The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources honored three faculty members from the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture with The Ray and Jolene Ward Professorship in Soil Health Science, the Omtvedt Innovation Award and the Dinsdale Family Faculty Award during the Distinguished Faculty Celebration at the Nebraska East Union on Sept. 24.
The annual event celebrates faculty members who have received endowed or university professorships, recipients of 2026 faculty awards and the donors who make these awards possible.
The Ray and Jolene Ward Professorship in Soil Health Science
Bijesh Maharjan, associate professor and extension specialist at the Nebraska Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center, was formally honored with the Ray and Jolene Ward Professorship in Soil Health Science. Maharjan is widely recognized for advancing soil health science through the development of the Soil Health Gap and Soil Health Cycle, two frameworks that help researchers and producers measure, manage and improve soil health function.
This is the newest endowed professorship in IANR and is made possible by the generosity of Raymond and the late Jolene Ward. The Wards founded Ward Laboratories, Inc. in 1983 to provide high-quality results to help agricultural producers make informed, sustainable decisions by providing accurate soil analysis.
“I am honored and humbled to receive this recognition; it further motivates me to remain committed to improving soil health on managed lands across Nebraska and beyond,” Maharjan said. “I have had the privilege of knowing Ray Ward personally and have frequently sought his advice and wisdom over the years. Receiving an award that bears his name makes this recognition especially meaningful to me.”
The Omtvedt Innovation Award
James Schnable, professor and Nebraska Corn Checkoff Presidential Chair, received the Omtvedt Innovation Award for research. Made possible by Leone and the late Neal Harlan in honor of Irv Omtvedt, the award recognizes innovation and excellence in teaching, research and Extension in IANR; he was nominated by Edgar Cahoon, George W. Holmes University Professor of Biochemistry and director of the Center for Plant Science Innovation.
Over the last 12 years, Schnable’s role at the university has expanded from being a computational biologist to include greenhouse and large-scale field studies of corn and sorghum in Lincoln, North Platte and Scottsbluff. He develops and uses scalable quantitative-genetic and high-throughput phenotyping approaches to better understand the functions of the more than 98% of crop genes whose functions have not yet been experimentally demonstrated, while also predicting how specific crop varieties will perform under different environmental and management conditions.
“Receiving the Omtvedt Award means a lot to me because innovation and translation are parts of science that I care deeply about,” Schnable said. “It’s not just about making scientific discoveries, but about turning that knowledge into computational tools and physical products that can help researchers tackle their next project, help farmers grow better-performing crops or give them the information they need to make the right management decisions for their specific fields in a given year.”
The Dinsdale Family Faculty Award
Nic McMillan — assistant professor, grazing lands ecologist and chair of the Grassland Systems Curriculum Committee — received the Dinsdale Family Faculty Award. This award recognizes a meritorious faculty member for unique contribution in teaching, research or Extension education in IANR. He was nominated by Andrea Basche, associate professor of agronomy and horticulture.
Since arriving at the university, a central theme of McMillian’s work has been connecting student mentoring, teaching and research to the challenges facing working grasslands. Currently, he’s building a research program focused on managing working grasslands across Nebraska and the Great Plains, and says partnerships with producers, conservation organizations, agencies and other researchers are the greatest strengths of his program and the land-grant mission. His projects include non-fire management strategies like patch mowing and targeted grazing, grazing-based restoration of saline wetlands with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and NASA's HI-GRASS project.
“What makes this award especially meaningful is its recognition of the integrated program I’ve worked to build across teaching, mentorship and service,” McMillian said. “I’m grateful to the students, colleagues and partners that make this work possible. It’s an honor to receive this recognition from an institution that shaped so much of my professional life.”
