Being a part of a family means you always have someone at your side. You build things together, you take care of each other, and you celebrate each other’s successes. That is why I believe that UNO is much more than a university – we are a family.
In this month’s update you will see the incredible ways Mavericks work together as a family to make breakthroughs in research, inspire a passion for lifelong learning in each other, support each other when we are in need, and so much more.
Joanne Li, Ph.D., CFA UNO Chancellor
Out of Office with Chancellor Li:
Season 1 Episode 3 | Maverick Food Pantry
With how busy our lives can get, there’s something special about being able to slow down and cook a meal. It’s a daily ritual that allows us to focus on taking care of ourselves, our friends, and our loved ones. And yet, there are Mavericks who don’t have the time or resources to prepare a meal. For this month’s Out of Office episode, I spent time at the Maverick Food Pantry to learn about the incredible things they do for members of our Maverick family and how we can support their work while cooking chili using only ingredients you can find in the pantry.
There is a reason why we call the time our learners spend in college an “academic journey.” The path you take is rarely straight. Sometimes your journey takes to a completely different destination than you had initially planned. And if you are UNO junior Gabbi Calderon, you retrace your footsteps. Gabbi’s incredible journey shows the vital role service learning plays in our university’s mission to produce lifelong learners who are driven to make a difference in our community.
Technology is advancing so quickly that what might seem like science fiction today could become reality in a blink of an eye. Quantum computing and quantum cryptography may sound like something out of a movie, but they are real, revolutionary technologies with the potential for worldwide impacts in cybersecurity. In fact, a team of College of Information Science & Technology researchers are hard at work preparing a quantum computing-ready workforce for a new generation of challenges right here in Omaha.
The best thing about being part of a family is watching it grow. When we welcome more Mavericks who share our core values, we get stronger. This month, Adrian Dowell joined our Maverick Family as our new vice chancellor of athletics, ushering in a new era for Omaha Athletics. I can’t wait to watch him, our incredible athletes, and our dedicated staff to build something great.
Our state is strongest when our brightest minds come together to address a challenge.
Recently, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln did just that. A team of researchers from both universities were recently awarded $5 million by the Department of Defense Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to conduct research that will extend the lifespan of bridges through new monitoring technology.
Nebraska’s rural bridges will serve as the “testbed” for the team’s work that will explore the efficacies of using electronic information systems to monitor the safety of critical infrastructure, while also identifying how such systems could be vulnerable to cybersecurity threats.
WOWT published an in-depth investigation into the costs and benefits of the ShotSpotter system, which is used in cities like Omaha to detect gunfire, as it has come under scrutiny in Chicago. Justin Nix, Ph.D., associate professor at UNO, spoke to the system’s usefulness based on his own research and analysis on the system.
KETV reported on an app created by UNO students to help teach high school students the basics on investing. The app already has more than 500 clients and was funded through NMotion, a startup business accelerator in Lincoln, with $100k to launch the app.
The Omaha World-Herald editorial staff published an article advocating for new creative educational outreach to Omaha-area students. It mentions efforts related to UNO including partnering with MCC, the Scott Scholars and Goodrich Scholars programs, and the STEM Community Platform.
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