Featured Stories
University of Nebraska: Sheldon Receives $100,000 Warhol Grant for Two Exhibitions
LINCOLN, Nebraska, July 22 -- The University of Nebraska posted the following news:
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Sheldon receives $100,000 Warhol grant for two exhibitions
By Annie Wilkins, Sheldon Museum of Art
Sheldon Museum of Art has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The award will support two 2027 exhibitions -- "Bad Witches: The Spiritual as Empowerment," showing Jan. 30 to July 11; and "Pablo Helguera: Socialscapes," showing Aug. 14 to Jan. 2.
"Bad Witches" examines how contemporary women artists from around the world revisit the historical casting of women
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LINCOLN, Nebraska, July 22 -- The University of Nebraska posted the following news:
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Sheldon receives $100,000 Warhol grant for two exhibitions
By Annie Wilkins, Sheldon Museum of Art
Sheldon Museum of Art has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The award will support two 2027 exhibitions -- "Bad Witches: The Spiritual as Empowerment," showing Jan. 30 to July 11; and "Pablo Helguera: Socialscapes," showing Aug. 14 to Jan. 2.
"Bad Witches" examines how contemporary women artists from around the world revisit the historical casting of womenas "witches" -- dangerous, deviant, unruly -- reclaiming those figures as sites of power. "Socialscapes" is the first comprehensive museum retrospective of Mexico City-born and New York-based artist Pablo Helguera, spanning his work across writing, performance, drawing, and community-based artmaking.
The Warhol Foundation grant will support curatorial research and public programming connected to both exhibitions.
Sheldon is one of 78 organizations selected in the foundation's spring 2026 grant cycle, which awarded a total of $5,166,000 to arts organizations across 26 states, Washington, D.C., Mexico City, and Berlin. Sheldon is also among 18 institutions nationwide receiving exhibition support grants this cycle.
Both exhibitions will be free and open to the public, and the museum plans to share more about related campus programming as each exhibition approaches.
Learn more about exhibitions and events at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Sheldon Museum of Art (http://sheldonartmuseum.org/).
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Original text here: https://news.unl.edu/article/sheldon-receives-100000-warhol-grant-for-two-exhibitions
University of Michigan: 'Electron Lighthouse' Illuminates New Physics
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, July 22 (TNSjou) -- The University of Michigan issued the following news:
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'Electron lighthouse' illuminates new physics
And, potentially, a new path to advanced devices for sensing, telecommunications and more
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Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a device that enables them to control the flow of electrons through a semiconductor using only laser light--no electrical power source required.
This device was built to explore fundamental physics and realize a previously unobserved behavior, but it could also open doors for new applications in areas
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ANN ARBOR, Michigan, July 22 (TNSjou) -- The University of Michigan issued the following news:
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'Electron lighthouse' illuminates new physics
And, potentially, a new path to advanced devices for sensing, telecommunications and more
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Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a device that enables them to control the flow of electrons through a semiconductor using only laser light--no electrical power source required.
This device was built to explore fundamental physics and realize a previously unobserved behavior, but it could also open doors for new applications in areasthat bridge optics and electronics, including sensing, imaging and telecommunications. The phenomenon could help improve how signals are sent through and between devices, as well as create new opportunities to store more information in those signals.
"This electrical device that we manufactured at the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility has the potential to turn into something that measures different aspects of light," said Yiming Gong, who helped lead the project as a doctoral student in the U-M Department of Physics. "But this originates from a very fundamental level of physics, which is the interference between different optical absorption processes."
With federal support from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the researchers showed they could induce the orderly flow of electrons through a semiconductor using two different colors of light. By rotating the polarization of the two optical fields--the direction that the light waves wiggle--the researchers could also control the direction of the electronic current.
"This isn't the way things normally work. When you think about electrons moving through a material, they're moving because you've applied an electrical field and they actually bounce around and drift across the materials. Here, using light, you can actually sort of squirt the electrons in a specific direction without applying an electric field," said U-M physicist Steven Cundiff, senior author of the team's new report in the journal Physical Review Letters.
Although previous work had shown the ability of light to get electrons flowing with light alone, this work goes a step further and shows the light gets electrons flowing in a narrow beam in a specific direction.
"The light no longer merely switches the current on; it also aims it," Cundiff said.
Cundiff likens this to a lighthouse, which sweeps a beam of light by rotating its lamp. Here, the beam is made of electrons and that beam can be rotated by rotating the polarization of the two phase-coherent optical fields.
The phenomenon relies on quantum interference, which arises when two colors of light drive different absorption pathways to the same final state. The light transfers energy to the semiconductor material in discrete, or quantized, packets called photons, which mobilize the material's electric charge carriers.
In the U-M set-up, the incident light is absorbed by two routes at once, and the routes can be thought of as overlapping ripples, Cundiff said. Those ripples line up and enhance each other for electrons traveling a certain direction, but cancel each other out for electrons moving in other directions.
A collaborator on an earlier project, J.E. Sipe of the University of Toronto, had predicted it would be possible to create such an "electron lighthouse." Now, working with the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility, Gong was able to realize such a device.
"The LNF is an amazing facility," Gong said, adding it was a painstaking process to meld the device's materials together in a way that didn't introduce any extraneous electric fields.
"That was the biggest puzzle to solve for me, because there isn't a standard way to do that. So I worked with the LNF staff to play around with different recipes and temperatures to come up with a manufacturing process."
Kai Wang, a former postdoctoral scientist with Cundiff and now a professor of electronics and information at Sun Yat-Sen University in China, provided Gong with additional guidance on this project. Gong has earned his doctorate from U-M and now works in Chicago as a machine learning scientist, where he applies the quantitative and analytical skills developed through his physics research to machine learning.
Study: Directional Photocurrent Generated by Quantum Interference Control (DOI: 10.1103/3v91-5pzf)
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Original text here: https://news.umich.edu/electron-lighthouse-illuminates-new-physics/
SUNY University at Albany: Atmospheric Science Student Earns Fulbright to Study Hydrometeorology in Italy
ALBANY, New York, July 22 -- SUNY University at Albany issued the following news:
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Atmospheric Science Student Earns Fulbright to Study Hydrometeorology in Italy
By Sophie Coker
Chris Gilberti is saying "ciao" to UAlbany for the next few months. The PhD student in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the College of Arts and Sciences has been named a Fulbright Student Scholar and will travel to Italy.
The Fulbright Program's primary purpose is to increase mutual understanding and peaceful relations between the people of the United States and other countries. The
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ALBANY, New York, July 22 -- SUNY University at Albany issued the following news:
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Atmospheric Science Student Earns Fulbright to Study Hydrometeorology in Italy
By Sophie Coker
Chris Gilberti is saying "ciao" to UAlbany for the next few months. The PhD student in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the College of Arts and Sciences has been named a Fulbright Student Scholar and will travel to Italy.
The Fulbright Program's primary purpose is to increase mutual understanding and peaceful relations between the people of the United States and other countries. TheFulbright Student program offers opportunities to graduating seniors, recent alumni and graduate students from different academic disciplines in more than 140 partner nations.
Gilberti is one of 25 U.S. students to earn an award to Italy in 2026.
A two-time University at Albany graduate from Cortlandt Manor, New York, Gilberti didn't originally seek out Fulbright. After his roommate returned from a Fulbright experience, he was inspired to apply, and another friend convinced him to go through the process together.
The experience he gained from an undergraduate research project was what gave him the confidence to design his Fulbright proposal.
"It always seemed like the sort of big opportunity that was too competitive. I remember thinking, 'Oh, I could never actually get that,'" Gilberti said. "But after undergrad, I felt capable of designing my own project and going down this route."
Italian by heritage, Gilberti had always wanted to connect with his roots there but never had the chance to stay long. Out of a long list of professors he planned to email, the first one he reached out to agreed to host him and his research.
Starting this fall, Gilberti will be at the University of Naples Federico II, researching hydrology, or the scientific study of the movement, distribution and quality of water across the Earth and its atmosphere. He hopes to help develop techniques to improve flood forecasting and water resource management in Southern Italy, where there is a lack of atmospheric science data being collected.
"My big goal for the project is to give them a better understanding of what weather data goes into their model," Gilberti said. "Good weather data is needed to get a good hydrologic forecast of how much water is going to flow through streets or rivers."
He plans to take his project to the streets of Naples and conduct fieldwork, putting his minor in geographic information systems to use.
"I'm hoping to be able to travel and use new technology, like flying drones over streams and rivers, and using satellites to get pictures of rivers, lakes and reservoirs to estimate the amount of water flow based on images," Gilberti said.
Gilberti is certain that his time at UAlbany has prepared him for both the academic rigor and the cultural exchange of the Fulbright program.
"Coming to this experience from a place of collaboration, I have already begun learning from people with as many different backgrounds as possible," Gilberti said. "Being able to come together to solve global research questions, then returning to the United States to help the people where I'm from, I think that's important."
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Original text here: https://www.albany.edu/news-center/news/2026-atmospheric-science-student-earns-fulbright-study-hydrometeorology-italy
Rutgers: In Pilot Study, Researchers Find Estrogen-Like Contaminant in Every Pregnant Participant Tested
NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey, July 22 (TNSjou) -- Rutgers University issued the following news:
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In Pilot Study, Researchers Find Estrogen-Like Contaminant in Every Pregnant Participant Tested
Rutgers scientists examine hormone-mimicking mycotoxins linked to corn and other grains, calling for awareness of an emerging food contaminant in the U.S.
By Nakaysha Gonzalez
Consuming common foods such as corn chips and popcorn may put pregnant women at risk of being exposed to mycotoxins - harmful substances produced by mold - according to Rutgers researchers.
Their study, published in the Journal
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NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey, July 22 (TNSjou) -- Rutgers University issued the following news:
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In Pilot Study, Researchers Find Estrogen-Like Contaminant in Every Pregnant Participant Tested
Rutgers scientists examine hormone-mimicking mycotoxins linked to corn and other grains, calling for awareness of an emerging food contaminant in the U.S.
By Nakaysha Gonzalez
Consuming common foods such as corn chips and popcorn may put pregnant women at risk of being exposed to mycotoxins - harmful substances produced by mold - according to Rutgers researchers.
Their study, published in the Journalof Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, found hormone-mimicking mycotoxins in 100% of participants and linked exposure levels to the amount of corn and grain products consumed.
One such mycotoxin is zearalenone, a compound produced by Fusarium fungi that contaminate staple crops such as corn, wheat and oats. Zearalenone can indirectly enter human food supplies through meat and dairy from animals that eat contaminated feed. It also is heat-stable, so it can survive cooking and food processing.
As zearalenone can mimic estrogen, a hormone critical to pregnancy and fetal development, it is a mycotoxin that is more specifically classified as a mycoestrogen. Other studies suggest that exposure to mycoestrogens may contribute to greater gestational weight gain and lower infant birthweight.
"Mycoestrogens are among the most common food contaminants worldwide, yet evidence on their dietary sources in the United States has been limited," said Zorimar Rivera-Nunez, an assistant professor at Rutgers School of Public Health and the lead author of the study. "They have potent estrogenic properties, but we know very little about how these exposures may affect pregnant women and their developing babies."
The researchers said the pilot study, known as the Jersey Babies pilot study, is among the first in the U.S. to pair pregnant women's dietary intake with mycoestrogen biomarkers collected at the same time. This approach can help researchers pinpoint specific dietary sources of mycoestrogen exposure.
The study followed 33 pregnant women recruited from obstetric clinics at Saint Peter's University Hospital and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. Participants provided urine samples and completed detailed 24-hour dietary recalls at three points in pregnancy, allowing the researchers to closely match what participants ate with what showed up in their urine.
Researchers analyzed the urine samples for several mycoestrogens, including zearalenone. Findings showed at least one mycoestrogen was detected in every single urine sample collected.
Zearalenone itself was detected in most participant samples at all three visits. Its levels remained relatively stable across pregnancy for several participants, suggesting that exposure was persistent rather than a one-time event.
"Our findings confirm that grain-based foods are important contributors to mycoestrogen exposure among pregnant women in the U.S.," Rivera-Nunez said, who also is a member of the Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute.
Researchers found that consumption of corn and other grain products in the 24 hours before a urine sample was collected was strongly associated with higher mycoestrogen levels.
Corn-based foods, including corn, corn chips and corn tortillas, showed the strongest associations, followed by more modest links to cereal grains and oils. By contrast, consumption of chicken and pork showed weaker, inverse associations, suggesting corn and grain products, rather than meat, were the primary dietary contributors to exposure in this study group.
The study's findings also suggest differences by ethnicity.
Participants who identified as Hispanic had mycoestrogen levels that were higher than non-Hispanic participants across the three study visits. Hispanic participants also reported eating more corn and corn-based products, as well as more dairy, than non-Hispanic participants.
"Identifying groups with higher exposures is a critical first step for our mycoestrogen research program," Rivera-Nunez said. "It helps us understand the factors driving those exposures and provides the information needed to develop strategies that protect maternal and child health."
According to the researchers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added zearalenone to its Mycotoxin Compliance Program in 2024 but hasn't yet established maximum allowable limits in food. On a global scale, the European Commission has set limits for zearalenone in cereals, baked goods and infant food.
The researchers said the findings establish mycoestrogens as an emerging and understudied exposure among U.S. pregnant women, setting a foundation for future research into potential reproductive, developmental and child health outcomes.
"Pregnancy represents a unique opportunity for prevention," Rivera-Nunez said. "By understanding how everyday dietary choices contribute to environmental chemical exposures, we can provide families with information that supports both maternal and child health."
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Original text here: https://www.rutgers.edu/news/pilot-study-researchers-find-estrogen-contaminant-every-pregnant-participant-tested
Penn College Receives $1.5 Million State Grant
WILLIAMSPORT, Pennsylvania, July 22 -- The Pennsylvania College of Technology issued the following news:
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Penn College receives $1.5 million state grant
Pennsylvania College of Technology is the recipient of a $1.5 million state grant earmarked to enhance facilities at the institution's Schneebeli Earth Science Center in Clinton Township.
The funding - to be matched by the college - will be used to expand and enhance the diesel technology, heavy equipment and electric power generation programs housed at the facility, located about 10 miles south of main campus.
The grant was awarded through
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WILLIAMSPORT, Pennsylvania, July 22 -- The Pennsylvania College of Technology issued the following news:
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Penn College receives $1.5 million state grant
Pennsylvania College of Technology is the recipient of a $1.5 million state grant earmarked to enhance facilities at the institution's Schneebeli Earth Science Center in Clinton Township.
The funding - to be matched by the college - will be used to expand and enhance the diesel technology, heavy equipment and electric power generation programs housed at the facility, located about 10 miles south of main campus.
The grant was awarded throughthe Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. Administered by the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget, the program helps finance the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects.
"This $1.5 million investment from the commonwealth represents an important step forward for Pennsylvania College of Technology as we continue to strengthen workforce education in support of Pennsylvania's economy," said Michael J. Reed, college president. "We are grateful to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his commitment to investing in projects that expand opportunity. This funding provides important support for a vital capital project that will enhance our ability to prepare the next generation of highly skilled technicians for Pennsylvania's diesel, heavy equipment and power generation industries."
Reed also thanked state Sen. Gene Yaw and state Rep. Jamie Flick for their "tireless advocacy on behalf of Penn College." Yaw is chair of the college's Board of Directors, and Flick is an alumnus.
The Schneebeli Earth Science Center is a 400-acre living laboratory offering hands-on experience for students majoring in forestry, diesel technology, heavy equipment, landscaping and electric power generation. Facilities include the Marshall D. Welch Jr. and Family Diesel Training Center, an 8,000-square-foot sawmill, an electric power generation lab, an arboretum and greenhouses.
For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, email Admissions or call toll-free 800-367-9222.
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Original text here: https://www.pct.edu/news/articles/2026/07/21/penn-college-receives-15-million-state-grant
Inside SMU's Archaeology Lab, Volunteers Young and Old Preserve History
DALLAS, Texas, July 22 -- Southern Methodist University posted the following news:
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Inside SMU's Archaeology Lab, Volunteers Young and Old Preserve History
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On his first day volunteering at SMU's Archaeology Research Collections (ARC) lab this summer, high school student Eric Weinberg met Christy Bednar, a longtime volunteer with a particular expertise in stone tools.
As they talked, Weinberg learned that Bednar had spent years excavating in the deserts of Egypt and Sudan, working alongside some of the biggest names in the field, including her late husband, Fred Wendorf, who founded
... Show Full Article
DALLAS, Texas, July 22 -- Southern Methodist University posted the following news:
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Inside SMU's Archaeology Lab, Volunteers Young and Old Preserve History
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On his first day volunteering at SMU's Archaeology Research Collections (ARC) lab this summer, high school student Eric Weinberg met Christy Bednar, a longtime volunteer with a particular expertise in stone tools.
As they talked, Weinberg learned that Bednar had spent years excavating in the deserts of Egypt and Sudan, working alongside some of the biggest names in the field, including her late husband, Fred Wendorf, who foundedSMU's Department of Anthropology.
"I was really surprised," Weinberg said. "For somebody who is just beginning in archaeology, like me, it's really valuable to meet and volunteer alongside someone like that."
That moment captures what makes the ARC's volunteer program special. In the lab, tucked into Heroy Hall, faculty, postdoctoral researchers, students and volunteers work side by side to catalog, preserve and study artifacts and records, spanning Middle Stone Age sites in Africa, Paleoindian camps, ancestral Caddo and Wichita villages, Spanish missions and a North Texas Freedmen community.
Recent projects have also included artifacts recovered from beneath the John F. Kennedy Memorial in downtown Dallas and from reservoir excavations across North Texas.
Preserving artifacts from sites that no longer exist
In many cases, the lab holds the only surviving record. "Our collections provide faculty and students at SMU and other universities the possibility of asking entirely new research questions about the human past," said ARC Director Matthew T. Boulanger, "and they usually come from archaeological sites that no longer exist."
"I like to think of what we do as part librarian, part detective," he said. "Artifacts are non-renewable resources and we must be good stewards of them. Because technology is constantly advancing, preserving these items today could lead to somebody in the future being able to do something very cool and answer questions about our past we can't even think of."
Bednar trained as an archaeologist and contributed to a 2018 international volume of research published in Wendorf's honor. Her current assignment carries a quiet symmetry: she has been organizing the ARC's collections of Middle Stone Age and Early Stone Age artifacts from Africa, material dating back as much as a half a million years, from the same region and era that defined her decades of fieldwork.
"I know something about how to work with artifacts, especially stone tools, and at my age, this is gratifying," Bednar said. "It may seem like just a volunteer shift, but for me it's extremely meaningful. I like to be helpful, I like to use my skills while I can, and this is congenial ground."
Part of that congeniality, she said, comes from the mix of people in the room: graduate students on their way to professional careers in archaeology and younger students just beginning to discover the field.
How a high school student became an archaeology volunteer at SMU
Weinberg's path into the lab started with a seventh-grade history class and an announcement his mom spotted late in his freshman year: a monthly Saturday open lab day at the ARC, coordinated through the North Texas Archeological Society. He went, met Boulanger, and was hooked by a demonstration of flint knapping, the ancient craft of shaping stone tools.
"I came in not really having any experience or knowledge, but Dr. Boulanger has taught me a lot," Weinberg said. "I just really liked it, so I kept coming back on Saturdays. Since then, I've gotten more involved, and this summer I'm going to two field schools."
The ARC hosts monthly lab days in partnership with the North Texas Archeological Society, generally on the last Saturday of each month. More information is available at ntxas.org/smu-lab-days.
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Original text here: https://www.smu.edu/news/research/archaeology-research-collections-volunteers
College of Saint Mary: Practical Nursing Graduates Achieve 100% NCLEX Pass Rate for Fifth Year
OMAHA, Nebraska, July 22 -- The College of Saint Mary issued the following news:
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Practical Nursing Graduates Achieve 100% NCLEX Pass Rate for Fifth Year
Practical nursing graduates at College of Saint Mary (CSM) achieved a 100% pass rate on the NCLEX-PN exam for the fifth year.
"This milestone reflects the culture we've intentionally built within the PNC program. We hold our students to high standards because our patients deserve safe, competent nurses," said Shamra Lundeen, director of the practical nursing program. "At the same time, we are committed to providing the encouragement,
... Show Full Article
OMAHA, Nebraska, July 22 -- The College of Saint Mary issued the following news:
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Practical Nursing Graduates Achieve 100% NCLEX Pass Rate for Fifth Year
Practical nursing graduates at College of Saint Mary (CSM) achieved a 100% pass rate on the NCLEX-PN exam for the fifth year.
"This milestone reflects the culture we've intentionally built within the PNC program. We hold our students to high standards because our patients deserve safe, competent nurses," said Shamra Lundeen, director of the practical nursing program. "At the same time, we are committed to providing the encouragement,support and accountability students need to meet those expectations. Excellence isn't achieved by lowering the bar--it's achieved by helping students rise to it."
The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) is a standardized test administered by the State Board of Nursing. The exam uses real-world cases to measure a nurse's ability to think critically and make the right decisions. The NCLEX-PN is for those who have completed a practical nursing program.
This is the fifth consecutive year that practical nursing graduates have achieved a 100% pass rate on their first attempt taking the exam.
"A five-year streak of a 100% first-time NCLEX pass rate is an incredible accomplishment because it represents so much more than an exam score. Every student passing the NCLEX means another graduate has achieved the goal they worked so hard to accomplish--becoming a licensed practical nurse," Lundeen said. "Behind every passing score is months of perseverance, resilience and dedication."
CSM's year-long hybrid Practical Nursing Certificate program prepares students for entry-level nursing practice with lab simulations and clinical experiences in hospitals, clinics and care facilities. Students get hands-on experience on campus in CSM's state-of-the-art health professions skills and simulation center.
"One of the things that makes the PNC program so special is the culture of women supporting women," Lundeen said.
This year, the PNC Student of the Year and PNC Spirit of Nursing awards were introduced. Nearly every student nominated one or more of their classmates.
"Reading those nominations reminded us that our students don't see each other as competition--they celebrate one another's strengths, encourage one another through challenges and genuinely want to see each other succeed," said Lundeen. "That kind of environment doesn't happen by chance, it's something we intentionally foster because we know students thrive when they feel supported."
Graduates of the practical nursing certificate program can work as licensed practical nurses (LPNs) or begin the LPN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.
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Original text here: https://www.csm.edu/news/practical-nursing-graduates-achieve-100-nclex-pass-rate-for-fifth-year/
