Dan Uden, the interim director of the Center for Resilience in Agricultural Working Landscapes, has received a promotion to an associate professor position with tenure, to start August 17, 2026.
A University of Nebraska–Lincoln scientist, Uden works with and teaches about spatial data and technologies like GPS, remote sensing and geographic information systems. He holds appointments in the School of Natural Resources and Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, with 60% of his time dedicated to research and 40% teaching.
He applied for the associate professorship before being named the interim director of the resilience center in January 2026 and said he was grateful to receive the professorship and go through the advancement process.
“I've appreciated going through the process, especially being able to reflect on the past five years and think about the future,” he said.
Now, more than thinking about past years, he has been thinking about how the center he directs might further contribute to the university and its individual departments and institutes. He stated plans to retain the center’s focus on ecological resilience, especially as applied to agriculture and agro-ecosystems.
After hearing about the impacts of other faculty members at recent retirement receptions, Uden said he would like to have similar impacts with the center in the work he and his staff do. He serves Nebraskans by developing tools that can help them manage land and make decisions on it. He typically advises eight to 10 students a year and teaches or coteaches four classes on related technologies.
“I think the goal is to have the same sort of impact that my predecessors have had but to do it in new ways to be able to have an impact in research and in the classroom for the times we find ourselves in,” he said.
Uden has been at the university almost 16 years since starting as a graduate student in fall 2010 and serving as an assistant professor almost six years. From 2020 to 2025, he took part in 19 research grants totaling $10.4 million. He has collaborated with multiple groups and helped develop and deliver five tools used in land management, with another four tools under development.
Larkin Powell, the director of the School of Natural Resources, said Uden has been a productive faculty member whose research expertise has drawn numerous collaborators and graduate students to his lab. He noted also Uden can explain complex resilience concepts to producers in a natural way that can affect their beef production ventures.
“I am grateful for his steady, understated manner of working with various groups and leading them to new levels that are possible because of his expertise but also his unique ability to bring others along in conversation and collaboration,” Powell said.
