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First-generation Student Builds a Better Life at UNL

November 9, 2022 by Katie Squier

Dywan Williams, a member of the Nebraska College Preparatory Academy, is majoring in accounting at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

By Connie White

Dywan Williams learned early on to work hard for what he wanted.

That ambition was evident in the sixth grade when Williams got the idea to mow lawns in his North Omaha neighborhood to earn cash to pay for extras like a Lunchable to take on his school field trip, so he didn’t have to eat school lunch. His ambition to succeed continued in junior high when he played football, wrestled and ran track in hopes of earning a college athletic scholarship.

At Omaha North High School, Williams switched gears. Although he played football, he decided he lacked the passion to compete at the next level. Instead, he set his sights on a new goal: to get to college through the Nebraska College Preparatory Academy (NCPA) at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

NCPA prepares academically talented first-generation, income-eligible students from four Nebraska high schools — Omaha North, Omaha South High School, Grand Island Senior High School and Winnebago High School — for college and their future careers. Through the academy, students receive mentoring and support beginning in their freshman year in high school and continuing through their time at UNL. NCPA covers students’ full cost of college attendance.

Williams, who was raised by a single mother, said the NCPA staff were there for him as he dealt with adversity and believed in him when he didn’t believe in himself. During his freshman year at North, he said he was at risk of being disqualified from the program because his GPA didn’t meet the required threshold.

“They said, ‘Dywan, you can do this. You got this.’ And I did it,” Williams said.

He studied hard and graduated from North with a 3.5 grade point average.

When he arrived on the UNL campus for his freshmen year, Williams said he was scared and intimidated — no one else in his family has graduated from college.

But as he spent time with the program’s staff and students, who come from similar backgrounds, his confidence increased. “If they did it, I can do it, too,” Williams told himself.

He was right.

Williams, 19, is a sophomore accounting major in the College of Business. He has a 3.82 GPA at UNL and has lined up an internship for next summer at Ernst & Young (EY) in Minneapolis, where he will shadow accountants at the firm and learn about public accounting work. If that goes well, he will move on to a second internship the following summer, when he will have the opportunity to engage with clients and gain real-life experience. He said he hopes to receive a job offer after he graduates.

His dream job is in auditing, where he would work with companies on their financial reporting and internal controls and learn how companies operate their businesses. “Accounting is the language of business,” Williams said.

Kurtis Krentz of Minneapolis, a senior partner at EY, connected Williams to EY’s internship program. Krentz said he first met Williams through his involvement with NCPA providing support to students. He and his wife, Jill, are donors to the program through the University of Nebraska Foundation and view NCPA as serving a critical role in addressing inequalities in society by supporting students who may not otherwise have been able to pursue a college degree.

“When I met Dywan, it didn’t take long for me to see Dywan’s potential. He is doing terrific in school and is so driven to better himself and his future,” said Krentz, who graduated from UNL with an accounting degree in 1989. “Understanding his story, you can’t help but be impressed by how he’s changing the course of his life.”

Williams said he feels grateful to be at UNL. Asked what he likes about the university, he answered: “Everything.”

“I like the food,” he said, with a smile. “I like the fact that I’m around people who also want to be successful. I like the fact that I get to create a better life for me and my family.”

Williams said the scholarship assistance has taken a burden off him.

“My mom didn’t have to worry about paying for college,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about taking out loans and being in debt for a long, long time.”

Williams expressed gratitude to the donors who are “making an impact on my life, making an impact on my community and the next generation that’s coming up.”

“Thank you, thank you so much,” he said. “It helps me realize there’s people who want to help people like me have a better life. We’re not alone.”

College of Engineering Expands to Meet Demand

November 8, 2022 by Katie Squier

Lance C. Pérez, Ph.D., became the dean of the University of Nebraska College of Engineering in 2018, following two years as interim dean. During his tenure, engineering facilities on City Campus have undergone a $190 million transformation.

Dean Pérez Aims to Grow Workforce Pipeline and Spur Economic Development
By Connie White

Ask Dean Lance C. Pérez why he wants to create “a bigger, better College of Engineering” at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and he’s ready with a Nebraska-centric answer.

By constructing buildings, hiring new faculty, recruiting more students and expanding research, the state’s only engineering college can spur economic development in Nebraska, Pérez said.

Engineers are in huge demand across the state and are essential to its biggest industries. Nebraska’s banking and insurance companies, for example, require software engineers to support their online infrastructure. Modern agriculture, “which is obviously very important in Nebraska,” needs equipment for automation and data analytics to manage water resources, fertilizer, seed distribution and productivity, he said.

Growing Nebraska’s pipeline of engineers, computing and construction professionals is critical to filling those and other open jobs in the state and region and to creating new jobs, Pérez said. With a bigger College of Engineering, the university will be able to support the growth of existing companies as well as the creation of new companies in Nebraska.

“Engineering plays a role in more and more sectors of both the Nebraska economy and the U.S. and global economy,” Pérez said. “We have to produce the engineers who can fill those roles.”

The kindness of Nebraskans

Pérez grew up in the Washington, D.C., area, earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia and a Master of Science and a doctorate from the University of Notre Dame.

He had never visited Nebraska before coming to Lincoln in 1996 to interview for a faculty position. Nebraska’s appeal was partly personal; his dad was born in Trenton, Nebraska. He liked what he saw and took the job, with encouragement from his wife, Julie.

Twenty-six years later, Pérez is proud to call Nebraska home because of what he describes as the kindness and integrity of Nebraskans who will “help strangers without questioning it.” He said he sees those qualities reflected in UNL’s mission.

Pérez was named dean of the College of Engineering in May 2018, following two years as interim dean. During his tenure, he has overseen unprecedented growth in the college, with philanthropic giving playing a pivotal role.

“Philanthropy is just so important to enabling us to accomplish our goals and to deliver on our mission,” said Pérez, who is also the Omar H. Heins Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

A historic $190 million project

The college’s transformation, the result of both public and private funding, is apparent to anyone who visits campus and sees a towering construction crane dominating the skyline. The $190 million investment represents the largest academic facilities project in UNL’s 153-year history.

The Engineering Research Center, an 87,000-square-foot building that replaced the Link, recently opened to support the college’s research efforts. The Scott Engineering Center is being renovated to provide research and lab space, and Kiewit Hall is slated to open for classes in spring 2024 with a mission of educating and supporting undergraduate students.

Pérez noted the $115 million Kiewit Hall is entirely funded by donors, with a $25 million naming gift provided by Kiewit Corp. “Without philanthropy, that building simply wouldn’t be,” he said.

Pérez said Kiewit Hall is critical to the college’s goal of growing undergraduate enrollment from 3,000 to 5,000 students.

“The quality of your facilities plays a really important role in recruitment. Students want to come to a place and a facility that show you’re taking their education seriously,” he said.

Pérez has high praise for the college’s “amazing, world-class faculty,” who he says are doing research to address the fundamental problems facing the United States and the world.

“From climate change, to disease, to better construction methods, to new approaches on computing, we have faculty doing work in all those areas,” Pérez said.

The College of Engineering, which also offers programs on the Scott Campus at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, has added 70 faculty members over the past five years as its research enterprise ramps up.

“A lot of economic growth occurs from the intellectual property and startup companies that come from having a really vibrant research enterprise,” Pérez said.

Philanthropy matters

Philanthropic support is critical to retaining those faculty, he said, while keeping a top-notch Big Ten engineering education within reach for all students through scholarships and other funding.

Pérez, himself a first-generation college graduate, has a personal understanding of the importance of scholarships.

“I had scholarships. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to school, so I’ve lived that,” he said. “So, when I see students who are able to come to the University of Nebraska to study engineering because of our scholarship programs, it’s really just an amazing feeling.”

Gut Check

November 8, 2022 by Katie Squier

Nebraska Researchers Study the Connections Between Food Production and Human Health

By Geitner Simmons, IANR Media

This story has been adapted from the original for this publication.

We live in a microbial world. From door handles to escalator handrails and even fermented foods, we come into contact with a wide range of bacteria, viruses and fungi on a daily basis. Our bodies are also home to trillions of microbes, particularly in the colon where the numbers of microbes outnumber cells in our bodies by at least a factor of 10.

And their impact is vast. The gut microbiome — a term that encompasses the collection of microbes and their functions in an ecosystem, such as the gut— is primarily impacted by what we eat and affects everything from our digestive health to cardiovascular health, immune health and maybe even our moods. These microbes are so impactful, in fact, that some researchers consider them to be a separate organ, which shapes our metabolism, our susceptibility to allergic and inflammatory diseases and even our responses to medical treatments.

At the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, in collaboration with the University of Nebraska Medical Center, scientists are conducting extensive research of the microbiome to find the links from agriculture and food production to human wellness and the prevention of disease.

Located at the Nebraska Innovation Campus, the multidisciplinary Nebraska Food for Health Center brings together strengths in agriculture and medicine from throughout the University of Nebraska System.

The center helps develop hybrid crops and foods to improve the quality of life of those affected by feeding the gut microbes as well as the human host. The approach is aimed at reducing susceptibility to critical diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and inflammatory bowel disease.

Recently, UNL researchers identified specific traits in sorghum that contribute to a healthy gut microbiome. This groundbreaking discovery paves the way for identifying additional traits in sorghum and other food crops that have the potential to improve human health, as well as for the emergence of new crop varieties developed with health of the microbiome and the human host in mind.

The researchers’ findings were published in the journal Nature Communications, a significant milestone for the Nebraska Food for Health Center. The lead investigator was Qinnan Yang, a postdoctoral researcher from NFHC and the UNL Department of Food Science and Technology. Other Husker scientists contributing to the project were Andrew K. Benson, the paper’s corresponding author, and co-authors Mallory Van Haute, Nate Korth, Scott E. Sattler, John Toy, Devin J. Rose and James C. Schnable.

Among their findings, the researchers identified segments on nine sorghum chromosomes where genetic variation produces significant effects on the microbiome’s fermentation activity. On two of the chromosomes, scientists ultimately found an important connection between sorghum genes for seed color, tannin presence in sorghum seed and effects of the tannins on desirable organisms in the microbiome.

Identifying seed traits that encourage growth of desirable bacteria is medically significant because these species of microbes are associated with major health benefits, including reduced susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease and certain metabolic diseases.

“Now that we’ve shown plant genes can control changes in the human gut microbiome, we can use our approach to screen hundreds or thousands of samples of different crops,” Yang said. “That makes it possible for plant breeding programs to harness natural genetic variation in crops to breed new crop varieties that improve human health by promoting beneficial bacteria in the human gut.”

For this project, Nebraska Food for Health Center scientists used techniques that duplicated the human body’s digestive and gastrointestinal activity and screened nearly 300 different sorghum lines using a miniaturized, automated methodology called automated in vitro microbiome screening (AiMS). At present, Nebraska’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources is the only academic institution in the world using the innovative AiMS technology for seed-trait/microbiome analysis.

The concept for the AiMS methodology “was nothing more than a pipe dream six years ago. Now, it’s turned into reality,” said Benson, director of the Nebraska Food for Health Center and the Nebraska Food for Health Presidential Chair in the Department of Food Science and Technology.

The AiMS methodology stands out for its versatility. Researchers can study the microbiome activity of healthy human participants and those with health challenges. They can study the gut metabolism of humans and animals, and the seed trait studies can analyze the microbiome effects from any food crop.

“It’s really a powerful technology,” Benson said. “The sky’s the limit on this.”

These steps forward are a fulfillment of the vision that has powered the Nebraska Food for Health Center from its beginning, starting with a set of white papers Benson and Robert Hutkins, a fellow professor of food science and technology, drew up in 2006 and 2007. A new DNA sequencing technology was commercialized in 2006, they wrote, and the university needed to think strategically about how it could use those new sequencing tools to achieve major research contributions.

In subsequent years, IANR faculty and administrators followed up on that vision through strategic discussions, investments in infrastructure and new faculty hires. This ultimately led to launch of the Nebraska Food for Health Center in 2016 and development of AiMS facilities for food trait and microbiome research at Nebraska Innovation Campus. NFHC was fueled by key philanthropic and Husker investments, which expanded ongoing transdisciplinary collaboration.

The Nature Communications paper is the start of a new stage of discovery at the Nebraska Food for Health Center.

The paper “is sort of at the front end,” Benson said. “The joy now is to see how what we discover translates to the rest of the center … and the great thing is that we have the collaborative researchers who are there to do it.”

“They’re just waiting,” Benson said, to carry on important follow-up projects and analysis.

All these developments, he said, “resonate back to 2006 and 2007, when we said, ‘Gee, what if …’ Now, here we are, actually trying to do it.”

Ag grads benefit from Heifer Link program at NCTA

September 27, 2022 by Robb Crouch

With a final semester of classes in sight, three students at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA) in Curtis, Nebraska, received an important graduation incentive.

The students, each from farms and ranches in western Nebraska, applied to the NCTA Heifer Link program and were awarded an animal each from the campus herd earlier this year.

Heifer Link was initiated about a decade ago for students to earn a heifer and begin their own herd or add to their existing cattle enterprise. The philanthropic project is made possible through in-kind gifts of live animals or financial contributions to the NCTA Heifer Link Fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation.

Michael Comstock of Harrison, Braden Johnson of Gering, and Ryan Liakos of Bayard were the three successful applicants in 2022. Each was awarded a heifer that had been born on campus in 2021.

“I had started my own operation right after my first year of college,” said Liakos, who was a diversified agricultural management major.

Liakos farms rented ground located between Bayard and Scottsbluff. He added a Red Angus breeding heifer to the family herd. They farm corn, dry edible beans, sugar beets and livestock feed. Liakos was active in campus clubs and had earned an American FFA Degree while in the Bayard FFA Chapter.

Braden Johnson, also an American FFA Degree recipient from the Bayard Chapter, is back at rural Gering, raising cattle and alfalfa with his family. He said they focus on the cow-calf herd, raising alfalfa for their use and outside sales and are considering adding a small feedlot at the farm.

“I appreciated the classes and programs that NCTA offered me and enjoyed the hands-on aspect with the livestock there,” said Johnson, who majored in livestock industry management.

Michael Comstock studied diversified agricultural management and received a certificate in agricultural mechanics. He ranches with his family in northwestern Nebraska in Sioux County, and they also pasture cattle just across the state line near Lusk, Wyoming.

With a goal of assuming management of his grandparents’ operation, Comstock is well versed in cattle production and helps manage their small backgrounding lot for yearlings.

NCTA students in livestock classes have hands-on responsibilities in calving, processing cattle and all facets of production. The livestock and large animal vet technician students also can become certified in cattle artificial insemination through weekend courses at NCTA.

“During calving, we checked on the cows every four hours in a rotation with other students,” Comstock said. His calving partner was Liakos. “I enjoyed the calving and classes, too.”

Participants in Heifer Link complete an extensive application, along with submitting two letters of reference from individuals in the cattle industry. Applicants are evaluated by a review committee headed by Doug Smith, Ph.D., animal science professor and Aggie livestock judging coach.

Helping NCTA

For information about opportunities to support the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, contact Kristen Houska at 402-458-1245 or 800-432-3216.

Part of the University of Nebraska system, the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture is a two-year institution with a statewide mission of preparing students for successful careers in agriculture, veterinary technology and related industries. NCTA is known for its affordable tuition, high job-placement rate for its graduates, and for the success of student teams in competitive activities including crops judging, ranch horse events, livestock judging, shotgun sports, stock dog trials, and intercollegiate rodeo. The college is consistently ranked as one of the best two-year schools in the nation.

Students turn entrepreneurs at the Raikes School

September 27, 2022 by Robb Crouch

By Robb Crouch

Many students may learn about entrepreneurship and the business and computer science skills that often drive it, but they may not have the opportunity to become entrepreneurs in college.

Students at the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska‒Lincoln do have this opportunity through its Design Studio program. Design Studio provides the support and networking needed to help students develop their business concepts and take them to the marketplace.

“As our capstone program, Design Studio integrates concepts from our unique computer science and business curriculum, reinforcing core concepts through four semesters of hands-on learning,” said Steve Cooper, executive director of the Raikes School. “Students gain a head start in their careers by participating in product development teams, working with real clients to understand complex business requirements and developing innovative solutions to problems.”

The Design Studio program is made possible through a variety of funding sources, including support from private gifts, industry partners and Raikes School program funds.

Raikes School Corporate Advisory Board members and University of Nebraska alumni Mike Cassling of Omaha and Pat Kerrigan of Waterloo provided contributions to the University of Nebraska Foundation to support the Design Studio program this year. Their support is helping fund the startups led by students Grace Clausen and Maci Wilson, both of Omaha.

Clausen is developing a spelling and grammar correction platform called Dyslexico to help individuals with dyslexia with their writing.

Wilson is working on Beacon, a startup that uses drone technology to make the inspection of bridges safer, faster and more cost-effective.

Other Raikes School students who reported Sept. 16 on their startups include the following:

Brooke Bode of Hershey and Seth Daup of Gothenburg are working on a livestock monitoring and management system for ranchers called Cattle Kettle.
Pranav Rajan is working with Tan Phan, both of Lincoln, to develop Informedic, a system to accelerate and automate the insurance underwriting process.
Dan Stara of David City is working with three classmates to develop a platform called Tapp, a tool that helps sports teams improve their player development.

After hearing the students report on their startups, Kerrigan said giving to the Raikes School is a “can’t-miss opportunity” to make a difference for the university and the state.

“I think that well-thought-out Design Studio projects are likely the premier opportunity for the university to trigger economic development within this state,” he said. “What better economic engine can there be than a bunch of high achieving students working with the advice of established industry veterans, getting together to map out and then launch innovative businesses right here in our state?”

To learn about opportunities to support the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management or other areas of the university, contact Kathy Schubauer, director of development, at 402-458-1167.

‘I’m Secretly Nebraskan’

September 21, 2022 by Katie Squier

By Robyn Murray

There were times when Daisy Berexa thought she’d been “delivered by Martians” to her family. Politically, she just never quite fit in.

“My family’s fairly liberal,” she said with a chuckle.

Then one day, Berexa learned about her great-grandfather. She had never met him, but she found out from chatting with a relative that they had a lot in common.

“We got into some interesting political debate, and I made some comment,” she said. “And he looked at me and said, ‘Well, that’s very interesting. You’re clearly not at all like your mom. Actually, you have a lot of the same traits as your great-grandfather.”’

That man was John Davidson Clark, a successful attorney and banker who became vice president of Standard Oil and served as an economic adviser to President Harry Truman. He was also a graduate of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, class of 1905.

“He really believed in empowering people,” Berexa said. “He believed we have a responsibility to try and provide better opportunities and a better life for people, and that includes focusing on human rights and education and leveling the playing field.”

Berexa knew she wanted to learn more. Clark’s life was so different from the one she had known. He was born in Colorado and spent much of his life in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She was born in Colombia, South America, and had bounced around New York and Washington, D.C., as a kid. Clark had met his wife at UNL and returned to Nebraska later in life.

“I knew nothing about Nebraska,” Berexa said. “I knew nothing about the university. But I thought it might be kind of cool if I learned a little bit more about it, about what they were like, what kind of people they were when they were young.”

Berexa’s curiosity prompted her to reach out, and with the help of the University of Nebraska Foundation she discovered more than she could have imagined. The foundation’s Joye Fehringer put together an album of all the photos and information she could find about Clark’s time on campus. Berexa learned he not only attended UNL, but he also returned to the university in 1941 to serve as the second dean of the College of Business Administration. She read a poem he had written his wife-to-be, and she learned that he’d played on the all-class champion basketball team in 1902 and that he was methodical — just like she is.

“It’s as though I felt their presence all around me and filled a part of me inside, a piece that had always been missing,” she said at the time. “It was an amazing feeling.”

“A university where people have chances”

A campus history guide gave Berexa a tour, and she visited the building where Clark used to work and saw his photo hanging in the hall. She said she felt an instant connection.

“I jokingly say to people that I’m secretly Nebraskan,” she said with a laugh. “But there’s a part of me that actually feels that way, because I just loved it there. And I love the people, and I loved what the school stands for.”

Berexa is no stranger to great schools. Prior to a successful career in finance and business, she attended the Ivy League’s Columbia University in New York. But she said Nebraska is unique, and she loves the way the university welcomes everyone.

“It’s a university where people have chances,” she said. “It’s so student focused. It’s welcoming and affordable … I was massively impressed by the amount of hard work that the university does to provide an opportunity for people. I thought that was phenomenal.”

Berexa also learned that Clark believed in “paying it forward” and had established a scholarship to help the “worthy and needy” attend UNL. Berexa set up her own scholarship in his honor — the John D. Clark Courage and Commitment Fund for students majoring in economics or political science or minoring in human rights. Later she established an additional scholarship in honor of her great-grandmother, Joyce Broady Clark. Now she serves as a trustee at the foundation, where she gets to tell people about the place her great-grandparents loved.

“Nebraska seems like one of the best-kept secrets in town,” Berexa said. “One of the wonderful things about being a trustee is that I get to talk about this place. I get to tell people all these surprising things that nobody knows about. I think that’s our biggest job, that’s really what we should be charged with — to go out and be ambassadors.”

Berexa said her great-grandfather could have gone anywhere, but he chose to come back to Nebraska because there’s no place like it.

“There was something about it he really loved.” she said.

Scholarships Help Power Alums’ Entrepreneurial Dreams

August 26, 2022 by Katie Squier

While in college, Husker alumni and brothers Matthew Brugger ’19 and Joseph 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 is a conversation with Matthew and Joseph.

What drew you to attend the University of Nebraska–Lincoln?
Joe: We both initially signed our letter of intent to play football at a smaller college in Nebraska but changed our mind after spending 20 minutes chatting with the director of the (UNL) Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program. It became clear we could either invest in the next four years or attend the university and invest in the rest of our lives.

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 scholarships you received.

Matt: The scholarships we received from the Engler Program and the Susan 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 them, 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 remember at one point as 10-year-olds, Matt and I had an idea of putting clay dirt into Ziplock bags and selling it to the farmers north of us with sandy soils to help their crops grow better. While this “groundbreaking” idea never came to fruition, I think growing up in that environment naturally instilled an entrepreneurial spirit in us.

What is your vision for the business and its impact on the community and state?
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, 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.

As the gap between consumers and producers continues to increase, the division between rural and urban grows as well. We believe rural communities have the potential to be vibrant and diverse common spaces for consumers to be connected back to their food and the land and create a more caring and empathetic food system overall. As we’ve grown, our motivations have evolved, but the medium, rural communities, has always stayed the same.

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 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. We have even started sourcing Berkshire pork and homegrown honey from other young farmers involved in the Engler Program to add more diversity to the products we offer. Our end goal with this is to create ease in the market volatility we see as producers, as well as facilitate the building of consumer and producer relationships we envision in the future. Our goal is to be our customers’ personal farmer. Someone they can build a trusted relationship with when it comes to stocking their fridge or freezer. I personally would love to see more young agriculturists take this path with their farms in the future. (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. The things that make students the best version of themselves are luxuries when shadowed by financial stress. 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.

Finding Solutions Beyond The Classroom

May 18, 2022 by Katie Squier

By Molly C. Nance

UNL Students Develop New Ag Technologies

Finding solutions to complex problems is like finding a needle in a haystack — or maybe finding something more useful, like answers about crop health from infrared satellite imagery or ways to use robots that keep farmers out of dangerous grain bins or methods to move cattle between pastures without fencing. These futuristic technologies are in development right now through entrepreneurial startups at a business incubator partnership in Nebraska called The Combine.

THE COMBINE

Launched in October 2019, The Combine is a partnership with the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Invest Nebraska, a nonprofit venture development organization that advises and invests in companies and early-stage business ideas in Nebraska.

Several private businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations are also involved, creating a powerful public-private partnership to foster innovation. The Combine works to provide capital, connections and curricula to help early-stage agriculture technology and food entrepreneurs from the Sandhills to the banks of the Missouri River.

A key to The Combine’s success is its connection with IANR, said Matt Foley, The Combine’s program director.

“Most important is IANR’s knowledge base, expertise and workforce development potential,” he said. “We’ve had out-of-state companies interested in partnering with us because they know we have brilliant professors and students focused on the future of agriculture and food production.”

Michael Boehm, University of Nebraska System vice president and Harlan Vice Chancellor for IANR said, “Building The Combine and, in the process, a bridge between Nebraska’s researchers and entrepreneurs makes all the sense in the world.

“UNL has a worldwide reputation as a leader in agricultural innovation, and Nebraskans are famous for their work ethic, ingenuity and systems thinking. … Throw in some long-standing and incredibly productive partnerships with industry, state and federal agencies, commodity groups and venture capital, and you have the perfect hub for all things ag- and food-tech. I can’t imagine a place better suited for this kind of collaboration and growth than Nebraska.”

Located in the Rise Building on Nebraska Innovation Campus, The Combine has a physical incubation space where undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff can work alongside other motivated, like-minded entrepreneurs. The organization provides educational programming, access to capital investment, networking opportunities and business resources to support the development and scale of new ag-tech companies.

SENTINEL FERTIGATION

One of those promising startups is Sentinel Fertigation, which uses drone- and satellite-collected imagery to predict when a corn crop needs fertilization.

“When I came to Nebraska as a master’s student, I knew I wanted to work on the nitrogen dilemma — nitrogen management for farmers,” said Jackson Stansell, CEO and founder of Sentinel Fertigation and a UNL doctoral candidate. “It’s a significant problem throughout the country, but especially in Nebraska because of groundwater contamination. It’s also a profitability issue because nitrogen is an expensive resource.”

A Harvard graduate and Alabama native, Stansell said Nebraska is also unique in the prevalence of irrigation. “We have the most irrigated acres of any state in the United States,” he said. “Fertigation is the process of applying fertilizer through irrigation, most commonly through pivots, and the technology hasn’t advanced much. Our team at UNL saw an opportunity to improve this and better manage fertigation.”

Stansell’s approach involves multispectral imaging and a unique algorithm he helped develop to evaluate crop plant health.

“Basically, we’re providing farmers with information about whether or not they need to apply fertilizer in a given week,” he said. “We help them manage their fertigation better and do it in a way that helps protect the environment and human health by reducing excessive nitrogen applications.”

Sentinel Fertigation uses patent-pending technology that analyzes plant nitrogen sufficiency using light reflectance off the crop canopy.

“Our indicator block framework gives us a week lead time, so we can provide predictive recommendations that allow the farmer to get ahead of nitrogen stress,” Stansell said. “The farmer can then apply fertilizer just before stress happens and preserve the yield potential of the crop.”

Importantly, this improved efficiency also adds to profitability.

“In 96% of our test cases, this system has resulted in higher yield per unit of nitrogen applied versus what farmers were doing previously,” he said. “Across those fields, we’ve saved an average of 22 pounds of nitrogen per acre, which is a significant amount considering farmers use an average of 200 to 250 pounds of nitrogen per acre.”

For reference, Nebraska is home to 5.2 million acres of irrigated corn crops.

Sentinel Fertigation has the potential to enable more value for growers, while also reducing nitrogen load in soil and groundwater.

“With ecosystem services markets that are coming online now, and with consumer-packaged goods, sustainability is important,” Stansell said. “We can be one of the companies that can verify sustainable, environmentally sound practices were used.”

Stansell said the system is geared toward larger farm operations and most likely will be used by agronomic advisers. “Farmers and consultants have been excited to learn about the system. They want to see a finished product,” he said. “We’re working on getting this to a seamless web application that’s easy for users to learn and implement, with recommendations delivered in a straightforward way.”

Farmers aren’t the only ones excited about Sentinel Fertigation. Stansell has received a $100,000 prototype grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development; a $25,000 strategic investment and development partnership with Agri-Inject Inc. of Yuma, Colorado; and a $25,000 investment from the Husker Venture Fund, a UNL College of Business program supported by private gifts from alumni and friends.

Stansell also was named Outstanding Graduate Student Inventor of the Year by NUtech Ventures, a nonprofit technology commercialization affiliate of the University of Nebraska, serving the Lincoln and Kearney campuses.

In addition, he received student support from the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska. Stansell is quick to share credit for his success with his University of Nebraska faculty, graduate students and extension educators.

“I’ve been blessed with university resources and connections here in Nebraska that I don’t think I would have found anywhere else,” Stansell said.

“The Combine has helped us get off to a strong start. Now, if we can gain additional funding, we can get a precision agronomist and some software developers on board and also grow our executive management team to really take Sentinel Fertigation to the next level.”

What does the future possibly hold for this high-tech startup?

“Honestly, I hope Sentinel Fertigation does not exist as a standalone app five to 10 years down the road,” he said. “Farmers and agronomists don’t want another app. I’d like to see this technology integrated into irrigation management systems to increase efficiency so farmers can manage everything about their irrigation and fertilization needs in one place.”

GRAIN WEEVIL

Grain Weevil is another prospering member of The Combine, born from a farmer’s request that he and his kids never have to enter a grain bin again.

Farmers often enter the bins to break up clumps or clogs to get the grain to flow out freely — a dangerous practice because of the risk of suffocation in the grain, which can behave like quicksand.

Grain bin accidents account for more than 20 deaths each year and many more injuries caused by augers within the bins that can crush limbs as a farmer attempts to move grain through them.

“Neither my son nor I are farmers,” said Grain Weevil CEO Chad Johnson, who founded the company with his son, Ben, a graduate of the UNL College of Engineering. “But we have always been interested in robots. Ben had an opportunity to develop a robot for a company in Chicago while he was in high school. A family friend saw that robot and asked if Ben could make a robot to keep him and his kids out of the grain bin.”

The pair did their research and found that although there are mechanical spreaders and electrical sensors in grain bin management, there weren’t any robots that could move and manipulate the grain.

“My electrical engineering education at the university helped me gain the knowledge I needed to develop the technology,” said Ben Johnson, Grain Weevil co-founder and chief innovation officer. “The Combine got us off the ground quickly — connecting us with partners and sharing ways to grow this idea into a business model.”

After several test concepts, the Grain Weevil robot progressed to a model that works well on grain using auger-based propulsion. Like a giant grain weevil bug, the device scurries across the grain, breaking clumps or clogs and feeding grain into extraction augers. Multiple robots can work together, manipulating the surface of stored grain and accomplishing different tasks.

“We started this as a safety device,” said Chad Johnson. “Farmer well-being is our No. 1 mission. But there are huge efficiencies we’ve discovered along the way. While the Grain Weevil is doing its thing, the farmer can be doing other tasks or watching their kid play baseball. Plus, there’s also improved quality by more effectively monitoring and managing stored grain.”

In addition to moving grain, the robots are collecting a variety of data, such as temperature, grain moisture and 3D imagery within the bin to detect foreign material and survey grain condition — information the farmer can use to quickly address any issues before they become problems and protect grain quality, maximizing their income.

With more than a million grain silos on farms across the U.S., there is massive market potential for the Grain Weevil.

“There are 12 million bushels of grain within a day’s drive of my hometown, Aurora, (Nebraska),” said Chad Johnson. “The Weevil could also work in commercial facilities and with specialty crops, like edible beans and nuts. There are different use cases for both grain and non-grain applications.”

The technology has sparked investment and honors from across the country, including winning the Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge, the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for Collegiate Inventors in the “Eat It!” category and the audience favorite honor at the Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business Virtual Summit on AgTech, along with securing a $1.6 million series seed investment round led by Invest Nebraska.

With additional resources, the Johnson team said they’d like to add talent to their staff and scale up Grain Weevil production.

“Years down the road, we hope to never see ladders attached to grain bins,” said Chad Johnson. “All the tasks can be done by the Grain Weevil with zero accidents and deaths. There’s going to be a robot in every grain bin eventually, and we hope it’s a Grain Weevil.”

CORRAL TECHNOLOGIES

Innovative technology is also expanding in the livestock sector. UNL graduate and Kearney, Nebraska, native Jack Keating is putting his mechanical engineering education to work on his family’s cattle ranch in northern Nebraska.

“Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my dad on fencing,” Keating said. “It’s a tough job, and I thought there has to be a better way. My dad said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if there was invisible fencing for cattle?’ and that’s what started the idea.”

Effective pasture management is an important part of ranching, both for profitability and sustainability. To avoid overgrazing, livestock need to be rotated through a system of pastures — a manual process that is labor-intensive and hazardous. Studies show that livestock handling causes up to a quarter of all farm injuries, not including injuries involved with fencing, such as cuts, amputations and electrocution.

Keating described how the company’s technology works. “It started out as a collar-and-ear-tag system,” he said. “But to make the batteries last longer, we switched to an all-collar system that emits a small electrical stimulation — about the same level used in electronic fencing collars worn by dogs — to define pasture boundaries.”

The system includes mapping software, which can be used on a phone, computer or tablet, to create new fences across pastures, maximizing pasture grazing for any operation and accelerating cattle weight gain.

“Using Corral Technologies, a rancher knows their cattle are located where they are supposed to be. They can move cattle from one spot to another with the click of a button and create grazing plans to optimize pasture utilization,” Keating said. “These are benefits on top of the time and cost saved from manually managing fence lines, as well as protecting the health and safety of the ranchers.”

Keating credits The Combine with taking his idea from notes and drawings to actual product development and a business plan.

“I just knew what I wanted the system to do, but The Combine helped me understand the business framework and connected me to partners who shared input and saw the potential for this to be more than just a fencing product,” he said.“I’ve heard from ranchers across the country. They are so receptive to the system. So really, the biggest challenge has been on the development side — finding an affordable, effective and reliable mechanism for the collars.”

Last year, Corral Technologies was a grand-prize winner in the UNL College of Business New Venture Competition, an annual business pitch contest funded by private support. Corral received a $25,000 grant. The fledgling company also received $150,000 from the Nebraska Prototype Grant Program and was accepted into phase one of the AgLaunch Accelerator Program.

In the future, Keating said he sees Corral Technologies as a global system. “Our mission is to help ranchers everywhere have more profitable enterprises and safer processes,” he said. “But I see us as being not only a hardware company but also getting more into the software side as well, where we’re a full ranch management platform.”

The opportunities aren’t limited to cattle.

“There are huge opportunities in dairy cattle, backgrounding operations, seedstock operations, goats and sheep,” Keating said. “We can expand out into these other sectors. A lot of people quantify the benefits in dollars, but think about the benefits in terms of improved health and safety when you’re not digging post holes, running fence or working closely with animals weighing over a ton.”

••••

These companies show the impact that can be made through Nebraska-bred ingenuity, education, collaboration and financial support. Locally developed agriculture technology can lead to global solutions — filling dinner plates from Chadron to Cameroon and promoting a better quality of life, while conserving the state’s vital natural resources.

Alumni Kaye and Jud Jesske used planned gift to establish ag scholarship

February 17, 2022 by Robb Crouch

Burnett Society members Kaye and Jud Jesske both grew up on farms in rural Nebraska. After moving to Lincoln to study at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, they both went on to successful careers. Jud is a vice president at Farm Credit Services of America, and Kaye is a senior director of development at Bryan Health. But Kaye and Jud never forgot their roots or the values of family, hard work and service that their small-town upbringing instilled in them.

In alignment with those values and their gratitude for the education they received at UNL, Kaye and Jud have established a scholarship fund through their estate to support agriculture students at the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at UNL.

This Q&A was presented to Kaye and Jud in February.

What was the first job(s) you ever had?

Jud: The first job I had related to growing up on a diversified farming operation in south-central Nebraska. It involved caring for livestock and growing crops. From my early years on until leaving for college, there were farm-related responsibilities that needed attention on the farm. I am still involved with managing the family farming operation near Blue Hill.

My first employment after college was being an agricultural loan analyst at the National Bank of Commerce. This gave me solid footing for a lifelong career of financing various agricultural industries. I currently work as a managing director of capital markets at Farm Credit Services of America.

Kaye: I was a waitress in a small-town café in southeast Nebraska. I enjoyed visiting with the guests and learned how to converse with all age groups. However, the most important thing I learned was how to provide quality customer service and enjoy my customer interactions.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Jud: Professionally, the best advice given to me was: 1. Work for a solid company that you are proud to represent. 2. Choose your customers wisely, because in the beef industry, there will be a time when you have to go to bat for that customer when no one else will. This advice was given to me early in my lending career by James Herring at Friona Industries, the third-largest cattle feeder in the United States.

Kaye: My mother always said, “Everything happens for a reason.” I don’t know if I believed her when I was younger, but as I have grown and raised my own children, I think she was spot on.

What is the question that you like to be asked the most?

Jud: What do you do for a living? I help finance the food that feeds America and the world. I was raised in rural America on a farm, and I am blessed to continue to be affiliated with an industry that provides the most plentiful and safest food on the planet. I love living in Nebraska — “The Beef State”!

Kaye: Did you like growing up in a small town? I loved my childhood and the opportunity to know everyone in my community (population 250) and treat everyone like family. I realize we all knew everything about one another, but that is what made it really special.

Who has influenced your life for the good, and what have you done to help others lately?

Jud: I have had many positive influencers that include WWI and WWII veterans that provided day care for me as well as family, teachers and friends throughout my life. The greatest influence came from a person I never knew — my great grandfather, Ferdinand Wademan. He came to this country with very little and walked from Baltimore, Maryland, to St. Louis, Missouri. In St. Louis, a complete stranger gave him a ticket to ride the train to his final destination in Nebraska. This act of kindness from over a century ago will continue to be shared with the next generations in our family to show the importance of helping others. Ferdinand made a point the rest of his life to help others who were immigrating or traveling past his farm with a warm meal and bed as needed.

My assistance to others comes in the form of contributions and involvement with specific service and philanthropic organizations, including Christ Lincoln church, People’s City Mission, Cedars Home for Children, FarmHouse Foundation and the Nebraska FFA Foundation.

Kaye: My mother — she was compassionate, smart, funny, ornery and energetic. She loved to help others, especially children. Her passion passed on to my family, as we enjoy supporting children and youth causes and participate in community events and fundraisers as a family.

Why do you plan to leave a gift to the University of Nebraska in your estate?

Jud: Having an agricultural major at the University of Nebraska means there are numerous scholarships available to assist with college expenses. I was blessed to receive scholarships while attending, and many companies and individuals have made it a priority to help the next generation at UNL. I believe it is my responsibility to do the same. I have named the University of Nebraska College of Agriculture as a beneficiary in my estate. This is my commitment of service to the next generation of agricultural majors at UNL as well as my commitment to honor the legacy of my great grandfather, Ferdinand Wademan. As he said, to help others “may at times require a sacrifice of time, pleasure and comforts.”

Kaye: Tuition, room and board and fees continue to climb each year. Because of the situation, we decided to set up scholarships to help defray the cost for students. As we were raised on a farm, there were not a lot of scholarships or funds available when we went to school. Education is so important, and we feel that everyone should have the opportunity to further their education. We obviously have a passion for rural students, but we will help out where needed.

The Burnett Society recognizes those who support the university through a planned gift, usually from their will or trust. The group takes its name from Edgar A. Burnett, a chancellor at the University of Nebraska during the Great Depression, who recognized the university would not succeed on state funding alone. He called on 30 business and civic leaders, and together they created the University of Nebraska Foundation to raise private funds for the university.

A Husker by luck, Connie Rennemann gives back for 64 years

November 9, 2021 by Robb Crouch

An expanded search for a college to attend would lead New Yorker Conrad “Connie” Rennemann Jr. to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. With colleges and universities in the eastern section of the country quickly filling up after WWII, he boarded a train and headed west.

His experience at Nebraska was meaningful – from playing in the Cornhusker Marching Band to the support he received from faculty members who cared about his education and career.

Now hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Connie has made annual gifts to the UNL College of Arts and Sciences Department of Mathematics since 1957, starting just six years after completing his studies. He received a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Nebraska, majoring in chemistry and math and math and physics respectively.

Connie met his wife, Annette (Luebbers) Rennemann, a dietetics major, at the university. She came to the university from Iowa but was born in Osmond, Nebraska. They married in 1952 and had a son, Ed, and a daughter, Ann. Annette died in 2011; the Rennemanns were married for 59 years.

In 1999, the couple established the Rennemann/Luebbers Scholarship in Mathematics at the University of Nebraska Foundation to provide annual tuition aid to students who live outside of Nebraska who wish to study mathematics at UNL. We asked Connie Rennemann about his time at Nebraska, his career and giving back.

You must have felt that the University of Nebraska was a good fit as you have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from UNL. Why did you decide to attend Nebraska?

Well, it was a consequence of World War II. I was born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, and graduated from high school in 1946. I thought I was going into the army, but they stopped drafting about the time I graduated, and I had not applied for college. So, all the eastern schools were flooded with GIs coming back from the war. I started applying further away, and Nebraska was one of the schools I was accepted at. And frankly, I liked their catalog better than any other school. So, I climbed on a train and headed to Nebraska.

You have supported the Department of Mathematics since 1957. This has helped provide it stable support over the years. What interested you in giving, and why have you kept it up?

Annette and I visited Lincoln in 1999 and met with the math department chairman to discuss the needs of the department. It turned out he was interested in attracting out-of-state students, and we agreed to set up a scholarship for out-of-state students. I just felt that I gained an awful lot from the school and the math department, and I should give something back.

What are some of your favorite memories of your time at Nebraska?

I was a baritone horn player in high school and earlier for a lot of years, so I went to talk to Don Lentz who was the director of bands. I gave him a little demonstration of playing, and he said, “You’re in.” So, I started playing in the Cornhusker Marching Band and the concert band for five years. I was the first-chair baritone horn player, and that was a very pleasant experience I enjoyed very much.

And what memories do you have of your time studying in the Department of Mathematics?
I started out studying chemical engineering, but after roughly the first year I decided that an engineer wasn’t me, and I switched to chemistry and math as a double major. The first important memory was when I was a first semester sophomore. Professor Dr. Edwin Halfar asked if I would like to grade papers, and I said, sure. So, that was the start of a relationship with the math department through the years. I worked for a number of professors. Eventually, I was working for Dr. Miguel Basoco, the chairman of the department. I appreciated the opportunities and the treatment that I received. The reason I wanted to fund a scholarship was because I appreciated what this department had done for me and what the people had done in helping me.

What are some highlights of your career after completing your studies at Nebraska?

When I graduated, I went to work for what is now NASA. They hired me as an aeronautical research scientist, and I worked on theoretical aerodynamics. I was with a small group, and it was a good foundation and learning experience.

Then, in 1955 I started looking for another position. I accepted one with the Republic Aviation Corporation in Long Island, New York, where I worked for about 23 years. Mostly, in the early days there, I was still in aerodynamics. I then started an operations research sister organization, which I ran. In 1961 the company sent me to Harvard Business School for 16 weeks, and eventually I was head of new business for the company, then assistant to the president, then vice president, director of administration and so forth.

In 1978 I accepted a position in Tennessee with an engineering company that was a principal contractor for the government at a government test facility. I was vice president of the company, and we had about 3,000 employees. I became deputy general manager and, ultimately, was chief operating officer and executive vice president when I retired in 1991.

When you graduated you probably didn’t imagine you’d be a business executive and lead companies?

No, no. I was always a one-step-at-a-time type of person. Do your job, try to do it as well as you can, and things will fall in place for you.

Would you say the university prepared you for success in your career?

Oh, definitely. It helped not so much with the detailed knowledge as it did with the training to think and to analyze problems and so forth. That was key. In the early years, I was heavily using mathematics, so the training in math helped a lot. The future required less technical knowledge, put it that way.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I learned to play bridge at Nebraska, and it’s been a side passion my whole life. I played bridge competitively over the years. When I retired, my wife played with me as partners, and I’m probably currently ranked in about the top 10% of bridge players in the country. It’s a challenging game but is something I’ve enjoyed.

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The kindness of Nebraskans

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The kindness of Nebraskans

A historic $190 million project

Philanthropy matters

By Robyn Murray

“A university where people have chances”

We are strongertogether.

We are stronger
together.