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A New Subspecies Of Papilio Indra (Papilionidae) From The West Desert Of Utah, Usa, Wayne H. Whaley, Alexander A. Jason, Todd L. Stout

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Papilio indra bonnevillensis is a new described subspecies partly based on taxonomic rearrangement of its larval host plant reproductive phenology relative to Wasatch Range nominate P. indra. It is geographically isolated in Utah’s West Desert from populations of ssp. nevadensis to the west and ssp. calcicola to the south. In addition to phenological differences compared to these two subspecies, it merits description based on host Lomatium depauperatum which recently speciated from L. grayi, neither of which is used as host by other subspecies of P. indra. The evolution of new host L. depauperatum is …

Bridging Reaction Engineering And Polymers Design: Solvent Effects In Continuous Flow Copolymerization, Leila Ba

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate) [poly(GMA-co-MMA)] is a promising functional copolymer for photoresist applications due to its reactive epoxy groups and tunable physicochemical properties. This thesis is focused on this polymer and integrates theoretical solubility prediction, thermodynamic modeling, and continuous-flow synthesis to establish quantitative structure–process–property relationships for their use in microelectronic-grade solvents.

Solubility behavior in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGME), and propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PGMEA) was investigated using the Hildebrand and Hansen models, Hoy group-contribution method, Polymer Genome machine-learning platform, and Flory–Huggins thermodynamic analysis of Gibbs free energy of mixing. Experimental saturation solubility measurements at 25 °C …

The Intersection Between Adolescent Pregnancy, Mental Health Concerns, Stigma, And Sex Education, Madelon Cox

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis discusses research from the past two decades focused on factors contributing to an increased risk of adolescent pregnancy and the lasting impact of that pregnancy. The consequences of being a pregnant adolescent can be compounded by race, gender, socioeconomic class, and access to education. Adolescent pregnancy also carries significant physical and mental health risk for the adolescent and the child. Awareness and various interventions can help pregnant adolescents or those who may be at risk for adolescent pregnancy to support them, prevent isolation, and reduce further negative mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety.

Comparing Awssi And Traditional Winter Metrics For Predicting Overwinter Survival Of Juvenile Walleye (Sander Vitreus), Camille N. Shifrin

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Winter conditions are an important driver of recruitment variability in freshwater fishes, yet winter severity is often characterized using single climate metrics. These simplified approaches may not capture the cumulative stress experienced by fishes during winter. The Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index (AWSSI) integrates multiple components of winter climate and may therefore provide a more biologically relevant indicator of overwinter survival. In this study, we compared AWSSI with traditional winter severity metrics to explain interannual variation in overwinter survival of juvenile Walleye (Sander vitreus) in Harlan County Reservoir, Nebraska. Model comparisons using Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) indicated that …

Unl Emeriti And Retirees Association Newsletter, May 2026

UNL Emeriti and Retirees Association: Newsletters and Other Materials

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

Message from the ERA President, Vicki Highstreet

Welcome to new members

Recipe

Volunteer service

Funding opportunity

Wake up your well-being

Programming recaps

Celebration of life: Larry Dlugosh

Memory moments

Substance Use And Childhood Environment In Adolescent Head Injury: Examining The Effects Of Race, Jessica A. Phelps

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Adolescents participating in sports are at an increased risk of concussion, which is particularly important given the difficulties with cognitive function, emotion regulation, and impulsivity that may occur as a result of this brain injury. These symptoms can predispose adolescents to subsequent concussions, leading to further damage during a critical time in neurodevelopment which can result in mental health disorder development in adulthood. It is crucial to understand what factors may predispose youth to increased rates of concussion for these reasons. As such, this paper explored whether race/ethnicity, gender, grade in school, childhood environment, and risk-taking behaviors were associated with …

Social Bonds And Dynamic Risk In Predicting Juvenile Recidivism Among Florida Probation Youth, Shadrach Sackey

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Juvenile recidivism remains a persistent challenge within the United States juvenile justice system, particularly among youth supervised in community-based probation programs. This study examines how family context, school engagement, peer associations, antisocial beliefs, and overall dynamic risk are associated with recidivism among juvenile probation youth in Florida. Drawing on social bond theory and social learning theory, the analysis uses administrative data from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (FDJJ) Juvenile Justice Information System, including 6,215 youth who completed community-based probation supervision between 2015 and 2018. Recidivism was measured using two outcomes within a 365-day follow-up period: rearrest and readjudication. Descriptive …

Optimization Of The Baffle Geometry Of A Circular Culvert Outlet Structure To Maximize Energy Dissipation, Kiarash Shirmahi

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

High-velocity flow at culvert outlets can lead to significant soil erosion and damage to downstream infrastructure, particularly in agricultural regions where land protection is critical. Circular culverts, commonly used in transportation systems, are especially susceptible to this issue due to flow acceleration caused by geometric constraints and installation angles. Despite extensive research on energy dissipation in rectangular culverts, limited attention has been given to circular configurations. This study addresses this gap by evaluating the hydraulic performance of baffle systems designed to reduce outlet energy in circular culverts.

A series of laboratory experiments was conducted using a scaled physical model of …

Leveraging Code Embeddings To Identify And Address Blind Spots In Benchmark Creation, Charles Moloney

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Formal software verification remains critical for early vulnerability detection, yet benchmarking these tools is costly and often reliant on centralized datasets such as SV-COMP. While such repositories enable standardized evaluation, they introduce risks of overfitting and bias, particularly due to first-party benchmark contributions. To address these limitations, we extend ARG-V, our tool for generating SV-COMP-compatible benchmarks from real-world Java code, with a novel approach of using code embedding techniques to selectively sample from mined code. By leveraging Nomic Embed Code and a cosine-based Minimum Hyperspherical Energy (MHE) objective, we systematically select and transform benchmarks from scraped GitHub code that …

Application Of Maritime Non-Line-Of-Sight Relay Attack On Wireless Digital Communication, Nathan Meyer

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As wireless communication becomes increasingly prevalent, securing information over wireless channels is an ongoing challenge, especially in maritime environments where communication depends on radio links. While higher layer wireless attacks have been widely studied, lower level physical-layer relay attacks in maritime settings have received less attention. This thesis presents a simulation of a maritime relay attack in a beyond line-of-sight wireless environment for study. A three antenna communication model is developed where a legitimate transmitter sends a digital wireless signal, an attacking antenna intercepts, modifies, and retransmits the signal, and a final receiver observes both the direct and relay transmission. …

Narrating Experience: How Undergraduate Social Work Students See Themselves In The Social Justice Curriculum, Emily C. Soener

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Social justice is widely recognized as a foundational value of the social work profession, yet research indicates inconsistencies in how social justice is defined, taught, and experienced within social work education. This study examines how undergraduate social work students make meaning of social justice learning in relation to their own lived experiences. Using a critical narrative inquiry approach grounded in constructivist qualitative methodology, this study explores how students narrate their experiences of social justice education and how those narratives reveal tensions between professional ideals and classroom realities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eleven undergraduate social work students enrolled …

Understanding Challenges Faced By Refugee Women And Women With Experiences Of Forced Migration In Entrepreneurship In The Midwest Region Of The United States, Ritu Jadwani

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The labor market participation of refugee women was only 6%. The United States had the maximum employment rate for the refugee women population, which was 40%, as compared to 6% in Germany, Lebanon, and Jordan (Kabir & Klugman, 2019). Refugee women faced many challenges in labor force participation and especially in entrepreneurship. As demonstrated by Desai, Naude, and Stel (2020), refugees faced challenges like cultural integration, language barriers, level of education, and acceptance of education merits. This eventually led to disparities in income generation. Thus, many either remained in low-paying jobs or started their own business (Desai et al., 2020). …

La Lengua No Miente, Pero Guarda Secretos: Rigoberta Menchú Y Lecciones De La Memoria Colectiva Desde La Perspectiva Del Feminismo Transnacional, Mildred Ciprian

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Este ensayo explora las lecciones del poder de la memoria colectiva, el poder del testimonio, y el poder de la lengua y los secretos en el testimonio de Rigoberta Menchú, Me llamó Rigoberta Menchú, y así me nació la conciencia (1992). Menchú es una mujer indígena maya que vivió en Guatemala durante el genocidio contra la población indígena. Al estudiar Menchú, uno llega a cuestionar cómo se producen el conocimiento y la verdad, especialmente en el occidente frente al resto del mundo. Las experiencias que cuenta Menchú vienen de memorias colectivas que comparte y cría su comunidad. Este concepto de …

Quantitative Genetics, Genomics, And Phenomics In Maize And Sorghum, Nikee Shrestha

Complex Biosystems Program: Dissertations and Student Research

Generating the best crop varieties and hybrids requires identifying genes associated with the phenotype of interest and screening thousands of varieties across multiple locations. Quantitative genetics, along with comparative genomics, phenomics, and machine learning approaches, can help us identify target genes associated with the phenotype of interest to develop the right genotypes. Satellite platforms offer logistical and technical advantages in scalability and accessibility and could facilitate plot-level predictions, especially with steadily improving spatial resolution, thereby empowering the large-scale screening of thousands of genotypes across diverse locations. In the first chapter, I evaluated over 20,000 plot-level images of over 80 hybrid …

The Goad, The Bad, & The Ugly: The Livestreamed Vice Signaling & Body Fascism Of Clavicular & Asmongold, Jacob T. Fry

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis explores the rhetorical, material, and symbolic implications of fascist livestreaming in the United States through two popular streamers: Clavicular and Asmongold. These two streamers represent a small slice of the rise of different reactionary rhetorics online and how the use of different masculine subcultures—in this case ‘Looksmaxxing’ or Gamer inspired rhetoric—are used as ideological texts for white male supremacy. Whether in front of the glow of their gaming monitor or the flashing lights of a nightclub, the livestreaming of the body, home, relationships, and lifestyles challenge rhetorical conceptions of style, the ‘public/private sphere,’ and political communication. As different …

Three Essays On Veterinary Drug Maximum Residue Limits, Akinbode Okunola

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation consists of three essays: the first examines the prevalence of veterinary drug maximum residue limits (MRLs), the regulatory behavior of countries in setting these MRLs, and the degree of country-level compliance with international standards of Codex Alimentarius (Codex). The second evaluates the extent to which compliance with international standards across countries can help to manage potential transmission of resistant bacterial from animals to humans through consumption of contaminated meat, dairy and aquaculture products. The third focuses on how differences in regulatory standards across countries can impact international trade in the global beef, pork, and poultry markets.

The first …

Clinical Case Study: The Effects Of Task Dynamics And Saltatory Pneumotactile Stimulation On Cerebral Oxygenation, Cognitive Performance, And Sensorimotor Function In An Adult Following Left Ischemic Mca Stroke, Bridget Slagle

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the chronic stage of stroke recovery, neuroplasticity is thought to require external influence, and is often considered to be experience-dependent, or “Hebbian,” plasticity. Current studies have been investigating multiple ways to induce plasticity to enhance recovery, including investigating the role of sensory stimulation in cortical priming to enhance the effects of rehabilitation interventions.

This case study of an 80-year-old female with aphasia after L-MCA ischemic stroke included 18 neurotherapeutic sessions over 10 weeks. Each session included pneumotactile somatosensory stimulation to the glabrous hand and perioral face, delivered to both the left and right side via the GALILEO, as well …

Beyond The Cycle: How Menstruation Influences Gender Identity And Well-Being In Binary And Non-Binary Adults, Rin Nguyen

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Approximately 1.8 billion people worldwide menstruate, including transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people, yet their experiences remain underrepresented in research. Given that menstruation can affect gender alignment and psychological well-being, understanding its impact on TGD people is critical. Gender congruence, or alignment between one’s gender identity and expression, is a key factor influencing well-being, with research linking it to reduced depression and anxiety. Furthermore, emerging research on gender euphoria, the joy experienced when gender congruence is experienced, suggests it may serve as a protective factor for mental health and well-being. Gender euphoria has been associated with reduced psychological distress and increased …

Bright Star: A Lighting Design, A Study On The Emotional Impact Of Lights, Dean J. Bressler

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

The purpose of this thesis will be to observe, analyze, and evaluate the design process and production for the musical Bright Star Written and composed by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Produced by the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film’s in house production company the Nebraska Repertory Theatre Company in collaboration with the University of Nebraska’s Glen Korff School of Music. Performed in the Howell Memorial Theatre from April 16^th, 2026, to April 26^th, 2026. Bright star was directed by Bobby Pieranunzi, the dance captain for the original Broadway performance of Bright Star in 2016, …

Eurydice | Tigers Be Still: Technical Direction Between Two Studio Sets, Rory G. Galada Brownell

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

This thesis examines the technical direction processes for two studio productions, Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl and Tigers Be Still by Kim Rosenstock, produced during the 2025–2026 season at the Nebraska Repertory Theatre. Through comparative analysis, this document explores how differing design styles—metaphorical and installation-based versus grounded realism—impact the planning, communication, and execution responsibilities of a technical director within a constrained academic production environment. Both productions operated within similar parameters, including limited budgets, student-based labor, and a shared performance space, allowing for a focused evaluation of process rather than resources. The Eurydice production emphasized abstract scenic elements, including large-scale string installations …

Improving Genomic Prediction For Feed Efficiency Traits In Beef Cattle Using Microbiome As An Intermediate Omics, Egodage Bhagya Sewwandi Samarakoon

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Feed efficiency traits, including feed conversion ratio (FCR), average daily gain (ADG), and average daily dry matter intake (ADDMI), are economically important in beef cattle production. Emerging evidence suggests that host genetics influences feed efficiency traits through the microbiome. This study evaluates the integration of microbiome data as an intermediate layer in the Neural Network Mixed Model (NNMM), which hierarchically models genotype–microbiome–phenotype relationships as a unified regulatory network to improve genomic prediction accuracy. To reduce the computational burden of NNMM, microbiome features dimension were reduced using principal component analysis (PCA) and direct feature selection of top-ranked open reading frames (ORFs) …

The Detection Of Morbidity Using A Remote Sensing Ear Tag On Newly Received Steers And Feedlot Performance And The Effects Of Feeding Experior And Optaflexx On Carcass Characteristics And Meat Tenderness In Beef Steers, Lauryn O. Smidt

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of remote sensing health technology and growth-promoting feed additives on feedlot cattle performance, health outcomes, and carcass characteristics. In the first study, 638 crossbred steers (initial BW = 270 kg; SD = 18.6 kg) were used in a randomized block design to assess the effectiveness of a remote sensing ear tag (RST; HerdDogg, Seward, Nebraska) versus conventional pen-rider observation (PR) for detecting morbidity during a 35-d receiving period and subsequent 180-d finishing period. No differences were detected between PR and TAG for ending BW, average daily gain (ADG), dry matter intake (DMI), …

Carcass Mass And Cooling Dynamics As Determinants Of Beef Color, Tenderness, And Dark-Cutting Risk, Grace C. Johnson

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Discoloration in beef has important implications to the beef industry. Dark-cutting (DC) beef remains one of the most economically significant color defects; however, industry prevalence has only marginally declined (≈ 0.1%) despite mitigation efforts. This lack of improvement largely stems from research focused on pre-harvest stress and glycogen depletion leading to dark, firm, and dry (DFD) beef. However, not all darkcutting beef originates from DFD phenotypes. Atypical dark-cutting (ATDC) phenotypes have recently been observed and do not exhibit the classic metabolic indicators of DFD. This trend coincides with steadily increasing carcass weights in the beef industry and raises the possibility …

Measuring Urban Space: A Spatial Framework For Transit Stop Siting, Michael R. Leiting

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Urban investment projects, particularly those related to transit infrastructure, are often evaluated through quantitative metrics that emphasize economic output, proximity, and development potential. While these measures provide useful benchmarks, they offer limited insight into the spatial conditions that shape how environments are structured, navigated, and occupied at the human scale. As a result, sites that appear comparable through conventional metrics may produce fundamentally different spatial experiences.

This thesis develops a drawing-based framework for evaluating spatial conditions across multiple urban sites. Four primary conditions, Urban Form, Threshold, Mobility, and Public Realm, are analyzed through standardized drawings and translated into corresponding indices. …

After Antiquity: Between Preservation And Disappearance, Elizabeth Pernicek

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

This thesis investigates how architectural remnants evolve from sacred or civic monuments into global spectacles and how these transformations reveal the relationship between architecture, power (be it political or otherwise), and cultural memory and significance. Through studying cycles of sacredness, destruction, and spectacle, this thesis explores architecture’s role as a living record of cultural transformation.

This thesis proposes that architectural remnants do not passively exist after their moment of rupture, but are actively shaped through systems of preservation, authority, and cultural framing. While remnants appear to operate as historical artifacts, they are in fact continuously rewritten through intervention, restoration, and …

From Prairie To Practice: Forensic Taphonomy, Ethics, And Regional Ecology In Southeastern Nebraska, Jessica F. L. Gammage

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Forensic taphonomy examines the postmortem processes that affect human remains within specific environmental contexts and plays a critical role in medicolegal death investigation. Despite significant advances in decomposition research, experimental studies remain geographically and environmentally uneven, limiting the transferability of postmortem interval (PMI) estimation methods across regions. The Central Great Plains are underrepresented in forensic taphonomic research despite its distinct ecological and geomorphological characteristics.

This thesis evaluates southeastern Nebraska as a specific regional setting for forensic taphonomic research by integrating ecological, pedological, and geomorphological data with current forensic literature. Tallgrass prairie vegetation, loess-derived soils, seasonal moisture variability, and dynamic fluvial …

Rehumanizing Anatomized Individuals: Using Osteobiographies As A Step Towards Reparative Justice, Lillie C. Turpin

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

In 1985, India banned the export of human remains. This ended the major trade route for primarily US and European anatomical supply companies. Until this point, companies like Carolina Biological Supply exploited and erased vulnerable people's identities, molding them into anonymous anatomical specimens. This study investigates the life and postmortem history of twenty-five individuals, previously used as anatomical specimens, housed at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Using an osteobiographical approach, this research reconstructs aspects of these individuals' lived experiences and examines how anatomical preparation practices reflect structural violence and apathy.

Skeletal analysis of twenty-five individuals revealed a range of biological profiles, …

Non-Destructive Automated Classification Of Human And Large Mammal Long Bone Fragments: A Deep Learning Approach Using Micro-Ct Histomorphology And Grad-Cam Interpretation, Kathleen Marie Kelley

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This study explores the development and validation of an automated, deep learning system designed to differentiate human from large mammal long bone fragments using micro-CT imagery. A comprehensive dataset of cross-sectional µCT images was assembled from human and animal skeletal material processed at the DPAA, Nebraska. A convolutional neural network (CNN) based on a ResNet-18 architecture, utilizing transfer learning from ImageNet weights, was trained to classify µCT images as human or animal. The model achieved a mean classification accuracy of 89.85% (± 8.27%) across five sample-level cross-validation folds, with a sensitivity of 96.21% and a 95% bootstrap confidence interval of …

Roads To Antiochia Ad Cragum: Pedestrian Survey And A Least Cost Path Model Of Roman Roads In The Vicinity Of Antiochia Ad Cragum, Southern Türkiye, Alexander W. Pastor

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Antiochia ad Cragum, a Roman site located in modern southern Türkiye, has been intensively investigated through archaeological study. However, the surrounding landscape has received less attention. This thesis addresses this gap by examining how this past settlement might have been accessed, which is an important step in gaining a better understanding of how people and resources traveled overland and how infrastructure was made to accommodate this travel. Pedestrian survey was conducted along posited western and eastern segments of a Roman-era road, finding remains consistent with but not definitively establishing this interpretation. In addition, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was used to …

A New Electroencephalography Electrode Design For Curly And Kinky Hair Types, Elena Butler

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Medical discrimination and implicit bias are present in both societal systems and into the design and validation of medical devices. Traditional electroencephalography (EEG) systems often fail to provide reliable physiological recordings on curly and kinky hair types (3B–4C), associated typically with Black American and others of African descent. EEG on these hair types often results in high electrode-scalp impedance, poor signal quality, and participant discomfort. Consequently, such technical biases contribute to the underrepresentation of these populations in neuroscience research and clinical diagnostics, while simultaneously limiting equitable access to EEG-based medical care.

To address this gap, a novel conductive electrode attachment …