Adam Barney Memorial Scholarship
for the UNL School of Computing
Nebraska.Code was co-founded by two long-term friends, Adam Barney and Ken Versaw.
Adam was an integral part of the success and growth of the Conference, an unparalleled software developer, and an even better friend and human being.
Adam passed away May 24th, 2025, leaving behind his wife, Teresa, and two children, Avery and Isaac, many other loved ones and numerous friends and colleagues.
To honor Adam and his lasting impact on the local tech community, a University of Nebraska Foundation perpetual scholarship has been created in his honor.
Adam had passion.
I'm a nerd. After buying a Commodore 64 with money from my paper route in the 4th grade,
I've never stopped learning about computers and how to make these stupid machines do cool things.
That works out to nearly 40 years of experience writing code - about 25 of that time professionally.
What I've learned in that time is that software engineering isn't about tech stacks, algorithms, knowing this language or that one inside and out. After that much time, you start to see the underlying principles of software engineering. You see how the patterns so many memorize all flow from an application of these principles. You see that while C# and Python are quite a bit different, most principles of good software design still apply - the rules for writing readable, maintainable, testable code are the same. If you have those ingrained, picking up any new stack is a matter of learning some new syntax.
I believe in growing and improving those core principles in myself and everyone around me. I create a culture of collaboration, growth, innovation and pragmatism everywhere I go. I believe that as an engineer becomes more experienced, the breadth of their knowledge becomes more important than their depth of knowledge. I believe that software engineering is the best career available for people who like to create innovative solutions to complex problems and that every day should feel like a celebration of that.
"Passion" has become an overloaded term, but it is precisely what I feel for this career. I'm currently looking for my next opportunity, and look forward to bringing my passion for software engineering to wherever I go next.
Adam Barney
ADAM BARNEY
Adam's UNL Memorial Scholarship
Giving Area: UNL ENG School of Computing
Lookup ID: 01173230
Adam's Scholarship was set up in his memory as a way to keep his passion for learning and his legacy alive.
This is a permanent endowment, and the scholarship will exist as long as the University Foundation does and will provide one or more scholarships to undergraduate students in the School of Computing, College of Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Adam's honor each year.
Students meeting the following criteria will be eligible:
• Pursuing any major in the School of Computing
• Cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above
• Junior class standing or above
• Demonstrated involvement in the School of Computing’s Learning Assistant Program
Scholarships may be renewed so long as recipients remain in good academic standing and continue to meet the criteria set above.
Measure your life by the difference you’ve made in someone else’s.
When you make a gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation you can trust that it will be used in the way in which it was intended. That’s a promise they have kept with their donors since the organization was founded in 1936.