2024 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program awards recipients Yinsheng Guo and Ashley Votruba are among nine faculty at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) who have set a record for number of awards. UNL is among the nation’s most successful institutions in earning awards through one of the most prestigious grant programs for rising scholars.
- Guo, assistant professor of chemistry, is investigating the origins of the properties of metal halide perovskites, a low-cost, highly efficient semiconducting material used for solar energy, solid-state lighting and more. Guo is also devising improved approaches to teaching physical chemistry.
- Votruba, assistant professor of psychology, is advancing understanding of the civil justice gap in the U.S. She is developing a more complete picture of why individuals do not seek legal assistance, particularly people of color and members of low-income households.
The new institutional record, which amounts to $6.2 million in CAREER funding for Husker faculty, positions Nebraska at the forefront of CAREER success nationally. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Nebraska is one of 25 academic institutions to receive nine or more CAREER awards in 2024. Nebraska is tied with Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford University and outpaces many other leading institutions, including the University of Chicago and Yale University.
Driving this success is Nebraska’s institutional commitment to hiring world-class faculty and providing them with support in advancing their research programs. Nebraska is home to the award-winning NSF CAREER Club, launched by the Office of Research and Innovation in 2017 to help early-career researchers launch their careers as teacher-scholars.
Votruba, assistant professor of psychology, said the program provided a source of expertise and community as she developed her proposal.
“I think the biggest benefit is the wealth of experience the CAREER Club staff bring to the process,” she said. “As well as the camaraderie of having multiple faculty in the same room working toward a similar goal.”
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