Projects

AgVets is a project led by the Center for Rural Affairs and funded by the USDA. This project is designed to provide training for military veterans who want to work in agriculture.

MERC supports this project through evaluative data collection with each cohort of participants.

The UNL Athletics Department wanted to better understand Husker fans' opinions on services and amenities at home games during the 2019 football season.

MERC supported this by designing a web survey, reporting on results after each home game, and providing a summary report at the end of the season.

The Division of Behavioral Health (DBH) at the NE Department of Health and Human Services receives funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for prevention and treatment for substance abuse through a Block Grant. Nebraska is divided into six (sub state) Regional Behavioral Health Authorities or “Regions” serving as quasi-governmental agencies with which DBH contracts for community-based treatment and prevention services. DBH sub grants the Prevention Block Grant funding through the six Regions to allocate their awards in their regions.

The Bradshaw projects are focused on western bean cutworm in Nebraska bean farming.

MERC has supported these projects through consultation on data collection instruments, designing and fielding web surveys, and focus groups with farmers, crop consultants, and applicators.

This project aims to advance clean energy technologies by improving understanding of materials at nanoscale and developing next generation materials with improved performance and durability.

MERC evaluates the broader impact activities, assisting with instrument design and data collection, and data cleaning, analysis, and reporting of results.

This grant works to reconstruct the tectonic history of the Northern Atlantic seabed to better understand the timing and processes that created the area.

This project measures how endothelial cells respond to mechanical stimuli from ultrasound, as well as if ultrasound can promote normal cell function.

MERC supports Dr. Pedrigi's project with course and workshop evaluations, feedback from students, and annual tracking of outputs and activities.

This project investigates the potential causal factors behind a microbe’s ability to adapt to a wide range of conditions (e.g., presence/absence of oxygen) and carbon sources (e.g., compounds derived from lignin).

MERC supports this project with evaluation of Dr. Saha's broader impacts activities.

Dr. Stephen Morin conducted education and outreach activities that aimed to inspire the underserved Native American student population to pursue STEM education.

MERC evaluated this grant through course and event surveys, focus groups and interviews with participants and grant leadership, and tracking of outputs related to the goals of the grant.

Dr. Iverson is working to advance the understanding of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in cell signaling. Her education and outreach efforts focus on increasing understanding of nanotechnology and sensors, and enhancing science communication.

MERC supports this grant through program evaluation.

This project aims to elucidate the mechanisms by which membrane remodeling contributes to plant health while advancing teaching practices, improving research training, and promoting science literacy.

MERC support this project with evaluation support through formative feedback and the assessment of impacts.

Dr. Catherine Eichhorn's CAREER award is focused on the 7SK ribonucleoprotein complex.

MERC supports the broader impacts of this project through evaluation of the eduaction and outreach activities.

This project looked at expanding the function and use of proteins by introducing additional nucleotides into the sequence and thus using the altered proteins for research and commercial applications.

MERC is serving as a consultant to provide an external evaluation for this project

The education and outreach portion of this grant is focused on preparing the next -generation of scientists for structural and mechanistic research, and advancing public awareness of redox biology and basic research.

MERC supports this work with course and event evaluations, and data collection from students involved in the research on their future plans.

This CAREER grant focuses on nanoscale radiant heat transfers in systems involving systems with more than two objects. 

MERC supports this grant through program evaluation.

Scientific evidence shows that Earth’s climate is rapidly changing. Understanding how ecosystems respond to climate change will provide critical information to help human populations adjust to these changes. This study will examine how ancient mammal communities responded to an episode of global warming about fifty-three million years ago. Data about diet, locomotor activity, and body size will be gathered from fossils in U.S. museums to reconstruct the ecosystems in which these mammals lived.

This project aimed to provide pre-doctoral students with fundamental knowledge of viral pathogenesis and laboratory research experience.

MERC support this project by assessing he environment provided by the T32 Program for Fellows in the program.

This is a CDC-funded project focused on reducing problems related to underage drinking and substance use in the Elkhon Logan Valley.

MERC supports this project by conducting the evaluation, which consists of process and outcome evaluation, including interviews with project staff and community members as well as assessing outcomes of Elkhon Logan Valley Public Health Department’s Drug Free Communities programming to assist the project in meeting its goals and objectives.

The Education and Administration Department at UNL sought to better understand how the department faculty and staff perceived the department, as well as strengths and barriers to achieving their goals.

MERC supported this by conducting focus groups at a faculty retreat, as well as individual interviews with key stakeholders. The results were summarized in a report, and presented to the department.

The goal of this project to better understand the the agricultural, economic, and environmental importance of nitrogen uptake in sorghum.

MERC supports this project with data collection, analysis, and reporting of eduction, outreach, and mentorship efforts at the two partnering institutions.

The Farm to School (F2S) Institute delivered F2S information to schools throughout Nebraska. The main activity was a week-long summer workshop that schools could apply to join, including speakers, coaches, and creating action plans. This was followed with support through the academic year from Exteansion staff and their coaches, and funds to help achieve their F2S project plans.

MERC supported this project through the creation of surveys, and data collection, analysis, and reporting.

AIDS associated cancer treatment in Zambia was the focus of this project as part of a partnership with the Zambian government through different fellowships and trainings to enhance knowledge and skills of professionals in this field.

MERC supported this program by providing both formative and summative evaluation.

This project aimed to develop transformative concept and tools to characterize, model, and design system based on biological cells in order to control the propagation for information in biological environments.

MERC supported this project with evaluation and surveying student participants.

This project sought to increase and diversify the number of professional mathematicians in the United States by identifying and proliferating best practices and known mechanisms for increasing the success of women in mathematics graduate programs, particularly women from under-represented groups.

MERC conducted both program evaluation and social science research as an integral part of this project.

This International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) grant provides opportunities for students to develop portable point-of-care testing for the detection of infectious diseases at a Toyohashi University of Technology (TUT) in Japan. 

This study aimed to create a five-year action plan for the state Title V program that correspond to the information from five year needs assessments that was filled by the MCH and CSHCN populations.

MERC supported this project by evaluating, analyzing, and validating the data.

This project is part of a nationwide effort to better support the data needs of agricultural stakeholders in the US.

MERC supports this project by assisting with the data collection instruments, conducting the data collection, and cleaning, analysis, and reporting of results.

The Nebraska Collegiate Prevention Alliance (NECPA) (previously known as the Nebraska Collegiate Consortium for the Prevention of High Risk Drinking) supports substance use prevention for the college-age population in Nebraska via partnerships with 26 institutions of higher ed.

Dr. Liz VanWormer was awarded a UNL Grand Challenges Planning Grant for "Nebraska One Health: Building a Flexible Network Approach to Complex Systems Challenges that Matter for Human, Animal and Planetary Health.” This project’s goal is to expand the Nebraska One Health network by engaging UNL faculty, staff, and students with public-serving agencies and institutions to create a shared vision for addressing global and local challenges to health and well-being. The planning grant process will address

The UNL Office of Graduate Studies conducted two exit surveys with graduate students.

MERC provided analytic support for the resulting data, including examining various group differences of interest, and comparing respondents to the population.

Focusing on how species adapt to climate change, this project studies change in organisms related to predator-prey dynamics and thermal changes. The team evaluates whether thermal performance curves (or how temperature is related biological processes) are useful in predicting the impact of climate change. 

The Peterson projects are focused on western bean cutworm in Nebraska corn farming.

MERC has supported these projects through consulting on data collection instruments, designing and fielding web surveys, adapting from web to paper surveys and focus groups with farmers, crop consultants, and applicators.

The goal of this grant is to transform the culture of the geoscience community by broadening participation of graduate students who come from historically underrepresented or marginalized communities in geoscience (HUCG) and building community partnerships for future community-based research that contributes to solutions to the complex environmental and societal challenges imposed by climate change.

MERC supports this project with a summative evaluation of change over the course of the grant.

MERC is working with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services's (DHHS) efforts to provide support to Tribal and Local Health Departments in Nebraska (T/LHDs) and better integrate local priorities into state health assessments and health improvement plans.

MERC is conducting evaluations of DHHS staff and users of health data to assess needs and develop tools for future planning.

This Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program provides an intensive research experience focused on beneficial arthropods in agroecosystems (bees, butterflies, beetles), pest control (natural enemies), nutrient cycling (dung beetles, soil dwellers), and biological indicators (aquatic insects) of the quality of our environmental surroundings. Each summer involves a new cohort of high performing undergraduate students who work with mentors over the course of ten weeks, as well a professional development activities organized by the Office of Graduate Studies.

This Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program provides an intensive research experience focused on community-engaged methods for conducting health equity research. Each summer involves a new cohort of high performing undergraduate students who work with mentors over the course of ten weeks, as well a professional development activities organized by the Office of Graduate Studies.

This Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program provides an intensive research experience in biomedical engineering for high-performing undergraduate students. Each summer involves a new cohort of students who work with mentors over the course of ten weeks, as well a professional development activities organized by the Office of Graduate Studies. This is the second REU award for Dr. Bashford.

The Schmidt projects focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) manure/nutrient management. The AMR project focused on related food safety content where knowledge gaps exist or significant regional needs are identified. The manure project delivering curriculum about manure/nutrient management, soil health, and the value of on-farm research for informing management practices to each high school agriculture program.

MERC support these projects with evaluation and survey expertise.

The State Partnership Initiative aimed to help reduce or eliminate barriers to health care and reduce diabetes disparities among Omaha and Winnebago American Indian Tribal populations in Thurston County, Nebraska.

MERC supported this project with data reporting system updates, providing training on the system as needed, and generating quarterly data reports for OMH.

Every year, the UNL Office of Graduate Studies provides guidance and structure for the various Summer Research Programs (SRP) that happen at UNL. Most SRPs are NSF or USDA grant funded, and create opportunities for undergraduates who are interested in research to work alongside with graduate students on research study.

This project focused on teacher training and piloting a curriculum on K-14 educators, and then offered nationally once finalized.

MERC supported this project by collecting and analyzing formative and summative data from the testing and piloting phases of the project.