Macy Rasmussen
Veterinary Science · Omaha, Nebraska
Because of her hard work in high school, Macy was able to accelerate her undergraduate experience.
Macy brought in credits from her dual-credit high school classes when she started at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Many of those credits counted toward her required ACE electives, which gave Macy more flexibility for her major-specific courses. It also allowed her to graduate in a whirlwind three years.
But while her time as an undergraduate was short, it was still fulfilling. She nabbed an internship in the UNL Vet Diagnostic Center, where she worked in the bacteriology lab, getting hands-on experience handling samples, running tests and seeing the research side of veterinary science.
“It's kind of helped me to see the whole picture of diagnostic medicine,” Macy said.
One of her projects involved identifying salmonella through an infrared spectrophotometer instrument — which was a bit of a departure from what most people think about veterinary science, as it placed her in the lab rather than in the office with four-legged, tailed patients.
While Macy loves research, she’s still searching for her ultimate focus in the veterinary field. She’s been accepted to the university’s Veterinary Medicine program and plans to use the next few years to solidify her post-graduate pursuits. Though she’s not sure on the specifics, one thing she knows for certain is that she’s on the right path.
“I love learning new things, and I like animals a lot...the profession of veterinary medicine just kind of met all the things that I was looking for in a career.”
James Brunton, PhD
Assistant Professor of Practice
Though James’s academic background is in English and poetry, he recently started pursuing a new passion: comic book writing.
As he put pen to paper toward his newest poems, the doodles that he made in the margins of his notes started to become key elements of his writing. His love for poetry bled into a new art medium of pencil-drawn comics and illustrations.
"All forms of art are interconnected, so whether you are writing or drawing or painting or sculpting or filmmaking," James said. "At the heart of it is this strive to create something in the world that wasn't there before."
James's comic book adventures started as scratches and doodles, but now they've become an art of their own. The project, titled "From the Neck Up," was recently featured at the Sheldon Museum of Art in the "Person of Interest" symposium.
The comics give a personal look at James's perspective as he transitioned genders. They capture raw feelings and real moments, all because James was using the artistic medium to decompress. He channeled the stress and anxiety he felt at the time into his work and found a space that allowed him to be honest and vulnerable.
James hopes to one day be able to publish "From the Neck Up," but he's not in any hurry. He's happy with what he's created and the community he's found. He doesn't need a published book to make this memory meaningful — because he's already found it.
"If this is something I enjoy, even if it never sees the light of day, even if I don't get great at it — it's still something that is meaningful to me, and it's something that's helping me have new thoughts and work through old thoughts," James said. "And I just decided to let that be enough."
Jim
associate vice chancellor for University Operations · LIncoln, Nebraska
When Huskers return to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, campus will be sanitized and safer thanks to the efforts of University Operations and many campus partners. These campus units collaborated on the creation of more than a thousand hand sanitizer stations that will be placed across the university's campuses. These stations were built from scratch by the university — including special 3D printed parts and sanitizer produced on Nebraska Innovation Campus. Jim Jackson is associate vice chancellor for University Operations and was one of the members of the team that spearheaded the hand sanitizer station efforts. As a leader he's always made an effort to be proactive in planning the operations of the university, but with COVID-19 he found that his job quickly transitioned to reacting to the current situation facing campus. And with the current situation calling for increased sanitation and cleanliness to allow Huskers to safely engage in campus life, his team went into overdrive to brainstorm, develop and deploy the stations. For Jim, the creation of the hand sanitizer stations is yet another example of the hard work and resilience that is woven into the university community. He refers to the return to campus as a "carrot" — the incentive that pushes his team to innovate and adapt so they can meet their end goal. "You got to still keep your eye on the future and what's the 'carrot'..." Jim said, "And it is to return back to educate our students and keep this campus open and doing what we do safely."
Read all staff storiesSean
Mechanical Engineering · Lincoln, Nebraska
How, exactly, do you ship a robot to space? As Sean learned first-hand last summer, you do it very, very carefully.
Interning for Nebraska Engineering faculty Shane Farritor’s Virtual Incision lab last summer, Sean suddenly found himself preparing one of Virtual Incision’s surgical robots for its maiden voyage to the International Space Station. Launched into space for its 250-mile journey on Tuesday, the hope is that these robots can one day be used to perform surgery remotely from Earth.
For any of that to be possible, the first test robot needs to arrive at the station intact.
“I mostly worked on the hardware to get it up to the station and perform the experiment where the robot cuts rubber bands in its workspace, simulating surgery,” Sean explains. “I basically helped with the equipment that supports the robot.”
While a “locker” sounds simple enough, the process of ensuring the robot makes the journey safely — and is safe for astronauts to unpack once it gets there — requires a staggering amount of detail.
“We created an early version just for simulating vibrations that the robot will experience during launch,” says Sean. “We also used lots of protective measures, working with NASA to prevent safety hazards like electrical fires or structural failures causing injury.”
Sean, who graduated in December and now works full-time at Virtual Incision, will be anxiously awaiting the results of the robot’s journey.
“It's definitely a little nerve-wracking; it’ll be a week or two later until we know for sure, but I'm really excited.”
And for someone who’s worked on a project soaring so high, Sean stays grounded about the experience.
"It’s a privilege, right?” Sean says. “It’s just an honor, so you have to just keep your head down, try your best and work hard on what needs to get done.”