2012-2013 Speakers

Sylvana Airan

Assistant Director, Business Contracts/Student Services
Housing Contracts and Student Accounts

Sylvana Airan is the Assistant Director of Business Contracts and Student Services in the Housing Department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she has served 30 of her 33 years at the university. She has a Bachelors degree in business administration.

Airan, who is from Pakistan, has been speaking to many different organizations, schools, colleges and churches about her experiences growing up there. She is the director of the Passion play at a local church in Lincoln, which involves about 200 people with live animals and special effects. She also serves on the board for Back to the Bible.

Her extensive travels have taken her recently to Israel where she toured the Holy land, then seven churches of Revelation in Turkey. She has been on two short-term mission trips to Brazil and Kenya; took the Martin Luther tour in Germany; and followed Paul's missionary journey to Greece.

In 2010, Airan was awarded the Female Athlete of the Year for the Cornhusker State Games and gained the Nebraska title for Women's Table Tennis.

My Life Growing Up in Pakistan
Sylvana Airan will share her personal experiences growing up in Pakistan in this presentation and how her faith helped her through the persecution. She will talk about the language, the clothes, the food and way of life. She will explain the basic beliefs of the Muslims and how to reach out to them as friends. Airan will display artifacts from Pakistan/India and will demonstrate how both a sari and burqa are worn.

Andrew Benson

W.W. Marshall Professor of Biotechnology
Food Science and Technology

Andrew Benson received his B.S. in Microbiology from Iowa State University in 1987 and his Ph.D. in Microbiology in 1992 from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He was an NIH Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University from 1992-1996. In 1996, Benson joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska in the Department of Food Science and Technology. Benson’s research program incorporates quantitative, genome-based approaches to study populations of pathogenic microorganisms as well as the large populations of organisms that colonize the gastrointestinal tract. In 2006, Benson created the Gut Function Initiative at the University of Nebraska, a discovery-oriented research cluster focused on fundamental biology of the gut ecosystem. He also established the Core for Applied Genomics and Ecology (CAGE)--a high throughput DNA sequencing facility that provides the technical capability for identifying millions of microorganisms in a single sample. In 2009, Benson was awarded the W. W. Marshall Distinguished Professorship in Biotechnology at UNL. His current research program is focused on understanding how genetic factors in vertebrates function to shapes the complex assemblage of microbial species in its gut—work he pursues in collaboration with quantitative geneticists studying murine and bovine models.

The Amazing Ecosystem in Your Gut and its Critical Roles in Human Health
The GI tract is home to an ecosystem as complex as a rain forest, with thousands of species of microbes that co-exist with gut tissues and the every-changing flow of nutrients from the diet. This system behaves rather peacefully most of the time and is important for health. If the system fails to assemble properly or if it is significant perturbed, the resulting imbalances predispose individuals to a number of disease ranging from diabetes, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, coronary heart disease and even allergies.

Personalized Medicine – A Story of the Human Genome and the Genomes of its Symbionts
The technological boom of the so-called “next generation” of DNA sequencing has led to technology that makes sequencing of individual human genomes affordable. For as little as $10,000 an individual can now have a personal genome sequence completed. This same technology can also identify all of the hundreds of trillions of symbiotic microbes that reside within us (mostly in the gut). Combined, our genetic information and that of the microbes residing within us provide a blueprint for our expressed characteristics and our potential susceptibilities to disease. As the cost of this technology is decreasing rapidly, it is clear that personalized medicine is on the horizon.

Producing Foods for Health
Food production in the U.S. is influenced by a complex combination of economic factors and nutritional trends. With personalized medicine on the horizon, economic factors changing availability of commodities, and population growth increasing overall demand, the trends driving food production are changing rapidly and have the ability to dramatically alter diets in the next century. What impact will this have on human health?

Christan Binek

Associate Professor
Physics & Astronomy

Christian Binek was born and educated in Germany in a geographical region, which is one of Europe's largest economic areas. He earned his PhD in 1995 at the University of Duisburg and received seven years later his certificate of habilitation. Since 2003, Binek teaches and researches at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln focusing on interface induced phenomena in magnetic heterostructures.

Physics Between High-school and High-tech
High school physics is not boring. At least it doesn't have to be once it becomes clear how it sets the stage for modern science and technology. Most students agree that space travel and high- tech together with quantum physics, chaos and relativity are "cool", but where is the relation between Newton's second law and space travel? How can classical waves help us to understand quantum phenomena? What have the latter to do with modern information technology? Who would argue that it is fascinating how the global positioning system accessible via my iPhone relies on special and general relativity? In addition to an entertaining power point presentation, Dr. Binek makes extensive use of exciting and eye-opening demonstrations, which reveal those relations and potentially change the way students and the general public understands the role of physics for their lives.

Magnetic Thin Films: From Basic Research to Spintronics
This presentation introduces the audience to the physics of thin films starting with a brief but general discussion of time and length scales as an important way to structure our understanding of the universe. This introduction also raises and answers the question what thin means when the realm of the sloppy everyday language is left and the world of physics as an exact science is entered. From here the audience is guided into the field of magnetic thin film heterostructures. Modern thin film growth methodology is introduced and examples from information technology such as the giant magneto resistance effect awarded with the 2007 Nobel Prize in physics are given to highlight the importance of magnetic thin film heterostructures for today's technology.

Magnetic Refrigeration
The importance of refrigeration technology is self-evident. An even closer look to our modern way of life reveals a dramatic dependence on refrigeration technology ranging from air conditioning over food storage and transportation to medical applications in organ and tissue transplantation. Combining this insight with the global energy crises shows the need for energy efficient and environmentally friendly refrigeration technologies in the near future. Magnetic refrigeration is expected to play an important role - perhaps the most important role in this quest. After an intuitive introduction into the thermodynamics and materials science of magnetic refrigeration, Dr. Binek reports on his specific nanotechnological attempts to contribute to the solution of this challenging and scientifically interesting problem.

Charles Braithwaite

Editor, Great Plains Quarterly
Sr. Lecturer, Dept. of Communication Studies

Dr. Chuck Braithwaite is on the faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he is a Fellow in the Center for Great Plains Studies, and teaches courses in the Dept. of Communication Studies such as intercultural communication, ethnographic research methods, conflict management, interviewing, and nonverbal communication. Dr. Braithwaite also directs the “Global Classroom Project,” which uses the internet video conferencing to conduct live, synchronous classes between Nebraska and universities in Turkey, Pakistan, Yemen, Russia, Spain, and Costa Rica.

Dr. Braithwaite’s international experience includes serving as a North Vietnamese interpreter for U.S. Naval Intelligence, and studying international business communication along the U.S./Mexican border.

Dr. Braithwaite has a special interest in American Indian and First Nations higher education, and has conducted extensive research on the Navajo Nation, and with the U-Mo’n-Ho’n (Omaha), the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), and the Ponca tribes of Nebraska.

Dr. Braithwaite earned his B.A. in Communication Studies at the University of California-Santa Barbara, and his M.A. & Ph.D. in Communication Studies at the University of Washington.

African Americans on the Great Plains
People of African descent have been in the Great Plains since at least 1528. Their experiences have been as diverse as any other immigrant to this part of the United States, although they faced many more challenges than other cultural groups. The story of African Americans on the Great Plains is one of making of new communities, being soldiers and creating businessess, battling prejudice and discrimination, struggling for civil rights, and contributing to the cultural growth of America.

The Global Classroom: Using new communication technology to improve education
Students today need to be able to effectively interact with diverse cultures and how to be able to in engage in discussions of global issues. How can we expand the global awareness and knowledge of human diversity for our students? New communication technology can play an important role in education by connecting students, professors, and classrooms with their counterparts around the world. The Global Classroom is a model that uses live, real-time video conferencing to allow students in Nebraska to talk face-to-face with people in Turkey, Russia, Pakistan, Yemen, Spain, and Costa Rica, and has been doing so for the eight years.

Tribal Colleges: Culture and Higher Education on the Plains
There are 33 tribal colleges serving more than 30,000 students, and representing more than 250 tribes from across the U.S., and the majority of those colleges are in the Great Plains. What is unique about tribal college education? What contributions do they make to their tribes and to America?

Daniel Claes

Professor
Physics & Astronomy

Daniel Claes received his bachelor’s degree with honors in physics and mathematics at the University of Northern Iowa and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University (1991) with a thesis performed at Fermi National Laboratory. As a postdoc for SUNYStony Brook he worked on the Dzero experiment, developing software “trigger” code (to make realtime selections to reduce data coming from this collider experiment to rates manageable by the experiment’s storage systems) and performing searches for new theoretically predicted particles. Dan joined the University of Nebraska Department of Physics and Astronomy in August 1996. He led the upgrade of Dzero’s trigger and continued conducting searches for exotic extensions to particle physics’ “Standard Model”, setting limits on the existence of supersymmetric particles. With students and postdocs he continues this work at FermiLab (Chicago) and CERN (Geneva) - where the announcement on the Higgs boson was recently made. He is a Principal Investigator on the Cosmic Ray Observatory Project (CROP), a highly ambitious outreach effort to involve Nebraska high school science teachers and students as contributing collaborators in a large scale study of cosmic ray showers. Dan also serves as chair of the department.

What the Heck is a Higgs Boson?!
Recent, back to back announcements by both the Fermilab Tevatron and CERN Large Hadron Collider provide evidence for a new particle that appears to be the long awaited Higgs boson. Good thing, else 50 years of theoretical work (based on the preceding 35 years of groundwork in quantum mechanical field theory) would need to be completely revised! In a simple language UNL Physics Professor Dan Claes will give an accessible description of particle physics’ Standard Model and explain what this Higgs Boson is all about.

Are We Alone in the Universe?
Physicist Enrico Fermi enjoyed posing interesting questions which were often difficult to impossible to answer directly, but amenable to rough approximations and inspired guesses. A lunch time discussion with colleagues at Los Alamos in 1950 set him wondering whether we are alone (or as he put it, “Where is everybody?”). These speculations become known as Fermi’s Paradox. We will discuss how recent findings should feed into Fermi’s calculations and consider the conclusions.

Comic Book Physics 101, Part 1: Secret Origins
UNL Physics Professor Daniel Claes will explore physics topics inspired by iconic comic book characters, their superpowers, and significant events in their history. In Part 1 the topics will include: 1. Power and Abilities Beyond Those of Mortal Men - How does Superman fly? • 2. What Can We Deduce About the Planet Krypton? • 3. Cosmic Rays - the Fantastic Origin of the Fantastic 4 (and the X-men, Children of the Atom)• 4. Acceleration - How fast can the Flash run?

Comic Book Physics 101, Part 2: Physics Dissassembled
UNL Physics Professor Daniel Claes will explore physics topics inspired by iconic comic book characters, their superpowers, and significant events in their history. In part Part 2 the topics will include: 1. Super Size Me! - The Scaling Limits on Giant-Sized Heroes and Monsters • 2. The Speedforce - The Flash’s Astonishing Array of Powers • 3. The Avengers - the SHIELD Helicarrier (an airborne aircraft carrier? Really?) • 4. Ironman II and Element 117 (and Dr. Solar’s “Midas Touch”)

What happened to the Faster-than-Light Neutrinos?
Controversial the moment the news was released, researchers reported observing “Faster-than-light” neutrinos in September 2011. UNL Professor of Physics Dan Claes will lead a presentation and discussion on what this is all about (Could it be possible? What would be the consequences of any faster than light particles? What does the latest data and theory suggest?).

Donald F. Costello

Associate Professor Emeritus
Computer Science and Engineering

Don Costello has been in the field of computing for 50 years and has been at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for 25 years of those years. He helped found both the Computing Science Department and Information Technology services at UNL. Costello has worked for IBM and GE and has done information technology consulting for over 150 firms and organizations throughout the world. He is a Distinguished Lecturer for the Association for Computing Machinery and has lectured at the London School of Economics, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Vienna, and other universities and conferences around the world.

Costello has worked on research and consulting assignments at International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, the United Nations, and the World Bank. He is a Fellow of the British Computing Society and was a research scholar on a Carnegie Corporation Grant to study how 'intellectual property' was managed in U.S. universities; he is now writing a book on this subject. His work has taken him to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

In recent years, Costello has been working with both international firms and Web start-ups as they install specify, contract for ERP systems. In addition to assisting management in the specification and contracting aspects of working with these systems, he has been successful in measuring and improving the performance of these systems using statistical methods, modeling, and simulation.

Costello operates his international consulting business in Lincoln as well as teaching undergraduate and graduate courses for Computer Science and Engineering at UNL. He lectures and gives workshops all over the world on information technology and on how he sees the future of this field.

Computer Games: From Pokemon to Cutting-edge Research
Computer games have played a role in the technology revolution since day one. Costello worked for IBM in 1957 when they first began attacking the chess problem. Soon, rudimentary games like Moon Landing became popular. Over the years, single player shoot-em-up games sprung up in countless varieties, followed by gaming phenomena like Pokemon, to the delight of children and the frustration of their parents! Today, the definition of "video game" includes simulation exercises used to teach, games that aid chemists conducting experiments, and even games of social engineering, in which players create surrogate personalities and interact with thousands of other users in simulated environments. Costello's presentation will re-examine the social and learning values of games and envision the myriad future uses for and developments in computer and video games. With a fast computer Internet connection, he will be able to give his audience a fascinating show and tell presentation.

The Birth, Death and Resurrection of Computers in Banking
Forty years ago when a branch bank closed, the head teller was the one to balance the teller accounts; others in the bank had procedures to follow to be certain that all accounts were in balance. It worked. Then came the installation of the first program that automated the banking process, and the bank lost control of any auditable system. In this presentation, Costello will examine what has happened to the banking system, how it has changed, and what the future may bring.

Information Technology - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
The world of information technology seems to never slow down. Individuals, organizations, and companies are bombarded with new technology and the pressure to upgrade almost every day. Do we go along with Microsoft and upgrade to the latest version of Windows? Do we upgrade our website with more animation? Costello's presentation will explore information technology's past, present, and future.

The Bronx in the Middle of the Last Century
I was raised in the Bronx in the middle of the last century. My great grandfather came there after the Civil War. The Bronx at the time was called “The Beautiful Bronx” as it was the only borough of New York attached to the mainland and was inconveniently separated from the other boroughs by difficult to overcome bodies of water. In 1900 the land was almost all fields and not much different from the way the Dutch first found it.

By 1930 New York was the most famous bursting metropolis in the world. The immigrants and the more industrial from the slums being cleared out in Manhattan moved along with the subway to the new borough. My years there saw my family come out of the great depression and valiantly participate in World War II and from its aftermath begin their migration to the hinterland.

The talk will cover stickball, slug and salugie; fights between rival cultural ghettos, all attempting to get ahead. It will reminisce on my family’s ties to Yankee Stadium and the occupant’s loyalty to the block, the roof, the street, the school the church and the bar.

Thomas Wolfe told us “You Can’t Go Home Again” to Ashville North Carolina but neither can you go home again to the Old Bronx. To me it was a wildly exciting and daily more wondrous place to be raised and I will share that wonder so that you can compare it with what you saw on TV and to wherever you lived your youth.

Systems Thinking in an Apple like World
There is no question that Steve Jobs and the Apple Corporation have continually changed the way the world of computing evolves. It is almost impossible to believe that that little start up not only beat out a lot of their competitors but also beat out IBM.When Apple thought it was time to replace the creative genius of Steve with the more savvy John Scully many of us thought that was the end of Steve but he came back in the second half and the whole Mac world took off. The Apple fan club grew from a “beat the Yankees” like minority to a group that made up a significant component of the PC buying public.

The opening of Apple stores with their bright friendly and enthusiastic technical sales force helped bring a previously languishing stock price up beyond what anyone thought possible. And then came the iPod and we know that we haven’t seen where that remarkable device will take us next. Each new “iPod x” seems like it does things un-thought of outside the Hollywood fantasy world.

Some have said “You ain’t seen nutin yet” and if the Apple marketing people are right then let’s keep our eyes open and take a look see what may happen.

Of course don’t think that Microsoft is just sitting by the side and letting Apple win the race. We certainly won’t count them out but tell you about where they may come in.

The talk will examine this fascinating set of new Digital Systems approaches and we’ll speculate on who is going to win and in what domain.

Kenneth Dewey

Professor of Applied Climate Sciences
School of Natural Resources

Dr. Ken Dewey's lifelong passion for weather began as a small child in Chicago where he routinely collected weather data around his house and clipped weather news reports from the local papers for his scrapbook. His passion for weather continues today with his storm chase group, the Nebraska Vortex Intercept Team, and their "photo safaris" that they take each spring across the plains.

Dewey received his undergraduate degree from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, IL, his masters degree from Northern Illinois University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in Canada. Except for two years spent at the National Weather Service Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on a post-doctoral fellowship, his entire career has been spent at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

He is a full professor in the UNL School of Natural Resource Sciences and a member of the university's Applied Climate Sciences Group. He also creates the content and maintains the UNL Nebraska Weather and Climate websites (http://www.nebraskaweather.org/ and http://www.lincolnweather.org), which contain a large variety of information on the weather and climate of our region. He also maintains a very popular UNL weather, climate, and natural resources photo resource website (http://www.nebraskaweatherphotos.org/).

Professor Dewey has received seven teaching awards from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, eight research fellowships, and eleven funded research grants. His primary areas of research include severe storms climatology, snow and ice studies, short-term climatic variability, and severe weather preparedness. He also organizes the annual Central Plains Severe Weather Symposium and Family Weatherfest which is held each spring on the UNL east campus (http://www.cpsws.unl.edu/) and brings in over 3,500 people of all ages to learn more about severe weather in our region. His UNL appointment is primarily Outreach and Extension education, and he enjoys the opportunities to share his love of Great Plains weather and climate with the public. He is a returning member of the UNL Chancellor's Speakers Bureau and enjoys giving presentations across region each year.

Severe Storms 101
Tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, flash floods, and hurricanes, oh my! Learn more about the causes of these extreme forms of weather. Professor Dewey will also use photos and video clips to show how these forms of severe weather vary in frequency and intensity globally, in the U.S., the Great Plains and as well as in Nebraska. Essential safety advice will also be given during the presentation to help audiences learn how to better survive these storms.

North to Alaska and Across the Canadian Arctic: A Photographic Journey
Travelling by car, Dewey set out on a 7 week, 10,000 mile, journey to photograph the diversity of natural resources along the Trans- Canadian Highway, the Alaska Highway, the Alaska Pipeline road, the "Top of the World" Highway in the Yukon and the Dempster Highway across the Tundra in the Northwest Territories of Canada, finally reaching the Mackenzie Delta and the Arctic Ocean. Come along on his once in a lifetime journey and, through his photography, experience the "last frontier" of North America.

Chasing Icebergs
Professor Dewey spent two months during the summer of 2012, exploring the Canadian Maritime Provinces as well as the North Atlantic Ocean between Labrador and Greenland. He documented, the icebergs moving from Greenland toward the North American continent. This presentation will include scenic photos taken along the way and will describe the rapidly changing climate in the Canadian Maritimes, North Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Sea and Greenland.

The Record Breaking and Extreme Weather of 2012
It’s official: 2012 was the warmest year on record in the lower 48 United States, as the country experienced blistering spring and summer heat, tinderbox fire weather conditions amid a widespread drought, and one of the worst storms to ever strike the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. And, 2012 also marked the 36th consecutive year with a global temperature above the 20th century average. This presentation looks at the extreme weather of 2012, globally, in the U.S., the Great Plains, and in Nebraska.

Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

Professor Emeritus
Conservation and Survey Division

Dr. Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., was born and raised in Hagerstown, MD. He graduated with a degree in geology from Franklin and Marshal College in Lancaster, PA. He pursued graduate work at the University of Nebraska graduate college because of the university's excellent reputation in geological research and ultimately received MS and PhD degrees with a major in geology.

After graduate work, Diffendal taught geology, geography, and biology courses at St. Dominic College in St. Charles, IL. He then was appointed to the faculty of Doane College in Crete where he taught geology courses for 10 years.

Diffendal joined the faculty of UNL in 1980 as a member of the Conservation and Survey Division where he worked as research geologist and held the rank of professor until his retirement in 2003. He is now professor emeritus in this division, a part of the UNL School of Natural Resources.

Diffendal has produced many articles, guidebooks, maps, and other works on the geology of Nebraska and several articles on the geomorphic development of Yellow Mountain in China. He has given talks and has led trips for thousands of Nebraska children and adults as well as those from other states and countries.

Among his other experiences, Diffendal was an exchange professor and did research during the eight times he has been to China since 1979. He was science division chair and associate dean at Doane. At UNL, he was president of the Faculty Senate, served as interim associate director of the Conservation and Survey Division, and most recently served as the first assistant director of the UNL School of Natural Resources.

New Mexico Geology and Life in the Art of Georgia O’Keeffe
Georgia O’Keeffe began her art works with themes from New Mexico starting in 1929. She used landscapes and natural objects like local rocks, plants, animal remains, and atmospheric phenomena of New Mexico as subjects of her paintings and other art works. Dr. Diffendal will describe some of the geological and other natural features and places depicted in her art.

Pleasures and Perils of Owning Beach-Front Property
Since the 1950s many Americans have bought land along the shores of lakes, oceans and seas and have invested much money in building homes and other facilities. These beach-front sites are beautiful and often were easily sold to these people, frequently without any discussions about the potential hazards to dwellings, businesses, and infrastructures by various natural forces. Dr. Diffendal will discuss examples from Nebraska and other places that exemplify the beauty and the potential perils of owning property at such sites.

The Past, Present, and Future of the Platte River System
Today the Platte River system is controlled by dams and irrigation works in Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. In the past the North Platte, South Platte, and Platte Rivers have had different courses than those of today. The rivers then were topographically higher than they are now. The present control of the river system has had impacts on distributions of plants and animals, and on the uses made of the rivers by citizens. Dr. Diffendal will discuss what is known about the geologic history of the river system and what the future may bring to it.

Stephen Ducharme

Professor and Vice Chair
Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience

Stephen Ducharme is from Massachusetts, where he received his early education and his B.S. degree in physics at the University of Lowell (now the University of Massachusetts, Lowell) in 1981. He received his Ph.D. degree in physics in 1986 at the University of Southern California.

After post-doctoral appointments at the University of Utah and the IBM Almaden Research Center, he joined the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1991 and is currently a full professor and department vice chair. His research interests have focused on photo refractive and nonlinear optical materials and ellipsometers and investigating the fundamental nanoscience of ferroelectric polymers and quantum dots and their potential use in nanotechnology.

Ducharme is a member of the American Physical Society, the Optical Society of America, the Materials Research Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Physics Teaching, and the Society of Sigma Xi.

Nanoscale Science and Technology
This is a survey on recent trends in the field, with an emphasis on innovations in materials science, electronics and optics. The demonstrations would include the following: fluorescing quantum dots showing the quantum confinement energy effect; nanoparticle and berry juice solar cells; Buckyball models; ferrofluids; Atomic Force Microscopy model.

Can a Photon Wave?
Many have heard about the famous "wave-particle duality" of quantum mechanics, which means that particles like electrons sometimes behave more like waves and waves like light sometimes behave like particles. The demonstrations would include the following: counting photons, several kinds of lasers, photoelectron generation, laser diffraction, and photonic communications over optical fibers.

Galen Erickson

Professor, Beef Feedlot Extension Specialist
Department of Animal Science

Galen Erickson is a professor in the animal science department and works with feedlot cattle in the nutrition and management area. Erickson has a research, extension, and teaching appointment so he gets to help beef producers and others with questions about the Nebraska feedlot industry. He is interested in ways to decrease the impact of cattle on the environment and ways to recycle feeds for better and more profitable cattle. The focus has been on ways to better use manure, nutrients, and improve energy use. Cattle are also an excellent recycler of byproducts of other industries, for example the ethanol industry.

How Ethanol and Cattle Are Good Together (i.e., alcohol and beef)
This would relate to how having cattle, corn, and ethanol as major thrusts of our Ag industry in Nebraska is an excellent fit, and provides a synergy that is more advantageous to our economy than anywhere else in the world.

What Is the Real Impact of Feedlots On the Environment?
Most perceive that having feedlots is an environmental challenge. There are some pluses in terms of the environment, particularly for larger feedlots. Runoff is controlled and recycled for nutrients, cattle are more efficient at using nutrients in feedlots so they produce less greenhouse gases and reduce the energy or carbon footprint, and lastly cattle are fed at least 70% or more of their feed as forages that are not usable by other animals produced for food or by humans.

Finishing Cattle Issues and Ways To Improve Profits Of Feedlots
Higher priced grains have led to challenges for beef producers. We are researching ways to help with this challenge such as how to better utilize the feeds we have, use technology to get cattle to grow bigger and more efficiently, and then use feeds besides grains to actually finish cattle in feedlots and produce high-quality beef.

Michael Hoff

Professor
Department of Art & Art History

Michael Hoff is professor of Art History in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he has been on the faculty since 1989. He received his A.B. in Art History and Archaeology from the University of Missouri, M.A. in Classics from Florida State University, and his Ph.D. in Art History from Boston University. Hoff specializes in Greek and Roman archaeology in which he has focused his research on the history of Roman Athens as well as the archaeology of Asia Minor. He has excavated in North Wales, in Greece in the Athenian Agora, Corinth, Crete, and at the Sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea. Hoff now conducts research in Turkey where he has co-directed the architectural survey team of the Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Project since 1997 and now serves as Project Director of the Antiocheia Ad Kragos Excavations.

Hoff has authored many articles in international journals and was co-editor of a book, The Romanization of Athens, published in 1998. He also is one of the leading lecturers with the Archaeological Institute of America and has delivered lectures on his research at over 30 colleges and universities throughout the country.

Ancient Roman Religion and Nebraska Football
Commentators on college sports have alluded to how football programs at certain universi- ties achieve such a high status among its fans that it almost becomes a religion. Some might argue that Nebraska football is at that level. As an archaeologist who understands the work- ings of ancient Roman cult and being a fan of college football, Hoff has always been struck by the similarities of this religion and college football. In this presentation, Hoff will share insights on how UNL's football program, like ancient Roman religion, is an institution that binds together the different populations within the state.

Pirates and Romans Along the Cilician Coast of Ancient Turkey
During the 1st and 2nd centuries B.C., the south-central coast of Asia Minor (Turkey) was the base of operations for pirates who preyed upon merchant vessels operating in the regions between Italy and the Levant. The Romans ridded the area of the pirate threat, and cities spread at a rapid pace up and down the coast of Rough Cilicia. These cities are still visible today, but few of these urban areas have been explored by archaeologists. Deterioriation is occurring because of land development and modern-day 'pirates' who are looting the sites. In this presentation, Hoff will discuss the urban planning and architecture of these communities to gain an understanding of land use and urban needs in Cilicia during the Roman Empire.

Athens under Roman Domination
Few cities of the ancient world can rival Athens' rich ar- ray of cultural splendors. Monuments such as the famous Parthenon serve as visual reminders of Athens' glory during the Classical Age. But, scholars have neglected the era in Athenian history when Rome held dominion over all of Greece, and the "Golden Age" of Athens was long passed. In this presentation, Hoff traces the topographical and ar- chitectural changes Athens underwent during the formative period of Roman control.

Roger M. Hoy

Professor
Department of Art & Art History
Director, Nebraska Tractor Testing Laboratory

Dr. Hoy received his bachelor degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Georgia and his masters and doctoral degrees from North Carolina State University. He spent seventeen years in industry in various engineering and engineering management roles in product development and testing designing Jake Brakes and various Deere products. In 2006, Dr. Hoy joined the University of Nebraska in his current role.

The Nebraska Tractor Testing Lab: Past, Present and Future
The University of Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory is the officially designated tractor testing station for the United States and tests tractors according to the codes of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Twenty-nine countries adhere to the tractor test codes (including non-OECD members: China, India, the Russian Federation, and Serbia), with active tractor test stations in approximately 25 of those countries.

Hoy's presentation traces the past, present and future of the Tractor Test Lab. It begins with the conditions in the early part of the 20th century that led to the Nebraska Tractor Test Law and traces the lab to the present day and what we see for the future.

Gary Kebbel

Professor
College of Journalism and Mass Communications

Gary Kebbel became dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2010. In his first year, he helped create a dozen new classes or give them a new focus.

Before coming to Lincoln, he was the journalism program director at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in Miami, where he administered the Knight News Challenge, a $25 million contest to find digital news innovations.

As News Director at AOL, he helped build one of the largest news and social sites on the Internet.

He is a founding editor of USA TODAY.com and Newsweek.com.

Kebbel is a Fulbright Senior Specialist who did his Fulbright work in South Africa. He has also taught about online news for the U.S. State Department in Russia, Taiwan, Tunisia and Latvia. He was a trainer at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute and has consulted on social networking for NORAD and the U.S. Department of Defense.

He holds master's degrees in journalism and in political science from the University of Illinois, and a master of social work degree from the Catholic University of America.

How to Use Social Networking Like Twitter or Facebook or Foursquare as Reporting Tools
Although Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare were designed as social networking tools, it's easy to use them for other purposes where you require instant communication and the ability to pinpoint events or people in their places. For example, Foursquare can be used as a tool for news organizations, telling them where their reporters and their equipment are. Get other tips from the dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

The Changing News Ecosystem
In a world where everyone can be a publisher, what does it mean to be a journalist or a newspaper publisher or a TV producer when 13-year-olds are doing the same thing? Almost everyone has access to tools like their cell phones that can publish text, photos and video on the web. How has all this changed the role of the journalist? What's the value of the journalist in this new environment? The dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications has helped created this new environment and has ideas about how to navigate it.

Reaching Youth: If It's Not on a Cell Phone, It Doesn't Exist
The cell phone isn't just a phone for young people. It's their life organizer. It does everything important to them. If you want to get a message to youth, you need to send it on the only device they unendingly use: their cell phones. If you want to reach the youth audience, you need to know some useful tips about their use of mobile media.

Meg Lauerman

Director
University Communications

Meg Lauerman, director of University Communications since 2001, believes that the talent on the University Communications team is second to none in the nation's top research universities, and stacks up as dynamic and innovative when compared with any communications firm in the nation. She also believes that strategic creativity in communications can and does come from all areas of the institution, and that job title has no bearing on being able to make important contributions in moving the university ahead.

Lauerman's career "priors" include: assistant professor of advertising, UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications; media specialist for State Farm Insurance Co.; communications director for Nebraska Math and Science Initiative; communications director, Lincoln Public Schools; senior producer, Nebraska ETV; visiting assistant professor of broadcasting, UNL; producer/writer, KOLN-TV news.

Believing that community service is an important part of life, Lauerman serves on the board of United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County, the Nebraska Humanities Foundation board, the Friends of Ak-Sar-Ben board, and the funeral care committee of First-Plymouth Church. The Nebraska Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America named her 2006 Public Relations Professional of the Year.

She earned her bachelor's and PhD from UNL and her master's from Michigan State University.

Research, Recruitment and the Big Ten: An Overview of What's New at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
In the past decade, UNL has been on the move in developing research that has potential for global impacts. At the same time, UNL has become the nation's most popular public university according to U.S. News & World Report, attracting more top students from Nebraska, other states and around the world. As UNL prepares to enter a new era as a member of the Big Ten Conference, new opportunities for academic collaborations with other Big Ten schools, as well as new athletic opportunities are on the horizon. This presentation provides a broad look at the latest developments at this exciting, dynamic university.

Peter Levitov

Emeritus Associate Dean,
UNL International Affairs
Special Assistant General Counsel for Immigration Law
NU Central Administration

Peter Levitov holds a B.A. degree, which he received with honors (Phi Beta Kappa) from Rutgers University, and a J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. After practicing law for two years in New Jersey, he lived in Liberia, West Africa, where he taught African History, Geography, and Rhetoric from 1969-71.

Levitov joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1972 and has been engaged exclusively in international education. His current responsibilities include working to obtain lawful status for faculty, researchers and professional staff at UNL, coordinating the university's partnerships with institutions around the world and managing the honor society that recognizes international achievements. Levitov also advises the other campuses of the University of Nebraska on matters of immigration law, particularly with regard to faculty employment. He has spoken extensively about international educational exchange, both in the U.S. and overseas, and he has held leadership positions in national professional organizations in the field as well.

Levitov has served on the Lincoln Library Board of Trustees and the Lincoln Commission on Human Rights. He also has been on the board of directors of several national organizations and has traveled to 65 countries.

International Education at UNL
The university has been actively involved in international education for more than a century. Thousands of students from other countries have earned degrees at UNL over the years. Our students have studied abroad throughout the world. Faculty have engaged in research in collaboration with colleagues in every corner of the earth. The university itself has helped with the establishment of new institutions in many countries. In recent years UNL has hosted an institute to bring Chinese language and culture to the citizens of Nebraska. In truth, the university has become a global university.

International students have been coming to the United States (including Nebraska) since the last part of the 19th century. Today more than 600,000 students come from other countries to study at our colleges and universities. Close to 1600 international students attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This is more than 6% of the overall student body, which is about average for state universities in the Midwest. Most are graduate students, and many are conducting research on topics that are important to Nebraska and its economy. These students represent about 100 countries.

In recent years, particularly since "9/11," there has been a great increase in interest in what happens in other countries and how important it is for a student to gain an international perspective. At present more than one in five students who earn a bachelors degree at UNL will have had a study abroad experience. These may include traditional semesters in foreign universities, short-term programs led by UNL faculty or international internship or service-learning placements.

UNL has contributed to institution building in Turkey, in Nigeria and in Albania. It has engaged in large scale, multi-year projects in Morocco, Antarctica and Zambia. In addition, UNL's faculty regularly work with overseas colleagues on research projects and make scholarly presentations at professional conferences all over the world. From Korea to Tajikistan, from Brazil to Kenya, from Norway to Costa Rica, UNL has shared its expertise.

In this presentation, Levitov will discuss each of these aspects on UNL's international involvement, focusing on student exchange [international students and study abroad participants] and answer questions.

Bradley D. Lubben

Extension Assistant Professor, Policy Specialist,
and Director of the North Central Risk Management Education Center
Department of Agricultural Economics

Brad Lubben is an Extension Assistant Professor, Policy Specialist, and Director of the North Central Risk Management Education Center in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has 20 years of experience as an Extension agricultural economist, serving in Illinois and Kansas before returning in 2005 to Nebraska, where he grew up on a grain and livestock farm near Burr, southeast of Lincoln. Brad holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Ph.D. from Kansas State University. Lubben is involved in teaching, research, and extension activities, focusing on agricultural and public policy issues ranging from federal farm programs and risk management to conservation programs to food, trade, energy, and environmental policy.

Growing Agriculture to Meet Society’s Demands
The United States has been blessed with a productive agricultural sector that provides a safe, secure, abundant, and affordable food supply. But increasingly, society expects more from U.S. agriculture, including not just food production, but local food systems, bioenergy, and environmental services. This presentation talks about these new demands on agriculture and the ability of U.S. agriculture to respond.

More Than Farm in the Farm Bill
The farm bill comes up for national debate about every 5 years, but the debate and the bill addresses a lot more than just what happens down on the farm. This presentation discusses the history and development of the farm bill and the impact on all citizens, farm or non-farm, rural or urban.

Public Policy 101: Policy Development in Agriculture
Agricultural policy development in the United States involves a complex mix of legislation, programs, agencies, and interest groups that have changed remarkably over the past 80 years since the first farm bill was implemented in 1933. An evolving history of ag policy and the interest groups involved provides a perspective on the development and directions for ag policy in the coming years.

Patrice C. McMahon

Associate Professor
Political Science

Patrice McMahon received her PhD from Columbia University and her MA from The George Washington University. Currently, she is an Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. McMahon's research interests include global governance, ethnic conflict and cooperation, post-conflict reconstruction and transitional justice. She is the author of Taming Ethnic Hatreds: Ethnic Cooperation and Transnational Networks in Eastern Europe (2007) and the co-editor of American Foreign Policy in a Globalized World (2006) and International Human Rights and Diversity (2004). She is currently working on a manuscript on the role of NGOs in peacebuilding. Her work has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Political Science Quarterly, Democratization, and Ethnopolitics and has been supported by the American Council for Learned Societies (ACLS), the Department of State, the National Research Council, the National Council for East European and Eurasian Research (NCEER), and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For Good or For Ill: The Return of Nation Building
Nation building is back, despite the use of other terms like peacebuilding, statebuilding, and post- conflict reconstruction. Nation building is aimed at reconstructing, strengthening, or restructuring a state's political and economic institutions. In this presentation, McMahon discusses the significant overlap in the assumptions, actors, and goals of the various terms used to describe comprehensive external involvement in the domestic affairs of a country. She explains that although the study of nation building is fraught with terminological confusion and misuse, there are well-documented regularities, and some consensus among scholars. At the same time, there is still much that we do not know about this complicated and multifaceted process.

U.S. Power in the Networked Era
Much is made about declining US power. And while U.S. power may be declining economically, it remains the most important country in the world, providing security in Europe and Asia and remaining the economic backbone for the liberal economic order. At the core of US power, is not only its military, coercive power but, instead, how it does business and specifically how it works with other governments, international organizations and private, nongovernmental organizations. Put differently, the US collaborates and shares its influence with others. Its ability and willing to connect and cooperate on a range of issues is unique and demonstrates how the US will continue to remain the global hegemony - if it continues to network with others.

Partners in Peace: Nongovernmental Organizations in Peace Building
Much research has alluded to the unique and important role of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to peacebuilding. From the delivery of humanitarian supplies to poverty alleviation to the empowerment of women, NGOs are believed to display an uncanny ability to respond quickly and creatively to a country's multilayered challenges. NGOs also are said to hold a distinct moral compass and representative mandate, doing what is ethically correct on behalf of the people they claim to represent. In this presentation, McMahon will discuss both how NGOs help, hurt and hardly make a difference to international peacebuilding efforts.

Tapan B. Pathak

Extension Educator in Climate Variability
School of Natural Resources

Dr. Tapan Pathak is an extension educator in climate variability and climate change at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He joined the faculty of UNL in April 2010, and his responsibilities include educating extension professionals, the agricultural community, and the wider public about climate variability and climate change and how they impact natural resources. Dr. Pathak works closely with extension professionals within and outside of Nebraska to build collaborative network of climate extension in the north central United States.

Dr. Pathak received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2010, where he worked on forecasting cotton yield using climate forecasts and other climate information. He received his Masters degree from Utah State University and his undergraduate degree from the Gujarat Agricultural University, India. He enjoys being in Nebraska and connecting with citizens of Nebraska.

Current and Future Global Climate Change: What it Means for Nebraska?
Climate is always changing. In the short term, such as an hour or a day, we see changes in weather. Similarly, over a longer period such as 50 or 100 years, we see changes in variables such as temperature and precipitation. These changes can be due to natural and anthropogenic (human) causes but changes in temperature in recent years has become a global concern due to their faster than normal rate of increase. Global temperature increase is also causing melting of glaciers, sea level rise, more frequent weather extremes, etc. What is climate change? What is the difference between weather and climate? What are the causes and indicators of climate change? Are we experiencing any changes in Nebraska? In this presentation, Dr. Pathak will discuss those questions in detail with science based information.

Wes Peterson

Professor
Agricultural Economics

Wes Peterson holds a B.A. degree in anthropology from the University of California-Berkeley, a Masters Degree in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School (Princeton), and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Michigan State University. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1968-70 in Benin (West Africa) and has worked on numerous research and consulting projects in Europe, Africa, and Asia. He has also served as a polling station supervisor and election observer during elections in several countries formed after the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.

Before joining the faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1990, Peterson taught in France and at Texas A&M. His research and teaching interests are in international trade, agricultural policy, economic development. He is the author of The Political Economy of Agricultural, Natural Resource and Environmental Policy Analysis (2001) and A Billion Dollars a Day: The Economics and Politics of Agricultural Subsidies (2009) as well as numerous journal articles and other publications.

A New Age of Colonialism? Land and Resource Deals in Low-Income Countries
Faced with rising food prices and limited farmland resources, governments and private sector interests in countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, and Switzerland have begun to buy land in low-income countries for use in growing biofuel feed stocks, food crops and other commodities. Such land purchases may help to insure reliable supplies to the country from which the investments originate while creating jobs and infrastructure in the low-income country. Many of these land deals, however, do not create jobs or other economic benefits for the recipient countries. A similar situation exists with respect to natural resources such as petroleum or copper. Some have suggested that the world has entered a new age of colonial exploitation. This presentation highlights the impact of land and resource deals on development in low-income countries with particular reference to Sub-Saharan Africa.

The 2012 Farm Bill: Prospects for Reform
Every five years or so, the U.S. Congress adopts new legislation referred to as the "Farm Bill." The 2002 Farm Bill was to have been replaced in 2007 but the legislation was delayed until 2008. There is still an expectation that a new Farm Bill will be voted in 2012. Farm Bills cover farm support, agricultural research, nutrition, and a variety of other federal programs. The breadth of the Farm Bill means that there are many groups with interests in the legislative outcome. Although the total cost of the Farm Bill is a relatively small part of the federal budget, worries about long-term deficits and the effects of the legislation on the nature of the food supply, public health, the environment and other concerns have led to calls for spending cuts and other changes in the next Farm Bill. This presentation will address the controversies surrounding the Farm Bill and assess the prospects for reform.

The Implications of Increased Regional and Bilateral Trade Agreements for World Trade
Delegations to the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been working for ten years on broad regulations to coordinate global trade under the so-called Doha Development Round (DDR). As the complexities of reaching agreement on new trade rules have become apparent, many countries have begun to negotiate regional and bilateral trade agreements as alternatives to a more general WTO agreement. The U.S. government has negotiated bilateral agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama but Congress has been slow to ratify them. This presentation will provide current information on the state of regional and bilateral trade agreements, report on progress on the DDR, and discuss the implications for U.S. trade.

Paul E. Read

Professor of Horticulture and Viticulture

Paul E. Read is a professor of Horticulture and Viticulture in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Following completion of B.S. and M.S. degrees from Cornell University and Ph.D. from the University of Delaware, he was employed in teaching and research at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN. During his tenure at Minnesota, he directed development of an irrigation research station and conducted research and teaching in plant growth regulation, plant propagation and tissue culture.

Read also consulted for the International Atomic Energy Association, helped establish research facilities in Zambia and India, taught in China and organized several international symposia.

Following his arrival at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to serve as head of the Department of Horticulture, he began to focus on student recruitment, graduate student advising, and research and teaching in plant tissue culture. During this time, the number of undergraduate horticulture majors nearly tripled and graduate student numbers increased by more than 300%.

In 1997, Read returned to fulltime teaching, research, and extension, and he assumed the responsibility of serving as the resource person for Nebraska's developing grape and wine industry. Read is a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS), received the ASHS Outstanding Graduate Educator Award in 2000, and served as vice president for education. He recently completed a three-year term as President-elect, President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Society for Horticulture Science.

Read's adventures took him to Australia from September 2005 to February 2006 to work in the Australian grape and wine industry. This was his second professional experience in the Australian industry and these experiences have resulted in Read leading UNL students on three Study Abroad opportunities to Australia in recent years.

Grape Expectations: Nebraska's Developing Grape and Wine Industry
No, Nebraska's developing grape and wine industry won't be putting the Napa Valley out of business anytime soon. However, Nebraska's emerging industry is becoming a stimulus for the economies in many Nebraska towns. Today there are more than 25 wineries and over 500 acres of commercial vineyards in the state. In the coming years, increased consumer interest and grape planting will result in a continued boom in new vineyards and wine production. Read will present information and illustrations that explain the growth of this industry, its potential economic effects, and the resulting impact on the people and communities of Nebraska.

Gardens of the World
Based upon his travel, international teaching and research experiences, Read will present illustrations of the beauty that he has encountered from China to Europe, Siberia to Australia, and selected locations within the United States. Depending upon the location, one person's 'weed' is often another's favorite subject for floral arrangements, landscape applications, or even culinary use. Read's presentation will focus on floral diversity, environmental adaptations and plant-people interactions with insights and ideas about how plants from various parts of the world influence our daily lives.

John W. Richmond

Professor & Director
School of Music Hixson-Lied College of Fine & Performing Arts

John W. Richmond is Professor and Director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. In this capacity, he oversees all programs in music and dance. Dr. Richmond also teaches graduate courses in music education. He earned a bachelor's degree (summa cum laude) from William Jewell College, a master's degree from the Conservatory of Music at UMKC, and a Ph.D. degree from Northwestern University. In addition, he studied at the Vienna International Music Center and the Orff Schulwerk Institute in Salzburg.

Dr. Richmond is published widely in the profession's most respected journals, research monographs, and festschrifts. He is a Founding Director of the Suncoast Music Education Forum, the founding Editor of the Florida Choral News, and served as the Conference Director for the 1994 World Conference of the International Society for Music Education. Dr. Richmond edited the Policy/ Philosophy Section of the New Handbook of Research in Music Teaching and Learning (Oxford University Press), and wrote its chapter on "Law Research and Music Education."

Dr. Richmond has appeared across North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia as a guest conductor, speaker, clinician, consultant, and soloist.

Does Music Make You Smarter? It Depends on What You Mean!
Much discussion and debate have followed the celebrated announcement of the "Mozart Effect," which claims that certain kinds of music study have a causal positive effect on general intelligence. While there is strong reason to question whether music lessons will help your child do her calculus homework, there is good reason to discuss the merits of music for all students, not just the conservatory bound!

Finding the Next Mozart! Music Composition Education in the 21st Century
In 1994, the National Standards for Music Education were published, declaring what all U.S. children should know and be able to do in music. To the surprise of many, music composition and improvisation were included among the nine standards. How can American schools expand their vision in the 21st Century to embrace this standard? How do we empower students and teachers to engage in music composition regularly? What changes will this mean for your next PTA meeting?

“Speaking the Universal Language” Without an Accent: UNL in Our Global Musical Village
This presentation describes the many ways that UNL music faculty and students are learning and performing the world’s music, and the many opportunities our School has now to participate in our global musical culture. Highlights include recent music faculty and student concert appearances in Italy, Germany, Greece, China, Korea, and Austria, as well as upcoming adventures in these and other parts of the world. Finally, this presentation speaks to the many corners of the globe from which UNL music students now are coming — Russia, Korea, China, Germany, the Czech Republic, and on and on. UNL is quickly becoming the Global Village in miniature.

Kelli K. Smith, Ph.D.

Assistant Director
Career Services

Kelli K. Smith has a Ph.D. in leadership studies from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (UNL), a master's degree in student affairs administration from Indiana University-Bloomington, and a bachelor's degree in psychology from Nebraska Wesleyan University. She possesses 19 years of experience in higher education and has worked in Career Services at UNL for 12 of those years both counseling students and managing employer relations for the department. She works closely with organizations on recruiting efforts and practices. Previous to working at UNL, Kelli served in student activities, Greek life, and generalist student affairs positions at a variety of institutional types. Other interests include succession planning, leadership, strategic planning, reading, and spending time with her family.

Developing a Top Internship Program
How can interns become an effective part of an organization? In this presentation, Smith will explore characteristics of successful internship programs and how such programs can benefit an organization immediately as well as become part of a strategy to recruit talented students for future positions. She will explain program design, recruitment, and supervision of interns and discuss procedures, legal issues, compensation, and educational institution practices.

How to Effectively Recruit College Students
Employers may not think about tapping the college student market for talent, or know how to begin recruiting college students for jobs and internships. In Smith's presentation, she will share how organizations can win the war for talent by recruiting college students in five easy steps. She will explain how to use Husker Hire Link, which is the web-based recruiting service offered by Career Services at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and also share ideas on how to make your organization stand out while targeting the college student market.

Gregory Snow

Associate Dean of Research in the College of Arts and Sciences

Gregory Snow founded the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's High Energy Physics group in 1993 when he joined the Nebraska faculty as an associate professor. Snow's interest in high-energy physics and particle accelerators began as an undergraduate at Princeton, where he performed senior thesis research at the Brookhaven Laboratory with Val Fitch, a Nobel Prize winner in physics. As a graduate student at Rockefeller University in New York, Snow performed his Ph.D. work at Fermilab in Batavia, IL. As a postdoctoral fellow at Rockefeller and as an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, Snow continued his "commute-to-the-laboratory" lifestyle, performing experiments at the CERN Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. Snow came to Nebraska to settle near his home state of Wyoming. He and his colleagues are leading members of major experiments at both Fermilab and CERN.

Did a Giant asteroid kill the Dinosaurs?
One of Snow's hobbies is to learn about the extinction of the dinosaurs and other mass extinctions in the history of the earth. In this presentation, he will probe the theory that an asteroid or comet the size of Mt. Everest struck Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula 65 million year ago, creating a dust cloud that altered the earth's climate and killed the dinosaurs and 70 percent of all other living species. Evidence supporting the impact theory will be presented. Snow will also review other dinosaur extinction theories, which range from believable to preposterous, and he will discuss his perspective on this lively scientific debate.

Cosmic Rays from Outer Space-What Do We Know About Them?
It has been known for over 100 years that the Earth is bombarded by high-energy subatomic particles from outer space, from all directions, all the time. Such extraterrestrial particles are called cosmic rays. Prof. Snow will describe the collaboration of scientists from around the world who have come together to build and operate the world’s largest experiment studying the energies and origins of these cosmic messengers. Located in Mendoza Province, Argentina, the experiment is called the Pierre Auger Observatory, named after one of the pioneers of cosmic ray research. The first few years of data taking have revealed a number of surprising answers to our questions about high-energy cosmic rays. These will be described with simple language and images by Prof. Snow.

High Energy Physics and the Discovery of the “God Particle”
Experiments at particle accelerator laboratories in the U.S. and abroad have been searching for an elusive particle called the Higgs Boson over the last few decades. The Higgs Boson was fancifully dubbed the “God Particle” by Nobel Prize winning physicist Leon Lederman in a popular book with the same title. On July 4, 2012, two experiments at the CERN laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, announced the observation of a new particle which appears to be the long awaited Higgs Boson. Prof. Snow will describe CERN’s 18-mile circumference particle accelerator, the world’s largest scientific instrument, as well as the international collaborations of scientists and enormous detectors which were used to make this exciting discovery. Simple analogies from every-day life will help explain the significance of the Higgs Boson in the world of particle physics.

Sandra K. Stockall

Professor Emeritus
University of Nebraska Extension

Sandra K. Stockall, professor emeritus, University of Nebraska Extension, recently retired from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a 4-H and Youth Specialist. Her extension responsibilities involved providing leadership for the 4-H Communications program which included public speaking and 4-H presentations. She has also been very involved in providing leadership training across the state for community leaders and businesses.

Over the past 40 years, Sandy has presented more than 300 seminars and workshops to approximately 10,000 people at the local, state, and national level. She has presented topics on building group consensus, group dynamics, leadership style, and team building and communication skills.

Stockall is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Colorado State University. She received the Distinguished Educational Service Award from the University of Nebraska for her work in leadership development. Recently, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and the Nebraska Agricultural Youth Council presented her with the Award of Merit for her contributions to youth in Nebraska. Stockall has also received the Excellence in Team Programming Award from the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension for her work in leadership development.

Stockall grew up on a ranch in the sand hills of Nebraska and through that experience learned to appreciate and value the land and people of Nebraska.

Wow, That Felt Great!
Most people want to build stronger relationships that equip us to face challenges more effectively and to make a difference in the lives of people around us. This program is based on the FISH! Philosophy that emerged in 1998 from the film, FISH! Catch the Energy, Release the Potential, produced by John Christensen - current CEO aka: Playground Director at ChartHouse Learning - this film is about Seattle's world-famous Pike Place Fish Market. The FISH! Philosophy is based on four components: 1) have fun, (2) make their day, (3) be there, and (4) choose your attitude. Learn practical tools to help you apply this philosophy at work, home and community. It's a simple approach to creating a change in our own attitudes.

Communication is a Contact Sport
Understanding how people think and what motivates them is crucial in being an effective leader. This presentation will help you recognize your strength's and the strength's of others. How we interact with people influences our relationships with them. The ability to communicate effectively with others is affected by our ability to understand how they process information and make decisions. Here you will learn to recognize your own strengths and the strengths of others. In this presentation, Stockall uses experience- based research to create an exciting approach that is extremely accurate, understandable and easy to apply in everyday life.

Joseph Weber

Associate Professor
College of Journalism and Mass Communications

Joseph Weber is an Associate Professor at the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. During the fall of 2011, he also served as a Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University's School of Journalism and Communication in Beijing. He has taught at UNL since the fall of 2009.

Before joining UNL, Weber worked in magazines and newspapers for 35 years. He worked most of that time at BusinessWeek Magazine, where he served as a correspondent in Dallas, a bureau chief in Philadelphia, Toronto and Chicago, and finally as chief of correspondents. Earlier, he served as a reporter at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Dun's Business Month in New York City and The Home News in New Brunswick, N.J.

Weber teaches business and economic journalism, basic and advanced journalism, magazine writing, opinion writing and multimedia journalism. He has a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and an undergraduate degree in English from Rutgers College.

Teaching Journalism in China: A Semester of Surprises
Weber will share his experiences in teaching at one of the most prestigious universities in China. He will talk about the surprising drive students showed, their unexpected candor and interest in the West, and their desire to practice journalism fairly and honestly in the face of government censorship and advertiser pressure. He will set his talk in the context of China's state capitalism and the country's extraordinary growth rates, ambitions and many challenges.