Appointments, honors and activities
March 28, 2014
• Appointments and promotions:
- Tonglei Li, professor and Allen Chao Chair in Industrial and Physical Pharmacy, will be the associate dean for graduate programs in the College of Pharmacy. Craig Svensson, dean of the college, announced the appointment, effective May 1. Li joined the Purdue faculty in 2012, coming from the University of Kentucky. A graduate of Purdue, he has been engaged in graduate education throughout his career. Li received the Robert Blouin Excellence in Graduate Education Award from the University of Kentucky in 2007, and he was recently elected a fellow in the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists.
• Notables:
- Omolola Adedokun, an assessment specialist at the Discovery Learning Research Center in Discovery Park, has been selected to participate in the 2014 National Science Foundation Ideas Lab: Biology Workshop on March 31-April 4 at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, Va. An ideas lab is a new merit review strategy led by NSF to address challenges in STEM research and education. Adedokun and other participants will focus on approaches and strategies for integrating quantitative competencies into undergraduate biology curriculum.
- Ji-Xin Cheng, a professor in Purdue University's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Chemistry, has been elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows. The AIMBE College of Fellows represents the top 2 percent of medical and biological engineers nationwide. Cheng was inducted into the College of Fellows at AIMBE's 2014 Annual Event earlier this month in Washington, D.C., at the National Academy of Sciences.
• Student honors:
- Purdue University students captured the Polar Plunge Campus Challenge for the fifth consecutive year, raising more than $64,000 for Special Olympics Indiana. Purdue topped Indiana University, which raised $34,500, and Indiana State University at $32,350. The challenge started on Jan. 25 at Butler and Ball State universities, before taking place at Indiana State and Valparaiso universities on Feb. 15, and finally at Purdue on Feb. 22. More than $200,000 was raised combined.