360˚ Review

CONSUMER SCIENCE

Photo by mark Simons

The Sales Education Foundation named the department's selling and sales management program a "Top University Sales Program" for 2014. The award recognizes programs that prepare students for professional selling careers. Purdue's Center for Professional Selling supports the program and partners with companies to help students become career-ready through practical experiences in sales competitions, résumé critiques, mock interviews, speed selling contests, and business networking events. "Through the center, students graduate with practical, enriching experiences in sales leadership that enable them to contribute faster and more meaningfully as they start their careers," says Jane Anderson, associate director, Purdue Center for Professional Selling.

 

 

HEALTH AND KINESIOLOGY

Babak Ziaie with student Albert Kim, Photo by mark Simons

Researchers are using a modified smartphone to measure a person's walking gait in order to prevent falls in people with compromised balance, such as the elderly or those with Parkinson's disease. Shirley Rietdyk, associate professor, is collaborating on the project with Babak Ziaie, professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering (at right, with doctoral student Albert Kim). The innovation, being commercialized as SmartGait, is designed as a tool to aid health care professionals in assessing a person's risk of falling and identifying ways to avoid injury. "We know that people who are more likely to fall have slower gait speeds and variable stride time, step length and step width," Rietdyk says. "But it's hard to gather that information in an everyday environment." Until now, there has been no portable user-friendly system that could be worn for a period of time to record a person's gait. The researchers adapted a conventional smartphone with a downward-looking, wide-angle lens and a special app that allows the phone to record and calculate gait measurements.

HEALTH SCIENCES

Jennifer Freeman - Photo by Mark Simons

Jennifer Freeman

Linda Nie, assistant professor, has designed and built novel neutron-activated X-ray fluorescent equipment for quantification of manganese in human bone. The project has received a National Institutes of Health grant award of $756,713. This first-ever transportable medical device makes it possible for real-time, noninvasive assessment of bone levels of manganese, aluminum and other essential metals in normal and diseased human subjects. It is particularly useful for bone manganese as biomarker for early diagnosis of manganese-induced Parkinsonian disorder.

Ulrike Dydak, associate professor, is a co-investigator on a five-year NIH grant awarded more than $2.6 million. Her experience in magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) will be utilized to measure a number of brain chemicals involved in a common neurological disorder called
"essential tremor" in both patients and healthy subjects.

Jennifer Freeman, assistant professor, received the 2014 Exceptional Early Career Teaching Award for tenure-track faculty at Purdue. She also was awarded the 2014 College of Health and Human Sciences Early Career Research Achievement Award. Her current research is focused on investigating the adverse health effects of exposure to environmental stressors on human and environmental health using the zebrafish model system.

HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

The school's graduate programs are ranked first in the nation according to a research article published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education in December 2013. This study examined hospitality and tourism
management graduate programs over a 10-year period in the United States and used a questionnaire adapted from the ranking methodology used by U.S. News & World Report. HTM was cited for having continuously advanced its master's program over the 10-year period — it ranked third in 2006 and fifth in 2002. The doctoral program also showed improvements in ranking, from fifth in 2002 to first in 2006.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY STUDIES

Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth was one of the distinguished set of reviewers for the National Academy of Sciences book Preventing Psychological Disorders in Service Members and Their Families: An Assessment of Programs. She is director of Purdue's Center for Families and the Military Family Research Institute.
Teachers in the 3- to 5-year-old classrooms in the department's Ben and Maxine Miller Child Development Laboratory School are experimenting with "smart boards" to expand upon interactive exercises in a group setting. Teachers have the opportunity to extend a topic and access information with the smart board, which resembles a large flat screen. "For example, when the children were talking about turtles and where different turtles live, they could pull up the Discovery Channel link and search information on turtles together using the interactive smart board," says Elizabeth Schlesinger-Devlin, the school's director. "We are exploring different ways to incorporate the smart board within the classroom setting and also for the students working on their practicums."

NURSING

Elizabeth Richards - Photo by Mark Simons

Research by Elizabeth Richards, assistant professor, shows that the majority of people who walk their dogs regularly are more motivated to get moving for Fido's health than their own. Richards leads the Dogs, Physical Activity and Walking (Dogs PAW) study at Purdue and is evaluating methods to encourage dog owners to walk more often. "Engaging in exercise can be intimidating for some if they feel overwhelmed by the gym environment or the amount of time or intensity they should achieve," she says. "But there is something accessible for many people when it comes to dog walking, and the bond between owner and pet is certainly part of that."

Cynthia Bozich Keith - Photo by Mark Simons

Cynthia Bozich Keith, clinical associate professor, received a 2014 Murphy Award. She was one of five professors recognized with Purdue's highest undergraduate teaching honor. Bozich Keith says her passion is shaping students' interest in psychiatric health into sharp clinical skills and attitudes that reflect professionalism, compassion and respect.

NUTRITION SCIENCE

Screen shot of youtube clip

Dennis Savaiano was named the Virginia C. Meredith Professor of Nutrition Policy. He has started a food policy initiative that will provide scientifically based information to local and international policymakers. Two courses have been created as part of the initiative, one on food policy and another on world food problems that involves five Purdue departments.

The "Fish for Your Health" wallet card developed by Professor Charles Santerre is being used by the Florida Department of Health to educate pregnant women on safe fish consumption. Working with the Centers for Disease Control, the Florida Department of Health created a YouTube video and is distributing the card as part of their educational campaign on seafood safety. For more about Fish for Your Health, visit Fish4Health.net.

Elderly women could benefit from consuming 29 percent more protein than the current nutrition guidelines recommend, according to new research from Professor Wayne Campbell. "The current dietary reference intakes for elderly adults rely on data collected from younger people and extrapolated to include elderly people," he explains. "Also, the scientific method used for the last 50 years to determine protein needs is not an ideal technique for older adults."

PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Photo by Pete Souza, Official White House Photo

Jeffrey Karpicke, the James V. Bradley Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences, received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. Karpicke was among the group of honorees recognized by President Barack Obama at the White House this spring. Karpicke's research is focused on human learning and memory, especially retrieval processes. He was nominated for the award by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education.

SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING SCIENCES

SPEAKall Photo by Mark Simons

The SPEAKall! iPad application is garnering rave reviews. The app facilitates communication and language development for children and families affected by severe, nonverbal autism. The App Magazine, which gives it five stars, says, "We have reviewed thousands and thousands of apps here at The App Magazine and SPEAKall! is definitely one of the best!" The app is also featured on the Assistive Technology Radio website at www.AssistiveTechnologyRadio.com. Earlier this year, SPEAKall! was adopted for use at speech and language clinics at San Jose State University in California and the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Oliver Wendt, assistant professor, led development of the app with a group of 14 students in EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service). Wendt holds a joint appointment in the Department of Educational Studies.

Anne Smith, distinguished professor, received the Honors of the Association award from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. This highest honor recognizes members for contributions to the discipline of communication sciences and disorders. Smith is co-director of the Purdue Stuttering Project and is renowned for her research on how the brain controls speech production, especially for people who stutter. Her research has been supported by the NIH for over 25 years through more than $13 million in grant awards.

Lisa Goffman, professor, received the 2014 College of Health and Human Sciences Research Achievement Award soon after her induction as Fellow of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. Her research focuses on the relationship between speech, language, and overall motor development in infants and children.

Lyles-Porter Hall

Lyles-Porter Hall. Photo by Steven Yang

The new Lyles-Porter Hall is open for business! A building dedication was held Sept. 26 and an open house is planned for Nov. 8 before the Purdue football game. The facility is located on the southwest side of campus and houses the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences along with other clinical facilities and research centers associated with HHS, including the A.H. Ismail Center. The Indiana University School of Medicine — Lafayette is also housed there. If you're returning to campus for the Purdue–Wisconsin game on Nov. 8, be sure to stop by the open house before the game.

 

 

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