Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Curing Duration On Bridge Deck Concrete Performance, Zhaniya Omarova

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study evaluates the influence of curing duration on the performance of bridge deck concrete and investigates the feasibility of reducing curing periods without compromising structural and durability properties. Two concrete mixtures, a standard Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) bridge deck mix (47BD) and an optimized reduced-cement-content mix (O47BD-R100), were evaluated under multiple curing durations Fresh, early-age, mechanical, durability, and shrinkage properties were assessed to characterize the effect of curing on concrete behavior. Internal relative humidity and temperature were monitored using embedded sensors to investigate moisture diffusion and its role in shrinkage development for lab specimens and full-scale slabs.

Results …

Dirges Of Hope, Manasseh Azure Awuni

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Among the varied themes that African fiction explores, politics and governance remain the most dominant across generations. Writing under oppressive and exploitative colonial administrations, the first generation of African storytellers used fiction to highlight the injustice of colonial rule. With fidelity to the African proverb that says the tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter until the lion learns to tell its own stories, African writers also used fiction to push back against one-sided, toxic narratives about the continent. After independence, when rulers of the new republics continued the colonial legacies of oppression, inflicting untold hardships on their citizens, …

Validating Hybrid Simulation Of Restaurant Noise With Real-World Data, Samuel Underwood

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Restaurants exhibit noise levels that vary with occupancy over a typical operating day. When noise levels become excessive, customer comfort is diminished. While many previous works have surveyed noise levels in restaurants over short time intervals, there has been little work to comprehensively examine noise levels over a full operating day, while also tracking occupancy levels and thoroughly measuring unoccupied acoustical parameters. This dissertation work contributes to the existing body of restaurant acoustics work by measuring unoccupied and occupied acoustical conditions in 21 restaurants in the Midwest, correlating user reviews, scores, and crowdsourced noise levels measured in 943 venues in …

Evaluation Of Transportation Policy Effectiveness In The United States: Case Of Personal Electric Vehicles And Commercial Electronic Logging Devices, Hania Afzal

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Together, electric vehicle (EV) adoption and the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate illustrate two dimensions of transportation technology policy: the first driven largely by environmental and market-based incentives and the second by safety regulation and compliance requirements. Examining these cases side by side for the United States allows for a more comprehensive analysis of how technology adoption unfolds under different policy regimes, offering insights into the broader relationship between policy design, industry response, and public outcomes. The commercial motor vehicle (CMV) sector presents a different but equally important policy challenge in transportation technology adoption. Unlike consumer passenger vehicles, CMVs are …

Unl Authorship And Open Access Citation Impacts After A Decade (2015-2024): A Preliminary Report On Articles Indexed By Elsevier’S Scopus, David C. Tyler, Pei-Ying Chen, Erica Defrain

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: White Papers

The authors addressed the following research questions:

• Did the articles with UNL Lead Authors produce more citations than articles with UNL Contributing Authors?
• Did OA, as identified by Scopus at the journal and article levels, generate more citations?
• Were citation totals associated with the number of extra-publisher OA avenues?
• Were some publishers associated with higher citation counts than others?
• Did some subjects, by Library of Congress classification, generate more citations than others?

Interview With Orca Award Winner David Hage, Unl Chemistry; Drug-Protein Interactions, Mark Griep, David Hage

UNL ORCA Interview Series

Prof. David Hage was awarded the ORCA in 2018. He was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and earned a bachelor’s in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse. Next, he earned a doctorate from Iowa State University and did postdoctoral work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. In 1989, he joined UNL as an assistant professor of chemistry and quickly rose through the ranks. He has won many awards and, for the past 13 years, has been the James Hewet University Professor of Chemistry. Allow me to share some remarkable facts about Dave before we get into …

Understanding Agtech Adoption: Evidence From The Farm Tech Adoption Challenge 2025, Ankit Chandra, Mark Stone

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

The Farm Tech Adoption Challenge (FTAC) examined how farmers evaluate emerging agricultural technologies through structured interactions with startups. Farmers assessed solutions based on their on-farm challenges and indicated adoption decisions. Results showed that adoption was driven by how well technologies addressed economic pressure, risk reduction, and operational simplicity. Startups aligned with these priorities were more likely to gain traction, with five out of nine receiving farmer commitments for adoption. However, adoption also depended on clear economic value, field validation, and system integration. Overall, the findings suggest that the primary bottleneck in agtech is not the lack of relevant technologies, but …

Robot Wingman: Using Ai To Assess An Employment Termination, Henry H. Perritt Jr.

Nebraska Law Review

Four major generative AI engines—DeepSeek, Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok—are useful legal analysis tools for employment law practitioners. This Article presents the results of an experiment in which a transcript of a hypothetical client interview involving potential disability discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination claims was submitted to each AI system. The accompanying prompts requested identification and assessment of viable legal theories. The experiment demonstrates that contemporary generative AI performs sophisticated legal analysis comparable to experienced associates, correctly identifying major employment law claims including ADA violations, Title VII discrimination, OSHA retaliation, FMLA interference, and workers’ compensation retaliation. All four engines successfully spotted …

Feasibility Of Using Recycled Waste Plastic In Concrete Pavements In Nebraska, Amasi Hajahja, Jamilla Teixeira, George Morcous

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Waste plastic (WP) is a growing environmental concern due to its non-biodegradable nature, large-scale production, and harmful impact on natural resources. With nearly 75% of WP in the U.S. ending up in landfills, effective recycling strategies are urgently needed. In parallel, the limited availability of natural aggregates highlights the need for alternative materials in concrete construction. This study investigates the feasibility of using recycled waste plastic (RWP) in concrete mixtures, both as aggregates and fibers for rigid pavement applications in Nebraska. Concrete mixtures were prepared by partially replacing natural fine aggregates with recycled plastic aggregates (RPA) at replacement levels of …

Beneath The Northern Sky: A Family’S Story Of Faith, Work, And Loss In 19th Century East Friesland. A Generational Narrative For Descendants Of East Frisian Immigrants., Derek M. Heeren

Genealogy Resources

Beneath the Northern Sky traces the quiet endurance of one East Frisian family as they live, labor, and worship along the lowlands of northwest Germany in the early nineteenth century. At the center of the story stands Wessel Heeren, a farmer and shipmaster whose days move between the ledgers of the farm, the rhythms of the Gulfhaus, and the waterways that connect his village to the wider world for trade. Alongside his wife Foske and their growing family, Wessel navigates a life defined by faithful attention to land, to kin, to church, and to a tradition of self-governance known …

Sweet Is The Work, Allie M. Wheeler

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

Sweet is the Work is a collection of collagraph prints, collages, and sculptural artworks created through a dialogue between surface textures, colors, and imagery, sourced from personal experiences and the home environment that nurtured them. My artwork functions as a visual journal of my memories of living on a family farm in Delta, Utah, in an engaged religious lifestyle. Daily life at home was filled with responsibilities, from sweeping the floor to tending crops and livestock. Tasks like preserving food were guided less by necessity than by tradition. A history of family record keeping inspires my process of documentation. Each …

George Sturgeon, Metal Fluorides & Vice Chair, Mark A. Griep, George D. Sturgeon

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Interviews

Dr. George Sturgeon was a chemistry professor at the University of Nebraska -Lincoln for 39 years, from 1964 to 2003. During his time at UNL, he spent 15 years as the vice chair. Something in his youth must have sparked an interest in chemistry because he earned a bachelor’s in that subject from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Then, he traveled 870 miles east to Michigan State University in East Lansing where he earned his doctorate. Immediately after graduating, he joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1964 as an assistant professor but was soon promoted to associate …

Development And Evaluation Of Lipid Nanoparticle-Encapsulated Dna Vaccines For Avian Influenza In Chickens, Sushmita Kumari

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Avian influenza virus (AIV) remains a major challenge for global poultry health, food production, and agricultural economies. Both low-pathogenic (LPAIV) and highly pathogenic (HPAIV) strains continue to circulate and evolve, creating an ongoing need for vaccines that can be updated quickly and provide broad protection. Although DNA vaccines offer a safe and flexible approach to rapidly incorporate new antigens, their use in poultry has been limited by poor delivery efficiency and the vulnerability of naked DNA to degradation. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which have proven highly effective for mRNA delivery, offer a promising solution, yet their potential for DNA delivery in …

Unl Emeriti And Retirees Association Newsletter, February 2026

UNL Emeriti and Retirees Association: Newsletters and Other Materials

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Emeriti and Retirees Association Newsletter, February 2026>

Message from the ERA President, Vicki Highstreet

Thank you to former ERA President, Pam Edwards

Welcome to new members

Introducing a new ERA member: Ellen Paparozzi

ERA 65th anniversary

Organizational development plan

Funding opportunity

Wisherd awards

Wake up your well-being

mini-grant update

State of long-term care in Nebraska

Announcements and notices

Upcoming programming

Programming recap

Memory moments

Responsible Ai In Teaching And Learning, Asa B. Stone, Mark C. Stone, Derek M. Heeren, Santosh Pitla

PRAIRIE: Pioneering Responsible AI for Research, Innovation, and Education

The rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education presents both transformative opportunities and significant pedagogical risks. While AI tools are becoming embedded in academic and professional environments, their integration into teaching and learning raises critical questions about cognitive engagement, academic integrity, equity, and skill development. This white paper proposes a principled framework for the responsible integration of AI in higher education, grounded in the dual commitment to AI literacy and the cultivation of durable skills.

The framework articulates six core principles: purposefulness; transparency; integrity and attribution; critical AI literacy; equity and access; and privacy and data protection. …

Characterization Of Sediment Loads And Size Distribution In Nebraska Roadway Runoff, Bruce I. Dvorak, David M. Admiraal, Pavel Shrestha

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) must manage sediment, and pollutant loads from roadway runoff to meet stormwater regulations. The SAFL Baffle, a hydrodynamic separator used by NDOT, depends on reliable estimates of total suspended solids (TSS) and particle size distribution (PSD). However, limited data exists for Nebraska roadways. In this study stormwater runoff was monitored at four NDOT-maintained sites, two in Lincoln and two in Beatrice, over 1.5 years to characterize TSS and PSD and to evaluate SAFL Baffle performance using the SHSAM model. Results showed large variability across sites and seasons. Median TSS ranged from 158 to 580 …

Assessment Of Winter Maintenance Performance Objectives Using Maintenance Decision Support System, Curtis L. Walker, Mark R. Anderson, Aemal Khattak, Thomas Kauzlarich, Abdul Farhan

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

It is important for transportation agencies to assess their winter maintenance operations performance to identify areas for improvement and/or resource investment to maintain optimal levels of service, mobility, and safety. This study explores nine winter snowstorms in Nebraska during the 2023-2024 winter season across 20 road segments, 12 of which were along the Interstate-80 corridor. Datasets explored include meteorological information, traffic mobility insights, winter maintenance operations activities, and road conditions before, during, and after the periods of accumulating snowfall. Statistical analyses explored correlations and quantitative relationships among these datasets, while visual dashboards were developed to promote more qualitative considerations of …

Interview With Orca Award Winner Pill-Soon Song, Unl Chemistry; Photochemist And Photobiologist, Mark A. Griep, Pill-Soon Song

UNL ORCA Interview Series

Dr. Pill-Soon Song was born in Osaka, Japan. When he was 13 his family moved back to Korea. Something in his youth must have sparked an interest in science because he enrolled at Seoul National University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s in agricultural chemistry with an emphasis on biochemistry. Next, he earned a doctorate from the University of California at Davis and did postdoctoral work at Iowa State University in Ames with David Metzler. In 1987, after about 21 years as a faculty member in the chemistry department at Texas Tech University, he joined UNL chemistry as chair …

Why Agtech Startups Fail? Evidence From Global Shutdown Patterns In 2025 And The Cost-Adoption Mismatch Effect, Ankit Chandra, Ishani Lal

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

Agricultural technologies are widely seen as a driver for sustainability, resilience, and food-system transformation. Yet in 2025, agtech startup across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa experienced multiple shutdowns. Although each company closed for its own reasons, the failures highlight consistent underlying patterns. We analyze 18 publicly reported shutdowns across controlled-environment agriculture (CEA), robotics, insect protein, digital platforms, sensors, and ag-biotechnology. We find that most ventures struggled not with scientific feasibility but with economic and adoption dynamics at the farm level. We identify a Cost-Adoption Mismatch Effect, in which the capital and operational burden of a technology exceeds farmers’ capacity …

Interview With Orca Award Winner Reuben Rieke, Unl Chemistry; Discoverer Of Rieke Metals, Mark Griep, Reuben Rieke

UNL ORCA Interview Series

Emeritus Prof. Reuben Rieke was awarded the ORCA in 1995. Reuben was born in Fairfax, Minnesota. Something in his youth must have sparked an interest in science because he traveled 100 miles east to The University of Minnesota where he earned a bachelor’s in chemistry. Next, he earned a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin, and did postdoctoral work at the University of California Los Angeles. In 1977, after about 11 years as a faculty member in the chemistry department at the University of North Carolina, he joined UNL as a full professor of chemistry. I’ll share two remarkable facts …

Review Of Plundered Skulls And Stolen Spirits: Inside The Fight To Reclaim Native America's Culture, Christine Parker

Nebraska Anthropologist

Review of Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture (2018) by Chip Colwell.

Deep Learning Framework For Sow Posture Classification From Depth Images: Comparison With Data Transformation Techniques, Models, And Cross-Validation, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Tami M. Brown-Brandl, Gary A. Rohrer, Sudhendu R. Sharma, Suzanne M. Leonard, Yeyin Shi

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Piglet preweaning mortality (PWM) in the United States averages ≈14–15%, with sow overlaying causing about one third proportion of these losses. This research aimed to develop and evaluate deep learning models to classify six sow postures using depth images to monitor behaviors linked to overlaying risk. Top-down depth images were captured with Kinect V2^® cameras at 10 frames min^-1 for five consecutive days (2 days before to 2 days after farrowing), yielding 26,506 training images from 18 sows, 17,901 testing images from 12 sows, and 4,697 additional images from three sows in diagonal stalls for external validation. Three …

Assessment Of Soybean Response To Irrigation Variability In Eastern Nebraska Using The Aquacrop Model, Anmol Singh, Saleh Taghvaeian, Yufeng Ge, Derek M. Heeren, Frank Bai

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is a major irrigated crop in eastern Nebraska, where recent expansions in irrigated agriculture and projected trends in irrigation demand necessitate thorough investigations of approaches that can optimize its irrigation management. In this study, the AquaCrop model was calibrated and validated using 19 variable irrigation treatments from a five-year field experiment. The model accurately simulated canopy cover, soil water content, and grain yield, with validation normalized root mean square error (nRMSE) of 12%, 7%, and 7%, respectively. The model was subsequently applied to estimate soybean yield and water requirement during a 15-year period (2010–2024) …

Design And Fabrication Of A Scaled Automated Dairy Farm Model: A Report, Md Towfiqur Rahman

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Summary

This study investigates how ventilation systems work in dairy barns and builds a scaled model to support education and research. The project is designed to help students from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), K-12 learners, and researchers in animal science, veterinary medicine, and engineering gain visual experience with dairy facility components and processes. Different ventilation methods were studied, leading to the design of a 1/64-scale tunnel-ventilated dairy barn meant for 60 Holstein Friesian cows. Barn dimensions were set based on real Holstein cow measurements to ensure proper cow comfort, while airflow requirements were calculated and scaled down. Miniature fans …

Evaluation Of Critical Shear Strength Of Soils In Nebraska Based On Revised Cpt, Chung R. Song, Bashar Al-Nimri, Basil Abu Al Sha'r, Dhurba R. Pandey, Jongwan Eun, Seunghee Kim

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This study evaluated the “Fully Softened Shear Strength (FSSS)” of soils in Nebraska based on a revised Cone Penetration Test(CPT) method. FSSS is a unique strength condition that soils show substantially reduced strength during rainy seasons, eventually causing failure of slopes and other structures.

The revised CPT was adapted to inject water at targeted depths, inducing controlled moisture infiltration and capturing real-time soil softening over designated intervals of 30, 60, or 90 minutes. Through tip resistance (qc) and sleeve friction (fs) measurements under “in-situ” and “wet” conditions, the test effectively identified fully disturbed/low strength zones around the sleeve. Simultaneous sampling …

The Use Of Recycled Plastic In Asphalt Pavements: Feasibility Study, Isabella Bueno, Robert Rea, Jamilla Teixeira

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The plastics industry has been actively exploring new end-market opportunities for the more than 35 million tons of waste plastics generated annually. The use of recycled WP in asphalt presents an opportunity to improve pavement performance while reducing the growing amount of WP being landfilled or released into the environment. However, the use of WP in asphalt mixtures poses challenges due to variations in plastic composition and the presence of non-plastic contaminants. The absence of standardized procedures has resulted in inconsistent integration methods and unclear roles of WP within asphalt concrete (AC) mixtures. Therefore, the goal of this multiphase study …

Development And Evaluation Of Crashworthy Approach Guardrail Transition With Increased Span Length Between Concrete Bridge Rail And First Transition Post – Phase I, Tewodros Yosef, Qusai Alomari, Ronald K. Faller, Robert W. Bielenberg, Scott Rosenbaugh

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This study developed and evaluated a 34-in.-tall Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) thrie-beam approach guardrail transition (AGT) with an increased span between the concrete buttress end and the first transition post. The objective was to accommodate a wide range of common obstructions near bridge ends, including abutments, wing walls, drainage features, and utilities. A survey of NDOT districts identified critical obstruction geometries and informed design criteria. Most NDOT districts indicated that a maximum span of about 4 ft would be sufficient, and some preferred spans up to 6 ft. To accommodate a wider range of obstructions, the first transition post …

Assessment Of Truck Parking Demand And Safety During Normal And Severe Weather Conditions In Nebraska, Nathan Huynh, Li Zhao, Zhenghong Tang, Aida Riahifar, Jahangeer Jahangeer

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This project examined truck parking capacity, demand, and utilization patterns along I-80 in Nebraska. The objectives were to (1) document the capacity of public and private truck parking facilities along I-80, (2) analyze spatial and temporal trends in parking demand, (3) develop models to predict occupancy at parking facilities, (4) identify clusters of undesignated parking during inclement weather, and (5) assess whether truck parking shortages contribute to truck-involved crashes. Within a one-mile buffer of I-80, 21 public facilities and 49 private facilities were identified. The spatiotemporal analysis of these public and private truck parking facilities using the National Agriculture Imagery …

Effects Of Particle Size Difference In Two Different Sweet Bran Products On Total Tract Digestibility And Rumen Ph, Emily K. Hoefling, Anna Kobza, Jessica L. Miller, Maggie E. Youngers, Galen E. Erickson, Jim C. Macdonald

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Summary with Implications

Seven ruminally fistulated heifers were utilized in a 6 x 7 row-column design to evaluate two different Sweet Bran particle size products (1.8 or 2.5 mm) included at 13%, 18%, or 23% of the diet (DM) on total tract digestibility and rumen fermentation parameters. The treatment design was a 2 x 3 factorial. Rumen pH was reduced and organic matter digestibility tended to be reduced with the small particle size when Sweet Bran was included at 13% of the diet. Both NDF digestibility and dietary digestible energy concentration tended to improve with the larger particle size. The …

Sae For All: Curriculum Guide, Emily Carpenter

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) is a critical component of agricultural education, designed to provide students with hands-on learning opportunities that extend beyond the classroom. The SAE for All model ensures that every student participates in meaningful experiential learning tailored to their interests and career goals. By integrating SAE into the curriculum, students develop technical skills, career readiness competencies, and an understanding of real-world agricultural applications. This guide includes a teaching plan and a comprehensive set of assignments.