Texas Tech University, the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida also received the designation, which will provide additional opportunities to highlight research and emerging technologies. n Sherilyn Fritz, George Holmes University Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, became co-chair of the steering committee for Past Global Changes on Jan. 1. Known

20 SPRING 2016

as PAGES, the organization sponsors research groups and hosts meetings dedicated to exploring causes and consequences of the planet’s climate shifts across millions of years. n Four UNL online programs have been recognized in U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 Best Online Programs rankings. The highest ranked program came in the Best Online Graduate Engineering Programs category, where UNL ranked No. 12 in the nation – a 22-point climb from 2015 and a 29-point leap from its debut on the list two years ago. UNL ranked No. 14 in the Best Online Graduate Education Programs category, including family and consumer science education, educational administration, special education and German language education. Continuing its annual presence among the Best Online Graduate MBA Programs, UNL’s master of business administration was No. 15 nationally and third in the Big Ten. The university’s bachelor of science in applied science landed at No. 86 in the Best Online Undergraduate Programs category. n UNL has become a University Affiliate of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The university joins 64 other institutions that partner with the Academy by participating in its studies on higher education and by helping to support its fellowships and outreach programs in responding to the challenges facing the nation and the world. n UNL’s William Seiler, professor of communication studies, received the Wallace A. Bacon Lifetime Teaching Excellence Award from the National Communication Association. The award is for outstanding teaching and for demonstrating a long-term commitment to instruction. n The American Advertising Federation has selected UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications students Olivia Wilson of Norfolk and Jane Ngo of

Olivia Wilson

Jane Ngo

South Sioux City for its Most Promising Multicultural Students program. There are 50 winners each year across campuses in the United States.

GRANTS AND GIFTS n The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has earned $6.5 million to shape Nebraska early childhood practices and policies, while leading a national network committed to improving children’s outcomes. The project is part of the multi-institutional Early Learning Network, a $26 million research initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. UNL’s Susan Sheridan will lead the network and Nebraska team, which includes researchers from UNL’s Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools, the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska and NU’s Public Policy Center. n Marilyne Stains, assistant professor of chemistry, recently earned a five-year, $941,174 Faculty Early Career Development Program Award from the National Science Foundation to comprehensively study university STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) teaching and to improve programs that train faculty to better teach science. Liyan Qu, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, recently earned a five-year, $500,000 Faculty Early Career Development Program Award from the National Science Foundation to develop a nextgeneration power grid transformer.

UNL chemist Stephen Morin has begun crafting hybrid materials that could find use in technologies ranging from soft electronics to soft robotics. Morin will expand his efforts to seamlessly combine hard and soft materials with the help of a fiveyear, $649,474 Faculty Early Career Development Program Award from the National Science Foundation. These prestigious grants, known as CAREER awards, support pre-tenure faculty who exemplify the role of teacherscholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research. n To help more Nebraska students of all ages gain an understanding of science and agriculture, Farm Credit Services of America has given $100,000 to bolster the Science Literacy Initiative at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation will support the university’s

A team with the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools, which has received federal funding to study Nebraska early childhood practices and policies, was also chosen to lead the project’s national research network. Team members include: (back row, from left) Greg Welch, Mark DeKraai, Jim Bovaird, (front row, from left) Lisa Knoche, Iheoma Iruka and Susan Sheridan. Photo by Craig Chandler, University Communications

efforts to integrate agriculture and natural resource education into pre-K through 12th grade curriculum through a combination of programs and research at the local, state, national and international levels. n Former Grand Island attorney and

Hall County Judge David A. Bush will be memorialized through the David A. Bush Family Award for Study Abroad. The permanently endowed fund will provide travel stipends for College of Arts and Sciences students to study in Latin American countries.

CHEERING ON THE CORNHUSKERS nebraskapress.unl.edu unpblog.com Alumni receive 25% off their next book order by using discount code 6ALM6.

Offer expires May 15, 2016.

HARDCOVER $24.95

“Anyone valuing the lessons derived from hard work, diligence, and persistence during adversity will enjoy this book.”—J. Kemper Campbell, Lincoln Journal Star

HARDCOVER $24.95

“Steve Smith, a self-described ‘serial contrarian,’ has updated Forever Red in such a way that it should be looked at as volume 2 in a set, with additional insight into what it means to be a Cornhusker football fan.”—Mike Babcock, editor of Hail Varsity

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 21

Law at Little Big Horn

The Mayans Among Us Migrant Women and Meatpacking on the Great Plains

Texas Tech University Press, 2016, (cloth), $45 www.ttupress.org

Until now, little Charles E. attention has been Wright focused on how the ’54, ’58 events leading up to and during the Battle of Little Big Horn impacted American law. Charles E. Wright analyzes the legal backdrop to the Great Sioux War, asking the hard questions of how treaties were to be honored and how the U.S. government failed to abide by its sovereign word.

Though other authors have analyzed George Armstrong Custer’s tactics and equipment, Wright is the first to investigate the legal and constitutional issues surrounding the United States’ campaign against the American Indians.

This is not just another Custer book.

Its contents will surprise even the most accomplished Little Big Horn scholar.

ALUMNI AUTHORS 22 SPRING 2016

Why I’m an Only Child

Ann L. Sittig

’85

University of Nebraska Press, 2016, (cloth), $24.95 bisonbooks.com

Martha When Ann L. Sittig Florinda made a quick stop at González a secondhand shop in

and

a small meatpacking town in Nebraska, she overheard a couple speaking Spanish with the unmistakable inflection of Mayan. When she inquired further, the couple confirmed that they were Mayans from Guatemala and indicated there were lots of Mayans living in the area. In “The Mayans Among Us,” Sittig and Martha Florinda González focus on the unique experiences of the Central American indigenous immigrants who are often overlooked in media coverage of Latino and Latina migration to the Great Plains. The book poignantly explores how Mayan women in rural Nebraska meatpacking plants weave together their three distinct identities: Mayan, Central American and American.

& Other Slightly Naughty Plains Folktales Roger Welsch

’58, ’60

University of Nebraska Press Press, 2016, (paper), $19.95 bisonbooks.com

One day Roger Welsch ventured to ask his father a delicate personal question: “Why am I an only child?” His father’s answer is one of many examples of the delightful and laughter-inducing ribald tales Welsch has compiled from a lifetime of listening to and sharing the folklore of the Plains.

More narrative than simple jokes, and the product of multiple retellings, these coarse tales were even delivered by such prudish sources as Welsch’s stern and fearsome German great-aunts. Speaking of cucumbers and sausages in a toast to a newly married couple, the prim and proper women of Welsch’s memory voice the obscene and unspeakable in stories fit for general company. The book is Welsch’s celebration of the gentle and evocative bits of humor reflecting the personality of the people of the Plains.

The River Beneath the Sky

The Seasonal Ebb and Flow of Life MongoWorks, (paper) $16 amazon.com

A Year on the Platte Doreen Pfost ’08

University of Nebraska Press, 2016, (paper), $19.95 bisonbooks.com

Each spring, formations of sandhill cranes crisscross the skies along Nebraska’s Platte River in one of the last great migratory spectacles on the North American continent. From across the globe, tens of thousands of visitors gather to witness a land transformed, “wild with birds.” But the central Platte River system is witness to even more than this wondrous annual event. It is also an abiding source of natural, agricultural and economic life in three states as an icon of western history and as a place of wonder.

In “This River Beneath the Sky,” Doreen Pfost seamlessly blends memoir and nature writing, tracking the Platte River valley for one calendar year, ushering readers through its diverse and changing landscape and the plants, animals and humans that call the ecosystem home.

Martin D. Mongerson

Within each of Mother Nature’s four seasons, there appears to be a unique ebb and flow to life. This is reflected upon in terms of the seasonal transitions of life from “the womb to the tomb” or “Pampers to Depends.” Author Martin Mongerson explores a litany of topics for each season of life.

’60, ’68

Lindsay Haslem Fly Fisher, Teacher, Innovator 2015, (paper), $25 lindsayhaslembook@gmail.com

Lana

Lindsay Haslem was a noted caster, fly tyer and fisherman who was a founding member of two fishing clubs in Victoria and Tasmania, Walker Australia. He was known for his lateral thinking and inventiveness in Wall all things to do with fly fishing. Haslem’s artificial flies, beautifully ’67 photographed by internationally known fly tyer Mick Hall of Victoria, are featured in the book.

The Betrayal A Red Cell Novel iUniverse, 2015, (paper) $11.95 amazon.com

For a little more than a year, 15-year-old Will Conlan has led a secret double life. School and sports quietly cover what very few know – his John actions as the government’s youngest intelligence operative. When Kalkowski vengeful radicals learn his identity, though, his relatively secure ’97 teenage life gets ripped apart one small piece at a time. In this sequel to Red Cell, John Kalkowski’s first novel, the young operative takes the action to his favorite sports team – the Cornhuskers.

Show US YOUR TALENT Featured books are not sold or distributed through the Nebraska Alumni Association. Publishing information is provided to help consumers locate the title through local booksellers or online retailers unless otherwise noted. To be considered for inclusion in Alumni Authors, send a complimentary copy of a book published in the last year and a description of its contents to: Alumni Authors Editor, 1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651 Please include the author’s full name, class year, current mailing and email addresses and telephone number. The author must have attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 23

2016

ALUMNI AWARDS On Thursday evening, May 5, 19 alumni, eight students, a retired faculty member and an alumni family will be recognized during the annual Alumni Awards Banquet, An All-University Celebration at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center.

The Clark Family Family Tree Award Tom and Marion Clark of St. Edward and Lincoln, Nebraska, have three children, two daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren – the entirety of which are or will be UNL or UNMC graduates. The eldest Clarks have supported their alma mater in a variety of ways, including via the Husker Beef Club, the Nebraska Alumni Association and the NU Athletics Foundation. Son Edwin “Tod” is CEO of Gothenburg’s Country Partners Cooperative; son Eric is president of Clark Investigative Services; and daughter Christine works at Methodist Women’s Hospital in Omaha and has been active in the Omaha TeamMates Mentoring Program as has daughter-in-law Carol. The third generation includes Drew, legal counsel for NorthStar Financial Services Group in Omaha; Carolyn, who was part of the Nebraska at Oxford Program a TeamMates mentor and Cather Circle (now Nebraska Women’s Leadership Network) Collegian of the Year as an undergrad; and Amanda, a clinical dental hygiene instructor at UNMC. The family also boasts a UNL senior and an entering freshman.

The Tom Clark family at granddaughter Amanda’s wedding in December 2015.

24 SPRING 2016

Clark Family Grads Thomas Grier Clark, ’60 Marion Merrell Clark, ’62 Edwin “Tod” Clark, ’83 Teresa Hilderman Clark, ’84 Eric Clark, ’86 Carol Chmelka Clark, ’88 Christine Clark-Wright, UNMC ’98 Drew Clark, ’11, ’14 Bethany Tallman Clark, ’10 Amanda Clark Dolen, ’12 Carolyn Clark, ’14 John Clark, UNL senior Thomas Wright, freshman-to-be

The Tom Clark family, 1973.

Tom and Marion Clark’s grandchildren, 2010.

Jessica Zubiate

Ryan Evers

Alex Fernando

Kelli Griffin

Charlotte Kramer Foreign Study Scholarship

Jack & Sharon Miller Scholarship

Jack & Sharon Miller Scholarship

Jack & Sharon Miller Scholarship

Jessica Zubiate, a UNL sophomore from Omaha majoring in finance, plans to study international business and sports marketing in Florianopolis, Brazil, this summer.

At UNL, she is a member of the Pre-Law club and the UNL CBA Ethics Board and works at the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center. She has been on the Dean’s List every semester, has been named High Scholar and is a recipient of the Susan T. Buffett Scholarship and Davis Chambers Scholarship. After graduation, Zubiate plans to attend law school and study corporate law.

Ryan Evers is a junior finance major at UNL. He is treasurer of the Big Red Investment Club and a member of the CBA Student Advisory Board and Golden Key Society. He serves on the Scarlet Guard Board of Directors alumni relations committee, where he has helped with Alumni Masters Week, Homecoming events like the Jester Competition, and Table for Ten, a dinner program that pairs students with alumni and administrators.

Evers is from Papillion.

Alex Fernando is a UNL sophomore from Jefferson, South Dakota. A member of the Scarlet Guard Board of Directors for the past year, he serves on the external relations committee, recruiting new members. He has helped with the alumni association’s Football Fridays, hosted the Scarlet Guard information table at various student organization events and served as a liaison between SG and the Alumni Masters. Fernando also works as a campus host for prospective students and student athletes and does volunteer work for Husker video.

Kelli Griffin, a sophomore dance major at UNL with minors in psychology and child, youth and family services, hails from Kenosha, Wisconsin. A Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Ambassador, she has taken part in the Student Dance Project, Evenings of Dance, American College Dance Festival, and residencies with professional modern choreographers.

Griffin also serves on the Scarlet Guard Board of Directors social media committee, posting about events on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 25

2016

ALUMNI AWARDS

Kelsey Koski

Dillon Thoman

Linsey Armstrong

Claire Shea

Jack & Sharon Miller Scholarship

Roy & Catherine Yaley Student Leadership Award

Shane Osborn Student Leadership Award

Howard & Judy Vann Student Leadership Award

Kelsey Koski is a UNL sophomore business and management major from Omaha. She is a member of Women in Business and Pi Sigma Epsilon, as well as vice president of communications for Scarlet Guard.

In the latter role, she creates designs that promote Scarlet Guard as well as communicate effectively with the Nebraska Alumni Associations’ communications team, Scarlet Guard advisers and members of the Executive Council. Koski attended the 2014 CASE Conference at Iowa State University and represented the Cornhusker Compass and Scarlet Guard.

Dillon Thoman is a junior from Old Monroe, Missouri, majoring in accounting at UNL and a member of the CBA Student Advisory Board. He serves Delta Tau Delta fraternity as assistant treasurer and assistant director of philanthropy. A member of Scarlet Guard since 2013, Thoman has served on the SG board as director of traditions and vice president of alumni relations. His efforts led to the largest class of SG Official Tradition Keepers in 2014-15 and to the creation of the Table for Ten program this year, as well as successful homecoming and Alumni Masters events.

Linsey Armstrong is a UNL junior from Scribner majoring in advertising and public relations. She is involved with the Cornhusker Speech and Debate Team, Nebraska Women’s Leadership Network, Scarlet Guard, 3% at UNL and National Student Advertising Competition. She has studied abroad in Cuba, is a mentor with the Teammates program and serves on the communications committee for TEDxLincoln. The venues and student programs intern at the Nebraska Alumni Association, Armstrong will serve as New Student Enrollment orientation leader this summer.

Claire Shea is a UNL junior from Memphis, Tennessee, majoring in political science and psychology with minors in Spanish and women’s and gender studies. She also is an ASUN Senator on the campus life and safety and government liaison committees.

Shea has worked extensively with the It’s On Us campaign, helping to put on UNL’s first Week of Action, as well as other sexual assault prevention and mental health initiatives. She is Panhellenic delegate for Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, and a family representative for Dance Marathon, raising money for Children’s Hospital in Omaha.

26 SPRING 2016

2016

ALUMNI AWARDS

Alan Seagren

Jeannine Falter

Kyle Arganbright

Jessica Terrill

1953, 1958, 1962 Doc Elliott Award

1976, 1995, 2000 Distinguished Service Award

2006 Ag. Sciences & Natural Resources Early Achiever Award

2001, 2003 Architecture Early Achiever Award

Alan Seagren, ’53, ’58, ’62, UNL professor emeritus and NU vice president emeritus, earned all three degrees in education from UNL. His first teaching job was in Mullen, Nebraska, one of four communities involved with the UNL Community Education Project. Seagren joined the UNL Educational Administration and Secondary Education faculty in 1963, serving as principal of University High School and director of secondary student teaching. He later held positions as associate dean of Teachers College, chair of Educational Administration, assistant vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, vice president for administration of the NU System, and director of the Center for the Study of Higher and Post Secondary Education before retiring in 2007.

He and his wife, Sharon, live in Lincoln, where he continues as an educational consultant.

Jeannine Falter, ’76, ’95, ’00, is principal consultant for J Falter & Associates, a private consulting firm specializing in executive coaching and leadership development for individuals and organizations. For more than 25 years, Falter worked as a vice president at Duncan Aviation and continues to facilitate their leadership programs. For more than a decade she served on the Nebraska Alumni Association Board of Directors and Executive Board, including two years as president. She also is a founding member of the Nebraska Women’s Leadership Network. Falter now serves on the National Business Aviation Association Corporate Aviation management committee.

She has traveled to every continent, and earned a Formula 1600 racecar driving license, U.S. Parachute Association certification, and various art and design awards.

Kyle Arganbright, ’06, is the cofounder and Chief Development Officer of Sandhills State Bank, a regional bank he helped grow from one location and eight employees to six locations and 32 employees.

Outside of his career in banking, Arganbright serves as the Mayor of Valentine and recently co-founded Bolo Beer Company. He was named as one of SigEp Fraternity’s National “40 Under 40.” A 2006 CASNR graduate, Arganbright served as student body president and UNL Student Regent as an undergraduate. He also interned in the Office of the Vice President in Washington, D.C., in 2004.

Kyle and his wife, Amy, have one daughter, Clare, and live in Valentine.

Jessica Terrill, ’01, ’03, AIA LEED AP, is an architect practicing in Des Moines, Iowa, where she has been a collaborator on a number of projects recognized for design excellence at both state and regional levels. With Substance Architecture since 2007, she has contributed to a broad spectrum of private and public sector work. As a complement to her architectural work, Terrill volunteers for Project Spaces, an initiative of the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation. She has served on Iowa Architect’s editorial board since 2008 and was recently named the magazine’s editor-in-chief, the first female to hold this position in the publication’s 60-year history. Terrill also is the 2015 recipient of the inaugural AIA Iowa Young Architect Award.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 27

2016

ALUMNI AWARDS

John Lohr

2006 Arts & Sciences Early Achiever Award

John Lohr, ’06, is currently the director of development at Hosco, the world’s leading hospitality network with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. He formerly represented the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute in Europe as the international education and training consultant.

Lohr has lived in Germany, Switzerland, Thailand, India and Poland, and has visited or worked in more than 40 countries since leaving UNL, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in international studies and German.

He has held numerous elected board positions with European hospitality organizations and is presently the director of marketing for EuroCHRIE. Lohr resides in Poland with his Polish wife, Angelika, and their two sons, Aleksander and Stefan.

28 SPRING 2016

Katie Weichman Zulkoski

2005 Business Administration Early Achiever Award

Katie Weichman Zulkoski, ’05, is an attorney specializing in lobbying and government affairs. Her firm, Zulkoski Weber LLC, is known for hard work, integrity and policy expertise. Zulkoski has crafted successful legislative strategies for health care clients, national nonprofits and associations of all sizes.

Outside of the firm, she dedicates much of her time to public service on statewide, non-profit boards including the Nebraska Land Trust Board of Directors, Tabitha Foundation Board and the Nebraska Human Resources Institute Board of Directors.

Zulkoski is the proud founder of Rise Lincoln, a solutions-oriented speaker series for Lincoln women in business. Starting in the fall of 2016, she will teach business law for the College of Business Administration’s Honors Academy.

Amanda Valentine

Andres Torres

2004 Education & Human Sciences Early Achiever Award

2005 Engineering Early Achiever Award

Amanda Valentine, ’04, runs her own clothing line, Valentine Valentine, in Nashville. After earning a UNL degree in clothing and textile design, she shadowed the fashion stylist of her brother’s band and then began apprenticing under LA’s top stylists. In 2006, Valentine moved to Nashville where she co-owned a vintage shop, managed some of the city’s hottest boutiques, and played in a couple bands before returning to wardrobe styling and working on countless music videos, photo shoots, commercials and red carpet events. Valentine participated in Lifetime TV’s “Project Runway,” in season 11, and was voted back by fans to compete on season 13, finishing second with a showing at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. She and her husband, Will Holland, live in Nashville.

Andres Torres, ’05, is engineering project manager for the Engineered Infrastructure Products Division at Valmont Industries. A licensed Professional Civil Engineer in Nebraska, he designs tubular steel structures that are used to support transmission lines, highway lighting and traffic lights for overseas customers. A native of Bogota, Colombia, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the National University of Colombia, his master’s in civil engineering from UNL and his MBA from UNO. He served as president of the Nebraska section of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2014. Torres received the Greater Omaha “40 under 40” Award in 2012 and was honored as one of Ten Outstanding Young Omahans in 2016. Andres, his wife and son live in Omaha.

2016

ALUMNI AWARDS

Jonathan Nielsen

Brandi Kruse

2008 Hixson-Lied Fine & Performing Arts Early Achiever Award

2010 Journalism & Mass Communications Early Achiever Award

Jonathan Nielsen, ’08, is associate creative director for Gogo in Chicago, where he has developed advertising and branding for companies at the forefront of technology and thought, applying a balance of idealism and logic and thriving in an atmosphere of constant change. At Gogo, Nielsen manages a team of designers; oversees the concept and development of trade shows, websites, campaigns and printed media; and led the development of a B2B-focused brand and key marketing pieces. Before joining Gogo in 2011 as art director, he was lead designer at Hayneedle and a designer at eleven19, both in Omaha. Nielsen lives with his family in Chicago.

Brandi Kruse, ’10, is a special projects correspondent for Q13 FOX News in Seattle, bringing viewers in-depth reports and perspective on major issues. Prior to joining Q13 FOX in March 2015, she spent four years as an investigative reporter at the CBS Radio affiliate in Seattle. Kruse is a nine-time Edward R. Murrow Award recipient for excellence in journalism, and The Seattle Weekly has twice named her Seattle’s “Best Reporter,” crediting, in part, her coverage of anti-government riots and various scandals inside Seattle City Hall. In 2011, Kruse became the only American reporter to travel to Central America to interview Jason Puracal, a U.S. Citizen imprisoned in Nicaragua. Puracal credited the interview with helping to secure his release.

Molly Egley Brummond

2000, 2003 Law Early Achiever Award

Molly M. Egley Brummond, ’00, ’03, is the College of Law’s assistant dean of student and alumni relations and annual giving.

She oversees student organizations, develops programs, and devotes time to alumni programming and outreach. Upon her graduation from law school, with distinction, Molly entered private practice with the firm of Baylor Evnen Curtiss Grimit & Witt, LLP. After several other career opportunities, she returned to the College of Law in 2010. Brummond also chairs the board of directors for the Food Bank of Lincoln and Southeast Nebraska, and is an adviser for the UNL chapter of Phi Mu, a volunteer for CEDARS Youth Services and a board member for Kidzone. Molly and her husband, Jameson, have two sons, Brooks and Reis.

Steve Bliss 1975 Alumni Achievement Award

Steve Bliss, ’75, is senior exercise specialist at the Sanford Hospital Wellness Performance Center. Bliss was the second assistant strength coach in the history of the NU Athletic Department and the first full-time strength coach in the history of the athletic departments at the University of Miami (Florida), The Ohio State University and North Dakota State University before joining Sanford in 1998. He has trained and mentored countless star athletes and coaches, and six NCAA national championship teams; was named National Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in 1991; and received the Boyd Epley Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. Bliss and his wife, Doenise, live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are the parents of Evan and Joe.

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2016

ALUMNI AWARDS

Sarah Boyd

Joan A. Christen

Ken Fouts

Dwight Hanson

1999 Alumni Achievement Award

2001, 2008 Alumni Achievement Award

1964 Alumni Achievement Award

1990, 1997 Alumni Achievement Award

Sarah Boyd, ’99, has been president and CEO of the Omaha Community Foundation for more than 15 years, after working in Chicago with Andersen Consulting. Boyd is an alumnus of Leadership Omaha, past recipient of the Omaha Jaycee’s TOYO and Midland’s Business Journal “40 Under 40” awards, and past inaugural board member of the Young Professionals Council of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics from UNL, where she served as a student regent, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Boyd currently serves on the board of directors of two local family foundations, the United Way of the Midlands, the Southwest Iowa Foundation and Building Healthy Futures. She and her husband, Matt, have two sons and a daughter.

Joan A. Christen, ’01, ’08, is science instructor and PLC facilitator for Beatrice Public High School, and an adjunct professor at Peru State College. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees from UNL in entomology and molecular genetics. She previously was science instructor and chair at Southeast Nebraska Consolidated in Stella, where she received $930,557 in scientific and technology grants.

Among her many awards, Christen received the Entomology Society of America’s Presidential Award for Academic Excellence in the Secondary Classroom and the Nebraska Community Forestry Award-Environmental Educator Award, both in 2003. In 2011 she received the Nebraska Association of Teachers of Science Pinnacle Award for Service to Science Education and was Nebraska’s recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching.

Christen lives in Tecumseh.

Ken Fouts, ’64, enjoyed a long and successful career in sports broadcasting, covering more than 3,000 events in 17 different countries. After stints as a producerdirector at local stations in three states, Fouts became staff director for NBC Sports in New York City in 1974. He followed that with positions as staff director for ABC Sports, producer-director for Turner Sports, and director for “American Gladiators,” ESPN, The Baseball Network and Fox Sports, retiring in 2002. He earned Emmys for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, 1986 Goodwill Games, Cincinnati’s Riverfest Fireworks –1995-98, and Detroit Tigers Baseball in 2001. An avid Harley rider, frequent golfer and devoted grandfather, Fouts also speaks for AARP on senior citizen issues. He and his wife, Meta, live in Cincinnati and have four children and eight grandchildren.

Dwight Hanson, ’90, ’97, is owner and president of H2Optimal, Inc. in Ithaca, Nebraska. He has also worked as facilities manager for the UNL Agricultural Research and Development Center, an engineer for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, project manager for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, hydrogeologist for Wardrop Engineering Inc., and owner-manager of Hanson Well Drilling Co. and Hanson Environmental and Engineering Inc. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in agricultural and biological systems engineering, both from UNL. A member of the National Groundwater Association, American Society of Civil Engineers and Association of Conservation Engineers, Hanson also serves on the technical advisory committee of Engineers Without Borders, mountain region.

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2016

ALUMNI AWARDS

Erin R. Kuwitzky

Jere McGaffey

2005 Alumni Achievement Award

1957 Alumni Achievement Award

Erin R. Kuwitzky, ’05, is principal and founder of 517 Search Labs, based in Denver. Her company focuses on the development and execution of integrated, multidisciplinary digital marketing strategies that drive new business and exceed client expectations.

In 2011, Kuwitzky was elected president of the Colorado American Marketing Association. In 2012, she was recognized by Colorado Biz Magazine as one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Young Professionals” in Colorado, and by the Colorado chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as one of 25 “Colorado’s Finest Honorees.” In 2014, she received the Gold Peak from the American Marketing Association for an outstanding Search Engine Marketing Campaign. She and her husband, Michael Johnson, live in Denver with their golden retriever, and enjoy skiing, golfing and traveling.

Jere McGaffey, ’57, retired partner and management committee member of Foley & Lardner, graduated first in his class at UNL, with degrees from the colleges of Business Administration and Arts & Sciences. He also graduated from Harvard Law School magna cum laude, where he was a member of Law Review. During his career, he chaired the College of Tax Counsel and Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association, which honored him with its Distinguished Service Award. McGaffey also was Regent of the College of Estate and Trust Counsel, lectured at the major tax institutes, and authored a nine-volume treatise on forms and tax law. He has chaired the boards of Aurora Health Care, Bader Philanthropies and Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, and served on the boards of many more companies. McGaffey lives in Mequon, Ohio.

H. Nicholas Windeshausen 1954, 1955, 1962 Alumni Achievement Award

H. Nicholas Windeshausen, ’54, ’55, ’62, enjoyed a successful career as a business professor, first at UNL and then for decades at Cal State Sacramento. As an educational consultant for Main Event Management Corp., he introduced Model-Netics to numerous universities, including Cal State and UNL. He also was a founder of the Cal State chapter of Delta Sigma Pi and a lifetime adviser for the national fraternity, which honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. In addition, Windeshausen has been an adviser to the Peace Corps and active with the United Way and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. He serves on the boards of Stanford Home for Children, Sacramento Loaves and Fishes, American River Cleanup and Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting Program. Windeshausen lives in Citrus Heights, California, and has two daughters and three grandchildren.

Christine Ngaruiya 2006, 2010 Outstanding International Alumnus

Christine Ngaruiya, ’06, ’10, is a faculty member in the Section of Global Health and International Emergency Medicine in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Yale University. She attended grade school through high school in Kenya but entered UNL at age 15, earning undergrad research grants and graduating with honors in sociology. Ngaruiya completed her medical degree at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, her residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill and a Global Health and International Emergency Medicine Fellowship at Yale. As part of the Global fellowship, she also furthered work on her research interests: Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs), barriers to care, community-based interventions, and ethics in clinical practice, all with a focus on Africa and specifically her home-country, Kenya. Ngaruiya lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

NEBRASKA NEBRASKA MAGAZINE MAGAZINE 31 31

i-robot

MAKER

By Tom Nugent

He’s one of the smartest young hardware engineers and robotics inventors at work in the world today – according to no less an authority than MIT Technology Review, which last year named him to its super-prestigious list of “35 Innovators Under 35.”

He’s also a Ph.D. new-products engineer at Google ... a self-described “nerdy guy” whose greatest joy is “dinking around” on hush-hush projects that often involve “mobile manipulators” designed to run on “AI” (as in “Artificial Intelligence”) systems so complex that few of us ordinary humans can hope to decipher them.

Say hello to former UNL engineering and mathematics undergrad Travis Deyle (BS ’05) ... who in recent years has developed a remarkable skill – the ability to design and then launch human-like “personal-assistant robots” – that can pour you a Bud Light, grab a pill from your medicine cabinet and bring it to you (along with a cup of water) ... or even call up the local Chinese eatery and order some egg rolls and Moo Shu Pork for your supper.

“There’s a new world coming,” said 33-year-old Travis Deyle, “a world in which science fiction is quickly going to become scientific reality – and it’s really exciting to be part of the process.”

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In the latter part of his Ph.D. Deyle primarily worked on the PR2, a quasi-commercial robot developed by Willow Garage. Courtesy photo NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 33

i-robot

MAKER

One

Guinness Book of Records.

“That was truly an unforgettable afternoon,” the budding engineer recalled, “because as far as I know, this was the first time that anyone had taken a large mobile manipulator into his home and actually used it to perform household tasks.”

Deyle’s electronic instructions for the robot were simple and easy to understand: Get up off the sofa, walk across the room and find the overhead light switch ... and then turn off the light!

For the former UNL and Peter Kiewit Institute (in Omaha) electrical engineering/computer science/ mathematics major, the last few months had been a harrowing blur of endless cyber tinkering and software coding that had left him at the point of exhaustion.

muggy afternoon back in the summer of 2009, a frustrated electronics engineer named Travis Deyle found himself struggling to fit a human-like robot named “El-E” into the backseat of his red Honda Civic.

Deyle was doing his best. But the big lug simply refused to cooperate ... and after several unsuccessful attempts to shoehorn the jumbo-sized “mobile manipulator” (engineering-speak for “robot”) into his car, the frazzled Deyle (pronounced as in “dial”) was finally required to dig a wrench out of the trunk and use it to take El-E’s head off.

Things went more smoothly after that, and soon Travis and El-E were zipping along an Atlanta freeway, en route from the campus of Georgia Tech (where Deyle was working on his Ph.D.) to the electronics engineer’s two-bedroom Good electrical engineering is all about apartment. having the patience and the tenacity to Once there, it was a simple keep ‘dinking around’ with a project until you finally get it right. TRAVIS DEYLE task to return El-E’s head to his metallic shoulders and place him But now the moment of on standby in one corner of the living truth had finally arrived. Deyle’s room. experiment had come down to a Content now, the easygoing and single question: could El-E turn off the affable robot occupied himself by light, or not? reviewing hundreds of inner algorithms With his heart in his throat, the and sending up a crackle of goodyoung technologist hit the computer natured static now and then. key that launched El-E on his epic His human counterpart, meanwhile, journey across the living room. was busy running through a “final Imagine the hopeful engineer’s feeling check” of El-E’s onboard laser-vision of euphoria – the Nina, the Pinta and systems – along with the buzzing the Santa Maria are setting out for the software packages required to complete New World!

– when El-E, instantly a truly challenging assignment. responding to his command, rose from The challenge El-E now faced would his perch on the sofa and began to not be easy to meet. roll gently along the carpet on his two As soon as the final check was wheels. completed, Deyle intended to ask his Without hesitating, the no-nonsense robotoid pal to help him achieve a robot approached the target. And then goal that might one day end up in the

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a few moments later, his pipe-like right arm was rising high in the air and his slender wrist was revolving ... bringing his two metal fingers into position – even as his laser-eyes scanned the wall in search of the switch... .

And then it happened.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Deyle’s spooked calico cat – “Bebe” – darted directly into El-E’s path.

Reacting instantly, the robot’s laser eyes sent a signal to the wheels: Obstacle ahead, shut down now! A moment later, the wheels were at rest and the software circuits were powering down.

Bebe had wrecked the experiment.

With a moan of frustration, the robotics expert gently picked up the interfering feline and sequestered her in a bedroom. Then, after reviving the stalled robot, Deyle again issued the command: Turn off the light.

Imagine his dismay, however, when El-E hurried across the room, approached the wall, reached out ... and missed the switch by a good three feet.

Was the problem mechanical – a flawed elbow joint, perhaps? Or was there a flaw in the messaging system that told El-E how to accomplish the task? Deyle went to work.

The hours were passing, as the perplexed robot struggled on. But then – somewhere around six p.m. – the never-say-die engineer made a key adjustment to the metal arm. And it worked. El-E turned off the light!

The victorious Deyle felt a wave of triumph go surging through his weary brain. But that wave was followed almost instantly by doubt: had El-E really turned off the light on his own ... or had the lurching machine simply swung its arm through space and

OKAY, CLASS: FOR YOUR NEXT HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT...

GO TO THE LAB AND PUT TOGETHER A BARTENDER ROBOT! It was the kind of “senior thesis project” that most college students would kill for.

The assignment: build a “bartending robot” that can quickly make you a vodka tonic or a whiskey sour (or maybe even a pina colada) without spilling a single drop.

For Travis Deyle and several of his buddies in the electrical engineering program at the University of Nebraska’s Peter Kiewit Institute in Omaha, the challenge was a glorious one.

“That was a very cool project,” said the engineering guru today, “and it was actually quite demanding. When you’re building a robot from scratch, you soon discover that duplicating the simplest human movements with a machine that ‘sees’ things with lasers is actually quite complex and difficult.

“It took us many hours of concentrated effort to assemble a machine which could make a simple vodka-cranberry cocktail

by manipulating a series of upside-down bottles – and then triggering the valves that would allow their contents to flow into a glass through the power of gravity.”

Another major challenge, he explained with a groan, was that fact that the University of Nebraska prohibited students from bringing alcoholic beverages into dorm rooms – which meant that he and his fellow students had to “simulate” vodka, gin and all the rest with bottles of differentcolored H2O. Although the electrical engineering and computer science that Deyle and his pals studied in Omaha was quite demanding and exacting, he remembers his “senior capstone project” with the “robot bartender” as a more light-hearted exercise.

“For the most part,” he said with a grin of pure nostalgia, “it was, like, a few of us nerdy guys just dinking around and making something for the hell of it!”

flipped the switch by accident?

For Deyle, it was a defining moment.

He stood there, wrestling inwardly with his doubts, until he suddenly realized: Wait a minute – this is what engineering innovation is all about.

“When you get right down to it,” he told Nebraska Magazine several years later, during an interview near his “Googleplex” lab in Silicon Valley, “good electrical engineering is all about having the patience and the tenacity to keep ‘dinking around’ with a project until you finally get it right.

“And that’s especially true in robotics and AI, which is what I really like about both of them. You get to work on

This “bartending robot” was the senior capstone project created by UNL students Travis Deyle, Bob Powers and Josh Hubbard. Courtesy photo

challenging projects like EL-E, and help turn science fiction into reality.”

Tinkering in the Garage – with Grandpa He and his two brothers grew up in Kearney, as the descendants of some remarkably self-reliant and daring German-English-Danish pioneers who’d homesteaded in central and southwestern Nebraska for several generations.

Describing his extensive Cornhusker background, Travis Deyle often praises his maternal grandmother, Minna, now in her early 90s and still thriving.

“She spent most of her childhood on the farm and even lived in a house that

had been built right into the side of a hill, near Minden,” he recalled, “and I’ve always thought of her as a great example of the kind of rock-ribbed, independentminded women who embody the ‘can-do spirit’ of Nebraska.

“I’m also amazed by the journey she’s been on and the things she has seen in her lifetime – as a woman who grew up with an outhouse and without electricity or a refrigerator in the kitchen. And to think that she’s now living in a world full of computers and cell phones – I think that’s just extraordinary.”

Raised by two liberal-minded, Lutheran parents (David is a lawyer and Gail Deyle is a veteran pharmacist),

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MAKER

Travis enjoyed an idyllic childhood in which he spent endless hours building robots and other nifty electrical devices with his beloved maternal grandfather, Duane.

“He was a curator at the [Pioneer Village] historical museum in Minden,” Deyle recalled, “and he was constantly restoring Gatling Guns and old cannons – and he often let me help him.”

His grandfather’s enthusiasm for understanding what made gadgets tick was infectious, said Deyle, who remembers how the older man would sometimes “buy stuff like old radios and clocks” and then hand them to him to his grandson with a thrilling announcement: “You can have

Deyle demonstrates El-E’s ability to deliver medication.

Courtesy photo

this – go ahead and take it apart and see how it works!”

By the time he landed in high school in Omaha in the mid1990s, Deyle had already become “a computer nerd who had [his own] soldering and electronics shop” in his bedroom and loved to spend time fiddling around with early versions of the personal computer. That passion inspired him to earn straight A’s in high school ... and nobody in Omaha was surprised when he won a coveted Walter Scott Jr. Scholarship to the University of Nebraska’s Peter Kiewit Institute in Omaha.

“I was really lucky to get into that program,” he said, “because the scholarship paid for nearly all of your expenses – and also because it put me together with two terrific mentors. Blaine Burnham was my When the internationally renowned MIT Technology adviser for a while, and he would Review last year chose UNL grad Travis Deyle as one always tell us that we needed to come up with our of its “35 Innovators under 35,” the accompanying own ideas and invent our own models, in addition announcement praised his work as an inventor of to mastering the fundamentals of science. And that “wirelessly powered robots and health care-related robots was a really helpful thing for you to learn, if you were that can bring people medication.” dreaming of a career in electrical engineering and After briefly describing his work as an inventor, the MIT computers.” editors asked Deyle: “What impact do you hope to have?”

Inspired by Burnham (and also a mathematics His reply: “Improving people’s lives is the key thing. professor, Griff Elder, who was remarkably good at Health care is one of those things that’s been stagnant for “helping you work with prime numbers and dink a while, and there’s a lot of regulatory reasons for that, but around with all kinds of obscure math concepts that there’s also just a lot of risk aversion. I think by taking a expanded your mind”), Deyle nailed down a yearmore agile approach we can actually make giant leaps and long engineering internship at the Sandia National bounds.”

Laboratories in California and then signed on as a Ph.D. electrical engineering and computer science grad student at Georgia Tech. There he became deeply interested in robotics and with the help of a professor technologyreview.com/lists/innovatorswho’d learned his chops at MIT’s famed computer science and AI lab (aka “CSAIL”), he began building under-35/2015/inventor/travis-deyle/

MIT SALUTES DEYLE FOR HIS BREAKTHROUGH WORK IN HEALTHCARE-RELATED ROBOTICS

3

36 SPRING 2016

the kinds of “mobile manipulators” that eventually led to the great “El-E” experiment of 2009.

Soon after that, Deyle was recruited by the newly formed “Google X” research team in Mountain View, California, and quickly found himself working on a series of extraordinary projects ... including a yearlong effort to develop a brand-new type of contact lens that can measure your blood sugar and thus evaluate your risk for adult-onset diabetes, even as you read a book or watch a movie.

The contact lens breakthrough – which is now being evaluated for possible commercial production in the United States – brought Deyle to the attention of some robotics experts at MIT ... and then last year elevated him into the ranks of the yearly MIT “35 Innovators Under 35” hall of inventing fame.

‘Look – There’s nobody behind the Wheel!’

After arriving at the Googleplex in Mountain View in early 2014, the tinkering aficionado found himself living in a dreamworld of thrilling possibilities ... and at the very epicenter of the kind of technological innovation that is rapidly transforming U.S. culture and industry around the world.

“I’ll never forget my first few days in Mountain View,” said the robot maker the other day, while standing atop the huge hill that directly overlooks the Googleplex and his laboratory there. “I knew I was in the heart of Silicon Valley, of course ... but I don’t think it sank in until the first time I saw an

What more could an electrical engineer and robotics inventor ask for than the opportunity to help make science fiction a reality?” TRAVIS DEYLE ‘autonomous’ car driving down the street.

“It went right past me – a white Lexus – and I did a double take when I saw that it had no driver! That was a shocker for real. Of course, these Google cars are quite common on the streets of Mountain View these days, and you hardly even notice them anymore.”

For Travis and his spouse, Fei Deyle (“we fell in love during AP chemistry in high school, and she’s also an electrical engineer”), life in the high-tech shadow of Google is a dream come true.

“I do feel very fortunate,” he said with a cheerful smile as he gazed out over the vast, sprawling campus that is the Googleplex.

“I’m doing the kind of work I love, and it’s often aimed at helping to improve healthcare all around the world.

“What more could an electrical engineer and robotics inventor ask for than the opportunity to help make science fiction a reality?” v UPDATE: Travis Deyle left Google in February to pursue new business opportunities.

Deyle used the PR2 robot to do a live demo on CNN, programming it to wave to the camera for the commercial break transition. Courtesy photo

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 37

PROFILE WINNER, first PLACE 2015 Writing Contest Jim Schaffer is a journalism professor at Nebraska Wesleyan University. He and his wife, Mary Lynn, also a UNL graduate, have two daughters who live in Minnesota and Chile, and a son who recently returned to Lincoln as development and ticketing communications manager for the Athletic Department.

HIGH & DRY

ONE LEG AT A TIME

By Jim Schaffer, ’71

It’s no surprise that Cub Scouts like to sing about smelly underwear: They were baggy at the knees ... hum And they smelled like liver cheese ... hum Oh the dirty underwear that Willie wore ... that

Willie wore.

Willie (in yellow suit) in the store at Saratoga Elementary.

Courtesy photo

But who would be thoughtful enough to make sure that every student had clean underwear every day?

Willie Shafer, a small, highly energetic woman with a sunshine smile, was indeed that thoughtful when she created Willie’s Underwear, a volunteer project designed to protect and preserve even the smallest child’s dignity.

“Anything it takes to put something dry on kids” might be Willie’s motto. It has been since 2002 when she took to heart a plea for help and began a project that now reaches into all of Lincoln’s 68 public schools.

At the time Willie had recently retired as a journalism teacher at Lincoln’s Lefler Junior High. Her tenure at Lefler began in 1955 as a new teacher fresh from the University of Nebraska, interrupted only by the birth of three children (“You had to quit in those

For information on “Willie’s Underwear Project” and details of how you can donate, contact Willie at 402-435-0227.

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days, you couldn’t give Oh I threw them in the junior high kids the idea well ... hum that their teachers were And the rats they ran having sex”) and a sixlike ... heck ... hum year stint on the Lincoln Oh the dirty underwear School Board. that Willie wore ... that The plea that set Willie wore.

Willie on a new life’s mission was written The key ingredients to her PEO chapter that have kept Willie and requested help in going and made her providing underwear and project a success were other clothing for needy already apparent during children. The idea was her undergraduate days Shelves of clothing line the walls of Saratoga simple: many children at UNL. Elementary’s basement, where Willie’s Underwear Project resides. had accidents at school “I learned to network – they might have been in college,” she said, ill or gotten into a mess in part at Dirty Earl’s, at lunch, stomped on a a hole-in-the-wall puddle at recess, or had restaurant near campus an unexpected period. Their clothing was soiled and there was that served fresh cinnamon rolls every morning. “You knew not no one at home to contact. to schedule a 10 a.m. class. It was a very sketchy place – you “You can’t get hold of the parents,” Willie said, “you don’t couldn’t all sit there. You would just grab a cup of coffee and a know who to call.” When Willie’s chapter couldn’t decide which roll.” But Dirty Earl’s led to many friendships, including one school to sponsor, she got in gear. “I thought, ‘I will organize with Larry, her husband of more than 60 years. this’ and now, 13 years later, I’m still doing it.”

Besides a gift for networking, Willie had persistence and determination. No one knew that better than James Morrison,

her favorite professor at the School of Journalism.

Oh I threw them in the sky ... hum And the birds refused to fly ... hum “He is probably best remembered as the resident Oh the dirty underwear that Willie wore ... that Willie wore. curmudgeon,” explained George Tuck, also a professor of journalism, “a role he seemed to take great delight in.”

The project quickly exploded. Columnist Cindy Lange-Kubik But, Tuck added, “He was also sort of a marshmallow.” wrote a story in the Lincoln Journal-Star and soon people began “I had been working on a newspaper in Central City since dropping bags of cast-off clothing on Willie’s doorstep.

I was a high school freshman,” Willie recalled, “so I thought “People would bring over everything,” she said. “So I had to I knew everything. Morrison was very patient with me. He go through lots of stuff that should have been thrown away. accepted my attitude, and he liked that I would never give up.”

What I couldn’t use, I took to the City Mission.”

One Thursday afternoon during a typography lab, Willie Before long, Willie’s Underwear had expanded to reach all learned just how patient Morrison could be. of Lincoln’s nearly 40,000 students, 47percent of whom are on “You had to set your type,” Willie said. “You placed the letters free or reduced lunch programs. The “store” is housed in the upside down and backward on a pi tray. Then you took the tray basement of Saratoga School and opens two days per month to the print area. when school nurses are available to pick up what they need.

“I didn’t, I just pushed the letters together with my hands. Of “The need is phenomenal, but we don’t talk about it. It’s course, they fell apart all over the floor. I was in tears, thinking I invisible.” had flunked the lab.

An all-too-typical story involves a young man at Southeast “Morrison had told me to pick up the tray, but instead of High School. The school secretary told Willie about him: it saying, “I told you so,” he calmly said, “Williamette, go home. seems he walked several miles to and from school, was never late Come back tomorrow afternoon.” So on a Friday afternoon I and never missed a day. But he always wore the same clothes. repeated the lab, with Morrison sitting patiently at his desk. He Other students began bullying him for the way he smelled. gave me the chance to do the lab all over again.”

Willie didn’t waste any time – she got his sizes from the secretary These days Willie must be patient herself. She hopes to raise and bought cargo pants, T- and polo shirts, a package of briefs $5,000 in donations for the Underwear Project each year but and a handful of socks, providing enough outfits so he could sometimes the funds just don’t arrive. start fresh each day.

But always, it seems, there‘s a miracle. “When my funds get “I never met the boy,” Willie said, “but he called me and sent low, somehow a phone call comes, a check in the mail.” Willie a note. I’m sold on education; we’ve got to keep kids in school said. “I’m a great believer in divine intervention. It convinces me through graduation.” that God’s a woman; no man would think of underwear.”v NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 39

NOSTALGIA WINNER, first place-Memorable Professor 2016 Writing Contest Virgil (David) Martin is founder and editor of Fine Lines, a quarterly creative writing journal, and an adjunct English instructor at Metropolitan Community College and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. His teaching interests range from creative writing, writing for publication, and computers and composition, to American literature, literature of Colonial America, Existentialist literature and Native American literature. He lives in Omaha, and he and his wife have three children.

Dr. Les Whipp

A Lighthouse teacher

Les Whipp

By David Martin, ’66

When school starts each fall, I ask my students to write thank-you letters to their favorite, “lighthouse” teachers. Students send real letters to people who made differences in their lives. After serious “detective work,” they complete the tasks and tell me this project is the best writing assignment of the year.

Les Whipp was my “Lighthouse Teacher.” His light went far into the darkness, when he found me, lost at sea and teaching composition to 240 teenagers every day. He was a beacon of hope, inspiration and vision.

We met in 1979 when he welcomed me into the Nebraska Writing Project (NeWP) workshop at Technical High School in Omaha, and he kept his light burning until the end. He died Aug. 29, 2009, at his home near Poulsbo, Washington.

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In one semester, he taught me more about writing and teaching than I learned in all of my education classes combined. He said I was an unconventional learner, and one of my positive traits was that I could teach non-traditional students. I enjoyed listening to their stories. He showed me the best of teacher education can be summarized into three sentences. “I like you. I hear you. Let’s work together on what you are saying.”

I could not have lasted 30 years in public education without Les, the NeWP (which he started at UNL), and what I learned from them both. Many others had the same impression of him, because the University of Nebraska presented him with the Distinguished Educational Service Award in 1985, the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1989 and the Universitywide Departmental Teaching Award in 1994.

Everyone who knew him said Les was “more.” After he began chemotherapy for his pancreatic cancer, he sent me notes like this one: “I have been thinking about ‘the purpose of education.’ Sounds grim, doesn’t it? Pretentious. Vivian and I went to see the movie “The Boys of History,” based on Alan Bennett’s award-winning stage play of the same name, and with the same cast. The movie explores that question by having two contrasting teachers in the equivalent of a private, secondary school in England; the boys have satisfactorily completed their last term, and done so well that the school is going to give them a summer school, prepping them to make successful applications to enter Oxford or Cambridge, something previous classes from this unprepossessing school have not been successful at doing. The older instructor teaches students to understand the human condition (to resist “education”). The younger one teaches students there is no truth; there is only effective or ineffective presentation, success at test taking, paper writing, self-presentation and the manipulation of others. When the boys are asked for their vision of themselves in 20 years, only one of them incorporates the older teacher’s lessons. Of course, that’s what Paul Olson’s wonderful book “The Journey to Wisdom” is all about, the intellectual background of the two views of education, beginning with the Pre-Socratics and going through the Renaissance. With all of the emphasis on standardized testing, normative curricula and the importance of grades, the issue is worth exploring, even though I’m not competent to do it.”

In his gentle, soft-spoken ways, Les taught profound ideas and how his students could make a difference, by trying to be the best people we could be. When we found the courage to write with passion and meant what we said, little ripples went forth into the world. When we pushed ourselves to work “smarter,” we learned more about our writing craft. Going to class with Les started to feel like going to a temple, where using words well placed a spark of light into readers’ eyes. He taught us to accept our gifts of insight, humor and love of language. He showed us how they were to be shared with others. Then, he told us to “sail on.”

A great teacher, yes, but he was more of a friend to everyone.

He accepted students as they were. Why he believed in us so much, I do not know, but he never seemed to give up on us.

David Martin

I laughed once, when I mentioned to him that I was having a tough time finishing a creative writing assignment, and he said, “Well, as a person, you are not finished growing, either. Aren’t parts of you still unfinished? Just keep writing.”

He gave unconditionally and told us to be honest with ourselves. He did not judge us and offered support. He said nice things to everyone. He understood us more than I will ever comprehend. I never had a teacher who enjoyed “walking with us.” He was content to journey with us and enjoy the process of discovery.

Les had unquantifiable power. He was an old balance scale that weighed emotion and reality. His words were incisive, and he painted metaphorical images. His words explored the universe with finesse. He demonstrated clarity, immediacy and simplicity.

With a smile, he pointed out life experiences, including loss and love. With a turn of a phrase, he took us from sadness to laughter.

I often heard Beethoven’s music when I listened to him talk.

Some of his seminars appeared spontaneous, but I saw how they developed more like symphonies of exploration into what it is to be alive. Doors of prose and poetry opened, and insight, memory and wonder appeared. They were full of detail and hope. His words became melodious notes of harmony.

Les was humble. He would blush, if he read this “lighthouse” letter, but he brought illumination into the lives of others, and I am grateful to have known him for as long as I did. In front of the class or talking quietly about his favorite topics, he sparkled.

Seldom do any of us find a person who gives us radiant light to see through dark nights and helps us pass along rocky shores to witness the dawn in our own personal lives. Bless you, Les, on this final journey. v NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 41

NOSTALGIA WINNER, first place-Student activities 2016 Writing Contest John Mohr graduated from UNL in 2004 with a degree in political science. He served four years on active duty as an Air Force Officer and presently works for the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C. In 2015, Mohr completed a one-year tour on the National Security Council staff at the White House.

There is no trash like

nebraska’s

By John Mohr, ’04

ROTC cadets clean Memorial Stadium following game day.

42 SPRING 2016

I imagine that the most memorable student activity for many former University of Nebraska students occurred in Memorial Stadium, watching the Husker football team on Saturdays. My most memorable activity from my time at Nebraska was not much different, having occurred in an empty Memorial Stadium the day after the football game, often less than 12 hours after the final whistle had blown.

I had the distinct pleasure of helping to clean up the trash after more than 70,000 red-clad Husker fans had packed the stadium on game-day. Now don’t be mistaken, I am not some crazed, closet trash hoarder who can’t pass up the opportunity to snatch up a half-eaten box of popcorn and some lonely, lost Chuck Taylor shoe. Instead, as a cadet in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program, my attendance was slightly more obligatory.

Stadium cleanup, as we called it, was a fundraiser for the ROTC detachments, which used the money to fund activities throughout the semester. Nebraska’s Air Force, Army and Navy ROTC programs would alternate cleaning duties after each home game. And trust me, cleaning up Memorial Stadium at 6 a.m. in late November redefined the military’s core value of service before self.

We would start the morning with around 100 cadets assembling in the north end zone bleachers, awaiting our cleanup crew assignment from the cadet in charge of organizing the cleanup – a sort of garbage general, if you will. After the rules of engagement were issued, the teams were sent into battle to eliminate any piece of waste that was nestled under Memorial Stadium’s bleachers.

Readers will be relieved to know that the rules of engagement explicitly did not require stadium cleaners to extract used chewing gum from the concrete floors of the stadium, individual pieces of popcorn, or peanut shells. All other trash, however, was to be eliminated. Each cleaner was issued a burlap sack to gather their treasures and clean up duty was BYOG – bring your own gloves. There were always several hapless freshman cadets who did not get this word and had to pick up trash barehanded.

From the north end zone, we always maneuvered counterclockwise, working our way up and down the rows of the west stadium before moving to the south end zone. Seeing an empty Memorial Stadium full of trash, often less than 12 hours after the prior day’s game had concluded, was somewhat like seeing a movie theater with all its lights on after a film wraps up. In other words, 70,000+ people generate a lot of garbage. After all, if you had to drive all the way back to Kearney after the game, you too would load up on Fairbury hot dogs and Mountain Dew. Let me provide a little flavor on how the typical cleanup process transpired. Plastic beverage containers were by far the most common catch and we would run brooms through the rows to accumulate the mostly empty Pepsi bottles into piles, where they could then be disposed. As a quick aside, during my freshman year, Pepsi was running its “Pepsi Stuff” bottle cap points campaign, where each cap contained a code that, when submitted online, would reveal points that could be accumulated for prizes.

Several pioneering cadets (including yours truly) filled their

Mohr and his wife attend a recent Husker football game.

cargo shorts with these bottle caps, hoping to each emerge from stadium cleanup with enough points to claim a new mountain bike (note: yours truly did not score the mountain bike, only a lame duffel bag).

The other ubiquitous piece of rubbish in Memorial Stadium was Valentino’s Pizza, which existed in various forms after enduring four quarters of college football and hungry Nebraska fans.

Lucky were the trash pickers that picked up leftover pizza that was still contained in its cardboard housing. Unlucky were those who gathered up half-chewed pieces of the pepperoni special, particularly ones that had marinated all day in the August sun.

And there is only one way to describe a slice of Valentino’s Pizza that has weathered a sub-zero night in November in memorial stadium – weapons-grade pizza.

After all four sides of the stadium were cleansed, which typically took around three hours, the final mission of stadium cleanup was what we dubbed the FOD walk. FOD, or foreign object debris, is a term the Air Force uses to denote any piece of runway debris, no matter how small, that could potentially damage an aircraft engine. We lined up shoulder to shoulder on the field’s goal line and slowly walked the 100-yards, individually stopping to pick up any pieces of trash that did not require a microscope to spot. Most of the debris on the field was gameworn athletic tape or a broken cleat, though we all hoped we might discover a gold tooth that may have been knocked out of the mouth of a University of Texas football player.

So these days, after I finish watching the Husker football game on television in my small condo in Washington, D.C., and my wife says it is time to clean, I tell her that we should at least wait until Sunday morning so that the pizza has time to freeze overnight. And don’t forget the rules honey: if it is smaller than a piece of popcorn, you do not have to pick it up! v NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 43

Scarlet Guard Ramps Up Activities Students took advantage of numerous winter offerings as Scarlet Guard ramped up its activities.

On Jan. 14, UNL students attended Backpacks and Briefcases, an event hosted by Scarlet Guard and the Nebraska Alumni Association, with tracks for both underclassmen and upperclassman. The Backpack Track assisted freshmen and sophomores with maximizing their college experience.

The Briefcases Track for juniors and seniors focused on launching a career or continuing with a graduate degree.

All students were able to: • Interact with a panel of student

leaders and successful alumni • Attend wellness, finance and

networking breakout sessions • Have a professional headshot taken • Have a resume reviewed by profes-

sional career advisers • Get tips about professional attire • Hear about local job opportunities Stars formed a backdrop on Feb. 25, as A Knight’s Affair was held for the first time in recognition of SG members who have completed at least 25 traditions in their Cornhusker Compass memory scrapbook. Each year SG members spend time filling their Compasses with photos of campus

NEWS

traditions, and when they’ve completed 50 or more traditions, they receive an Official Tradition Keeper medallion to wear at commencement. This year, however, the group opted to also offer incentive earlier in the process by “knighting” members who have completed at least 25 traditions.

Forty-one Scarlet Guard Knights were honored at A Knights Affair. They received commemorative pins and certificates from NAA Executive Director Shelley Zaborowski and Ronnie Green, Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Interim Senior Vice Chancellor of

Academic Affairs.

Also this year, Scarlet Guard offered Tables for Ten, a new program allowing students to network and learn at a casual dinner hosted by UNL administrators and faculty. Through the fall and winter, students enjoyed dining with CBA Dean Donde Plowman and Lee Stuart, CEO of NBC Bancshares, LLC; Ashley Stone, UNL Life Skills Coordinator in athletics, and Arts & Sciences Dean Joseph Francisco; and, most recently, Juan Franco, UNL vice chancellor for student affairs, and Tracy Lungrin, UNL career adviser and co-founder of Career Code.v

SG Members Honored

Scarlet Guard adviser Jordan Gonzales is recognized by Scott Napolitano, UNL Teaching Council Chair, and 44 SPRING 2016 Tanis Herbert, UNL Parents Association co-president.

University honors as well as Scarlet Guard recognition went to numerous SG members the past few months.

Four students were tapped for campus-wide honors as Linsey Armstrong of Scribner and Meredith Hovis of Lincoln were selected for Mortar Board, while Dillon Thoman of Leo-Cedarville, Indiana, and Katelyn Dickes of Fordyce were selected for membership in Omicron Delta Kappa honorary.

Armstrong was also a member of the UNL Speech and Debate Team that won their fifth consecutive Big Ten Championship in February, with Armstrong taking first in communication analysis.

Upcoming Alumni Events on Campus There’s still time to register for a number of alumni activities coming up this spring.

Alumni who were College of Arts and Sciences Student Ambassadors can plan to attend a reunion on April 15 and 16 in Lincoln. The weekend kicks off with a social mixer from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, April 15 at the Wick Alumni Center. On Saturday the group will enjoy a brunch at the Schorr Center, on the south side of Memorial Stadium, followed by the Spring Football Game at Memorial Stadium. Check huskeralum.org for more details and to register.

The 2016 Alumni Awards Banquet, an All-University Celebration, will honor accomplished alumni, promising students and a retired faculty member on May 5 at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Convention Center. Honorees are profiled in the feature section of this magazine. The evening begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by a welcome, dinner and awards presentation beginning at 6.

Reservations will be accepted through May 2 or until sold out. Tickets are $37.50 per person, and no refunds will be given after May 2. Register online at huskeralum.org/alumniawards-2016.

Home Economics Reunion: The 1960s will be held May 27-May 28

Members of the reunion committee are Jan Poley, ’66; Betty Starr, ’65; LaVonne Keller, ’67; Judy Hofeldt, ’67; Ruth Diedrichsen, ’65; Alice Henneman, ’68; and Shirley Baum, ’66, representing Love Memorial Hall.

The cost per person is $25 for Friday only, $25 for Saturday only and $50 for both days. The deadline to register is May 16, and no payment will be in Lincoln. The event opens with a 5 taken at the door. Register online at p.m. reception at the International huskeralum.org.

Quilt Study Center on Friday, May 27.

The Cornhusker Speech & Debate On Saturday, alumni will gather for a Team Reunion is set for June 10-11, continental breakfast and the sharing 2016. Watch for an email and check of memories in the Home Economics huskeralum.org for additional details Building, followed by a choice of East and registration information as it Campus tours and a luncheon in the becomes available. You can also follow Animal Science building. Among the the team on Facebook: facebook.com/ tours offered are: cornhuskerspeechdebate/.

• Brick Walkway: Fedde, Burr and For information on spring reunions

Love residence halls for the ROTC & Military Affiliate and • Home Economics Building: Robert the Love Memorial Hall Alumnae

Hillestad Textile Gallery, Historic Affiliate, turn to page 46.v

Costume Collection, Mary Mitchell Gallery and Kathryn Lohr

Laboratory • Ruth Staples Development Lab:

Ruth Leverton Hall and Renovated

Activities Building The Colorado Rockies are excited to • Lester F. Larsen Tractor Test and announce the return of Huskers Night

Power Museum for the 2016 season. Join your fellow

In addition, SG adviser Jordan Gonzales was recognized by the UNL Parents Association and the Teaching Council on Jan. 29 as someone who has made a significant difference in a student’s life.

Scarlet Guard also elected officers and board members for the 2016-2017 academic year.

They are: Dillon Thoman, president; Katelyn Dickes, vice president of external relations; Laura Springer, Grand Island, vice president of internal relations; Taylor Gehring, Urbandale, Iowa, vice president of alumni relations; Ryan Evers, Papillion, vice president of administration and diversity; Kelsey Koski, Omaha, vice president of communications; and Shayne Arriola, Grand Island, vice president of social media. v

NEWS

Husker Nights at the Rockies and Royals

Husker fans for an evening of big league action as the Rockies take on the Arizona Diamondbacks, June 25.

Additional details are available in the ticket section at colorado.rockies.mlb. com.

Then, it’s Husker Night at the K. Plan a trip to Kansas City to watch the defending World Champion Royals (and Husker alum Alex Gordon) take on the Toronto Blue Jays, Aug. 6, in a rematch of last season’s American League Championship Series teams.

For more details, visit the ticket section at kansascity.royals.mlb.com. v NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 45

ALUMNI

CHAPTERS & AFFILIATES

Alums Enjoy Husker Baseball in San Diego About 150 Husker fans, including members of San Diego Huskers and Californians for Nebraska alumni chapters, gathered at Tio Leo’s Mexican Restaurant in San Diego for a pre-game tailgate before the Husker baseball team played in the inaugural Tony Gwynn Classic on Fowler Field at

the University of San Diego.

At the pre-game event, John Jentz, executive associate athletics director and CFO, shared an athletic department update with the crowd, and Greg Sharpe, Husker Sports Network’s voice of the Huskers, shared insights on Nebraska baseball and

spring football.

The San Diego Huskers also presented the Nebraska Alumni Association with a $1,000 check for the chapter’s Nebraska Legends scholarship fund. v

Love Memorial Hall Reunion June 11 Love Memorial Hall alumnae and residents, as well as their families, friends and children are invited to the NAA affiliate’s 2016 All-Class Reunion, June 11 in central Nebraska. In addition to the 50th anniversary class of 1966 and the 25th anniversary class of 1991, Love Hall’s other honor classes are: 1946, 1951, 1956, 1961, 1976, 1986, 1996, 2006 and 2016.

The event – including a luncheon, the group’s annual business meeting and much reminiscing – will take place at the Community Center in Riverdale, Nebraska, 10 miles northwest of Kearney. (Take I-80 Kearney Exit 272, go north on Hwy 10 for 5.5 miles; turn left on Hwy 40 and go 4.5 miles to Riverdale. The center is on 3rd Ave., next to the fire station.)

The building opens at 11 a.m., and a Love Memorial Hall Reunion banner will be posted in front. The noon meal will be a potluck luncheon provided by the participants. For more details, visit lmhaa.org. v 46 SPRING 2016

ALUMNI

CHAPTERS & AFFILIATES ROTC Affiliate to Take Part in Annual Review, Banquet Join the official Nebraska Alumni Association ROTC and Military Affiliate in honoring the 2016 ROTC graduates on Thursday, April 21. The celebration banquet will take place in conjunction with the ROTC Joint Service Chancellor’s Review.

The Chancellor’s Review begins at 3:30 p.m. in Cook Pavilion, adjacent to the M&N building, followed by the dinner and a program honoring 2016 cadet and midshipmen graduates at 6:30 p.m. in the Wick Alumni Center.

Featured speaker for the evening is William Couret, CMSgt, USAF, USSTRATCOM/J2 Senior Enlisted Leader, USSTRATCOM/ Enlisted Intelligence Functional Manager.

Scholarships will also be presented to three underclassmen by the ROTC Affiliate group.

Admission to the banquet is $35 per person. There is no cost to attend the Joint Service Chancellor’s Review.

Banquet registrations are required, and payment is due by April 10.

Register online at huskeralum.org/ rotc-spring2016 or call Alex Cerveny at 402-472-2841 with questions or to register by phone. v

Two Husker fans show off their new glasses at the 2015 Foster Farms Bowl tailgate.

The Bay Area Huskers held a joint tailgate with UCLA before the bowl game in December at Levi Stadium in San Jose, California. Also in attendance at the event were Husker greats Willie Harper and Bob Terrio.

Washington Chapter Remembers Gene Lightner The Washington Cornhuskers lost a dedicated member when Gene Lightner of Federal Way, Washington, died Jan. 6.

Lightner had won the Alumni Achievement Award from the Nebraska Alumni Association, participated in Master’s Week at UNL and served as president of Nebraska alumni chapters in St. Louis and Philadelphia before moving to Washington where he and his wife, Jan, joined the Washington Cornhuskers in 1977.

Jan is a past president and former scholarship chair of the group.

Gene Lightner was a chemical engineering major at UNL, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 1953 and 1956. While serving in the U.S. Army, he received his first patent (now called FoamCore), and went on to hold around 40 U.S. plus several foreign patents, the most recent ones involving alternative fuels from bio-mass. Several years ago, he donated his patents to the University of Nebraska Foundation where they are offered to professors for further development.

Donations in Gene’s memory may be sent to the Gene E. Lightner Scholarship Fund, University of Nebraska Foundation, 1010 Lincoln Mall, Suite 300, Lincoln, NE 68508 or online at nufoundation.org. v

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 47

CLASSNOTES 1947

Leroy R. Walker marked a century of living on Feb. 16 at his home in Sacramento, California. After graduating high school and attending UNL, Walker served in World War II as a co-pilot of a B-25 in the Aleutian Islands. Upon discharge from the service, he returned to UNL where he lettered in track and field and received his degree in agriculture. Walker was a longtime employee with the California State Department of Agriculture.

1948

n Ken and Jan Nix of Palo Alto, California, marked 61 years of marriage Jan. 15.

1950

Jack Caldwell of Lincoln turned 90 on February 2.

Robert Kudlacek, Papillion, celebrated his 90th birthday Feb. 10. n Lloyd and Donna McBeth

of Santa Clara, California,

News/Weddings/Births/Deaths

celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary Jan. 21.

Andrew Morrow, Lincoln, is still active in interior design as president of Morrow Interiors.

He taught history of design in the College of Home Economics at UNL when the interior design program was in that college. A letter to the editor

by Morrow was published in the 2015 fall edition of ICON, an architecture and design magazine.

Stuart Nelson has published a scientific reference book summarizing 65 years of research on dielectric properties of agricultural materials and their applications. Nelson lives in Athens, Georgia.

Kayo Smith, a long time physician in Torrington, Wyoming, has retired after nearly 50 years of providing medical care for residents of Goshen County.

1951

CORRECTION: ■ Don and ■ Marilyn Petersen Gillen were honored at St. George’s

Episcopal Church in Belleville, Illinois, with a special blessing and reception Sept. 20, 2015, on the occasion of their 65th wedding anniversary. They were married Sept. 23, 1950, at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Lincoln. Don is a retired publisher of the York (Nebraska) News-Times. The Gillens have one son, Dr. Daniel Gillen, an anesthesiologist at St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. A graduate of the NU Medical Center, Dr. Gillen is a retired brigadier general in the United States Air Force.

1956

n Boyd and n Elaine Sackschewsky Stuhr, ’69, of Bradshaw noted 60 years of marriage Jan. 20.

1959

n Juanita Reed-Boniface, Cedar,

Minnesota, was presented the 2016 Minnesota Farm Bureau Promotion and Education Committee Golden Apple in January. The award is bestowed upon individuals who have gone above and beyond

to work with Agriculture in the Classroom programs and have shared that information with the public.

1961

Herb Brugh has been appointed director of the Martina Minerals Corp., a junior exploration and evaluation company headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

1962

n Thomas Hutson, Red Cloud,

was the recipient of the 2015 Association of Nigerian-American Professionals in Nigeria Global Best Practice Award.

The honor was the result of Hutson’s involvement with Just One Girl by Bessie’s PEACE, a program that promotes educational opportunities for young schoolgirls displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. n Andrew Wolvin, of Potomac,

Maryland, professor and executive director of the Oral Communication Program at the University of Maryland in College Park, received the International Listening Association Lifetime Achievement Award for the contributions of his research to the study of listening behavior and the National Communication Association Basic Course Division Distinguished Faculty Award.

He was one of five scholars in the communication discipline selected to present a seminar at the National Communication Association 2015 Summer Institute.

1964

Two former NU athletes still compete in senior track and field. Leonard (Len) Rosen and Alan Rosen, both more than 80, compete in the discus and shot put. (Pictured above, left to right: Jeff Rosen and his father, Alan; David Rosen and his father, Len.) Born in Omaha, the Rosens graduated from Central High School and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Len, 1957; Alan, 1958), where they were members of Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity. While at Central, they lettered in football, wrestling and track and field and were recipients of the Pop Schmidt Trophy for the most outstanding senior track man. (The only other ■ Indicates Alumni Association Life Member 48 SPRING 2016

■

brothers to win the Schmidt Trophy at Central were Roger and Gale Sayers.) Len was inducted into the Central High School Hall of Fame in 2012. During their time at UNL, Len lettered in track and field and Alan lettered in wrestling and track and field. The brothers have achieved All American status in each five-year competition age group from age 65 on. Len won the nationals in both the discus and shot put in 2014, is retired and lives in Salem, New Hampshire. Alan is semi-retired and lives in Sherman Oaks, California. At least once a year they return to Lincoln (and Omaha) to attend a Husker football game.

Indicates Alumni Association Annual Member

n Kenneth and n Kay Borrett, ’66, Fort Collins, Colorado, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Aug. 7, 2015.

To mark the milestone they will take a river cruise in southwest France this year.

1965

n Jack Clark has retired after

serving more than 50 years as a pharmacist in the McCook community.

BY BETHANY BIRON

Alumni Profile ’04 and ’12

Fueling the Energy Future Ben Blomberg Brock Weeldreyer

Ben Blomberg (Class of 2004) has always been a creator. As a child, he was fascinated with building elaborate Lego structures, stacking together complex designs before quickly dismantling them to start anew with an improved model.

For Blomberg, who years later would major in electrical engineering at UNL, a new Lego set was filled with countless possibilities. Now, as a lead process automation engineer at POET, one of the world’s largest ethanol and biofuel producers, he channels his keen eye for design and functionality to build control systems for ethanol plants in the company’s seven operating states.

The 34 year old is part of the team that develops the controls infrastructure – automating complex plant designs that include instrumentation for measuring pressure, flow, temperature and more. This data is presented in an intuitive, graphical user interface used by plant operators to control the process which produces biofuel used to power cars and other vehicles. He’s channeled his talents to help construct impressive projects like Project LIBERTY, the first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in the U.S. located in Emmetsburg, Iowa.

But Blomberg isn’t the only UNL star at POET. At just 25 years old, Brock Weeldreyer already manages POET’s ethanol plant in Ashton, Iowa.

POET was his first job after graduating from UNL in 2012 with a degree in chemical engineering, and now he oversees the operations, maintenance, environmental health and safety departments at the site.

Weeldreyer said the most important

Ben Blomberg

lesson he learned while at UNL was critical problem solving, a skill he uses every day to handle unexpected challenges that may arise at the plant, like a piece of equipment breaking down in the middle of the night.

“At UNL I learned how to take a problem, analyze it, solve it and develop a solution,” Weeldreyer said.

Blomberg echoed Weeldreyer’s sentiments and said his ability to excel in a particularly challenging field started as a young student honing his acumen at UNL, where he studied in the school’s rigorous engineering program.

“Engineering is not an easy path by any means. My parents talked me out of changing majors,” Blomberg said with a laugh.

It was the professors, both said, that helped them persevere when the subject matter felt particularly tough.

They were able to foster mentorships with many of their professors, and learned to emulate diverse ways of thinking.

“UNL teaches you to be a problem solver, not give up, and play it forward till the end,” Blomberg said.

Weeldreyer and his wife, Sara, also a UNL graduate, live in Worthington, Minnesota, where Brock commutes from every day. Weeldreyer’s favorite part about working at POET is his colleagues, a group of smart, like-minded people that he’s grown to call family.

“We have a really, really good team here. It’s like a family – I spend as much time here as I do at home,” Weeldreyer said. “The people here are very easy to work with and are good communicators. We hire the right people.”

Likewise, the environment has been

Brock Weeldreyer

a major draw for Blomberg – particularly POET’s ubiquitous environmental dogma. Ethanol is a clean-burning, earth-friendly fuel, and scientists have reported that ethanol cuts carbon emissions by 34 percent. Ethanol use has dramatically increased over the last decade, and in that time, emissions have been reduced to a level that is the equivalent of taking 124 million cars off the road.

Ethanol also reduces U.S. need for foreign oil and is the safest, lowest cost octane enhancer for automobiles.

It has been a viable additive to unleaded gasoline and replaced an oxygenate high in carcinogens, which cause damaging health issues and environmental destruction.

Blomberg first heard about the company through a family friend who encouraged him to apply. During his time at POET, he has been continually impressed by the diversity of work and the fast-paced, innovative culture of the company.

“At some other engineering companies, you’re pretty regimented in what you do,” Blomberg said. “At POET, as a privately held, newer company, we’re able to be more nimble than a lot of engineering companies. We execute projects a lot faster.”

His advice for future graduates is to not take anything for granted and to step up and fight for the positions they want.

“Be prepared to work hard. I feel like a lot of people that graduate feel like they’re entitled to walk into a job and have it handed to them. POET rewards people that work hard and show up and stand out,” Blomberg said.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 49

CLASSNOTES Leo Jr. and Mary Clare Juranek of Linwood noted their 50th wedding anniversary Nov. 27, 2015.

1966

Ken and Etta Werhbein Kokes of Lincoln celebrated their golden wedding anniversary Dec. 19, 2015. n John C. Turnbull has retired

after 38 years as general manager of the Upper Blue Natural Resource District in York.

1967

n Jere Knoles has retired to Las

Vegas, Nevada, after practicing law in Omaha for 40 years.

1968

Paul Madison has been elected to the board of directors for the Nebraska Community Foundation. Madison is a physician in Nebraska City.

Roger and Pat Wehrmeister Schwab of Lincoln celebrated 50 years of marriage Nov. 6, 2015.

1970

n Wayne Hanway of McAlester,

Oklahoma, retired after 24 years as chief executive officer of the Southeastern Public Library System of Oklahoma and 41 years as a public library directory. He received the Mountain Plains Library Association’s Carl Gaumer Library Champion Award in September 2015. n Mary Ann Stallings of Lincoln

is the co-founder of Bridge to Better Living, a business that helps families find the proper assisted living community for senior loved ones.

1973

Roger Reynolds of Woods Bros.

Realty Country Club Plaza office was recently named an “Honorary Life Member” of the Home Builders Association of Lincoln.

50 SPRING 2016

1975

Rodger Dean was welcomed to Capital City Electric in Lincoln as chief operating officer. n David Sanders, Omaha,

retired from The Omaha World-Herald newspaper after 33 years, starting as sales promotion coordinator and finishing as marketing research manager. During his tenure, he was active in the marketing and advertising clubs, serving as president in both clubs, and received AAF Omaha’s Advertising Professional of the Year in 2000 and AAF Omaha’s Silver Medal in 2013. n Allen Thorberg retired Dec.

31, 2015 after 38 years at the Petersburg State Bank.

n Daniel Wintz of Papillion

has become a partner in the Omaha law firm Badura Law LLC, which will be renamed Badura & Wintz Law LLC.

1976

Dale Dueland was elected to the board of directors for the Nebraska Community Foundation. He operates a farm and ranch north of McCook.

Gary Goranson, a realtor with Lincoln First Realty, was the recipient of the company’s 2015 Top Producing Agent and Most Closed Transactions Award.

Gene Hanlon, recycling coordinator for the city of Lincoln, is the past secretary of the board of directors for WasteCap Nebraska. n Bob Roesch, just finished a

year as chair of the American Dental Association Council on Annual Sessions. The Council planned and implemented the ADA 2015 meeting held in Washington, D.C.

Larry Schmidt has been named director of business development and reverse mortgage specialist for New Castle Mortgage, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

1977

n Jim Wefso of Lead, South

Dakota, completed a twoyear term as chairman of the Chadron State Foundation, and continues to serve as a director of the foundation, and other nonprofit organizations.

He also serves on the boards of directors of Security First Bank, Stockmens Financial Corp., and Dakota Guardian Trust Company.

1978

n Ann E. Deck, a realtor in the

Lincolnshire office of Woods Bros. Realty in Lincoln, was selected for Highest Volume of Closed Sales in 2015.

Bruce Whitacre of Forest Hills, New York, was the moderator for 13th Annual Broadway Roundtable in January. Whitacre is the executive director of Theatre Forward, a fundraising and promotional organization that represents 19 New York City area theaters.

1979

Max J. Kelch, judge of the Fourth Judicial District in eastern Nebraska, has been appointed by Gov. Pete Ricketts to the Nebraska Supreme Court. Kelch lives in Papillion.

Pat Logsdon, executive associate athletic director and senior woman administrator to the NCAA for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletic Department, is the recipient of the 2016 Barbara Hibner Mentor Award from the Girls and Women in Sports and Fitness Committee, an organization that supports health and physical activity among females in Lincoln and Lancaster County.

Rodrigo Lopez is founder of Omaha-based AmeriSphere Multifamily Finance and executive chairman for NorthMarq Capital Finance, one of nation’s largest commercial banking companies. Lopez is chairman-elect of the national board of directors for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

1980

Rod Markin has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Markin is chief technology officer and associate vice chancellor for business development at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

1981

n Donald D. Graul serves as

interim president of Parsons Transportation Group Inc. in addition to his role as president of Parsons Construction Group. Graul is working from the Denver office. n Donna Gunn of Lincoln had

her book, “Discoveries from the Fortepiano: A Manual for Beginning and Seasoned Performers,” published by Oxford University Press in November 2015.

1982

Ben Barrett has joined Pulaski Bank Home Lending as vice president, senior loan officer and sales manager in its Lincoln office. n Scott Hinrichs is assistant

vice president, Client Solutions at Markit On Demand in Boulder, Colorado. Markit on Demand is a Software as a Service (SaaS) provider in the financial services industry that interprets, manipulates, and displays financial information. n Chris Nelson was presented

the Columbus (Nebraska) Telegram’s 2015 Edgar Howard Award, given to businesses and individuals for exemplifying the good citizenship demonstrated by Howard during his 50 years as editor and publisher of The Telegram. Nelson is the owner of C.S. Nelson Real Estate.

1983

Karen Gustin, Lincoln, was elected executive vice president, group division of Ameritas Life and Ameritas Life of New York.

BY CHARLYNE BERENS, ’95, ’00

Alumni Profile ’94

Capturing the Spirit of New York Kristine Johnson

Something north of 320,000 viewers watch Kristine Johnson co-anchor the CBS news in New York City each day.

She has talked those viewers through events like Hurricane Sandy and the aftermath of the shooting massacre at Sandy Hook. When she struggles through – but completes – the New York marathon, a YouTube video about her training journey gets 1,500 views.

She has her own site on IMDb, the Internet movie database. She has played a news anchor on CBS’s prime time shows “Person of Interest” and “Elementary.”

Kristine Johnson is a reporter, a journalist – and a celebrity. And more.

“She’s the real deal,” said Maurice DuBois, her co-anchor since 2011 for the 5 and 11 p.m. news on CBS2 in New York. “It’s a genuineness, a warm spirit, a kindness that just comes from the heart. It’s just who she is.”

When Johnson enrolled in UNL in 1990, she had no idea what major she wanted. But one afternoon in early 1991, she was studying in front of the TV and saw Dan Rather reporting on the Persian Gulf War. “I was mesmerized,” she said, by the story coming live from halfway around the world.

She became a broadcasting major the next fall.

At UNL’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Johnson said she learned journalism’s foundation.

She built on that foundation with an internship at KETV in Omaha, in the trenches of an actual newsroom. She worked closely with the assignment editor, watching him “multitasking to the extreme.” It seemed overwhelming, she said, but “after a while you

start to understand the jigsaw puzzle the newsroom is.”

Graduating in 1994, Johnson said she left Nebraska “for a boy,” Steve Poulin, now her husband, who had already graduated from UNL and was working in Rhode Island. So Johnson moved to Providence and got a job as a part-time assignment editor at WPRI, a CBS affiliate. She wanted to be a reporter, but the man who hired her told her, “You’ll never report here.”

That just added fuel to Johnson’s fire. In her years at WPRI, she worked through nearly every job in the newsroom: writing stories, assigning stories, serving as associate producer.

“On my days off, I’d come in and shoot stand-ups and keep raw tapes for stories during the week, and I’d do my own packages.”

Eventually, thanks to hard work and all that experience, Johnson made a smooth transition to reporter. “I’d seen everything that could possibly go wrong, how reporters got themselves in a hole and how to dig yourself out.”

In 2004, MSNBC recruited Johnson away from CBS, and for two years she was a daytime anchor for “Early Today,” a show that started at 4 a.m. on the East Coast. She also did general daytime anchoring and occasionally read the news on “Weekend Today.”

Her move to CBS2, the network’s flagship station, was a chance to go

Kristine Johnson

back to local broadcasting and the “sense of community you feel on the local level,” she said. Ten years later, she’s still attached to her community and to what the news team at CBS2 tries to accomplish each day.

She’s also had opportunities on the network side. When the “CBS Sunday Morning” executive producer asked if she’d like to do a story for the show, she said she had an “Are you kidding me?” sort of moment. “I was doing backflips,” she said.

She enjoys the occasional anchoring on “CBS This Morning” with its conversational tone. And she likes her occasional parts as a reporter on some of CBS’s hit TV series. But it’s still the reporting that she cherishes.

Don’t ask her, though, which kinds of stories she likes best. “That’s like asking which child is your favorite,” Johnson said. The reporter gets to spend more time with a feature subject, she said, but breaking news really puts a journalist’s skills to the test.

Continued on Page 52 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 51

CLASSNOTES capturing the spirit of new york Continued from Page 51 CBS2 co-anchor DuBois remembers the 12-hour marathon broadcast he and Johnson did during Super Storm Sandy in 2012. “After the first six hours, we looked at each other and kind of shrugged – and kept on going.” They knew viewers were depending on them for vital information, so “we powered through it,” DuBois said.

Johnson includes that storm story among the biggest of her career, but she said the toughest story she has ever done was live coverage the day of the school shootings at Sandy Hook. “It’s an experience that will forever haunt me,” she said. “It still brings back a lot of vivid bad memories.”

On the other end of the spectrum, covering Pope Francis’ visit to New York was sheer fun. “The day he arrived,” she said, “we were stationed across the street from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. You could hear the excitement in our voices on the air, broadcasting live.

We were like little children.”

Dan Forman, managing editor for CBS2 news, said that ability to connect with events and with her audience is part of what makes Johnson successful – along with being intelligent, curious, energetic, responsible, dependable and cooperative. She helps prevent problems before they hit the air, Forman said, and helps young journalists learn the ropes.

“You don’t often find this in one person,” he said – along with a groundedness that allows her to balance her demanding job with attention to her husband and their two children.

“I don’t think there’s anybody I’d rather work with,” Forman said.

Even Johnson’s potential competitors speak highly of her. In fact, Amy Robach, anchor of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” considers Johnson “one of the best friends I’ve ever had.” The two met in 2004 when both were at MSNBC. Robach said when she was going through cancer treatments in recent years, Johnson “was there with me every step of the way. … Being successful can be tough on friendships in this business,” Robach said.

“But she was always cheering me on.”

Johnson refuses to take credit for her success and celebrity. “I feel so blessed and fortunate,” she said.

“New York is not a place I ever thought I’d have the opportunity to work. To be here is really beyond my expectations.”

n Kris Malkoski, Burr Ridge,

Illinois, was promoted to president, global business and chief commercial officer at World Kitchen, LLC, in Rosemont.

1984

Mark Brasee, an attorney with Fraser Stryker PC LLO, is the chairman emeritus of the 2016 Board of Trustees for Goodwill Industries Inc., which serves eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

Tami Lambie is the managing broker in the Country Club Plaza branch of Woods Bros.

Realty in Lincoln.

Joseph Lempka, president of the Kiewit Building Group in Omaha, was elected chairman of the 2016 Board of Trustees for Goodwill Industries Inc.

1987

Mitchell Henry, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, has been added to the team at Bryan Lifepointe MedSpa in Lincoln. n Tyler Mainquist of Central

Financial Services in Lincoln, is past president of the board of directors for WasteCap Nebraska.

1988

Michael Dalby was selected president and chief executive officer of the Greater Naples (Florida) Chamber of Commerce.

1989

1985

Tim Pospisil, director of corporate security at Nebraska Public Power District in Columbus, has been appointed to the Columbus Public Schools Board of Directors.

chief executive officer of LICOR Biosciences in Lincoln.

1990

n Greg Biggs has been named

Dave Eigenberg assumed the position of general manager of the Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District on March 1.

Karen Gettert Shoemaker spoke about her book, “The Meaning of Names,” at the Hastings Chautauqua Book and Film Series in January. Shoemaker is a writer, teacher and business owner living in Lincoln.

Scott Williamson was appointed director of residential escrow services at Nebraska Title Co. in Lincoln.

1986

Nadine Dougherty has been welcomed to the Wilderness Hills office of Woods Bros. Realty in Lincoln.

Lenore Koczon, vice president for academic affairs at Minot State University in North Dakota, was a finalist for the presidency of the University of Maine at Fort Kent.

Amy Blum was elected by the West Gate Bank of Lincoln Board of Directors to mortgage officer-mortgage systems administrator.

1991

Jim Krieger was promoted to senior associate at the Lincoln architecture firm Sinclair Hille and will serve as project architect providing technical expertise, quality control and client service.

Stacie Neussendorfer of Westwood Trust Company has earned the designation “Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy” after completing the yearlong program sponsored by the Omaha Community Foundation.

1993

Michael Shambaugh-Miller, executive director of Produce From the Heart, is a member of the board of directors for WasteCap Nebraska.

1994

Terry Julesgard, general manager of the Lower Niobrara Natural Resources District in 52 SPRING 2016

BY GINA KILKER

Alumni Profiles ’97

Transplanted Husker Tackles Health Care Scott Sanford

When Scott Sanford moved to Arizona in 1998 from Lincoln, to live in the sun and palm trees of the desert Southwest, he had never dreamed of fixing the way everyday Americans gain access to health care. He was focused on growing his start-up real estate business. But it wasn’t long after moving to Scottsdale that the entrepreneur and University of Nebraska alum found a place to watch his beloved Huskers, and a connection that put the ball in motion toward the creation of his company, HealthiestYou. The Arena Sports Grill is the biggest self-proclaimed Nebraska Cornhusker watch site in the Southwest, but for Sanford it was more than just a great place to watch the home team. It was where he met Jim Prendergast, the bar owner who also grew up in Nebraska and shared the same “Heartland of America” core values. Over loud games and lots of beer they developed a friendship that evolved into a business partnership when Sanford became intrigued by an investment opportunity in telehealth. In 2008 the two formed a company called Benefiq to bring the emerging concept of telehealth to employer groups who could offer it as an additional employee health benefit.

“I loved the idea of telehealth and the promise of what it could do,” Sanford said. “Yet, our heads and our hearts were telling us that something critical was missing. Down deep we knew improvements were needed to make telehealth something people wanted to use. At the end of the day we knew it was about changing people’s behavior and how they interact with their health care

experiences.”

When selling to employer groups failed to connect in the way Sanford thought it should, he tried a direct-toconsumer model but soon found that approach was ahead of its time. While considering his next move, Sanford met the owner of a Scottsdalebased health insurance firm. Their conversation altered Sanford’s market perspective and, ultimately, the company’s business model. From that point forward, the improved telehealth concept was offered exclusively to insurance brokers and health plans who now build it into their benefit plan designs for employers.

Another pivotal encounter affected the company’s technology. Sanford and Prendergast met Dr. Kelly Traver, one of America’s top doctors (and former Google Chief Medical Officer) and author of “The Healthiest You: The 12-Week Program that Lasts a Lifetime.” Her unique perspective on telehealth inspired the co-founders and resulted in a merger of vision and technology that created what is today health innovations company HealthiestYou. “We had a vision of more than just 24/7 doc access; we wondered why there weren’t tools people could use easily from their phone that allowed them to manage all aspects of their personal health needs without the hassle – much like they do when they check the weather or stock prices from their smart phones,” said Sanford.

As a result, HealthiestYou now provides a one-of-a-kind app that exemplifies the company’s goal of

Scott Sanford

helping people take control of their health care on their own terms.

Take the “Connect Now” button that automatically contacts a boardcertified telehealth doctor 24/7– regardless if someone is home or far away on a business trip, or even at Disneyland with their families, they can get immediate access and a doctor consultation and be well on their way to getting better. Plus, doctors can call in prescriptions (when necessary), and most people report that they have a diagnosis and their meds in hand within an hour of their call.

The app also provides simplified access to the details of their health plan benefits, including deductibles, and an “Uber-like” map showing their in-network providers. The app’s pricing engine allows consumers to constantly see best pricing, whether they need a prescription for amoxicillin or a procedure such as an MRI. And, builtin reminders send alerts every time a person walks into an urgent care or ER reminding them of their HealthiestYou benefit and the option to get care now instead of waiting and paying the higher cost of traditional care.

Sanford’s company is changing how people think about their health care and helping them alter their habits through innovative and user-friendly tools that lower frustrations and costs.

The consumer phone app, dashboard and built-in reminders have brought new levels of access to health care and demonstrated the company’s vision and technological prowess.

Continued on Page 54 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 53

CLASSNOTES transplanted husker tackles health care Continued from Page 53

Yet the secret to HealthiestYou’s success may truly lie in the genuine relationships built with their employees, their brokers and ultimately the consumer using the service.

“I grew up where people live and die by their word.

They just naturally go above and beyond the call of duty to deliver a better product or service. I knew I had to build a company with core values that were based on that ideal. And it was important to me that as a team we worked together to build an environment that respects what everyone brings to the greater good.

I’m convinced that by staying focused on that, we built a business that is really helping others and that is the formula for real success.”

Employees apparently feel the difference, too, as the company received the coveted “Best Places To Work” award from the Phoenix Business Journal a few months ago, recognizing it as an outstanding workplace.

Sanford’s commitment is paying off with customers, too. Nebraska-based companies Datavizion and Servicemaster are just a few of the thousands of businesses and organizations of every size across the country that are offering the HealthiestYou benefit to their employees.

Today the company has more than 40 employees and, having just raised $30 million in growth funding, is on track to increase revenues this year 100 percent over 2015. Last year the company growth rate topped 260 percent from the year before, landing them a spot on the 2015 Inc. 5000 list of America’s FastestGrowing Companies. And with nearly 10,000 employer groups offering the service, and a consumer utilization rate of 40 percent, compared to the industry-standard two percent, they have managed to not only increase people’s acceptance of virtual doctor visits, they have changed accessibility to finding and acting upon all aspects of personal health information and management in a way no one else is doing.

“When I moved to Scottsdale, I bought and completely renovated a house that I sold – which was the beginning of my career in real estate. I liked the idea of taking something tired and making it awesome,” said Sanford.

That same motivation allowed him to take the complexity out of health care and turn a tired system that many viewed as an untouchable behemoth, into an understandable and controllable consumer experience.

Not bad for a desert-dwelling Cornhusker.

54 SPRING 2016

Butte, has been accepted as a member of the Class VI of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy, a one-year program that educates participants about the vital role rivers, streams and aquifers play in the economic sustainability of the state.

Jen Landis has joined Lincoln advertising agency KidGlov as creative director.

1995

Doris Robertson is vice president of commercial lending as the result of a recent promotion at Union Bank & Trust in Lincoln.

1996

n Gail Graeve of Elkhorn was

promoted to vice president of community affairs and corporate events at Mutual of Omaha and executive director of the Mutual of Omaha Foundation.

1997

Tony Gray is the editor of the Fremont (Nebraska) Tribune.

Perry Haralson, Cornhusker Bank, is second vice president of the 2016 Home Builders Association of Lincoln Board of Directors.

Stephanie Nelson is the director of children’s ministry at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Lincoln.

Vladimir Oulianov, a realtor in the Country Club office of Woods Bros. Realty in Lincoln, was recognized as the 2015 Salesperson of the Year by that agency.

Jessie Sitz, Baird Holm LLP, has earned the designation “Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy” after completing the yearlong program sponsored by the Omaha Community Foundation.

2000

Brittany Hardin, a staffer for Gov. Pete Ricketts, has been chosen liaison for the governor’s office in central Nebraska. She had previously worked as a producer, anchor and reporter for KNOP-TV in North Platte.

Brian Miles of Bridges Investment has earned the designation “Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy” after completing the yearlong program sponsored by the Omaha Community Foundation.

2001

Scott Vogt has been named the new president and chief executive officer of CBSHOME Real Estate in Omaha.

Justin Johnson, Hoppe Homes LP, was installed as president of the 2016 Home Builders Association of Lincoln Board of Directors.

1998

2002

Steve Saylors, Los Angeles, is the regional vice presidentWest for Lincoln Property Company, and is responsible for property management and business development in California.

1999

Matt Kelleher, a ceramic artist and professor at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, New York, was a visiting artist and instructor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in February.

Kourtney Mueller Merrill, an attorney in the Denver office of international law firm Perkins Coie, has been promoted to partner.

Kyle Tillinghast, an environmental engineer II with the State of Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services in Lincoln, has been accepted as a member of the Class VI of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy. The academy is a one-year program that educates participants about the vital role rivers, streams and aquifers play in the economic sustainability of the state.

BY COLLEEN KENNEY FLEISCHER, ’88

Alumni Profile ’52, ’63, ’66

Still Changing the World Clayton Yeutter

Clayton Yeutter

Clayton Yeutter changed the world.

He served two presidents in three Cabinet-level posts – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Trade Representative and Counselor to the President – a feat no other Nebraskan has ever achieved.

With an unusually strong grip (once the “strongest grip” ever recorded in the White House gym), he shook hands with world leaders and helped shape historic trade agreements. He pried open world markets for U.S. beef.

So in a way you could say his hands changed the world, too.

Several years back, his alma mater, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, dedicated a statue to him on East Campus. He stands, in bronze, with one hand in his pocket and one hand reaching out.

“Ambassador Yeutter.”

That’s how people greet him now.

He smiles and extends a strong hand.

“Call me Clayton.”

He went home this past August. His oldest son drove. They headed across

the state from Lincoln to Eustis, in southwest Nebraska, to visit the old Yeutter homestead.

Clayton has struggled with cancer the past few years, so it had been awhile since he’d made the trip. But his latest round of drugs has helped him feel better. He’s 85, and that drive home was a time to think about the people who helped him along the way.

He thought about his father …

Reinhold Yeutter was 230 pounds of muscle. His hands could lift a car by its bumper. He was a fabulous cattleman and encouraged Clayton to join 4-H. But his father expected him to do it all on his own. Clayton was 10 when he first entered the beef showmanship competition at the Dawson County Fair.

He finished dead last.

He cried the whole way home as his father drove, but Clayton never lost in showmanship again.

He thought about his mother…

Laura Yeutter could milk cows better than either of them. Her hands worked hard in her garden, too, and helped keep the family fed during the Depression. She taught Sunday School for 60 years straight. She taught him humility.

The day President Reagan asked him to become the U.S. Trade Representative, his first Cabinet-level post, Clayton phoned her with the big news (his father had died by that point).

He told his mother that he was calling from the

White House.

He waited for her praise.

Instead, there was just dead silence.

For 10 seconds or so.

Then she finally spoke.

How long do you have to do that job?

That was also the day when Ronald Reagan’s chief of staff, Don Regan, told him something that he really took to heart: Your job is to change the world.

He did. Looking back at his career in the rear-view mirror he knows it.

But he knows he did it only with the help of the people at his side, starting with those in Eustis. He knows he did it with the Nebraska values he had that he never let go: work hard, treat people with respect, always extend a hand.

On that trip home last August, Clayton thought about all the old neighbors and the threshing crews and how they helped one another, often in hundred-degree heat.

Six miles north of Eustis, Clayton’s son turned the car down the familiar dirt lane. The bungalow still looked good. That made Clayton happy. A few years back, he sold the home place to the son of an old high school friend whose young family live there now.

They have lunch waiting.

He thought about his first wife …

Jeanne Yeutter was the mother of his four oldest children, an incredible mate.

He met her at the university.

Everything about her stood out. Her smile. Her mind. Her laughter. He brought her back to Eustis. She was a Lincoln girl, so it was a culture shock.

There were tears shed in the bungalow – some he saw, some he didn’t.

He might have stayed on the farm

Continued on Page 56 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 55

CLASSNOTES still changing the world Continued from Page 55 his whole life if not for Jeanne, who persuaded him to go back to the university, where he earned a law degree and a Ph.D. and eventually became a faculty member, one who got noticed by Chancellor Cliff Hardin. Clayton tells people that Jeanne could have been an ambassador or Cabinet member. She could have a statue. But instead, she lifted him. Jeanne died in her sleep one night in 1993, out of the blue. She was just 62.

The university named a garden for her. Her flowers surround the base of Clayton’s statue.

Two years after she died, Clayton married his second wife, Cristy, another brilliant woman who also could have gone onward and upward. She already held one of the top positions on President Reagan’s staff when she was in her 20s. But she, too, instead chose to support her husband. They’d actually first met in the White House gym years earlier when he was U.S. Trade Representative and she was a special assistant to President Reagan for intergovernmental affairs. Without her love and support during the cancer challenges, he knows he would not be alive today. They have three girls. Their home is outside of Washington, D.C. Nebraska will always be his home, too.

So will the University of Nebraska.

This past year, UNL announced its plans to create the Clayton K. Yeutter International Trade Institute to prepare students for careers in global trade and finance. Its goal is to endow faculty positions in business, agriculture and law that are committed to building a strong international dimension into their teaching and research programs. The secondary goal is to give University of Nebraska students the international orientation and background they’ll need in preparing for the jobs of the future.

Clayton and Cristy made a $2.5 million leadership gift commitment toward the initiative.

“You only spend so many years on this Earth,” he said last August, one day after making that trip home.

“The question is: What do you do with them? Can you do something that will help the next generation coming along?

“The university is a great place to do that.”

2003

Megan Dreyer, CS Kitchen & Bath Studio, is the remodelers council chair for the 2016 Home Builders Association of Lincoln.

■

Taylor Ashburn, Union Bank & Trust, is a member of the board of directors for the 2016 Home Builders Association of Lincoln.

Ryan Chapman, a water quality assessment supervisor for the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, has been accepted as a member of the Class VI of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy, a one-year program that educates participants about the vital role rivers, streams and aquifers play in the economic sustainability of the state. Chapman lives in Omaha.

Henry Wiedrich, an attorney in the Omaha office of the national law firm, Husch Blackwell, has been made a partner.

2005

Reynaldo Anderson of St. Louis was a recipient of a 2015 Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award, presented to area educators who exemplify dedication in shaping the lives of their students. Emerson is a St. Louis-based diversified global manufacturer and technology company.

Brian Duensing, a former standout baseball pitcher with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and major league hurler with the Minnesota Twins, has signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals.

Erin L. Ebeler has been named a partner in the Lincoln law firm Woods & Aitken LLP. John Wirtz, co-founder of Hudl, has joined the board of directors for Union Bank & Trust of Lincoln.

■

2006 Photo by Craig Chandler, University Communications 56 SPRING 2016

Jared Ronnebaum was promoted to senior integration engineer at Lincoln Industries, a metal

finishing company headquartered in Lincoln.

2007

Jeff Deans is now a senior writer/ producer as the result of a recent promotion in the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell.

Chad Kruse has been promoted to associate at Sinclair Hille, an architecture firm located in Lincoln.

2008

Donnie Butler has earned a license as a professional civil engineer in Nebraska. He is employed by the Lincoln engineering firm Alfred Benesch & Company.

■

Brent Corbin is the collection department manager and consumer loan officer for Union Bank & Trust in Lincoln.

Dani Hatfield has been appointed vice president of Albers Communications Group, an Omaha-based public relations company.

Katie Scherer returns to the Omaha office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell as an account manager. In 2007, Scherer worked as an account service intern for the firm.

2009

Ronald Chesbrough was named the 29th president of Cazenovia College, Cazenovia, New York, and will assume the office July 1.

Greg Gunderson was selected as the 17th president of Park University in Parkville, Missouri. He served as assistant vice chancellor for business operations in the Office of Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln earlier in his career.

Jess Lightner was promoted to account manager in Omaha office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell.

CLASSNOTES Ryan Major has been hired as a senior credit analyst in the credit administration department of Enterprise Bank in Omaha.

Matt Moser, a physical scientist with the United States Geological Survey, has been accepted as a member of the Class VI of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy.

■ Sheena Kennedy, Elkhorn, has been hired as program director for Live Well Omaha Kids, whose mission is to work collaboratively to reduce and prevent childhood obesity in Greater Omaha.

Talia Goes was selected by the Nebraska Cattlemen Association in Lincoln as communications coordinator.

Albert LeBeau, cultural resource program manager for Effigy Mounds National Monument near Marquette, Iowa, presented a special program of American Indian stories and oral traditions in December 2015. LeBeau is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.

Aaron Jarosh has joined the marketing communications firm Swanson Russell as a writer/ producer, working from the Lincoln office.

Ryan Stoner is part of the sales team in the Lincoln office of Swanson Russell, a marketing communication firm where he serves as an account manager.

2010

■ Jordan Kaiser was promoted to user experience designer in the Lincoln office of marketing communications agency Swanson Russell.

2011

Jeni Houser of Stoughton, Wisconsin, appeared as Amy in the Mark Adamo opera “Little Women,” performed in Febru-

ary at the Capitol Theater in Madison.

Amber Mencl is a human resources specialist in the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell.

Brett Sundberg, West Gate Bank, is a member of the board of directors for the 2016 Home Builders Association of Lincoln.

Caitlin Thomas, a hydrogeologist with Olsson Associates in Lincoln, has been accepted as a member of the Class VI of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy.

2012

communications firm Swanson Russell, where he is a motion designer.

Emily Estes, owner of Sage Nutrition LLC in Lincoln, has been elected vice president of the board of directors for WasteCap Nebraska, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste.

Kaylen Fleming has been added to the transactional department of Woods Aitken, a Lincoln-based law firm, as an associate.

Christopher Hacker has been selected head wrestling coach at Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colorado.

Jennifer Dannehl was named associate in the Lincoln office of law firm Endacott, Peetz & Timmer.

Sarah Kniep has been named an associate in the Lincoln law firm O’Neill, Heinrich, Damkroger, Bergmeyer and Shultz.

Colby Dolan has joined the Lincoln office of marketing

Emily Madden is a digital producer in the Omaha office of

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 57

CLASSNOTES marketing communications firm Swanson Russell.

Miles Morgan, a hydrologic civil engineer with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in McCook, has been accepted as a member of the Class VI of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy.

Christopher W. Peterson is an associate in the Lincoln law firm Wolfe, Snowden, Hurd, Luers & Ahl, LLP. Jenni Schroeder was promoted to media buyer for Swanson Russell, working from the Lincoln office of the marketing communications firm.

Audrey Svane is an associate in the litigation group in the Lincoln office of law firm Woods Aitken.

Amy Yancy is the community affairs coordinator for the city of Kearney where her duties will include marketing, community engagement and developing social media platforms.

2013

Matt Anderson has been promoted to designer in the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell.

Megan Carroll was promoted to digital producer in the Lincoln office of Swanson Russell.

Courtney Faber is a project manager in the Lincoln office of Swanson Russell.

Colby Dolan is a motion designer in Swanson Russell’s Lincoln office.

■

■

Hannah Huston, a preschool teacher at Arnold Elementary in Lincoln, auditioned for the 10th season of NBC’s singing competition, “The Voice.”

2014

Kelsey Pittam is a media coordinator in the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell.

Miles Ukaoma is the head of delivery for Lean Labs in Austin, Texas, where he also is training for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Ukaoma, who ran track and was the 2015 Male Athlete of the Year at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will compete for Nigeria.

2015

Amy Fosler, an engineer with The Flatwater Group, has been accepted as a member of the Class VI of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy.

Becca Grosskurth has joined the Omaha office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell as a project manager.

Max Maguire rejoined the marketing communications firm Swanson Russell as an associate digital producer in the Lincoln office. He returned after a tour of duty in Iraq as a CH-47 helicopter crew member.

Michael D. Sands is a part of the litigation and worker’s compensation team at the Lincoln law firm Baylor, Evnen, Curtiss, Grimit & Witt LLP.

WEDDINGS

Katie Dean is an associate attorney at Sonntag, Goodwin & Leef PC, a law firm located in Sidney.

Neil Kaltsulas and Maggie Spencer, ’11, July 24, 2015.

The couple lives in Brookings, South Dakota.

Spencer Edwards has joined NAI FMA Realty in Lincoln as project coordinator.

n Shane Wallen, ’13, and Re-

becca Goodenberger, ’14, Oct. 3, 2015. The couple lives in McCook.

BIRTHS

n Ned, ’00, and n Livia Hummel, ’04, their first child, a daughter, Agnes Marie, Jan. 1.

Josh and Joanna Nordhues, ’04, their third child, second daughter, Marlo Marie, Dec. 18, 2015. The family lives in Lincoln. n Kyle Doperalski, ’05, and

Elizabeth Albin-Doperalski, their second child, first daughter, Katelyn Ann, Dec. 30, 2015.

Caitlin Miller,’15, and George Pagano, ’15, both former Husker crew members, were the only male-female team in the 2016 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, completing the Transatlantic race in 58 days and finishing 17th overall. Their team “Cranial Quest: Rowing for a Change,” was formed to raise awareness and research funding for ALS, which claimed the life of Pagano’s grandfather in 2003.

58 SPRING 2016

Brett, ’05, and Sarah Ehlers, ’05, their third child, second daughter, Lydia Margaret, Nov. 19, 2015. The family lives in Omaha.

Eric and Michele Hoffman, ’08, their first child, a son, Logan

Lee, Feb. 5. The family lives in Elkhorn. n Andrew, ’15, and n Janae Nienhueser Greer, their first child, a son, Asher Andrew, Jan. 15. The family lives in Lincoln.

DEATHS

Otto H. Von Bargen, ’34, Milwaukee, Nov. 11, 2015.

Naomi Hornbuckle Garrison, ’35, Hamburg, New York, Nov. 15, 2015.

Marjorie Francis Heyne, ’38, Manhattan, Kansas, July 12, 2015.

Pauline Barta Bates, ’40, Green Valley, Arizona, Jan. 31.

Mary Partner Paetow, ’40, Minatare, Oct. 5, 2015.

Charlotte Peckham Walters, ’40, Superior, Nov. 22, 2015.

Norris E. Flodine, ’41, New Braunfels, Texas, Dec. 4, 2014.

Darrel D. Rippeteau, ’41, Delray Beach, Florida, Feb. 8.

Charles R. Fenster, ’42, Gering, Feb. 10.

Sarah Miller Juni, ’42, Miami, May 24, 2015.

Norma Campbell Mahoney, ’42, Seattle, Dec. 12, 2015.

Leston G. Sorrell, ’42, Sedona, Arizona, Dec. 9, 2015.

Stuart E. Muskin, ’43, Omaha, Jan. 17.

June M. Nelsen, ’43, West Des Moines, Iowa, Dec. 21, 2015.

Arlene Casey Bratt, ’44, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Sept. 3, 2015.

Norval D. Saxton, ’44, Grove City, Ohio, July 19, 2014.

Betty Bonebright Wegener, ’44, Scottsdale, Arizona, Feb. 10, 2015.

Virginia Eberly Currie, ’45, Prospect, Kentucky, Jan. 17.

CLASSNOTES William B. Rist, ’46, Beatrice, Jan. 2.

Jeanette Strain Alexis, ’48, Lincoln, Jan. 13.

Herman J. Mestl, ’49, Warren, Michigan, Nov. 27, 2015.

Marilyn Church Vanosdall, ’50, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jan. 18.

Christine Deines Wood, ’47, Lincoln, Jan. 2.

Frances Melton Aukerman, ’49, Cazadero, California, Oct. 22, 2015.

Michael F. Rudloff, ’49, Alabaster, Alabama, Oct. 15, 2015.

Robert W. Wilson, ’50, Orlando, Florida, Oct. 24, 2015.

Dale L. Alberts, ’50, Omaha, Dec. 4, 2015.

Robert E. Beck, ’51, Fremont, Jan. 21.

Dale R. Beckman, ’50, Lebanon, Missouri, Jan. 19.

Dale J. McCracken, ’51, Fullerton, California, Dec. 23, 2014.

Gayle E. Behrens, ’50, Mead, Nov. 19, 2015.

Clarence R. Schutt, ’51, San Jose, California, Sept. 25, 2015.

Floyd K. Clymer, ’48, Lafayette, Indiana, Nov. 19, 2015.

Orin R. Currie, ’48, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Sept. 20, 2015.

Grace Swanson Emmett, ’48, Auburn, Feb. 12.

Eugene R. Johnson, ’48, Colorado City, Colorado, Jan. 3.

Loren E. Marlowe, ’48, Marquette, Michigan, Sept. 19, 2015.

Betty Dolezal Nieveen, ’48, Lincoln, Jan. 22.

Faye Shimerda Rose, ’48, Lincoln, Dec. 4, 2015.

Dexter E. Schleusener, ’48, West Chester, Ohio, June 9, 2015.

William E. Beardsley, ’49, Lincoln, Dec. 3, 2015.

Barbara Lewis Cecil, ’49, Omaha, Nov. 13, 2015.

Bernice Bessel Goldman, ’49, Winter Springs, Florida, Sept.

11, 2015.

Omar B. Jensen, ’49, Lincoln, Nov. 14, 2015.

Harriett Moline Kerl, ’49, Auburn, Jan. 29.

Howard A. Lamb, ’49, Anselmo, Nov. 24, 2015.

Robert C. Larson, ’49, Cairo, Dec. 23, 2015.

Robert A. Martens, ’49, Lincoln, Nov. 12, 2015.

Rupert L. Dunklau, ’50, Fremont, Feb. 3.

Mary Melick Johnson, ’50, Mesa, Arizona, Nov. 25, 2015.

Doris Lafler Monahan, ’50, Sterling, Colorado, Aug. 24, 2014.

Donald H. Popken, ’50, San Jose, California, Oct. 20, 2015.

John J. Sommers, ’50, Omaha, Feb. 8.

Norman R. Swanson, ’51, Lincoln, May 13, 2015.

Richard C. Toren, ’51, Lincoln, Dec. 18, 2015.

Charles E. Bush, ’52, Cheyenne, Wyoming, June 26, 2015.

Robert L. Church, ’52, Perkins, Michigan, Jan. 12.

Nanette Cowles Doolittle, ’52, Gardner, Kansas, Jan. 30.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 59

CLASSNOTES Jeanne Malone Freels, ’52, Cleveland, Ohio, May 10, 2015.

Curtis R. Weatherhogg, ’55, Madison, Wisconsin, Dec. 1, 2015.

Marcia Burklund Hyde, ’52, Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 10.

William P. Weber, ’55, Colorado Springs, Colorado, May 18, 2015.

Russell J. Lallman, ’52, Arlington, Jan. 24.

Edwin W. Laurinat, ’52, North Platte, Nov. 21, 2015.

John A. Sahs, ’52, Omaha, Jan. 29.

Joanne Smith Spivey, ’52, Crossville, Tennessee, Nov. 4, 2015.

Lloyd L. Underbrink, ’52, Casper, Wyoming, Nov. 1, 2015.

Dorothy Gartrell Van Dyck, ’52, Denton, Texas, Jan. 24.

Bernard M. Borowiak, ’53, Helena, Montana, Dec. 2, 2015.

Paul B. Wendell, ’55, Lincoln, Dec. 9, 2015.

Charles E. Herpolsheimer, ’56, Minneapolis, Dec. 15, 2015.

Gene E. Lightner, ’56, Federal Way, Washington, Jan. 6.

Allen R. Millar, ’56, Sioux City, Iowa, Feb. 3.

Richard A. Neal, ’56, Leawood, Kansas, Feb. 6.

Glen D. Alkire, ’57, Charlotte, North Carolina, Jan. 2.

Darrell L. Anderson, ’57, Fairfield, California, Nov. 1, 2015.

Marjorie R. DeBrunner, ’53, Scottsdale, Arizona, Oct. 24, 2015.

Richard R. Flanery, ’57, Portsmouth, Ohio, Oct. 7, 2015.

Marilynn Elseman Heuermann, ’53, Phillips, Jan. 4.

Richard E. Lauk, ’57, Lincoln, Dec. 19, 2015.

Arlan R. Peters, ’53, Ogden, Utah, March 2, 2015.

James M. Pflum, ’57, David City, Dec. 26, 2015.

Lavern F. Roschewski, ’53, Lincoln, Oct. 3, 2014.

William S. Ramacciotti, ’57, La Vista, Dec. 31, 2015.

Richard M. Duxbury, ’54, Lincoln, Nov. 25, 2014.

John F. Cuellar, ’58, Columbia, Missouri, Jan. 13.

Dwight H. Fritts, ’54, Waterloo, Iowa, Dec. 26, 2015.

Janice M. Garcia, ’58, Sunnyvale, California, Nov. 27, 2014.

David K. Kauf, ’54, Lincoln, Nov. 30, 2015.

James L. Hyink, ’58, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Aug. 10, 2014.

John P. Kaveney, ’54, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Dec. 3, 2015.

Louis C. Lindahl, ’58, Omaha, Feb. 2.

Ronald H. Smith, ’59, Louisa, Virginia, April 29, 2015.

E. E. Tice, ’63, Grand Junction, Colorado, Jan. 21.

James R. Woestman, ’59, Madrid, Iowa, Dec. 3, 2015.

Ralph J. Goodell, ’64, Pasadena, California, July 1, 2014.

Allan N. Yont, ’59, Scottsdale, Arizona, March 12, 2015.

Alyce Schnurr Hempel, ’64, Alliance, Nov. 25, 2015.

Michael A. Breiner, ’60, Lincoln, Feb. 9.

Merritt E. James, ’64, Lincoln, Nov. 17, 2015.

Gerald E. Gage, ’60, Portland, Oregon, Feb. 10.

Ojars Maldavs, ’64, Lincoln, Jan. 7.

Alan A. Grove, ’60, La Jolla, California, Dec. 26, 2015.

Susan Swift Miller, ’64, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Jan. 14.

Herbert C. Lemon, ’60, Eugene, Oregon, Oct. 19, 2015.

Reuben Samani, ’60, Lincoln, Nov. 22, 2015.

Joseph L. Simecek, ’60, Springfield, Missouri, Dec. 28, 2015.

Merlon L. Weed, ’60, Bella Vista, Arkansas, Jan. 30.

Timothy G. Adams, ’61, Norfolk, June 21, 2015.

Frederick D. Gustafson, ’61, Omaha, Jan. 26.

Jack L. Hansen, ’61, Grand Island, Dec. 18, 2015.

Judith Bruce Anderson, ’62, Tekamah, Jan. 16.

Larrie E. Bell, ’62, Alvo, Jan. 17, 2015.

James T. McCune, ’62, Omaha, July 6, 2015.

Dennis M. Novicki, ’62, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Dec. 17, 2015.

James E. Nickel, ’63, Helena, Montana, Sept. 19, 2015.

David C. Nelson, ’64, The Villages, Florida, Jan. 24.

Chester A. Sautter, ’64, Fargo, North Dakota, Nov. 10, 2015.

Michael Stek, ’64, Ambler, Pennsylvania, Nov. 14, 2015.

Ernest B. Chapek, ’65, Wahoo, Dec. 22, 2015.

Gerardo R. Dominguez, ’65, Lincoln, Dec. 30, 2015.

Dale C. Hanson, ’65, Mead, Jan. 6.

Myron E. Oehlerking, ’65, Murdock, Feb. 9.

Joseph A. Rott, ’65, Grand Island, Nov. 11, 2015.

Betty Rose Bodie, ’66, Burchard, Nov. 24, 2015.

Allan E. Schack, ’66, Laguna Woods, California, Aug. 31, 2015.

Boyd L. Hill, ’67, Hawley, Texas, Aug. 4, 2015.

Sandy Frazier Ready, ’67, Pflugerville, Texas, Nov. 18, 2015.

Harrison F. Russell, ’54, Grand Junction, Colorado, July 23, 2015.

Harvey G. McMillen, ’58, Westminster, Colorado, Nov. 22, 2015.

Phyllis Dudley Albert, ’55, Cody, Dec. 28, 2015.

Glen A. Blackmon, ’59, Scottsdale, Arizona, March 15, 2015.

Donald J. Schonberg, ’63, Peoria, Arizona, Jan. 15.

Harry N. Langdon, ’55, Kansas City, Missouri, Sept. 27, 2014.

Ardyce E. Haring, ’59, Alpine, Texas, Oct. 10, 2015.

Walter C. Schrupp, ’63, Dallas, Aug. 30, 2015.

Thomas W. Copenhaver, ’68, New Hope, Pennsylvania, April 22, 2015.

William D. Rasdal, ’55, San Jose, California, Nov. 9, 2014.

Daniel E. Johns, ’59, Portland, Oregon, Dec. 22, 2015.

Harry L. Stiverson, ’63, Mill Valley, California, Oct. 17, 2015.

Dan E. Jackman, ’68, Omaha, Feb. 27, 2015.

60 SPRING 2016

Joan Brown Parmenter, ’63, Saint Joseph, Missouri, Jan. 1.

Marceine Dickfos Sweetser, ’67, Oswego, New York, Jan. 25.

CLASSNOTES Larry E. Meyer, ’68, Boulder, Colorado, March 16, 2015.

Bernice Koch Garrels, ’70, Beatrice, July 3, 2015.

Floyd M. Osborn, ’71, Circle Pines, Minnesota, Jan. 19.

John F. Cronin, ’74, Omaha, Nov. 6, 2015.

Ray Q. Putney, ’68, Lincoln, Feb. 10.

Ronnie L. Gemelke, ’70, Richardson, Texas, Feb. 6.

Timothy F. Coniglio, ’72, Lincoln, Dec. 31, 2015.

David A. Dunn, ’74, Papillion, Jan. 12.

Thomas L. Reents, ’68, Lincoln, Nov. 19, 2015.

Alfred H. Halseth, ’70, Joplin, Missouri, Jan. 1.

Paul J. Malcom, ’72, Omaha, Jan. 2.

Mary Fridrich Reiss, ’68, Minden, Jan. 1.

Alfred L. Kaisershot, ’70, Normal, Illinois, Dec. 19, 2015.

Waldo W. Winter, ’72, Bella Vista, Arkansas, Dec. 5, 2015.

Charles T. Ebmeier, ’74, Hutchinson, Kansas, Dec. 7, 2015.

Stephen M. Schultz, ’68, Doniphan, Feb. 4.

Leona Wilson Anderson, ’71, Oakland, Dec. 6, 2015.

Randy L. Bailey, ’73, South Bend, Jan. 4.

Irma L. Trott, ’68, Crete, Jan. 5.

Adella Nolte Bulling, ’71, Milford, Dec. 9, 2015.

Rosemary Murphy Haase, ’73, Lincoln, Dec. 25, 2015.

Gayle F. Carlson, ’71, Lincoln, Nov. 15, 2015.

David E. Nicklen, ’73, Omaha, Dec. 10, 2015.

Randall J. Carroll, ’71, Somerville, Massachusetts, Oct. 27, 2015.

Robert C. Niemoth, ’73, Shawnee Mission, Kansas, July 22, 2015.

Patrick B. Hurley, ’71, Omaha, Dec. 28, 2015.

Larry J. Rollins, ’73, Greeley, Colorado, Oct. 31, 2015.

David W. Wong, ’75, Kirkland, Washington, June 26, 2015.

Rodney O. Johnson, ’71, Omaha, Dec. 4, 2015.

Mary Hartman West, ’73, Hickman, Jan. 1.

Gregory A. Anderson, ’76, Calhoun, Georgia, Jan. 6, 2015.

William W. Marshall, ’69, Grand Island, Jan. 30.

Gary E. O’Mara, ’69, Laramie, Wyoming, Dec. 22, 2015.

Arnold E. Otto, ’69, Aurora, Jan. 4.

Della Fischer Sandahl, ’69, Lincoln, Jan. 31.

Donald W. Frolio, ’70, Blue Springs, Missouri, July 5, 2015.

As an alumnus of The University of Nebraska, you could receive exclusive savings on home insurance from

Barbara Graft Everett, ’74, Lincoln, Dec. 6, 2015.

Brent R. Longwell, ’74, Topeka, Kansas, Dec. 28, 2015.

William A. Tinstman, ’74, Omaha, Nov. 29, 2015.

Donald L. Sturek, ’75, El Cajon, California, Aug. 9, 2015.

Norma Schmidt Tinstman, ’75, Omaha, Nov. 29, 2015.

Along with valuable savings, you’ll enjoy access to benefits like 24-Hour Claims Assistance.

Liberty Mutual.1

For a free quote, call 877-477-4342 or visit www.libertymutual.com/nebraska Client # 6713

®

This organization receives financial support for offering this home benefits program Discounts and savings are available where state laws and regulations allow, and may vary by state. To the extent permitted by law, applicants are individually underwritten; not all applicants may qualify.

1

175 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116. ©2015 Liberty Mutual Insurance

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 61

CLASSNOTES William H. Brunsen, ’76, Portales, New Mexico, July 11, 2015.

Lloyd G. Kaufman, ’76, Pleasant Dale, Feb. 9.

Charlotte Smith Manton, ’76, Lincoln, Feb. 1.

Jolleen Kelso Prokop, ’76, Friend, Feb. 2.

Forrest S. Rose, ’76, Scottsbluff, Nov. 19, 2015.

Randy P. Shelden, ’76, York, Nov. 23, 2015.

Joan C. Treptow, ’76, Lincoln, Feb. 2.

Vincent R. Robertson, ’77, Omaha, Feb. 12.

James L. Shalgren, ’77, Omaha, Dec. 24, 2015.

Willard L. Johnson, ’78, Omaha, Oct. 29, 2015.

Judith Kemp Wynkoop, ’78, Lenoir City, Tennessee, April 11, 2015.

Thomas E. Bullock, ’79, Lincoln, Dec. 29, 2015.

Bruce D. Krutsinger, ’85, Jersey Village, Texas, July 9, 2014.

Nancy Johnson Alley, ’94, Lincoln, Nov. 17, 2015.

Amy D. Keppel, ’79, Goose Creek, South Carolina, Jan. 7.

Andrew L. Schultz, ’85, Lincoln, Oct. 28, 2015.

William D. Beck, ’97, Lincoln, Dec. 7, 2015.

Richard E. Deutschman, ’80, North Platte, Dec. 31, 2015.

Donald G. Wood, ’85, Elkhorn, Jan. 7.

Troy D. Wayman, ’98, Nolanville, Texas, Jan. 16.

Dona Bolin Golden, ’80, Omaha, Nov. 21, 2015.

Mark J. Bernasek, ’86, Lincoln, Nov. 14, 2015.

Caryll Palmer Wilson, ’98, Ceresco, Dec. 5, 2015.

Robert J. Broderick, ’81, Omaha, Dec. 16, 2015.

Merrill F. Messbarger, ’86, Omaha, Jan. 23.

Nicholas A. Wiltgen, ’98, Atlanta, Jan. 24.

Velma Smith Crumbley, ’82, Omaha, Jan. 27.

Denise Gates Peterson, ’86, Lincoln, Dec. 20, 2015.

Kristina Bale Masters, ’04, Ankeny, Iowa, Jan. 19.

Leslie Munger Ora, ’82, Seattle, Jan. 31.

Lolene Allen Williams, ’86, Lincoln, Dec. 21, 2015.

Rosemary D. Cody, ’06, Helena, Montana, Oct. 4, 2015.

Linda M. Clifford, ’83, Beatrice, Aug. 7, 2014.

Steven C. Eickhoff, ’91, Lincoln, Nov. 28, 2015.

Craig L. Baxter, ’11, Lincoln, Jan. 4.

Gary W. Thalken, ’83, Lincoln, Jan. 14.

Chantal Kalisa, ’92, Lincoln, Dec. 18, 2015.

Blair M. Callahan, ’13, Omaha, Jan. 21.

Paul F. Beranek, ’84, Ravenna, Dec. 22, 2015.

Mark R. Stark, ’92, Mesa, Arizona, Nov. 21, 2015.

Joshua J. Roberts, ’14, Lincoln, Jan. 19.

David J. Dietz, ’85, Houston, Nov. 17, 2015.

Geoffrey P. Goodwin, ’93, Omaha, Dec. 1, 2015.

Jeffrey J. Grote, ’85, Martell, Jan. 6.

Kelli A. Nielsen, ’93, Austin, Texas, Jan. 21.

CLASS NOTEPAD Tell us what’s happening! Send news about yourself or fellow Nebraska alumni to: Mail:

Class Notes Editor, Nebraska Magazine, Wick Alumni Center,1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651

E-mail: kwright@huskeralum.org Online: huskeralum.org All notes received will be considered for publication according to the following schedule: Spring Issue: January 15 Fall Issue: July 15

Summer Issue: April 15 Winter Issue: October 15

Items submitted after these dates will be published in later issues.

FACULTY DEATHS

George C. Holdren, ’61, professor emeritus of accounting and business, retired in 1994, Lincoln, Nov. 30, 2015.

Lou Leviticus, a Holocaust survivor and longtime professor of agricultural engineering, was director of the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory until his retirement in 1998 and then volunteered as a curator at the Lester F. Larsen Tractor Test and Power Museum at UNL, Lincoln, Dec. 12, 2015.

Gary Meisters, professor emeritus of mathematics, retired in 1997, Fort Collins, Colorado, Dec. 2, 2015.

Denny L. Schneider, ’52, professor emeritus of trumpet in the School of Music, retired since 1997, Lincoln, Feb. 3.

Charles Stubblefield, professor emeritus of English, Lincoln, Dec. 1, 2015.

62 SPRING 2016

PROCEDURE AND DEADLINES Please complete and return the form below by May 1, 2016 to be included in the football ticket lottery. Tickets are limited to one game and two to fours tickets per household, with priority going to life members with donations, then life members, then annual members of the Nebraska Alumni Association. Involvement and service moves you to the top of your group. Completion and submission of this form constitutes an application for tickets. Members agree to purchase tickets for a single game for any game ranked below.

TICKET REQUESTS Mark your preferences for home and away games on the form below. If your name is chosen to receive tickets, your credit card will be charged and you will receive mail or email confirmation by July 1. The actual per ticket price will match university single-game tickets prices plus a $10 handling fee per order. Home tickets will be available for pickup at the Wick Alumni Center the week of the game, or at the stadium will-call window on game day beginning three hours prior to kickoff. Away game tickets will be shipped via FedEx for a $25 charge, sent seven to 10 days before each away game.

2016 FOOTBALL TICKET REQUEST FORM Name_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Preferred phone #__________________________________ Member ID # (See your magazine mailing label – directly across from your name)__________________ Email Address ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please charge my credit card: AmEx Discover

MasterCard

VISA (No checks please)

Credit card #________________________________________________ Exp. date___________________________________________________

OPTIONAL - I’m attending with the following group (if applicable): Chapter Migration (chapter name)_____________________________ College / Campus event_____________________________________ Mark the group’s designated game as #1 priority.

Membership/Giving Status: (You must be a member) Life Member + Donor Life Member Paying Life Member Annual Member

*Additional Tax-Deductible Donation to Elevate Priority $__________________________

If I am awarded tickets in the lottery process, I agree to purchase tickets for a single game as ranked below. I understand my card will be charged on or around July 1, and tickets are non-refundable.

(Signature)____________________________________________________________________________________________________

2016 NEBRASKA FOOTBALL TICKET PRIORITY SELECTION Indicate quantity (maximum of two tickets) and rank your game preferences with 1 being your top choice: Home games in boldface.

Quantity

Price

Game Date

Rank _____

2

$75

Fresno State

Sat., Sept. 3

_____

2

$75

Wyoming

Sat., Sept. 10

_____

2

$125

Oregon**

Sat., Sept. 17

2

TBD

@ Northwestern**

Sat., Sept. 24

_____

2 or

4

$65 Illinois

Sat., Oct. 1

_____

2 or

4

$65 Purdue

Sat., Oct. 22

_____

_____

2

TBD

@ Wisconsin**

Sat., Oct. 29

_____

2

TBD

@ Ohio State**

Sat., Nov. 5

_____

2 or

4

$65 Minnesota

Sat., Nov. 12

2 or

4

$65

Sat., Nov. 19

_____

Maryland

*Additional gifts to elevate ticket priority are 80% tax-deductible

**Life Members Only

INVOLVEMENT and SERVICE (if any) Young Alumni Academy Postcards of Pride Volunteer Huskers for Higher Education Nebraska Women’s Leadership Network Alumni Awards Committee Alumni Advisory Council Travel Program Participant Former Board Member (Chapter, Affiliate or Association) Affiliate/Chapter Member___________________________ Reunion Attendee_________________________________ Other__________________________________________ Other__________________________________________ Other__________________________________________ Other__________________________________________ Send form with credit card info (no checks please) postmarked by May 1, to: Nebraska Alumni Association, ATTN.: Football Tickets, 1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651 NEBRASKA NEBRASKAMAGAZINE MAGAZINE 47 63 4NAA16•FMO

N E B R A S K A

A lu m n i A s s o c i at i o n

Wick Alumni Center 1520 R Street Lincoln, NE 68508-1651

WORDSMITHS

Willa Cather

WANTED! Enter the 2016 Nebraska Magazine Writing Contest and compete for a byline!

The Categories ALUMNI PROFILES: Write about a Nebraska grad with an interesting hobby or career.

NOSTALGIA PIECES: Tell us about a memorable student activity you participated in at UNL, or write about a favorite professor.

Loren Eiseley

The Prizes Three prizes will be awarded in each category, and the winning articles will be published in Nebraska Magazine.

?

• 1st Prize: $500 • 2nd Prize: $250 • 3rd Prize: $100

The Details Articles must be 750 to 1,000 words in length, typewritten. Entry deadline is April 15, 2016.

Submit entries, along with the author’s name, address and phone number.

BY MAIL: Magazine Writing Contest, Wick Alumni Center, 1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651.

BY E-MAIL: nebmag@huskeralum.org ONLINE: huskeralum.org/writing-submission

You