30 minute read
Campus News
15
DEVOUR
Stay at the Scarlet Hotel on campus.
18
GO BABY
Engineers craft kid mobiles for youth.
20
LOVE IT
Library cupola gets a facelift.
23
GAME ON
Video game teaches prairie protections.
FALL
Members of the Cornhusker Marching Band walk with the five-foot-tall drum down R Street during the 2021 homecoming parade.
FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS
Drumroll, Please
BIG BERTHA RESTORED TO ITS GLORY DAYS
BY TROY FEDDERSON (’95)
The drumbeats of campus life are just a little bigger these days at Dear Old Nebraska U. Through a collaboration between the Nebraska Alumni Association and Cornhusker Marching Band, the university’s five-foot-tall bass drum (known colloquially as a “Big Bertha” drum) has been refurbished and returned to service on campus.
“The drum was well-used through the years and, while it still looked great, it had fallen into a state of disrepair,” said Andy Washburn, associate executive director of operations for the alumni association. “Over the years, it had become a part of the alumni center’s collection. When plans for the university’s 150th celebration came together, we decided it was the perfect time to repair the drum and return it to campus in all its glory.”
Used primarily as a decorative piece in parades and at campus events, the instrument has a rich 89-year history that includes the “World’s Biggest Drum” of Purdue University and a disappearing act in 1941. “It all started in when (Chancellor) John K. Selleck went on an East Coast/Ohio Valley tour,” Washburn said. “He saw these big drums at Purdue and Northwestern and wanted one for Nebraska.”
In 1932, the drum (along with two glockenspiels and a half-dozen specialized horns) was purchased and first used during a home basketball game against Creighton University. It was used consistently at
craig chandler
FALL
Joyce Burns was the first twirler for the Cornhusker Marching Band. She made her debut in 1961 bursting forth from a false cover of the large drum.
BIG BRAG
The university has set a record in offering more than 6,800 universitywide scholarships to the 2022 graduating class from Nebraska high schools and other first-year admits. Nearly two out of three first-year admitted resident students have been offered an academic scholarship for the current school year. campus events through the 1941 Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl game against Stanford.
Then, the drum faded from public view. “Reports state that it was either misplaced or went into storage,” Washburn said. “It came back in an interesting fashion in 1961.”
The drum’s return marked the introduction of the university’s first baton twirler, a student named Joyce Burns. As the drum rolled across the turf of Memorial Stadium on Sept. 23, 1961, Burns burst forth from it (via a false, paper drum head) and started to perform.
Burns’ appearance marked the start of the Cornhusker Marching Band using baton twirlers in performances — a tradition that continues today (though, without them bursting from drum heads).
The drum continued to be used during games, including the start of the Memorial Stadium sellout streak on Nov. 3, 1962. It eventually was retired, became a part of the Nebraska Alumni Association’s collection and put on display for visitors to enjoy.
An alumnus of the Cornhusker Marching Band, Washburn turned to those he trusted to help guide the percussion instrument’s repair — Tony Falcone and Doug Bush, two long-time leaders with the band.
“I really had no idea where you would go to order five-foot tall drum heads,” Washburn said. He provided artwork to the company, recreating E.F. Jackson’s hand-painted design on the original drum head into a digital file. He also sought help from a welder neighbor to refurbish the cart that the drum rides in.
The project came together in late 2019 when student leaders from the band helped Washburn replace the old drum heads with the modern versions. The drum was unveiled to the public on Feb. 14, 2019, the university’s charter day.
The drum will be used for campus events and by the marching band (as needed). “It’s doesn’t have great sound, so its days as a musical instrument are behind it,” Washburn said. “But the drum makes for an outstanding centerpiece and it is a great artifact in our university’s rich history.
“As an alumnus of the band,” he said, “it was really great to help be a part of the drum’s history and protect its legacy for generations of Huskers to come.”
OVERHEARD
JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS
College Kudos
BEING BLACK IN LINCOLN PROJECT EARNS KENNEDY JOURNALISM AWARD
A student project that reported on the Black experience in Nebraska’s capital city took home the College Journalism Award at the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Book and Journalism Awards in May. The depth-reporting project — Being Black in Lincoln — was developed by 12 students via a college course.
The award recognizes outstanding achievement in collegiate journalism that is focused on social injustices and human rights. This is the second time in five years that a depth-reporting project from the college has received a Kennedy award.
In 2017, a Husker reporting team won the College Journalism Award and the grand prize for The Wounds of Whiteclay: Nebraska’s Shameful Legacy. The project explored the issues and impact of alcohol sales in the small community of Whiteclay. It was the first time in the event’s 49-year history that the top prize went to a college group.
Joe Starita (’78, ’95), professor emeritus of journalism, was the editor for Wounds of White Clay and for this year’s award-winning project.
Starita and then-professor Jennifer Sheppard, created Being Black in Lincoln to shed light on the reality that the Black community experiences in Nebraska’s capital city. Students applied to be in the class by submitting a 500-word essay explaining why they should be chosen. Starita and Sheppard selected 12 students to write a dozen profiles on Black residents of Lincoln.
“The bar was set pretty high on those essays,” Starita said. “They had to convince us that we should take them (into the class), and we were flabbergasted by the energy, the insight, the smarts and how clean the writing was in the essays among those we ultimately selected.”
The class launched during the spring 2021 semester, and the stories were published in the Lincoln Journal Star in summer 2021 and the fall 2021 edition of Nebraska Quarterly.
With Lincoln being predominantly white, the stu-
— Associate Professor AARON DUNCAN (’11), director of speech and debate, on the Speech and Debate Team winning a national championship in April— the first in the team’s 151-year history.
dents knew they wanted to highlight the Black community’s experience since most Lincolnites have not experienced the isolation that can come from being a person of color.
Sheppard said the success of the project doesn’t stop at winning this award, it lies in the community’s response and greater understanding of varied experiences. —Kaitlin Van Loon
Dominique Liu-Sang speaks in front of Lincoln’s Hall of Justice on the injustices of Black and brown people in 2020. Her story is featured in the Being Black in Lincoln series.
FALL
Architecture students frame out the foundation for Mizer Ruin being built near Ogallala.
BIG BRAG
Law Professor Ryan Sullivan received the Access to Justice Award from the Association of American Law Schools for his timely and transformative work on the Tenant Assistance Project, which has helped keep over 2,000 Nebraska families in their homes since the beginning of the pandemic.
ARCHITECTURE
Tiny House, Big Payoff
STUDENTS RESEARCH NEW USES OF EASTERN REDCEDAR WITH CABIN CONSTRUCTION
Exploring a more sustainable way to build, Associate Professor Jason Griffiths’ students are designing and constructing Mizer Ruin, a 200-squarefoot micro dwelling using eastern redcedar at the University of Nebraska’s Cedar Point Biological Station near Ogallala. For many Nebraska farmers, these trees can be a nuisance and costly to remove as they encroach on pasture and farmland. Finding creative solutions to this problem is one of the project objectives as Griffiths and his students explore the use of eastern redcedar as a construction material. If this team can demonstrate that eastern redcedar is a cost-effective, viable building material, this could prove a more sustainable choice for construction as well as a possible solution for offsetting tree removal costs and a means for forest fire management.
Studio classes have been involved since 2018 and further developed through the 2019 and 2021 master-level, design research, design-build studio. Last fall students finalized the design, began site preparation and poured the footings. Last summer, research and independent study students milled the logs in preparation for the fall class to begin construction. Griffiths aims for final completion next spring.
Once finished, the micro-dwelling residence will be used by the Cedar Point Biological Station manager. With only 200 square feet, the students had to design for space efficiency, including a tiny kitchenette, a small shower, a living space and a bedroom.
Being built as a sustainability research project, Griffiths will be collecting data for milling the project on-site as a method to reduce the embodied energy of the building materials. “I won’t know the total environmental costs of this project until it’s all said and done in 2023, but I’m very curious to see the numbers and whether this will be a viable, cost-effective building method,” said Griffiths.
Using a mobile, wood mizer won’t be the only aspect that is unique to this project. The team plans to use the Japanese technique called shou sugi ban to treat the exterior of the log construction. The method includes charring the surface of the wood using a propane wood torch, and then rubbing it with natural oil. This technique for weatherproofing wood creates a material that is resistant to rot, pests, water and fire. —Kerry McCullough-Vondrak
DEVOUR
IN HUSKER COUNTRY
STAY
Scarlet Hotel Enjoy a night or two at the Scarlet Hotel located on Nebraska Innovation Campus. Staying true to Nebraska’s motto, each bedroom in the 154-room Marriott complex pays homage to local Nebraska towns and heroes.
WATCH
Return of the Pawnees Watch the story of reconciliation and environmental justice as Nebraska writer Roger Welsch turns over his 60-acre homestead to the Pawnee Nation, land that previously belonged to the Pawnee people who were forcibly removed in 1875 by the U.S. government. Co-produced by professor of history Margaret Jacobs, Return of the Pawnees is streaming on Nebraska Public Media.
BUY
Vintage Jersey Rep your alma mater with an authentic flannel from 1941. Made in NU’s classic scarlet and cream colors, this baseball jersey is an authentic reproduction of the jersey worn by the 1941-42 baseball team. This jersey is available exclusively at ebbets.com for a whopping $235.
DONATE
Lavender Closet Donate your gently-used and worn clothing items to the campus Lavender Closet. A resource of the LGBTQA+ Center, the Lavender Closet is a free, confidential resource aiming to provide inclusive, gender-affirming and affordable clothing.
RIDE
Electric Bicycles Feel fall’s cool breeze as you ride through the city on BikeLNK’s new electric bikes. As Lincoln’s premiere bike-share program, BikeLNK gives residents and visitors the option to explore the city on a rental bike as found at the many docking stations around the city and the campus.
READ
Flight Risk Follow the tale of Isabel Morales, a successful Latinx sculptor living in Chicago, as she faces her past of traumatic upbringing, poverty, instability and familial violence upon her mother’s death. This is the sixth novel by Joy Castro, Nebraska’s Willa Cather Professor of English and ethnic studies.
FALL
School psychologist Katie Bevins talks with students at Crete Middle School.
BIG BRAG
Professor Valerie Jones received a Fulbright Global Scholar Award on April 1 to study the use of emergent technology in facilitating social connectedness for aging adults in the United States and Australia. She is the first professor from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications to be named a Fulbright Scholar since 1999.
EDUCATION AND HUMAN SCIENCES
Mental Health
HUSKER PROGRAM TRAINING MUCH-NEEDED SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS
Every morning at Crete Middle School, school psychologist Katie (Pickett) Bevins (’99, ’04, ’07, ’17) walks the commons area and visits with students using the space to eat breakfast, chat with friends, or study a bit more before classes begin.
These interactions play a crucial role for Bevins in building trust and relationships with them, because like all school psychologists, she will be one of the first called on to help if a student is struggling with mental or behavioral health or facing a crisis.
“Kids are themselves at school, and I think we get a unique view of what kids are facing,” said Bevins, an alumna of the psychology program. “A lot of kids who need help end up getting it in a school setting, because they’re here, and we can provide some of those services.”
School psychologists play many roles, and their training reflects that, said Catelyn Kenney (’13, ’16), who works at Lincoln Public Schools.
“We’re often the only one in the building with expertise in managing behavior, understanding classroom climates, understanding interventions for behavior and academics,” Kenney, a school psychologist, said. “We have expertise to work with individual students, but we’re also able to take a step back and be experts in data analysis to evaluate systems and form best practices.”
Despite their importance, which was magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic, school psychologists are in short supply. In Nebraska, and across the United States, many positions consistently go unfilled, leaving a segment of students underserved. In Nebraska, more than 47,000 children have been diagnosed with behavioral or mental health conditions, according to the 2020 Kids Count in Nebraska report, and these students often rely on support from school psychologists.
“Approximately 20% to 22% of children and adolescents have one or more mental health disorders recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. Community providers — hospitals and clinics — are meeting the needs of only about a fourth of those, so the majority of children with mental health needs are receiving services through schools,” said Beth Doll, professor of School Psychology.
The university’s School Psychology program continually helps address these shortages for Nebraska and beyond through its practice-centered curriculum that provides three-year and six-year training programs for educational specialist and doctoral degrees, respectively. Considered one of the best training programs in the United States, Nebraska’s school psychology program is accredited by both the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists, and typically graduates about 10 students each year. —Deann Gayman
OVERHEARD
— PAT TETREAULT
(’89), director of the university’s LGBTQA+ Resource Center and the Women’s Center, who served as grand marshal for the second annual Star City Pride Parade in June. “I am humbled by the support and appreciation being extended to myself and the LGBTQA+ Center for our contributions over the years. Our work has helped create meaningful change with the contributions and support of all those who helped establish the center and have supported or contributed to our mission.”
ARTS AND SCIENCES
Hands-on for a Leg Up
BOOSTING THE VALUE OF A DEGREE WITH EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Last year, undergraduate mathematics major Grace Farson helped U.S. Strategic Command update an online nuclear conflict wargame during her stint as an intern with the National Strategic Research Institute. She was immersed in knowledge about national security and real-world, mission-related policy and technical challenges. Farson spent hours researching, writing, and coding with six peers. They then briefed U.S. Strategic Command leaders, including deputy commander Lt. Gen. Thomas Bussiere.
“This experience has influenced my future education and career path greatly,” Farson said. “(The Institute) has helped educate me on various national security topics and provided me with connections and experiences that have enhanced my knowledge base and led me to finding my future career path.”
These experiences — called “experiential learning” — give students a way to apply coursework to real world activities, problems and organizations and reflect upon those connections. It might be through an internship, assisting in a lab or field, volunteering, engaging in a student organization, or studying and serving outside of the United States.
Experiential learning isn’t new, but over time more emphasis has been placed on career readiness, empowering students with skills employers are seeking as they build experience before graduating and adding value to a college degree. A core tenet of the College of Arts and Sciences has been academics + experience = opportunities: gaining experience, coupled with academic success, leads to more opportunities after graduation. Dean Mark Button’s aspiration — and the college’s vision — is that every student will have at least one transformative hands-on learning experience during their time at Nebraska.
This vision has been a decade in the making, starting with the college’s Advising Center becoming the Academic and Career Advising Center, complete with career coaching and a four-year success plan. The college’s strategic plan, launched last year and aligned with the university’s N2025 plan, incorporated experiential learning into one of six aims, specifying it will be a national leader in experiential and lifelong learning opportunities.
The next step, born from and powered by goals from the plan, is an Experiential Learning and Career Development Center, a central hub for experiential learning, career counseling and internship placement. It will serve as a gathering place for students and the embodiment of career readiness. This can take many forms. Students in the Legal Research Lab, led by historian Katrina Jagodinsky, analyze historical and ongoing legal practices and structures, use primary source materials from digital and physical repositories, and leverage different research methods. They exercise critical thinking, analysis, and communication skills — while restructuring archival legal data, assisting in the completion of research.
In Munster, Germany, a team of students led by anthropologist William Belcher is learning forensic archaeological field techniques to excavate the remains of an MIA soldier from a World War II aircraft crash site. Their education abroad experience includes visiting historical sites and networking with officials from the Department of Defense POW/ MIA Accounting Agency.
When students are elected to student government or join one of more than 500 student organizations (or start a new one), they build relationships and leadership skills, which can include identifying goals, recruiting new members, managing budgets and leading meetings. They can also work on campus, becoming knowledgeable about aspects of the university’s operations, and assist the community in using services or understanding information and policy.
These are a few among many ways students are complementing their academics with experiential learning, making themselves more marketable — an early post-graduate advantage.
Alumnus Thatcher Davis (’90) and his wife Shannon see the exponential value. They have invested $1 million in the college’s strategic focus on experiential learning and career development and its impact on the future of students. Dean Button is enthusiastic to build upon the momentum their investment has made possible. “We are committed to having students become alumni who transform lives and improve our world — which we enable by letting curiosity move them to do big things,” Button said.
Grace Farson
Lt. Gen. Thomas Bussiere
FALL
Ethan Bowles, a biological systems engineering major, makes an adjustment to the steering wheel in an electric car during the GoBabyGo! build last spring. He was among seven Huskers to assist with the project.
ENGINEERING
Go Baby Go
HUSKERS PROPEL AREA YOUTH VIA HIGHER ED COLLABORATION
Clinging to a ledge — and with a little support from his mom — Callum Wilkie watched through a window as other children cruised about in kid-sized battery powered cars.
The 3-year-old, who was born with congenital hip dislocation, rocked slightly with excitement as he turned to look at his mother, Erin.
“Yep, yours will be here soon,” Erin Wilkie said. “We need to be patient. Just think, you’ll be able to go to the park and drive around like all the other kids.”
Callum was one of 10 area youth who received a free customized battery-powered car last spring through Nebraska’s GoBabyGo! chapter. Established in 2016 and funded through the Munroe-Meyer Guild, the chapter is a partnership between the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s College of Engineering, University of Nebraska at Omaha and UNMC’s College of Allied Health Professionals/physical therapy students.
Twice each year, future engineers and health professionals from the partner institutions and Creighton University join forces to customize the electric cars to meet the specific needs of children with mobility issues.
“Most of these kids haven’t moved on their own in their lives,” said Ethan Bowles, a biological systems engineering major. “It’s incredible when you think about that — mobility is so very important, but it’s something that many of us take for granted every day.”
Bowles was one of seven Huskers from the university’s Biomedical Engineering Society chapter who participated in the April GoBabyGo! event at UNMC’s Munroe-Meyer Institute. It was the third time he volunteered to assist with the project.
Teams of four, which include at least one engineer and a physical therapist, perform the modifications. Their work is defined by the needs of each child — the physical therapist (who usually works with the child) providing oversight on the adaptations, and the engineers/technicians performing the electrical, steering and seating adjustments.
“Having the mindsets from the different schools, backgrounds and disciplines come together allows us to develop some innovative solutions,” Bowles said. “It’s always a great collaboration. And it allows each of us to apply skills we’ve learned in the classroom on a real-world project while also developing our interpersonal skills.”
The GoBabyGo! project was founded by Cole Galloway, a physical therapist at the University of Delaware, to make mobility devices accessible, affordable and easy to use for all children. Its creation is based on research that shows independent mobility changes the way children think about space, objects and social interaction.
“My son is behind in terms of mobility because he spent the first nine months of his life in a cast from just below his ribs to his ankles,” Erin Wilkie said. “He can’t walk, but this will allow him to keep up with the other kids at daycare. He’ll be able to move along with them and it will allow him to drive around when we hang around outside at our house.
“Being able to move around freely like that is a big deal — something every kid should have.”
And seeing the kids realize the power of mobility is what keeps Huskers, Mavs and Jays coming back to assist with the GoBabyGo! builds.
“The end of the day is so satisfying, knowing you’ve used your skills to make a child’s life a little bit better,” Bowles said. “But the real payoff is seeing their faces light up when they start moving that first time. The feeling that smile gives you is like nothing else — it’s very gratifying.”
—Troy Fedderson
OVERHEARD
Four-year-old Dayana Torres enjoys the new, battery-powered car.
BIG BRAG
Nebraska Engineering researchers Jinying Zhu and Fadi Alsaleem have received a three-year, $800,000 award from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a dual-sensing, health-monitoring system for a spent nuclear fuel canister.
“The Scarlet Hotel brings a unique opportunity for college students to have a front row seat to see how a high-end boutique hotel is run. There are more than 78 years of hospitality knowledge between the general manager, director of sales and marketing, director of food and beverage, and the executive chef. The students can gain knowledge from each senior leader with various backgrounds without having to leave Lincoln, Nebraska.”
— REBECCA ELLERS (’22) graduated in May with a degree in hospitality, restaurant and tourism management. Now she is the front desk supervisor at the 154-room Marriott Tribute Portfolio Hotel which opened this spring on Nebraska Innovation Campus.
FALL
BIG BRAG
Among the nearly 120 Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts undergraduate students who graduated on May 14 were the first nine emerging media arts graduates from the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts. The Carson Center opened in the fall of 2019. Preparations for the center were launched in 2015 with a $20 million gift from the foundation of iconic talk show host Johnny Carson.
craig chandler
LOVE IT
Cupola gets a facelift
Shining across campus and downtown Lincoln since Love Library opened, a major restoration of the exterior of the Love Library cupola is in the works to repair damage to the exterior of the cupola.
WAS THIS DONE BEFORE? Yes, in the summer of 2012.
WHO’S TAKING PHOTOS? Erin Crombach Colonna (’03), a graphic designer with University Libraries, documents signatures on the walls inside the cupola. One of the earliest marks is dated 1943 when the library opened as a temporary barracks for cadets in the Army Specialized Training Program.
FALL
Standing Bear High School Principal Sue Cassata spoke during the annoucement of the new partnership with UNL saying, “through hands-on immersion experiences in early college pathways, the focus program with the College of Business will allow Standing Bear High School students to explore their passion and career opportunities.”
BIG BRAG
Paul (’76) and Mary Ann (’77) Koehler donated a $1 million gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation to establish a permanently endowed fund for the College of Business. The endowment will provide annual support to the college to make enhancements at Howard L. Hawks Hall.
BUSINESS
Great Expectations
COLLEGE WILL PARTNER WITH FUTURE LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL
Lincoln Public Schools and the College of Business are joining forces to launch Nebraska Business at Standing Bear High School.
“We exist to create opportunity for Nebraska, and today we are boosting access to exceptional business education for Nebraskans,” said Chancellor Ronnie Green. “Partnering in this new way with our College of Business builds on a historically strong relationship and expands opportunities for students right here in Lincoln.” Standing Bear High School students will learn about the dynamic world of business and take courses to explore and learn more about potential career opportunities in business. Students in grades 9 and 10 at Standing Bear High School will have business coursework integrated into other classes they take. Students in grades 11 and 12 may opt to take classes for college credit through the focus program and will receive reduced tuition. Non-credit experiences will be available to students free-ofcharge. The program is designed to be affordable and accessible to students and their families.
Through hands-on immersive experiences and early college pathways, the focus program will allow Standing Bear High School students to explore their passions and career opportunities in the areas of marketing, management, accounting, finance, supply chain and economics. Pathways are designed for students who wish to pursue a two- or fouryear college degree, as well as for students who plan to enter the workforce after graduating from high school. They will do so while connecting with peers, teachers and business professionals from the community.
“We all know business and entrepreneurship are critical to our state and that our state’s high school students can go on to lead successful careers in Nebraska,” said Dean Kathy Farrell. “This partnership will help Lincoln high school students explore the world of business and gain insight into their interest in leading the future of business.”
Standing Bear High School will open in the fall of 2023, and with it the new Nebraska Business focus program. As the new high school continues
Kathy Farrell
to be built, curriculum planning will take shape this next year collaboratively with Lincoln teachers and College of Business faculty. —Sheri Irwin-Gish
OVERHEARD
— DEENA KEILANY
(’22), speaking to the College of Law’s spring graduates
AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Game On
HUSKER-DEVELOPED VIDEO GAME PUTS PLAYER IN ROLE OF PRAIRIE PROTECTOR
More than two years in, Jenny Keshwani (’03, ’05) has cleared countless prairie acres of the eastern redcedar tree. The invasive species, dubbed the “green glacier” for the way it has overrun native grasslands throughout much of the Great Plains, is now threatening to do the same in Nebraska. So, Keshwani has taken up the ax, chainsaw, bulldozer and, when she has enough coin, controlled burns of purging fire to obliterate the menace.
Now high schoolers across the Cornhusker State are joining Keshwani in lifting a finger for the cause: eradicating swarms of pixelated evergreens from a screen via the click of a mouse.
That’s the charge presented in Prairie Protector, a computer game conceived by faculty and developed by undergrads across various colleges. The game’s simple 2D graphics and gameplay mechanics belie a grander vision: spreading the word about an invader that is endangering native plant and animal species, the livelihoods of ranchers, even the financial security of Nebraska’s public schools.
“It gives students a really tangible way to see the impact on their own environment,” said Keshwani, an associate professor of biological systems engineering and science literacy specialist with Nebraska Extension. “When we’ve talked to students after they’ve played Prairie Protector, they start noticing there is invasive redcedar all over the place. It wasn’t there a few years ago, but now it is.”
As little as a few years ago, eastern redcedar was a stranger to Keshwani, too. But her expertise in translating university research for K-12 audiences brought her to the attention of Dirac Twidwell, an associate professor of agronomy and horticulture who has spent years studying and working to slow the spread of the invasive species. Keshwani agreed to join The Prairie Project, a multi-state research, education and outreach effort aimed at mitigating threats to the grasslands of the Southern Great Plains.
While doing their homework on eastern redcedar, Keshwani and colleague Erin Ingram came across a blog post that compared its encroachment to the 1978 arcade classic Space Invaders.
“I remember being a little kid playing Space Invaders,” said Keshwani, who was previously involved with another Husker-developed game, Agpocalypse 2050. “It resonated with me.”
Inspired, she was soon partnering with a group of five Husker students led by Conner Lunn (’19) to develop a game that instead had players fighting off a terrestrial invader.
In the course of their research, Twidwell and his colleagues had developed mathematical models of eastern redcedar’s spread that Keshwani and the students used to calibrate the pace of its propagation in the game. That research likewise led the team to implement three stages of invasion, only the latter two of which can drop seeds — making them strategic targets for players looking to stop the spread.
“Anytime we develop a game, we want to make sure it’s true to the science,” Keshwani said.
The science also helped the team decide on the type and effectiveness of treatment methods included in the game. Hand-cutting with an ax keeps young trees from growing into mature, seed-producing ones, whereas bulldozing can clear out those mature specimens or even an entire woodland. But none of those mechanical methods can delay the sprouting of new eastern redcedar. Controlled burns, meanwhile, will stymie new growth for at least a few rounds, giving players valuable time to start clearing other areas of the map. —Scott Schrage
TRY IT
To play Prairie Protector, visit prairieprotector.com.
Scholarships help power alums’ entrepreneurial dreams
While in college, Husker alumni and brothers Matt Brugger ’19 and Joe Brugger ’19 of Albion, Nebraska, started their own company, Upstream Farms & Distillery. They credit UNL’s Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program and scholarships with helping them begin to realize their dreams. Following are excerpts from a conversation with the Bruggers. Visit nufoundation.org/naabrugger to read the entire Q&A.
What opportunities most influenced your experiences while students at Nebraska?
Matt: Being a part of the Engler Program was one of the most pivotal experiences for me as a young adult. Engler challenged me to think outside of the box when it came to my education and career. The program gave me the tools and autonomy to jump outside of the classroom and learn through experience, failure and success while launching and running our farm-to-table business. Joe: I agree with Matt. Engler was one of the most influential programs. We also had the opportunity to play in the drumline for the Cornhusker Marching Band which, I have to say, was a lot of fun!
Talk about the impact of the scholarship you received.
Matt: The scholarships we received from the Engler Program and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation gave us the privilege of financial autonomy to start a business in college without the worry of student loans. The burden of student debt can make it difficult to ideate and implement outside-of- the-box ideas. Because of these scholarships we have been able to have a positive impact in our community after college.
What sparked your interest in becoming entrepreneurs?
Joe: Growing up on a farm, we were always working as a family to bring in revenue to stay afloat. We all played a role helping with chores, washing eggs, bottle-feeding lambs and calves, whatever we could do to bring in extra income for the farm. … I think growing up in that environment naturally instilled an entrepreneurial spirit in us.
What has influenced your passion to help rural Nebraska thrive?
Matt: When we were younger, I think investing back into a community that invested so much into us was a huge motivation. Watching farms sell and rural communities shrink was hard for us to watch, and we wanted to do something to combat that. As we’ve grown up, we’ve seen rural Nebraska grow, innovate and adapt. However, there is still so much work that can be done.
What is your vision for the business and its impact on the community and state?
Joe: Right now, our goal is to take the commodities we grow as farmers and turn them into consumables. Our farm, from the outside, might look like a typical Nebraska farm. We raise corn, rye, soy and cattle. But rather than
Matt and Joe Brugger
selling these products on the commodity market, we add value by marketing the all-natural Black Angus beef we raise directly to consumers all over the country. In addition to this, we have renovated an old milk barn on our farm into a small micro distillery and started sourcing Berkshire pork and homegrown honey from others involved in the Engler Program. Our end goal with this is to create ease in the market volatility we see as producers. (Visit upstreamfarms.com to learn more about Upstream Farms & Distillery.)
What would you say to those who supported the programs that benefited you while students at Nebraska?
Matt: First and foremost, I would say thank you. We can put as many resources into educational and professional development programs as we want, but at the end of the day, students will be able to tap into the creative and innovative parts of their hearts and minds when there isn’t a financial burden of the cost of college hanging over them. Those who support programs that support students, are directly impacting the families and communities of those students who benefit from them. This support matters and is appreciated more than you can know.
Learn more about how to support Nebraska students by visiting nufoundation.org or calling 800-432-3216.
