Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award

Two Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Awards are presented each year in honor of outstanding research or creative activity of national or international significance conducted by individual full-time faculty members at the University of Nebraska. Faculty members receiving the ORCA have sustained records of excellent accomplishment in their respective fields.

Information
Application/Nomination [ PDF ] [ Word ]
Deadlines
Past Recipients

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2012 Award Winners

Carolyn Pope Edwards, Ph.D., Willa Cather Professor in the Department of Child, Youth & Family Studies and the Department of Psychology, UNL. Edwards has made significant research and creative contributions to three fields – cultural anthropology, moral development in psychology and early childhood education. She has used her research – much of it done across disciplines – to inform policy, particularly in the early childhood arena, and has written and spoken widely on the topic. Edwards has attracted significant grant funding to UNL, having served as principal or co-principal investigator on more than $15 million worth of grant-funded activities. One of dwards’ recent projects is a National Science Foundation-funded grant to study and improve math and science education in early childhood. Edwards also has been appointed as coordinator for the university’s new Buffett Early Childhood Institute, which aims to improve the success of children, particularly those at risk, from birth to age 8.
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Howard Gendelman, M.D., chairman of the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience and Larson Professor of internal medicine and infectious diseases, UNMC. Gendelman came to UNMC in 1993 and quickly built a successful laboratory focusing on the neurologic complications of HIV/AIDS. According to his nominator, Gendelman developed the theory that the interplay between the immune system and the brain can be harnessed to counter the death of brain cells due to viral infection or during neurodegenerative processes. The theory wasn’t immediately embraced – but time has proven his theory to be valid. Gendelman continues to forge new collaborations focused on developing treatments for neuro-AIDS, Parkinson’s and other types of dementia. Gendelman is recognized as being one of the top 0.5 percent most-cited scientists in the world and has mentored more than 40 graduate and post-doctoral students. Under his leadership, his department has grown to more than 140 members with National Institutes of Health funding of $15 million for 2010-11.
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