People

State Committee Members

    • Dr. Yuri Lyubchenko

    • Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

    • University of Nebraska Medical Center

    • Mr. Bryan Kuntz

    • President

    • Intellicom

    • Dr. Sara Myers

    • Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activity

    • University of Nebraska at Omaha

    • Dr. Daniel P. Schachtman

    • Professor, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture; Director, Center for Biotechnology

    • University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    • Dr. Julie Shaffer

    • Sr. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

    • University of Nebraska at Kearney

    • Ms. Nisha Avey

    • Small Business Assistance Manager 

    • Nebraska Dept. of Economic Development

    • Dr. David Jackson

    • Interim Executive Vice President and Provost

    • University of Nebraska

    • Dr. Jennifer Nelson

    • Interim Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation

    • University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    • Dr. Ken Bayles

    • Vice Chancellor for Research

    • University of Nebraska Medical Center

    • Dr. J. Tyler Martin, Sr. - Committee Chair

    • Chief Executive Officer

    • Great Plains Biotechnology

    • Mr. Lyle Middendorf

    • Retired

    • LI-COR

    • Dr. Janet Seger

    • Professor, Department of Physics

    • Creighton University

    • Dr. Jerry Hudgins

    • Professor and Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering

    • University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    • Dr. Shane Farritor

    • Lederer Professor of Engineering

    • University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    • Dr. Juliane K. Strauss-Soukup

    • Associate Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship

    • Creighton University

    • Dr. Roni Reiter-Palmon

    • Varner Professor of Psychology

    • University of Nebraska at Omaha

    • TBD

    • TBD

    • Mr. Dan Hoffman

    • Chief Executive Officer

    • Invest Nebraska Corporation

Staff

Dr. Matt Andrews, Nebraska EPSCoR Director

  • Dr. Matt Andrews

  • Director

  • Dr. Matt Andrews began leading Nebraska EPSCoR as director in 2019; he is also a professor in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources. Prior to his arrival in Lincoln, he was Executive Associate Dean with the College of Science at Oregon State University, where he was also a professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics. From 2000 to 2016, he was McKnight Presidential Professor of Biology at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), where he was the Founding Director of Graduate Studies of the Integrated Biosciences (IBS) Graduate Program, and Founding Director of the UMD Bio-Translational Research Center (BRC). Andrews had served as associate professor (advancing from assistant professor) at the Department of Genetics with North Carolina State University from 1987 to 2000. He earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Wayne State University School of Medicine, after gaining his M.S. in Biology at Central Michigan University and his B.S. in Zoology from the University of Michigan.

Aaron An, Nebraska EPSCoR Accounting Technician

  • Hokwang "Aaron" An

  • Accountant

  • Mr. An joined Nebraska EPSCoR after an internship with University of Nebraska Central Administration. Originally from Seoul, South Korea, he earned his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in professional accountancy and studying to acquire CPA certification. He also has a certificate as a Microsoft Office Specialist.

Dr. Jodi Sangster, Outreach Coordinator for Nebraska EPSCoR

  • Dr. Jodi Sangster

  • Outreach Coordinator

  • Dr. Sangster earned her Ph.D. and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Nebraska Engineering and the US Department of Agriculture in Riverside, California. Earlier in her career, she was a zookeeper at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo; more recently, she managed citizen science initiatives in water quality for Nebraska. She volunteers in Nebraska’s Engineers Without Borders chapter.

Nebraska EPSCoR Executive Assistant Nancy Simnitt

  • Nancy Simnitt

  • Executive Assistant

  • Ms. Simnitt began her career at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) as Secretary to the Director of the School of Biological Sciences. She then took advantage of an opportunity to work for a private tuition payment company in Lincoln. In 2001, Nebraska EPSCoR needed additional staff to support the increased funding and programs that had been added over the past few years. Ms. Simnitt joined Nebraska EPSCoR to support this success and return to the research/academic setting. Ms. Simnitt received her Associates of Applied Science degree in Administrative Secretarial from Southeast Community College-Lincoln.

Nebraska EPSCoR Communications Specialist Carole Wilbeck

  • Carole Allen

  • Communications Specialist

  • Ms. Allen earned her bachelor's degree from Syracuse University, with dual majors in Magazine Journalism and Policy Studies. She also completed a certificate program in Nonprofit Management while working at the University of Washington. Her experience includes communications work with a K-12 school, a trade association, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering. She enjoys sharing stories of how Nebraska EPSCoR research collaborations serve the world (starting with the state of Nebraska), and helping advance STEM resources.