DWFI - Key Persons


Aakanksha Melkani

Job Titles:
  • Daugherty Water for Food Institute As a Postdoctoral Research Associate
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate
Aakanksha Melkani joined the Daugherty Water for Food Institute as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in October 2021. In her role, she applies her expertise in econometric analysis and collaborates with members from the National Drought Mitigation Center and the UNL's Department of Agricultural Economics to answer pressing questions around water management. These include water policy impacts on water conservation and quality. Aakanksha holds a doctoral degree in Agricultural, Food, and Natural Resource Economics from the Michigan State University. During her time as a doctoral candidate, she conducted rigorous quantitative analysis of agricultural markets in Sub Saharan Africa. She has previously worked on quantifying the carbon costs of groundwater extraction for agriculture in Punjab, India.

Aaron Lee M. Daigh

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Aaron Mittelstet

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Abbie Raikes

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor, Health Promotion
Abbie Raikes's career has focused on applying the science of child development and public health to national and global issues facing young children. She has population-based early childhood data experience with application as a United Nations staff member, leading a UNICEF, UNESCO, Brookings Institute and World Bank initiative on child development in low and middle income countries. Raikes's work focuses on early childhood development and the role of ecological systems in affecting it - including quality of children's learning environments and their exposure to environmental influences on learning and development - primarily in the United States, Africa and Latin America.

Adam J. Liska

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
Adam Liska's current research focuses on the thermodynamic efficiency of grain-fed livestock systems in Sub-Saharan Africa and India, and their potential to dramatically feed more undernourished people. The cornerstone of Liska's research is climate change mitigation and the efficiency of food systems. He also concentrates on large-scale risks from industrial systems, which have included climate impacts on agriculture from nuclear weapons, military conflict related to oil production, and climate change-fueled catastrophic disasters and the insurance industry. His past research has investigated the life cycle energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, and land use change from biofuels (corn-ethanol, cellulosic ethanol from crop residue, and sweet sorghum) and beef cattle. He collaborates extensively with diverse faculty across disciplines, and has been the program coordinator for the all-university Energy Science Minor since 2009. Liska completed his Ph.D. research at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany, and holds bachelor degrees in biochemistry and biology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was a postdoctoral researcher in the department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Manitoba, Canada, and department of Agronomy & Horticulture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Aditi Mukherji

Job Titles:
  • Principal Scientist, International Water Management Institute ( IWMI ), Delhi, India

Ally Barry

Job Titles:
  • Intern
  • Member of the Husker
Ally Barry (they/them) is a senior environmental & sustainability studies undergraduate student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In May 2022, they joined the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute's policy team to study the economic and human health impacts of nitrate contamination in Nebraska's groundwater. Starting September 2023, they will be investigating the long-term impacts of micro and nano plastics in agricultural soil on food security. On campus, Ally is an active member of the Husker community serving as a student ambassador for the Environmental & Sustainability Studies Program, senator for the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, and member of the Innocents Society, a uniquely Nebraskan senior honorary. Off campus, you can find them scuba diving, running or reading. Ally has experience conducting and presenting research in earth systems modeling and strives to centralize equity and accessibility through both research methods and deliverables. In the future, they hope to further investigate the connection between marine conservation and human health.

Amber Poythress

Job Titles:
  • Events Coordinator
Amber Poythress joined the institute in January 2017. She helps coordinate the logistics of the Water for Food Global Conference and various other institute events and meetings. She also provides administrative support, including welcoming visitors, maintaining the contact database and handling travel coordination for visiting international faculty, visitors and students. Poythress relocated to Lincoln from New York City, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from City University of New York, City College and worked for more than ten years in the financial sector.

Amy Schmidt

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Animal Science, UNL

Amy Struthers

Job Titles:
  • Emeritus Professor / College of Journalism and Mass Communications / Science and Public Health Communicator

Andrea Basche

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Andrea Erin Bass

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Management, UNO / Business Strategist

Andrew (Andy) Little

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Andrew Suyker

Job Titles:
  • Public Health Analyst
  • Associate Professor / UNL School of Natural Resources

Ankit Chandra

Job Titles:
  • Research Program Manager
Ankit Chandra joined DWFI in August 2020. He designs, manages, and implements research and capacity-building programs to support agricultural entrepreneurs and startups. Chandra's expertise includes research on the water-energy-food nexus in agriculture, project management, data and geospatial analyses, econometric modeling, and business model development. Prior to working with DWFI, Ankit ran an agtech startup (Farmanze) in India for a couple of years and also served as a Program Manager for DeHaat (an agtech startup that provides integrated farming solutions in India). Ankit holds a master's degree in agricultural and biological systems engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he worked on analyzing the engineering and economic performance of a community-based mechanized irrigation scheme in Rwanda.

Anthony Schutz

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Arianna Elnes

Job Titles:
  • Communications Specialist
Arianna joins DWFI as the Communications Specialist to support the Communications program in its messaging efforts. Prior to DWFI she worked in communications for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), an Alaska State agency with the mission to raise the economic value and awareness of Alaska Seafood all over the world. A pandemic transfer back to Nebraska, she brings experience in brand messaging, domestic consumer public relations, and state and industry stakeholder communications. Prior to ASMI she helped grow a successful startup, Sitka Salmon Shares, which connects consumers to small-scale seafood producers in Alaska. She looks forward to furthering the mission of Daugherty Water for Food, and helping ensure a more water and food secure world.

Ashish Marish

Job Titles:
  • Research Engineer

Ashok Samal

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Ayse Kilic

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Barbara Rock

Job Titles:
  • Proposal Development Coordinator
Barbara Rock joined the DWFI team in December 2020 as Proposal Development Coordinator. She works with the institute's faculty, administrators, staff and extramural partners to coordinate the development of competitive external grant proposals, including the development of multi-million dollar, multidisciplinary and multi-institutional proposals. Rock's experience as a proposal writer and new business pursuit coordinator include managing the proposal development process; leading writing and development teams; and developing timelines and ensuring deadlines are met. She is enthusiastic about the opportunity to meet and learn from the institute's experts regarding DWFI's important projects and initiatives. Rock's background in the account management of corporate client programs and pursuit of new business will assist the DWFI team in identifying new funding opportunities.

Barbara Soderlin

Job Titles:
  • Director of Development, IANR
Barbara serves as Director of Development for the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute. In this role she is an adviser to individuals, foundations and other partners who seek to advance the Institute's mission through philanthropic giving. Barbara joined the University of Nebraska Foundation in 2018 following a career as a newspaper reporter and editor in states across the Great Plains and Midwest. During nearly a decade at Nebraska's Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star, she covered rural communities, education, agribusiness and food production. Barbara holds a Master of Science in communication studies from South Dakota State University and a Bachelor of Arts in English and American literature from Northwestern University.

Bijesh Maharjan

Job Titles:
  • Extension Specialist

Bing Wang

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Food Science and Technology, UNL

Brian Fuchs

Job Titles:
  • Associate Geoscientist / UNL School of Natural Resources and National Drought Mitigation Center

Brian Wardlow

Job Titles:
  • Director / Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies

Bruce Dvorak

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Carlos Urrea

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Carrick Detweiler

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Charles Bessey

Job Titles:
  • Charles Bessey Professor of Biological Chemistry / Emeritus / Chair of the Department of Biochemistry, UNL

Chittaranjan Ray

Job Titles:
  • Director, Nebraska Water Center
Chittaranjan Ray joined the leadership team of the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute as permanent director of the Nebraska Water Center in August 2013. Ray was a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he also was interim director of the Water Resources Research Center at UH, which like the Nebraska Water Center, is part of a network of more than 54 water resources research institutes that were established by Congressional mandate in 1964. Most of these centers are located at state Land Grant Universities. In Hawaii, Ray also was Director of the university's Environmental Center and as Chief Environmental Engineer for the Applied Research Laboratory, a U.S. Navy sponsored facility at UH. Before joining the UH faculty in 1997, Ray held positions in industry and at the Illinois State Water Survey. The holder of a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Illinois, he has extensive experience in many facets of managing both water quantity and water quality issues.

Christopher Gustafson

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Christopher Hain

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Research Scientist, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction

Christopher Neale

Job Titles:
  • Director of Research
Christopher Neale's research interest lies in developing remote sensing applications for irrigated agriculture, hydrology and natural resources monitoring. He developed a low-cost airborne remote sensing system used in the western U.S. to map spatially distributed energy balance and evapotranspiration of riparian and agricultural vegetation. His most recent international projects were in the Dominican Republic, where he used aerial photography and remote sensing to map and monitor irrigated agriculture and developed a comprehensive database of irrigation water users in a GIS environment. Neale joined the University of Nebraska in 2013 and oversees the Water for Food Institute's research efforts, engaging faculty in new projects and initiating partnerships with organizations and universities worldwide. Previously, Neale was a professor of irrigation engineering at Utah State University, where he led efforts in remote sensing and agricultural water resources management since 1988. He is president of the international Commission on Remote Sensing of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences and has an extensive background in water research and management projects in the western U.S., Africa, South America and the Caribbean. He holds a doctorate in agricultural engineering from Colorado State University.

Christopher Scott Decker

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Chuck Rowling

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Clare Umutoni

Job Titles:
  • Program Consultant
Clare Umutoni is a graduate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Science degree in Integrated Science, specializing in Community Development and Regional Planning. She also holds a minor in Leadership and Communication. Clare previously worked as a Community Leadership Development Intern at Rural Prosperity Nebraska, where she successfully executed leadership development research projects statewide. Additionally, she served as an Economic Development Intern in Valley County. Currently, as a Program Consultant at the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute in Kigali, her primary focus is understanding smallholder irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa and the role played by the private sector. She is driven to collaborate with private enterprises to support sustainable agricultural practices and empower rural communities. Passionate about community development, Clare's dream is to contribute to the progress of rural communities in Africa that heavily depend on agriculture.

Clinton Rowe

Job Titles:
  • Professor
  • Public and Environmental Health Expert
Clinton Rowe is interested in land-atmosphere interactions, boundary layer dynamics, mesoscale processes, climate modeling and paleoclimate. His research includes physical meteorology and climatology, specifically energy and mass fluxes between the surface and the atmospheric boundary layer. Much of his work has focused on radiative fluxes between vegetated surfaces and the atmosphere. He also conducts modeling and field studies investigating energy exchanges over the Greenland ice sheet and their impacts on the amount and extent of surface melting. Rowe is currently involved in several research projects on land surface-atmosphere interactions in the Nebraska Sandhills. Rowe and his colleagues are also working to model the climate of Pangea during the Jurassic using the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate Simulation Model to simulate the climate of 200 million years ago. This project is part of the team's environmental research on the development of vast eolian formations in the southwestern United States. Additionally, Rowe teaches courses on physical meteorology and presents graduate seminars in boundary-layer meteorology, climatic change and other meteorology and climatology topics. He holds a doctorate in climatology from the University of Delaware.

Cody Creech

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Cody Knutson

Job Titles:
  • Research Professor / UNL School of Natural Resources

Concetta DiRusso

Job Titles:
  • Emeritus Professor / Department of Biochemistry, UNL

Cory Knutson

Job Titles:
  • Research Professor
Cory Knutson is a research professor and the drought planning coordinator at the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) within the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. With a background in social science and water resources, his work focuses on understanding how people and systems are vulnerable to drought and collaboratively developing strategies, tools and plans to minimize their drought risk. For more than 20 years, he has worked with agricultural producers, communities, tribes, states, and the U.S. federal government on these activities. Knutson also works regularly with a variety of international agencies on drought-related training and planning activities, such as USAID, the World Bank and several other United Nations organizations (UNISDR, FAO, UNDP, UNESCO and UNICEF), and has been a frequently invited speaker and consultant for activities primarily in Asia, North Africa, and Europe. Current work includes collaborating with Native American tribes in the Central and Northern Plains, as well as several countries in the Middle East and North Africa, to conduct drought vulnerability assessments; assisting several states (UT, NM, OK, MN) in updating their state drought plans; and bringing together the leading hazard planning agencies in the U.S. to develop more integrated drought risk management guidance documents and web-based planning tools.

Craig Allen

Job Titles:
  • Director and Research Professor / Nebraska Cooperative

Craig Eiting

Job Titles:
  • Web Developer and Graphic Design Specialist
Craig Eiting joined the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute in May 2013 as Web Developer and Graphic Design Specialist and has 10 years of experience. He manages the website for the institute, as well as that of the Nebraska Water Center and additional microsites for both. Craig provides technical expertise in web development, manages content across the sites, uses analytics to improve the website's user experience and assists with the development of web applications. Craig also maintains the institute's branding and provides guidance and support for design activities. Craig holds a bachelor's degree in information systems from Doane University in Nebraska and an associate degree in graphic design from Southeast Community College.

Crystal Powers

Job Titles:
  • Research & Extension Communication Specialist
As the Research and Extension Communication Specialist through the Nebraska Water Center, my role is to be an open channel of communication with research and extension faculty throughout Nebraska's higher education system. I would like it to be a two way path: what can learn from each other and how we can best collaborate for larger impact. I come from working as an Extension Engineer in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at UNL. There I worked with faculty on improving air and water quality in livestock systems, primarily through extension programming, and also some teaching and research. I have a M.S. in Biological and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University and a B.S. in Biological Systems Engineering from UNL. Along with my two young boys, Aiden and Liam, and husband William, I enjoy a small farm with dairy cows and chickens, north of Lincoln near Ceresco. I grew up a Husker in rural Nuckolls & Thayer counties, where my uncle still farms.

Daniel Uden

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Daran R. Rudnick

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Daren Redfearn

Job Titles:
  • Child Development and Early Education Specialist
  • Professor

David Admiraal

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

David Billesbach

Job Titles:
  • Research Assistant Professor

David Munyaneza

Job Titles:
  • Communications Specialist
  • Daugherty Water for Food Institute As a Communications Specialist
David Munyaneza joined the Daugherty Water for Food Institute as a communications specialist in October 2021. He develops and manages visual communication strategies and produces multimedia output to inspire engagement around water policies and agricultural entrepreneurship and innovation in Nebraska and globally. David is also the founder and director of a multimedia organization, The Giants Pictures, which amplifies people's voices and stories and develops brands through visuals. He leads the organization's vision, strategy, management team, and business operations and development. Since 2017, through his organization, David has worked on a variety of video and photography projects as a photographer, producer, and director. He has helped several farmers in Rwanda and upcoming entrepreneurs in the US share their challenges and success stories, created and managed multimedia channels for their effective communication. Moreover, David is the co-founder of the Future Agriculture Leaders (FAL) organization, which seeks to educate aspiring entrepreneurs in innovative and creative ways to bring lasting change in agriculture. He helped develop the organization's structure and communications strategy to ensure the organization's values are conveyed effectively. David holds a bachelor's degree in Integrated Science with a concentration in Environmental Science and Agricultural Communications from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He also studied Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering at the University of Rwanda. David believes that visual storytelling, which he has chosen as a career, has the power to bridge the gap between farmers, consumers, producers, and scientists.

Dayle McDermitt

Job Titles:
  • Adjunct Professor
  • Department of Agronomy & Horticulture of the Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources

Dean Eisenhauer

Job Titles:
  • Environmental Engineer
  • Emeritus Professor

Deepak Keshwani

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
Deepak Keshwani's research interest are in the areas of bioprocess and biosystems modeling. Currently, his research efforts are integrated system modeling related to the Food-Energy-Water Nexus with a focus on Nebraska's agricultural systems and biofuel industries. In addition to teaching and advising both undergraduate and graduate level courses, Keshwawni coordinates the Justin Smith Morrill Scholars, a campus wide, co-curricular program focused on civic engagement and critical societal issues in food, agriculture, and natural resource systems. He also mentors the AGFutures learning community in leadership, service and civic engagement. Keshwani received his B.S. and M.S. in Biological Systems Engineering from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln and his Ph.D. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from North Carolina State University. In 2017, he was appointed a Faculty Fellow by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Agricultural Sciences and Rural Resources in recognition of his work in student retention and success.

Derek Heeren

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
Derek Heeren's research helps farmers and other stakeholders grow more food with less water using variable rate irrigation (VRI) management. His activities include analyzing the benefits and economics of VRI, managing for topography with VRI, and using remote sensing and cosmic-ray probes for VRI management. His teaching interests include irrigation systems management, field irrigation methods, vadose zone hydrology modeling, soil conservation and watershed management. His coursework supports the Advanced Water Management for Food Production double-degree master's program administered jointly by UNL and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands. Heeren holds a doctorate in biosystems engineering from Oklahoma State University. He earned master's and bachelor's degrees in agricultural engineering from South Dakota State University. He also spent two years working at a geotechnical engineering firm in the St. Louis, Mo. area prior to graduate school. He was awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's STAR Graduate Fellowship and recognized as a New Face of Engineering by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

Derrel Martin

Job Titles:
  • Emeritus Professor

Don Coulter

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Donald A. Wilhite

Job Titles:
  • Professor Emeritus
Donald A. Wilhite's research and outreach activities have focused on issues of drought monitoring, planning, mitigation, and policy; the use of climate information in decision-making; and climate change. Wilhite served as director of the School of Natural Resources, from 2007 to 2012. He founded the National Drought Mitigation Center in 1995 and the International Drought Information Center in 1989 at UNL. In 2013, he was elected fellow of the American Meteorological Society in 2013 and chaired the International Organizing Committee for the High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP). He chairs the management and advisory committees of the Integrated Drought Management Program (IDMP). In 2014, Wilhite authored National Drought Management Policy Guidelines: A Template for Action for the IDMP. He authored or coauthored more than 150 journal articles, monographs, book chapters, and technical reports. He is editor or coeditor of numerous books on drought and drought management, including Drought and Water Crises: Integrating Science, Management, and Policy, 2nd edition (CRC Press, 2018). He also coauthored two reports on the implications of climate change for Nebraska, published in 2014 and 2016, and coedited the Atlas of Nebraska (University of Nebraska Press, 2017).

Douglas J. Merrey

Job Titles:
  • Independent Researcher, Gainesville, Florida

E. Robert Meaney

E. Robert Meaney led Valmont Industries' international operations and global development for 18 years. He has been a distinguished fellow at the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute since 2013. Prior to joining Valmont, Meaney spent 20 years with Continental Can Company, holding positions in global operations, including general manager Asia-Pacific and president Continental Can France. Meaney currently serves on the boards of Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation and of WaterAid America. He previously served on the boards of Irrigation Association, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Groundwater Foundation. He was a 2012 Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard University. Meaney has a master's degree in business administration from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and a bachelor's degree in history from Princeton University. He served as an engineering officer in the U.S Navy from 1969 to 1972.

Edgar Cahoon

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Eleanor G. Rogan

Job Titles:
  • Professor
Eleanor G. Rogan participates in research with MPH and PhD students on the relationship between contaminants in Nebraska waterways and chronic human diseases or conditions. She is using a watershed network approach to understand "hotspots" for pediatric cancers and birth defects in Nebraska. Rogan is a pioneer in the investigation of the role of estrogen-DNA adducts in the initiation of breast, prostate and other types of human cancer. She was the lead author on the first study of estrogen compounds in breast tissue from women with and without breast cancer or ovarian cancer, and an initial study of the expression of estrogen-metabolizing enzymes in human breast and ovarian tissue. She received the Twelfth Linus Pauling Functional Medicine Award (2006) and the UNMC Distinguished Scientist Award (2007). She served as Interim Associate Dean for Research for the College of Public Health in 2014-2015 and continues to serve as the Founding Chair of the Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health.

Elizabeth VanWormer

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Emeritus Robert B. Daugherty

Job Titles:
  • Emeritus Robert B. Daugherty Professor of Agronomy

Erin Haacker

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
Previously, Erin Haacker was a research associate with the Nebraska Water Center. In role of assistant professor, she conducts research on Nebraska groundwater for irrigation, using the MODFLOW modeling framework integrated with social and economic models. Haacker will follow up on her postdoctoral work with the Ogallala Water Project, with a future collaboration with Water Sciences Lab Director Dan Snow on a proposal for a workshop on water resources in Kazakhstan.

Federico Garcia Suarez

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor, University of the Republic, School of Agronomy, Social Sciences Department, Montevideo, Uruguay

Felicia Marcus

Job Titles:
  • Attorney
  • Consultant
Felicia Marcus is an attorney/consultant who has served in positions in government, the non-profit world, and the private sector. She is currently the Landreth Visiting Fellow at Stanford University's Water in the West Program. She is also a member of the Water Policy Group, an international network of current and former high level water officials spanning six continents that advises on water policy (http://waterpolicygroup.com). In government, Felicia was most recently Chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, with responsibility for drinking water, water quality, and water rights. As Regional Administrator of the U.S. EPA Region IX she was responsible for the range of environmental issues under EPA's jurisdiction. Prior to that, Felicia headed Los Angeles Department of Public Works dealing with wastewater, water and solid waste recycling, stormwater management, and other environmental issues. In the non-profit world, she was the Western Director for the Natural Resources Defense Council and the EVP/COO of the Trust for Public Land. Throughout these roles she was known as an adept leader of large institutions while promoting progressive policies and greater public engagement. She is active on numerous volunteer boards, including the Daugherty Global Water for Food Institute and the Sustainable Conservation Advisory Board, and has received many awards for her work and approach. She has a JD from NYU School of Law, an AB cum laude in East Asian Studies from Harvard College, and attended Hong Kong University on a non-degree Rotary Fellowship.

Frances Hayes

Job Titles:
  • Director of Communications and Public Relations
Frances Hayes is a marketing communications professional with more than 10 years of experience in strategic planning, marketing, advertising, communications, and public relations. Hayes joined the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska in 2018 as Communications Specialist and now serves as the Director of Communications and Public Relations. Hayes plays a key role in strategic communication of the institute's mission. She develops, implements, and leads its internal and external communications, enhancing its reputation both domestically and internationally. Hayes also manages the coordination, program planning, administration, and logistics necessary to execute the annual Water for Food Global Conference and other DWFI-sponsored symposia. Hayes is a native Nebraskan. She holds an interdisciplinary master's degree in marketing, communications & advertising and a bachelor of journalism degree, both from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Hayes also serves on the board of directors for the University of Nebraska Federal Credit Union.

Francisco Munoz Ariola

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
Francisco Munoz-Arriola's research and extension activities focus on helping agricultural decision-makers more easily upload, transform, store and analyze water, agricultural, fuel consumption and weather/climate data to improve decision-making and our ability to predict the effects of extreme weather events on the sustainability of human activities and ecosystems. Munoz-Arriola uses climate and hydrologic models and information technologies to study the interconnected processes of the water-food-energy nexus in a changing climate, as well as their impacts on agro-ecosystems and ecosystems sustainability. He holds a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from Duke University and completed two postdoctoral appointments at University of Washington and University of California, San Diego. He has a master's degree in coastal oceanography and bachelor's degree in oceanography from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California.

Geoffrey Friesen

Job Titles:
  • Finance

George Burba

Job Titles:
  • Principal Scientist and Tech Group Leader, R & D, LI - COR Graduate Adjunct Professor, SNR, University of Nebraska

Georgina Bingham

Job Titles:
  • Research Associate Professor

Grace Mukarusagara

Job Titles:
  • Program Consultant / Kigali, Rwanda

Hamid Sharif

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Hank M. Bounds

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Professor, University of South Alabama

Harkamal Walia

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Harshanee Jayasekera

Job Titles:
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate

Helen Raikes

Job Titles:
  • Emeritus Professor

Helena A. Gomez Macpherson

Job Titles:
  • Tenure Researcher, Instituto De Agricultura Sostenible, Córdoba Spain

Howard W. Buffett

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors

Irina Filina

Job Titles:
  • Soil Fertility and Precision Agriculture Specialist

Ishani Lal

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Student

Ivo Zution Goncalves

Job Titles:
  • Research Assistant Professor

J. David Aiken

Job Titles:
  • Professor

James B. Milliken

Job Titles:
  • Chancellor, University of Texas

Janay Sagin

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Janet Means

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Specialist

Javed Iqbal

Job Titles:
  • Irrigation Engineer

Jayne Stratton

Job Titles:
  • Research Professor / Food Processing Center

Jeffrey M. Peterson

Job Titles:
  • Director, Water Resources Center, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota

Jennifer Keshwani

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Jenny Dauer

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Jesse Bell

Job Titles:
  • Director of Water, Climate and Health

Jesse Korus

Job Titles:
  • Water Resources Scientist

Jessica Corman

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Jessica Fargen Walsh

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Journalism and Mass Communications at University of Nebraska - Lincoln / Journalist

Jiri Adamec

Job Titles:
  • Department of Biochemistry at University of Nebraska - Lincoln
  • Professor

Joe Luck

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

John Carroll

Job Titles:
  • Director / UNL School of Natural Resources

John Gamon

Job Titles:
  • Professor

John Gates

Job Titles:
  • Senior Vice President and Global Head of Product, CropX Technologies

John Kalu Osiri

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Business Analyst

Judy Diamond

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Junke Guo

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Jéssica Garcia Nascimento


Karen Hansen


Karina Schoengold

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor / UNL School of Natural Resources

Karrie Weber

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Katie Anania

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Kelly Helm Smith

Job Titles:
  • Research Assistant Professor / National Drought Mitigation Center

Ken Cassman

Job Titles:
  • Emeritus Robert B. Daugherty Professor of Agronomy

Kristina Kintziger

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor / College of Public Health

Lacey Bodnar

Job Titles:
  • Research Project Manager / University of Nebraska

Laila Puntel

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Larkin Powell

Job Titles:
  • Advanced Machinery Systems Engineer

Laszlo Hayde

Job Titles:
  • Senior Lecturer in Irrigation Engineering, Programme Coordinator, WSE MSc Programme, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, the Netherlands

Lia Nogueira- Rodriguez

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Lilyan Fulginiti

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Luciano Mateos

Job Titles:
  • Research Scientist, Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, Spanish National Research Council ( CSIC ), Córdoba, Spain.

Mark Svoboda

Job Titles:
  • Director / National Drought Mitigation Center

Martha Durr

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Martha Mamo

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Martha Rhoades

Job Titles:
  • Research Manager / UNL School of Natural Resources

Martin Pasman

Job Titles:
  • President, Valmont Industries De Argentina, Buenos Aires

Mary Harner

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Communication and Department of Biology

Mehmet Can Vuran

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Michael Farrell

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Practice

Michael Forsberg

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Practice

Michael Hayes

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Mogens Bay

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors
  • Chairman, Robert B. Daugherty Foundation

Mohamed Dahab

Job Titles:
  • Emeritus Professor

Molly Nance

Job Titles:
  • Special Projects

Natacha Akaliza

Job Titles:
  • Program Consultant

Nick Brozović

Job Titles:
  • Director of Policy

Nicole Lefore

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director of Sustainable Agriculture Water Management

Ozgur Araz

Job Titles:
  • Ron and Carol Cope Professor of Supply Chain Management and Analytics / UNL College of Business Administration

P. Stephen Baenziger

Job Titles:
  • Emeritus Professor

Pat Shea

Job Titles:
  • Wireless Network Expert

Patrice McMahon

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Patricio Grassini

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Patrick Bitterman

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Patrick McNamara

Job Titles:
  • Director, International Studies Major

Paul Black

Job Titles:
  • Charles Bessey Professor of Biological Chemistry / Emeritus / Chair of the Department of Biochemistry, UNL

Paulo de Tarso

Job Titles:
  • Director, Environmental Law Clinic, Federal University of Paran

Peter G. McCornick

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director

Peter Longo

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Priscilla Grew

Job Titles:
  • Professor Emeritus

Rachael Herpel

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director

Rachael McDonnell

Job Titles:
  • Deputy Director General - Research for Development, International Water Management Institute ( IWMI ), Rome, Italy

Rachel Lockadoo

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor / College of Public Health

Rachel Williss

Job Titles:
  • Communications Specialist

Raissa Urujeni

Job Titles:
  • Program Consultant

Randall Ritzema

Job Titles:
  • Research Program Scientist

Ravinder Kaur

Job Titles:
  • Principal Scientist, Indian Agricultural Research Institute ( IARI )

Renata Rimšaitė

Job Titles:
  • Senior Program Manager

Richard Ferguson

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Richard G. Allen

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Water Resources Engineering, University of Idaho

Richard Perrin

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Roch Gaussoin

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Roger Elmore

Job Titles:
  • Emeritus Professor

Rolando Flores

Job Titles:
  • Dean, College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University

Saleh Taghvaeian

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Sammy Z. Akasheh

Job Titles:
  • Senior Research Associate

Santosh Pitla

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Sarah Michaels

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Satoshi Machida

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Shannon Bartelt Hunt

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Sherilyn Fritz

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Shimelis Beyene

Job Titles:
  • Consultant, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Siamak Nejati

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Siddhi Munde

Job Titles:
  • Research Data Analyst

Simanti Banerjee

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Slim Zekri

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor, Department of Natural Resource Economics, CAMS, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman

Steve Thomas

Job Titles:
  • Community & Regional Planning Specialist

Tala Awada

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean

Taro Mieno

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Ted Carter - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Board
Board Chair; President of the University of Nebraska

Thuraya Mellah

Job Titles:
  • Researcher and Lecturer, Manouba University, Tunisia

Tim Foster

Job Titles:
  • Senior Lecturer ( Associate Professor ) in Water - Food Security, University of Manchester

Tirthankar Roy

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Trenton Franz

Job Titles:
  • Conservation Photographer

Troy E. Gilmore

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Tsegaye Tadesse

Job Titles:
  • Research Professor / UNL School of Natural Resources

Uma Lele

Job Titles:
  • Independent Scholar and Development Economist, Washington, D.C

Vijendra Boken

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Vinicius Munhoz Ruhoff

Job Titles:
  • Visiting Research Scholar

Vitaly Zlotnik

Job Titles:
  • Professor Emeritus

Wim Bastiaanssen

Job Titles:
  • Water Resources Analyst and Remote Sensing Specialist, UNESCO - IHE, the Netherlands

Xin Qiao

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Irrigation Water Management Specialist

Xu Li

Job Titles:
  • Department of Civil Engineering, UNL / Environmental Engineer
  • Professor

Yeongjin Gwon

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Yufeng Ge

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor