Yatkola - Edwards Student Research Grants
The Yatkola-Edwards Research Grants honor two University of Nebraska-Lincoln geology students, Dan Yatkola and Paul Edwards, who were killed in an auto accident on March 12, 1976. Both students were actively involved in research on Nebraska-related topics. The Nebraska Geological Society (NGS), wanting to encourage the investigation of the regional Earth sciences in the state, named its research grants program in their honor. Through the generosity of members and friends of the NGS, a total of more than $40,000 has been awarded to students since 1977.
If you would like to apply for a student research grant, please visit our grants page.
2024
Aaron English, UNL, Stable isotope paleoecology in the Bridgerian (Middle Eocene): investigation of canopy effect, increased aridity, and niche partitioning.
Jacob McCloskey, UNL, Assessing environmental differences between two midwest mammoth populations: a stable isotope paleoecological analysis.
Kaitlin Steinauer, UNL, Measuring seasonal fluctuations in Nebraska’s groundwater levels using a relative gravimeter.
2023
John Colter Johnson, UNL, Systematic paleontology and biostratigraphy of Tillodontia: early Eocene mammals from the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming.
Gosia Mahoney, UNL, Investigating the chronology of natural and cultural processes at the Lynch Site (25BD1) using optically stimulated luminescence.
2022
Samuel Fleagle, UNL, Reservoir characterization for potential carbon dioxide storage in western Nebraska.
Daniel Gschwentner, UNL, Assessing the effect of agriculture, catchment characteristics and best management practices on lake nutrient concentrations in Nebraska.
Farzana Rahman, UNL, Spatial-temporal distribution of anthropogenic and geogenic contaminants in drinking water in the Upper Big Blue Natural Resource District.
Spencer Schmidt, UNL, Understanding systematic fracturing in the Brule Formation and its effect on hydraulic parameters
2021
James Benes, UNL, Using geochemicals to bolster charcoal records of human landscape interactions in the Nebraska sand hills.
Amanda Hartstein, UNL, Microplastics in the sediment of the Platte River in Nebraska.
Justin Wheeler, UNO, Elkhorn River cut bank glacial till fractures.
2020
Kris Guthrie, UNL, Mapping the 2018 reactivated fault system in central Nebraska from potential fields and earthquake data.
2019
Kevin Branigan, UNO, Is there evidence for previous activity associated with the Arnold, Nebraska 2018 earthquake cluster?
Robert Gillham, UNL, Comparing terrestrial faunal change with the marine climate record using stable carbon isotopes in oreodont tooth enamel.
KasieAnn Knapp, UNO, Investigating soil health under different land uses in eastern Nebraska.
Gosia Mahoney, UNL, Diatom and OSL study of a paleolake in the Sand Hills.
2018
Jeffrey J. Pope, UNO, Mapping Slim Buttes stratigraphic and structural features by UAV photogrammetry.
Jeffrey Westrop, UNL, Impact of nitrate input rates on Uranium mobilization from natural sediments.
Bronwyn (Wyn) Zitka, UNO, Effects of controlled forest burns on soil composition.
2017
Ryan Brown, UNO, Investigating paleo-geography associated with the Brule Formation in Slim Buttes, SD.
Wilhelm Fraundorfer, UNL, Investigating mechanisms of permeability transience in sandy streambeds.
Ashley Larsen, UNL, Morphology of undocumented dune phenomena, north-central Sand Hills, Nebraska.
Lacey LeGrand, UNO, Fire-induced mineralogical changes in Nebraska tallgrass prairie soils.
Nathan G. Pindell, Chadron State College, Terrestrial thermal vortices as an analog for Mars.
2016
Kelly Helmer, UNO, Analysis of deformation bands at Slim Buttes, South Dakota.
Adam D. Neumann, Chandron State College, Late Quaternary glacial stratigraphy of Dinwoody Canyon, Wind River range, WY.
Willow Nguy, UNL, Reconstructing the paleoenvironment of middle Miocene Nebraska from stable isotopes in the teeth of large herbivores.
2015
John Jacisin III, UNL, The identification, description, and paleoecology of Miocene fossil snakes from Nebraska, with the development of a morphological ecometric for living and fossil snakes.
Samuel Nath, UNO, Soils amenable to B. anthracis in western Douglas County, Nebraska.
Bian Wang, UNL, Demise of the North American Rhinoceroses.
Zachary T. Olson, UNL, Sand ridge formation in the eastern Platte River Valley.
Evan T. Whiting, UNL, Biogeography and paleoecology of fossil alligators in Nebraska and the Great Plains during the Miocene.
2014
Tom Baldvins, UNL, Paleoclimate effects on Great Plains Bison inferred from stable isotope analysis.
Jacob Bruihler, UNL,Differentiating Pleistocene and Holocene sediments in the Platte River using optically stimulated luminescence dating.
Emily Campbell, UNL,Sulfur isotope analysis of barite and pyrite from the Elk Creek carbonatite, Nebraska, USA.
Katheryn Chen, UNL, Ecomorphological analyses of the late Miocene musk deer, Longirostromeryx wellsi, with implications for paleohabitat.
Taryn Serwatowski, UNL, Quantifying groundwater recharge based on discrete precipitation events in the Sand Hills region of Nebraska.
Moussa Guira, UNO, Fracture analysis of the short Pine Hills area of South Dakota.
2013
Michael Blessington, UNL, Paragenesis of an oxidized iron-rich niobium-bearing carbonatite, Elk Creek, Nebraska.
Sara ElShafie, UNL, Analysis of body size and paleoclimate of Peltosaurus (Reptilia: Squamata: Anguidae) from the White River Group (Chadron and Brule Formations, Eocene-Oligocene, @37.0-32.0 Ma) of Nebraska.
Jason Nolan, UNL, Anthropogenically enhanced mobilization of naturally occurring uranium in groundwater.
Nathan Rossman, UNL, Nebraska Sand Hills Lakes: simulation of 21st Century climate change impacts.
John Still, UNL, Oil-source rock correlation in the Denver Basin, Nebraska — the search for a negative 13C excursion in lower Permian rock.
2012
Audrey Boerner, UNL, Assessing controls on denitrification in vegetated and non-vegetated river islands: a paired island monitoring study.
Zablon Adane, UNL, Effect of grassland afforestation on groundwater recharge on the Nebraska Sand Hills.
Lindsey Glock, Chadron State College, Northwestern Nebraska lakes in relation to lineaments.
Chelsie Christenson, UNL, Analyzing change on the Republican River.
Matthew Coan, UNO, Fault and fracture system analysis of the upper Midwest and northern Great Plains region.
2011
Bobbi Brace, UNL, Evolution of the Cretaceous calcareous nannofossils Biscutum.
Grant S. Boardman, UNL, Reconstructing the diet and ecology of White River Group ungulates from northwestern Nebraska using dental microwear texture, mesowear, and enamel stable isotopes.
Steve Wooden, Jr., UNL, Lithofacies and stratigraphic architecture of the Ogallala Group in Nebraska.
Jonathan Traylor, UNL, Evaluation of stream depletion using analytical techniques: Nebraska example.
Derek T. Burgess, UNL, “Rattlestones” from the Dakota Fromation of Nebraska and their relevance to iron-oxide –cemented concretions in Utah’s Navajo Sandstone.
2010
- no records on file -
2009
David Masciale, UNL, Equids of the White River Badlands.
Jalot Al-Absy, UNL, Ancient landscapes under Omaha: A newly-revealed 300-million-year-old geologic record of soil development in the geologic foundation of the Great Plains.
2008
John Ong, UNL, Effects of lake bed hydraulic conductivity on the salinization of lakes in the Sand Hills.
2007
Rebecca Schmeisser, UNL, The mirgration history of linear dunes in the Nebraska Sand Hills.
Jens Schmeider, UNL, The Nebraska Sand Hills – drought variation and landscape stability in the Late Holocene.
John Sarao, UNL, Shallow seaway to deep ocean: an examination of the proximity to open ocean and the effects of the Mid-Maastrichtian mass extinction.
2006
Michael A. Riggle, UNO, Progression of vein growth and deformation in the Big Badlands and Toadstool Geologic area.
2005
Stacie Blair, UNL, A nannofossils biostratigraphy for the Smoky Hill Member.
Ryan Weber, UNL, Paleontology of the Crow Creek Member of the Pierre Shale: a hypothesized impact-induced tsunami deposit in the late Cretaceous (Campanian) Western Interior Seaway.
2004
Amanda Dopheide, Chadron State College, Characterization of fossil rabbits in the Orella Member of the Brule Formation, Toadstool Park.
2003
Kimberly Jacobs, UNL, Paleoclimatic record of Pleistocene lacustrine sediments near Cody, Nebraska.
2002
Steve Fischbein, UNL, Analysis and interpretation of lacustrine sediments from the Niobrara River valley, north-central Nebraska.
Deborah Woracek, UNO, Use of stable isotope ratios in soil organics to recognize former oak savannas in eastern Nebraska.
Jessica Brock and Lee Todd, UNO, Investigation of the Quaternary glacial deposits of Western Omaha, Nebraska.
2001
Meinhard Bayani R. Cardenas, UNL, Characterizing modern streambed deposits through hydraulic testing.
2000
Brian Nicklen, UNL, Saprolite formation on the Steinauer gabbro of Pawnee County, Nebraska.
Jesse Korus, UNL, Cyclic Rhythmites of the Dakota Formation (Cretaceous), Lancaster Co., Nebraska.
1999
Shane Tucker, UNL, A new late Miocene fossil site in the Ash Hollow Formation: a field and laboratory study.
Chin-Fong Yang, UNL, Sequence stratigraphy of the Admire Group in southeastern Nebraska and northeastern Kansas.
1998
Andrea Bair, UNL, The taphonomy of the Pussy Springs nest, Morrill County, Nebraska: a modern analog for predator input and fluvial deposition of microfossil assemblages.
Claire Larson, UNL, Provenance and distribution of High Terrace sediments (latest Wisconsin), Niobrara River, (Ainsworth to Merriman, NE).
Julie Welch, UNO, Analysis of a subsurface volcanic ash deposit, Glenwood, IA.
1997 (first year with matching funds from AAPG-MCS)
Deborah Myers, UNO, Comparative study of soils at three saline wetlands along Little Salt Creek, Lancaster County, NE.
Alfred J. Mead, UNL, Palynological analysis of sediments from Nebraska’s rhino quarries.
Mark R. Sweeney, UNL, Interpretation of lake and meadow seidments and their link to the age of dune field origin in the Nebraska Sand Hills.
1996
Cinda Timperley, UNL, Fossil pronghorn age profiles as a tool for studying sedimentation in the Valentine Formation.
Stephen Jacobson, UNL, Petrology and fossils of the Brownville Limestone Member.
1995
Patricia E. Helland, UNL, Early Holocene history of the lower North Platte River Valley, western Nebraska.
Ron Ramold, UNL, Estimating vertical groundwater flow rates from transient temperature-depth profiles.
1994
Vikas Tandon, UNL, The vertical component of contaminant movement in groundwater.
Ewa Ossowska, UNL, Pollen-based reconstruction of eastern Nebraska vegetation since last glacial maximum.
1993
Piyush Srivastav, UNL, Wetlands’ impact on water quality in Sandhills of Nebraska.
Debra K. Beck, UNL, Calcareous nannofossils biostratigraphy and paleobiogeographic distribution pattern in the Mobridge Member of northeast Nebraska and eastern South Dakota.
Constance L. Watson, UNO, The geomorphic development of Gifford Point.
1992
Dennis O. Terry, Jr., UNL, Pedostratigraphic analysis and interpretation of early Tertiary Great Plains depositional systems: Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota.
Mike R. Myers, UNL, Pliocene eolian sediments in the Nebraska Sand Hills region.
1991
Hannan E. LaGarry-Guyon, UNL, Carnivore processing of mammalian bone through the Cenozoic of the central Great Plains of North America.
Ralph K. Davis, UNL, Effects on chemical concentration fluctuations in the Platte River on the water quality of the Lincoln wellfield.
1990
Therese Dunn, UNL, Upper Cretaceous nannofossils of the Fort Hays Limestone Member.
Jeremy Dillon, UNO, Holocene alluvial stratigraphy and landscape development in Honey Creek Basin: Nemaha County, Nebraska.
1989
- no records on file -
1988
Theodore L. Huscher, UNL, Depositional environment of the Auburn shale, Emporia limestone and Willard shale of S.E. Nebraska and N.E. Kansas.
Robert A. Guthrie, UNL, The geology and distribution of oriented landforms and associated features, Cedar and Dixon counties, Nebraska.
1987
Kirk A. Morrow, UNL, Stratigraphy and facies relationships of the Arikaree Group at Wright Gap, southwest Nebraska.
Robert M. Joeckel, UNL, Functional morphology and ecology of entelodonts.
1986
Joshua Katz, UNL, A hydrological and thermal infrared investigation of the Blue Creek anomaly.
Jack Parrot, UNL, Shallow groundwater denitrification associated with an oxidation-reduction front in Hall County, Nebraska.
1985
Mary Rebone, UNL, Biostratigraphy of the Bridgeport Quarries, Morrill County, Nebraska.
John W. Fulton, UNL, Vertical distribution of several related explosives in groundwater near Grand Island, Nebraska.
1984
Richard L. Ehrman, UNL, Origin of “dissipation” structures, Nebraska Sand Hills.
1983
Richard A. Trapp, UNO, Feasibility study of thermoluminescence dating of eolian sediments.
Anthony R. Fiorillo, UNL, Taphonomy of the Hazard Homestead Quarry, a Miocene vertebrate assemblage in basal Ogallala sediments in Hitchcock County, Nebraska.
1982
- no records on file -
1981
David A. Uhl, UNL, Conodont distribution in the Deer Creek megacyclothem (upper Pennsylvanian) of southeastern Nebraska.
Randall L. Anderson, UNL, The origin and significance of photolineaments in southeastern Nebraska.
Chris Joseph Donofrio, UNL, Bedforms of the North Loup River, a braided stream.
1980
Christian (Chris) McGrath, UNL, An examination of the mineralogy and diagenesis of White River Group (Oligocene) sediments from western Nebraska and adjacent areas.
1979
Larry B. Kellison, UNL, The Niobrara Formation in the southern part of the Nebraska Panhandle.
1978
Larry A. Irons, UNL, A gravity and magnetic survey in Otoe, Johnson, and Nemaha counties of Nebraska.
Dean P. Stilwell, UNL, A grain size study of the Loup River system.
1977
Scott A. Samson, UNO, Monitoring fluctuations in groundwater levels using remote sensing.
Robert L. Evander, UNL, Petrology and paleontology of the Valentine Formation at Valentine Railroad Quarry.
Karl M. Busch, UNL, Structural and stratigraphic study of the “B” zone of the Lansing-Kansas City Group in Red Willow County, Nebraska .