Husker researchers have launched a startup to help prevent and fight wildfires with drones. The company, Drone Amplified, is headed by Carrick Detweiler, Susan J. Rosowski Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering.
The company’s drone-mounted technology carries chemical spheres the size of pingpong balls. At the press of a button, the spheres drop and ignite — intentionally sparking small fires that burn vegetation and starve incoming wildfires of potential fuel.
Stories on Drone Amplified appeared in a dozen Nebraska media outlets and more than 35 others nationwide. The company was also featured in USA Today’s 50-states feature on Oct. 29.
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Herman Batelaan, physics and astronomy, was quoted in an Oct. 2 Popular Mechanics article about a new experiment in which physicists demonstrated quantum superposition, a state in which a particle is two separate places at once, in molecules. “Why not see how far you can go and learn what the limits are?" he said. "It's a beautiful motivation to do this work."
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A new study from the university suggests that Americans are making themselves sick over politics. The study was authored by Kevin Smith and John Hibbing, both political science, and Matthew Hibbing, associate professor of political science at the University of California, Merced. Smith discussed the findings on CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks program Oct. 4.
The study was also featured in The Wall Street Journal on Oct. 7.
Hibbing was interviewed for an Oct. 19 HuffPost article on Kate Bolz’s congressional run. “Bolz is going to be a strong candidate, but I’m not sure that will be enough,” he said. “I do think it’s a long shot.” The story was picked up by Yahoo News.
A recent study co-authored by Smith was featured in an Oct. 25 Futurity article. The study found that people’s moral codes don’t cause or predict their political ideology; instead, people’s ideology appears to predict their answers on a moral-foundations questionnaire.
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Chigozie Obioma’s debut novel, “The Fishermen,” was included in a list of books by five “heavyweights of African literature” Oct. 11 in The National. Obioma is an assistant professor of English at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Obioma also contributed an essay on America to the anthology “The Good Immigrant USA.” The audiobook version, featuring narration by Obioma, was featured in an Oct. 11 Paste list of the best audiobooks of the month.
Obioma’s second novel, “An Orchestra of Minorities,” was listed as one of four “engrossing books worth reading during cold weather” by Image magazine on Oct. 21. It was also listed as one of “six paperbacks … to escape from the rain with” by The Seattle Times on Oct. 25. The Times story was picked up by more than 20 other media outlets.
Obioma participated in a conversation with writer Sirish Rao on Oct. 21 as part of the Vancouver Writers Fest. The event was featured in an Oct. 21 NUVO magazine article listing four highlights of the festival.
Obioma will also be featured at the opening event of Adelaide (Australia) Writers’ Week on Feb. 29. Stories on the festival have appeared in Books+Publishing and a few other media outlets.
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Rebecca Lai, chemistry, was featured in an Oct. 20 Chemical and Engineering News article on chemists who have created Harry Potter-themed classes and programs. Lai taught an honors class titled “A Muggle’s Guide to Harry Potter’s Chemistry” for two years, has given SciPop Talks lectures on Harry Potter, and started an after-school program called “Harry Potter x Science” for a local elementary school.
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An interdisciplinary, multi-institution research team led by Alexander Sinitskii, chemistry, has earned a three-year, $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Naval Research to explore using DNA nanotechnology to build graphene circuits. Graphene-info.com and Technology.org ran articles on the research.
