Meet the Students

Salfo is a Ph.D. Candidate in Economics and Statistics who will be graduating in 2018. His research interests are in the application and development of text analytics methods to study political leaders’ role for economic development. He has a BA in Business Administration and an MS in Economics from the University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He is currently in the job market. His ideal job would be to do research at a private, public or non-governmental organization.

Brianna is in the Statistics Department, pursuing a PhD. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, earning a BS in Mathematics and a BS in Secondary Education in 2013. Brianna is a Graduate Research Assistant, investigating retention of undergraduate students in CASNR. She has held summer internships at the FBI Omaha Field Office, GSK Consumer Health (formerly Novartis Consumer Health OTC) in Lincoln, and has also participated in the Summer Institute of Biostatistics at the University of South Florida.

Kelsey is originally from Omaha, NE, and just started her first year in the PhD program. She earned her BS in Mathematics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, during which she took several undergraduate courses from our department. As an undergrad she completed an honors theses on Big Ten football data with Dr. David Marx, but she is exploring all possibilities for her PhD research. When not doing schoolwork or research, Kelsey loves to spend time with family, go out with friends, and relax by watching movies and TV.

Janaka is a  PhD student from Sri Lanka and a Graduate Teaching Assistant. He earned his BS degree from University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka, and his MS from Sam Houston State University in Texas. His hobbies are watching scientific documentaries, playing cricket, and traveling. Janaka is interested in scientific inventions, and would like to work for an international corporation after completing his PhD.

Sean is a second-year graduate student and Research Assistant in the Department of Statistics. His research interests include statistical computing, experimental design, genetics, and neuroscience. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, he received his BA in psychology from UNL in 2013. In summer 2014 he interned with The Maschhoffs in Carlyle, Illinois, providing statistical support for their genetics department. In his free time he enjoys waterfowl hunting, fly fishing, spending time with family and friends, and traveling.

Dola is a PhD student at Nebraska. She is originally from India, and interested in categorical data and modeling. Her advisor is Dr. Chris Bilder.

Dola also works as a Graduate Teaching Assistant – she has taught both Stat 218 and Stat 380. Her hobbies include painting and listening to music. But her favorite pastime is spending time with her husband and two daughters.