Keenan Amundsen, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, was granted tenure and will be promoted to associate professor in August. He was honored April 25, along with 70 other University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty members, during a celebration at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum.
Amundsen received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in crop and soil sciences from Michigan State University and his doctorate in bioinformatics and computational biology from George Mason University. He started his career at Nebraska in 2011.
Amundsen is a turfgrass geneticist in charge of the turfgrass breeding program. He develops new turfgrass cultivars, with an emphasis on buffalograss, that require fewer inputs to manage than conventionally grown turfgrasses. He is also a computational biologist and applies those skills to develop genetic tools that complement his breeding efforts. Because of his expertise in computational biology and plant breeding, he has capitalized on opportunities to expand his research program into other specialty crops including ornamental pearl millet and hops.
A full list of faculty receiving honors and the 2017 Promotion and Tenure brochure is available here.
