Four Scientists Who Have Been Selected for Named Professorships at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Wendy Smith has been named the Willa Cather Research Professor of Mathematics. A UNL faculty member since 2008, Dr. Smith also serves as director of the Center for Science, Math, and Computer Education. As a scholar, Dr. Smith focuses on student participation in STEM, rural education, teacher professional development, and education leadership.

Dr. Smith holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in mathematics, as well as a Ph.D. in educational studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Erin Blankenship has been named the John E. Weaver Professor of Statistics. She has held various roles since joining the UNL faculty in 1999, including associate dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Her work specializes in statistics and data science education.

Dr. Blankenship received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Truman State University in Missouri and her Ph.D. from North Carolina State University.

Christine Kelley has been named the Aaron Douglas Professor of Mathematics. She currently directs the Mathematical Association of America’s Project NexT, a development program that teaches research-based teaching skills to new faculty members. An expert on error-correcting codes, she focuses on graph-based codes and iterative decoding algorithms.

Dr. Kelley earned her Ph.D. in math from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Limei Zhang has been named the Susan J. Rosowski Associate Professor of Biochemistry. She has been a faculty member at UNL for the past decade and is affiliated with the university’s Redox Biology Center. Her current research aims to design effective anti-tuberculosis therapeutics.

Dr. Zhang holds three degrees in biochemistry: a bachelor’s degree from Jilin University in China, a master’s degree from the University of Victoria in Canada, and a Ph.D. from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.