Appointments, honors and activities

• Appointments and promotions:

- Christopher Snively has been named student services coordinator for Purdue College of Technology, Richmond. He joins Christy Tollett in overseeing all admissions and student services for the location. Snively was most recently an instructor and teaching assistant at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus. He previously was director of national operations and membership development of Veterans for Peace, based in St. Louis. He also worked at the Pierre Laclede Honors College at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and served in the U.S. Army, where he was stationed in Germany and earned Expeditionary and NATO medals for service in Hungary, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. He is a member of the National Academic Advising Association, Phi Kappa Phi, the Golden Key Honor Society, and Alpha Mu Gamma Foreign Language Honors Society.

• Faculty and staff honors:

- Purdue food science professor Lisa J. Mauer received the Institute of Food Technologists' Marcel Loncin Research Prize, one of the organization’s top awards. Mauer was honored for her research that focuses on two main topics: The first is changing the architecture, or physical structure, of vitamins and food ingredients to tailor their properties to different applications. The second is improving the understanding of how water interacts with food ingredients and whole food formulations and what happens once water enters food. The award honors and provides research funding to an IFT member or nonmember scientist or engineer conducting basic chemistry/physics/engineering research applied to food processing and improvement of food quality. Mauer received her award, which includes a $50,000 prize, at the IFT's Annual Meeting and Food Expo in New Orleans in June. Mauer, who also is director of the Purdue Center for Food Safety Engineering, teaches food chemistry, food ingredient functionality and food packaging courses. In 2010 she received the Purdue Agricultural Research Award for her work in water-solid interactions, spectroscopy and shelf life of food for space missions. She is a fellow of the Purdue University Teaching Academy.

- Linda Naimi, associate professor of technology leadership and innovation, has been elected International Leadership Council vice president for the Golden Key International Honour Society. In this role, Naimi will chair the council and the Golden Key Council of Advisors. She also will guide the Council of Student Members and work with the board of directors and global partners. Golden Key recognizes and encourages scholastic achievement and excellence among college and university students from all academic disciplines. Naimi serves as one of the faculty advisers to the Purdue Golden Key student group.

- Mike Piggott, Purdue's community relations director, received the Difference Maker award from Duke Energy on July 6 in Indianapolis. The award, created earlier this year, honors Indiana residents whose hard work and dedication have significantly bettered the lives of their local community's residents. Piggott received the award during an Indianapolis Indians game from Kevin Johnston, Duke's Northwest community relations manager. Piggott's primary community service project began eight years ago when he and local business leaders Charlie Shook and Doug Gutridge launched the Community of Choice project, which is now part of Greater Lafayette Commerce. The effort led to a 54-page plan of goals and strategies. So far, the project has helped save local passenger rail service, created an annual community welcome for incoming Purdue students, and enhanced the relationship between the university and municipal government. Piggott and his partners have engaged nearly 200 people in these efforts. Piggott also is involved in numerous community organizations and emcees dozens of community events each year. Prior to coming to Purdue, he spent 30 years in local broadcast media. Duke partnered with the Indianapolis Indians to give the Difference Maker awards. This year, 15 Difference Maker winners, all from Duke’s Indiana service area, will be announced. A photo of Piggott receiving the award is available at http://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/2014/pt-piggottaward.jpg.

- Purdue Human Resources has earned an Award of Excellence in the annual APEX Awards for Publication Excellence. The department’s HR Connect e-newsletter was honored in the New Newsletters category. HR Connect was the only winner in the category this year. Nancy Rodibaugh and Rodney McPhail of Human Resources Communications were also honored with an APEX award in the Employee and Benefits Communication Campaign category for an email series of tips related to Purdue medical plans and health savings accounts. APEX Awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content and the ability to achieve overall communication excellence. The awards, sponsored by the publishers of the Writing that Works newsletter, draw thousands of entries annually and are in their 26th year.

• Notables:

 - Sabine Brunswicker, associate professor of innovation in the Department of Technology Leadership and Innovation, was a speaker during the World Economic Forum CEO Series Workshop in June. The workshop, which attracted business leaders from around the world, focused on "Transforming business and driving growth through open innovation."