From the Dean

Colleagues,

It seems like the semester just began and already it’s time for spring break. If you’re taking a vacation next week, I hope it will be a good one.

Most of you probably heard the news last month that the Purdue-MIT proposal to BP for the Energy Biosciences Institute was not successful. Obviously, we were disappointed to say the least. But I can tell you that we gave it one heck of a shot. As someone once said, I'd much rather be invited to the dance than not. We were invited and the Purdue team did a fantastic job in responding to this opportunity. I want to publicly thank Clint Chapple for his leadership and express to the entire team my deep appreciation for all your efforts. We all learned a great deal about how to assemble large proposals through this process. Our partners at MIT were great and I hope we can continue to build on our growing partnership.

But BP isn’t the only dance. Nick Carpita led an effort to submit another very strong proposal to DOE that continues our partnership with MIT and Harvard. All of your combined work on this project is much appreciated. Finally, the Secretary of Agriculture released USDA's recommendation for the 2007 Farm Bill. It includes a call for $1.9B in funding for biofuels research. There are more dances to come!

Cheers,

Randy

News around Purdue Agriculture

Purdue Agriculture honors distinguished alumni

The College of Agriculture honored eight Distinguished Agricultural Alumni during a day of activities and ceremonies on March 2. They join a select group of less than 150 people who have received the honor since the awards began in 1992.

Full story: http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007a/070307WoodsonDAA.html

Search begins for CES Director & Associate Dean

With Dr. Dave Petritz’ impending retirement, a search committee has been working diligently on the task of finding the next Associate Dean and Director of Purdue Extension. Click on the link below to see the position announcement. You are encouraged to share it with interested parties. Nominations are welcome and should be sent to members of the committee:

Randy Woodson (Dean and committee chair)

Craig Beyrouty (Agronomy)

Greg Bossaer (White County)

Sarah Burke (Hancock County)

Sam Cordes (CES and Engagement)

Vickie Hadley (Allen County)

Mark Hilton (Vet Medicine)

Bill Johnson (Botany and Plant Pathology)

Kevin Keener (Food Science)

Mike Manning (Northwest District Director)

Maria Marshall (Ag Economics)

Renee McKee (4-H Youth)

Kris Parker (Porter County)

Alan Sutton (Animal Sciences)

Rick Widdows (Consumer Sciences and Retailing)

Karen Zotz (CFS Engagement)

Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer (IPIA)

Sonny Ramaswamy (ARP)

Dale Whittaker (OAP)

Position announcement: http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/in_focus/2007/March2007/CESPositionAnnouncement.htm

NRC Surveys are in!

Thanks to all the Agriculture faculty who took the time to complete the faculty questionnaires related to the NRC survey of research doctorate programs. Thanks to your efforts, we had nearly 90% participation across the College. Special thanks to those in the areas of Biochemistry, Animal Sciences, and Agronomy-Soils, where we had 100% participation!

Undergraduate Research and Poster Symposium

The Undergraduate Research and Poster Symposium is fast approaching. The event takes place on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 4 in the PMU Ballrooms. Students from the College of Agriculture, along with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Child Development and Family Studies, will showcase research and design work. It’s an exciting event, and it takes a tremendous amount of work and volunteers to make it happen! We hope that you will not only urge your undergraduate researchers to present at this event (extended deadline is March 20), but also volunteer to serve as a judge.

Click here to sign up: http://www.science.purdue.edu/current_students/research_day/registration/judges.asp

Program grows new crop of leaders

Congratulations to the newest Purdue graduates of the LEAD 21 program. Pictured left to right are Bob O’Neil, Karen de Zarn, Kashchandra Raghothama, Shawn Donkin and Karen Zotz. LEAD 21 works to meet the future needs for leadership development of faculty, specialists, program and team leaders, research station and center directors, district and regional directors, department heads and chairs, and others in land grant universities' colleges of agricultural, environmental, and human sciences and USDA/CSREES.

Carl Huetteman joins ARP

Carl Huetteman is the newest face in Ag Research Programs, having recently come on board as Assistant Director of Sponsored Programs Development. Carl received his bachelor’s degree in Forestry in 1980 from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and master’s degree in 1989 at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. His office is AGAD 122 and he can be reached by phone at 49-67550; email carlhuetteman@purdue.edu.

Women faculty sponsor special lecture and workshop

The STEM Women Faculty Group will sponsor a lecture by Dr. Abigail Stewart, the Sandra Schwartz Tangri Distinguished University Professor at the University of Michigan, on March 28 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Deans Auditorium, Pfendler. Dr. Stewart will speak on “Discussion Of An Inclusive Climate,” followed by a small group interaction workshop. She is past Director of the Women’s Studies Program and the founding Director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender. Dr. Stewart is currently the Director of the National Science Foundation Advance Project, a multi-level program designed to improve the campus environment for women faculty in science and engineering at the University of Michigan. RSVP to Stasia Harris by March 15 at harris3@purdue.edu

Tecumseh Project introduces Native American graduate education program

A new Alfred P. Sloan Foundation-funded program to support Native American graduate education in the STEM disciplines has been initiated through the Tecumseh Project initiative to increase the number of Native American students at Purdue. Beginning this semester, Native American students entering Masters and PhD programs in the STEM disciplines can qualify to receive a stipend directly from the Sloan Foundation, and current Purdue MS students qualify for the program if they decide to enter a PhD program. Qualified Master’s students receive a total stipend of $31,100 and PhD students receive $38,500. Native American students interested in graduate study should contact George Parker (gparker@purdue.edu).

Purdue Agriculture funds research tied to state initiatives

Twelve Purdue research projects will split more than a quarter of a million dollars in an effort to find solutions to some key agricultural concerns in Indiana. The funding, awarded by Purdue Agriculture, will pay for integrated, applied research and Extension efforts that are tied to Indiana State Department of Agriculture strategic initiatives. Ten of the 12 projects will study concerns regarding livestock and biofuels expansion. Other projects will focus on hardwood production and pest control for organic product storage.

Full story: http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007a/070306MartinMog.html

Purdue names director of utility forecasting group

Paul Preckel, agricultural economics, has been named faculty director for the State Utility Forecasting Group, a research and technical analysis center based at the university. The center is affiliated with the School of Industrial Engineering, Department of Agricultural Economics and the Energy Center in Discovery Park. Preckel began serving as faculty director on Feb. 1.

Full story: http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007a/070219PreckelSUFG.html

Andy Tao uses nanoparticle to discover disease-causing proteins

A complex molecule and snake venom may provide researchers with a more reliable method of diagnosing human diseases and developing new drugs. Purdue researchers bound a complex nanomolecule, called a dendrimer, with a glowing identification tag that was delivered to specific proteins in living venom cells from a rattlesnake. The Tao lab wants to find a better way to ascertain the presence, concentration and function of proteins involved in disease processes. They also hope the new method will facilitate better, more efficient diagnosis in living cells and patients.

Full story: http://www.biochem.purdue.edu/news/external-pdf/02212007-tao.pdf

New faces in the Business Office

Beth Siple, former Business Manager for Ag & Bio Engineering/Food Science, has accepted the newly created Agricultural Pre-Award Manager position in the Ag. Field Office. She will assist with proposal development on the front end of the process so the issues are resolved earlier. Beth is currently located in the Ag. Administration Building room 118 and can be reached via email sipleb@purdue.edu or phone 48366.

Adam Knust began his responsibilities as the Business Manager for Ag & Bio Engineering/Food Science on February 13. He is a Purdue graduate from the Krannert School of Management and a welcome addition to the Ag. Business Office family.

Karil Sommers, former Account Clerk for Ag. Communication Services/Youth Development & Ag. Education, has accepted the position of Account Clerk for IPIA. This is a half time position which allows Karil the opportunity to complete her degree.

Sherry Honn has replaced Cathy Rooze as Business Assistant in the Department of Biochemistry and Office of the Indiana State Chemist. Sherry comes to the department with 14 years of Purdue experience including the last 5 years in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences as an Account Clerk. She is married and lives in Lafayette with her husband Scott and their two daughters Chloe 4 and Megan 2, and a dog named Chrissy.

Business office vacancies

Account Clerk – Ag & Bio Engineering

Account Clerk – Ag Communication Services/Youth Dev & Ag Ed

Account Clerk – Agronomy

Account Clerk/International Programs– Ag Field Office

Account Clerk – Horticulture & Landscape Architecture

Kudos

Angus Murphy (Horticulture and Landscape Architecture), Shawn Donkin (Animal Sciences) and Osvaldo Campanella (Agricultural and Biological Engineering) have been named 2007 University Faculty Scholars. Select associate and full professors who have been tenured within the last five years are awarded this distinction in recognition of their scholarship. Faculty scholars, who are nominated by committees from their schools and approved by the provost, receive additional funding to support their research. The program was created in 1998.

Jianxin Ma, Agronomy, research is featured on the cover of this month's issue of Trends in Genetics, a premier genetics journal.

Gerald Shively, Agricultural Economics, has been named the recipient of the 2007 Ag Research Award The Ag Research Award Ceremony will be held April 12 at 2:00 p.m. in the Dean’s Auditorium, Pfendler.

Wayne Singleton, Professor Emeritus of Animal Sciences, received the National Pork Board’s Distinguished Service Award for lifelong contributions to the pork industry. Dr. Singleton is well known for his pioneering work in advancing swine reproduction techniques. He was a pioneer in the successful use of swine artificial insemination, which allowed the extended use of superior sires and significantly improved market hog and carcass quality. He retired from Purdue University in 2003, and now spends part of his time consulting.

Cliff Weil, Agronomy, has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Deadlines

Nominations are invited for the 2007 Purdue University Applied Management Principles (AMP) Program for graduate students in engineering and the sciences. AMP comprises over 50 in-class hours of non-degree “mini-MBA” education. The 2007 program will be offered during Maymester. More information: dwhittak@purdue.edu

Mark your calendar

Purdue University Multicultural and Gender Forums have been scheduled for 2007. All faculty and staff who have not yet attended are encouraged to do so. You must have attended a Multicultural forum in order to attend a Gender forum.
Schedule: http://www.science.purdue.edu/DiversityForums/dates.html

March 30 – April 1: Hoosier Horse Fair at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Call 317-692-7141 for more information.

March 31: Indiana State Science Fair on IUPUI campus. Contact Jane Alexander at 494-8470 for more information

April 4: Undergraduate Research and Poster Symposium featuring students from a number of colleges. South Ballroom of the Purdue Memorial Union. Times to be determined.
Contact Jane Alexander at 494-8470 for more information.

April 13: Celebration for the Center for Student Achievement and Leadership at 2:00 PM in AGAD. Contact Mike Irvin at 494-8672 for more information.

April 14: Animal Sciences 1996-2006 GraduatesYoung Alumni and Family Reunion at the Animal Sciences Boiler Barnyard, 5:00-7:00 p.m. RSVP by March 30 to delks@purdue.edu

April 14 & 15: Spring Fest. Information: http://www.extension.purdue.edu/sfest/ or contact Danica Kirkpatrick (dkirkpat@purdue.edu)

April 15: Agriculture Awards Reception, 2:00 p.m., PMU North Ballroom. Sponsored by the Agricultural Council to honor students and staff for outstanding achievement. Contact Contact Tracie Egger at 494-8470 for more information.

April 15-18: Twelfth Discover Conference on Food Animal Agriculture: Integrating Nutritional Management into Environmental Stewardship, Abe Martin Lodge, Nashville, IN

April 28: Earth Day Indiana Celebration in Indianapolis. Purdue Agriculture will have a presence at this event. Contact Danica Kirkpatrick at 494-9113 for more information.

University News

Purdue, IU researchers collaborate on life sciences, biomedical initiatives

Ten teams at Purdue and Indiana universities will receive $50,000 each for research ranging from efforts to improve detection of colon cancer to creating precise 3-D models of the molecular structure of viruses. Three projects are part of the second round of the Collaborations in Life Sciences and Informatics Research competition, which is funded by Purdue and IU. Seven other teams were funded through the Collaborations in Biomedical Research program, which supports research between faculty at Purdue and the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Full story: http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007a/070307RutledgeResearch.html

Purdue takes knowledge about spinal cord regeneration to China

Two Purdue University scientists will share their expertise on spinal cord regeneration in a three-city lecture tour starting March 14 in China, where 80,000-100,000 people suffer from spinal cord injuries every year. Richard Borgens, the Mari Hulman George Professor of Applied Neurology, and Riyi Shi, associate professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, have been invited to give lectures in three cities over a two-week period. Borgens and Shi have joint appointments in Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine and the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and conduct their research from the Center for Paralysis Research.

Full story: http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007a/070308BorgensChina.html