Purdue Notebook
September 24, 2004
Appointments and promotions
– Timothy S. Zwier will become head of the Department of Chemistry, effective Oct. 1. He is replacing Richard A. Walton, who has been acting department head since May 2004 following the death of Ian Rothwell. Zwier is a well-known expert in laser spectroscopy and molecular reaction dynamics. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and was an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow from 1989-1991. He was recently appointed as a senior editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry, a publication of the American Chemical Society.
– Ian Shipsey was recently appointed vice chair of the American Physical Society Panofsky Prize Committee for the 2005 prize and chair of the prize committee for 2006. The Panofsky Prize is the highest prize for experimental elementary particle physics awarded by the American Physical Society.
– The Purdue University Police Department has announced the appointment of three new patrol officers. They are:
• D. Michael Downey. Downey is a 1994 Purdue graduate who was a patrol officer at Purdue from 1996-1999. He previously worked for the Indiana State Police. He is a graduate of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and Police Mountain Bike Training School.
• Jeremy A. Hughes. Hughes, from Crawfordsville, Ind., is a former officer for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department. He is a graduate of Vincennes University and the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.
• Anthony N. Standifer. Standifer, a 1999 Purdue graduate, worked as a is a police officer in North Judson, Ind. He graduated from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.
Campus activities
– Purdue's political science faculty will present news commentaries on a wide range of political issues during the WBAA-AM920 radio series "Behind the News." The broadcasts air shortly after the 2 p.m. news broadcast every other Friday. The schedule for remaining broadcasts is as follows: Oct.1, Will McLauchlan, "The Supreme Court's 2004 Term: What is on the Agenda?"; Oct. 15, Keith Shimko, international relations; Oct. 29, Oxana Shevel, "Forthcoming Presidential Elections in Ukraine"; Nov. 12, William Shaffer, "Election 2004: And the Winners are..."; Nov. 26, Harry Targ, "U.S. Foreign Policy: What's Next?"; Dec. 10, Mark Tilton, Asian politics; and Dec. 17, Glenn Parker, American politics.
– Victor L. Lechtenberg, Purdue's vice provost for engagement, will deliver a presentation entitled "Purdue Engaging Indiana" from 3:30-5 p.m. on Sept. 28 at the Academic Leadership Forum in Stewart Center, Room 306. He will discuss Purdue's goals for engagement, which is a pillar of Purdue's strategic plan. As vice provost for engagement, Lechtenberg leads Purdue's expanded effort to use university resources to address economic development and other issues affecting the state's prosperity and quality of life. He works directly with Indiana's leaders, the business community and citizens to find ways for Purdue to accomplish that mission.
– The Women's Resource Office is sponsoring a talk at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 28) in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse by a specialist on sexual assault policy and law. Attorney Brett Sokolow will present "Drunk Sex or Date Rape: Do you Know the Difference?"
Faculty and staff honors
– Richard Edwards, professor emeritus of entomology, has been selected by the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars as a Senior Fulbright Specialist. His appointment was at the request of the University of Zagreb and the American Embassy in Zagreb, Croatia. In 2003 Edwards spent six months on a research Fulbright working on Diabrotica in Croatia and lecturing to students at the University of Zagreb. During his six-week stay, which begins Oct. 1, Edwards will be at the university with the primary responsibility of lecturing in the utilization of transgenics in agriculture.
– Fred Whitford, coordinator of Purdue Pesticide Programs, has been awarded the Mid-America Croplife Association Educator of the Year Award. Whitford is head of all commercial and private pesticide applicator training in Indiana. He has delivered more than 2,000 presentations; authored more than 200 research, Extension and regulatory publications; and written two books. Whitford was honored Sept. 14 during the group's annual meeting in Chicago.
– Gavriel Salvendy has received the status of academician in the International Academy of Human Problems in Aviation and Astronautics, headquartered in Russia. He was cited for his "fundamental contributions to theoretical and applied ergonomics and human factors." Salvendy is a professor in Purdue's School of Industrial Engineering and chair professor and head of the Department of Industrial Engineering at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. He also received the Paul Fitts Education Award this month from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society for his former doctoral students' significant theoretical, practical and professional contributions to the field. Salvendy currently oversees the dissertations of 17 doctoral students.
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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