Appointments, honors and activities

• Faculty and staff honors:

- A Purdue University professor has joined an International Brain Mechanics and Trauma Lab (IBMTL) established as part of a global effort to study brain mechanics and trauma. Riyi Shi, a professor of neuroscience and biomedical engineering in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, joins colleagues from Oxford University, the Technical University of Madrid, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. The researchers will study brain cell and tissue mechanics and their relation with brain functions, disease, and trauma. Information about the initiative is available at http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/public-relations/news/new-international-initiative-focuses-on-brain-mechanics-and-trauma-research.

- Robert E. May, a professor of history, is one of six finalists for the 2014 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize book prize. Gettysburg College and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History award the prize. May's book, "Slavery, Race, and Conquest in the Tropics: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Future of Latin America," is described as "a focused, well-researched, and clearly argued work that contributes to our understanding of the antebellum politics of the slavery expansion controversy." Cambridge University Press published the book. May, as well as the prize's two winners and the other three finalists, will be recognized on April 24 in New York City. More information is available at http://www.gettysburg.edu/news_events/press_release_detail.dot?id=95c494ec-2e78-4c9c-a05f-c9da1ca14909 - sthash.a7qZW1Uk.dpuf  

• Notables:

- The Purdue Crew, part of the Division of Recreational Sports, will present a check for more than $12,500 to the Lafayette Urban Ministry's Good Samaritan Fund, as a result of the crew's annual Row-a-thon. The event was held earlier this month at Tippecanoe Mall. The presentation will be at 3 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 25) at the Crew Boathouse, 500 Brown St., on the Levee near Tapawingo Park.

• Alumni honors:

- Purdue's School of Engineering Education presented its 2014 Outstanding Alumni Award to Rex Carter. Carter received his interdisciplinary engineering degree in 1974 with a plan of study in urban systems and transportation. He works for Hitachi Data Systems as executive vice president and CIO. Interdisciplinary engineering was an independent division prior to becoming part of Engineering Education in 2004.

• Student honors:

- Purdue's School of Engineering Education has honored three students in multidisciplinary engineering/interdisciplinary engineering studies. Robert Colcord received the Outstanding Senior Award. His plan of study is engineering management. Rebecca Kartheiser is the Outstanding Junior Award winner. She is studying entertainment engineering. The Outstanding Service Award was presented to Nicole Gantz. It recognizes her work as an engineering ambassador and as a teaching assistant.

• Rankings:

- Purdue University is listed among the Princeton Review's 150 "best value" colleges for 2014. The education services and test-prep company says universities on the list, which appeared in USA Today, offer the "best bang for the buck." The listing is based on an analysis from surveys conducted from fall 2012 through fall 2013. The top 10 public and private "best values" are ranked; the rest are listed alphabetically.

- Krannert School of Management is 56th globally in the 2014 Financial Times rankings of MBA programs. The rankings are based on a survey of alumni that measures salary increase and perceived value for money spent; a school survey that measures diversity of teaching staff, students and advisory board members, and international reach of the program; and research rank, based on the number of articles published by full-time faculty in 45 academic and practitioner journals. More information is available at http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-ranking-2014.