The University’s most prestigious awards—The President's Excellence Awards—recognize especially meritorious research, teaching, and innovative efforts by individual faculty and academic departments or units.
Faculty IP Innovation and Commercialization (FIPICA) Award Recipient:
FIPICA recognizes faculty members who have developed and nurtured significant new intellectual property from concept to licensing/startup business.
Benson Edagwa, Ph.D.
Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Dr. Benson Edagwa is a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
His collaborative research is focused on creating long-acting treatments for chronic illnesses such as HIV infection, viral hepatitis, opioid overdose and cardiometabolic diseases. Several inventions from the program have been licensed for clinical development.
Benson is the co-founder of Exavir Therapeutics Inc. and Aion Medicines Inc.
Outstanding Research and Creative Activity (ORCA) Award Recipients:
ORCA recognizes individual faculty members for outstanding research or creative activity of national or international significance.
Sajda Qureshi, Ph.D.
Department of Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Dr. Sajda Qureshi is D.B. and Paula Varner Professor of Information Systems at the University of Nebraska Omaha. She served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Information Technology for Development for 20 years, making it the flagship Journal for ICT4D scholars internationally. She has over 200 peer reviewed publications in journals, conferences and books that are highly cited (i10-index 98).
Dr. Qureshi investigates Artificial Intelligence accountability and fairness while designing inclusive digital applications. Her contributions to knowledge are in uncovering the decision-making processes used by the machine learning algorithms in the context of access to resources.
Her research is funded federally, internationally, and through technology companies. Dr. Qureshi’s work has been recognized through awards, including an honorary doctorate from Sweden, keynote speeches and best paper awards. Her mentorship of students and faculty include her former doctoral students who are deans – and are attending with us virtually today.
Jian Wang, Ph.D.
Department of Mechanical and Material Engineering
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Dr. Jian Wang is the Wilmer J. and Sally L. Hergenrader Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He joined UNL in August 2015 after nine years at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
His research focuses on understanding, designing, and predicting the performance of structural materials for extreme environments by integrating multiscale experimental techniques with advanced modeling tools.
Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award (OTICA) Recipient:
OTICA recognizes individual faculty members who have demonstrated meritorious and sustained records of excellence and creativity in teaching.
Amy Duhachek-Stapelman, M.D., MEHP
Department of Anesthesiology
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Dr. Amy Duhachek-Stapelman is a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist, educator, and faculty member in the UNMC Department of Anesthesiology, where she currently serves as the Interim Anesthesiology Residency Program Director. Since joining the faculty in 2006, she has held vital leadership roles, including Vice Chair of Education for the department and Vice President of Education for Nebraska Medicine. Nationally, she contributes to the field as a board examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology.
Teaching remains Dr. Duhachek-Stapelman’s true professional passion. While she frequently shares her insights at national conferences, her greatest fulfillment comes from the daily mentorship and training of students, residents, and fellows at UNMC. A proud alumna, she earned her B.S. from UNL, followed by her M.D., internal medicine internship, and anesthesiology residency at UNMC. She further advanced her academic expertise by earning a Master of Education in the Health Professions from Johns Hopkins University in 2023.
Innovations in Student Success Award (ISSA) Recipient:
ISSA recognizes a faculty led or faculty-involved team effort that has made a unique and significant contribution to improving undergraduate six-year graduation rates. This award honors specific and successful innovations designed to improve retention and graduation rates among students the unit serves in a major, within a school, within a college, or throughout a campus.
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Nebraska at Kearney
The Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Nebraska at Kearney prepares students as critical thinkers and adept problem-solvers through coursework in mathematics and statistics.
Over the past five years, the department has consistently improved student success rates in introductory and general education courses through innovative curricular changes, evidence-based instructional strategies, campus collaborations focused on student success and a personal touch in small classes with exceptional instructors.
The department’s 11 full-time faculty members and four adjunct instructors are dedicated to serving students through high-quality mathematics instruction in the classroom and caring support beyond the classroom. Their student-centered approach ensures strong learning outcomes that help prepare future leaders to think analytically and serve throughout the state of Nebraska and beyond
University-wide Departmental Teaching Award (UDTA) Recipient:
UDTA recognizes departments or units within the university that have made unique and significant contributions to NU’s teaching efforts and that have demonstrated outstanding commitment to the education of students at the undergraduate, graduate or professional levels.
Department of Computer Science
University of Nebraska at Omaha
The Department of Computer Science at the University of Nebraska at Omaha prepares students to become competent, ethical and adaptable computing professionals in a discipline shaped by continual technological change.
Since introducing Nebraska’s first computer science course in 1961, the department has pioneered the state’s first ABET-accredited CS program, Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence, cross-campus Master of Science in AI, AI and online Machine Learning certificates and Nebraska’s only Master of Science in CS Education, serving K-12 teachers in nine states. Faculty, including three NSF CAREER awardees in AI-affiliated fields and four recipients of five university teaching awards, serve close to 800 computer science and AI majors, plus master’s and Ph.D. in IT students.
A collaborative teaching culture—reflected in coordinated course design, the Computer Science Learning Center, and industry-partnered Studio Projects—has produced measurable gains in retention and career success. Through K-12 outreach and industry partnerships, the department strengthens the computing workforce across Nebraska and the nation.