This week’s ‘Thumbs Up’ recipients

Those who supported Birck Nanotechnology Center’s 20th anniversary celebration

Multiple groups came together to make our 20th anniversary a success. Donnie Layton, Glen Deno and the paint shop crew made everything look immaculate. Zone 7 helped with our preventative maintenance shutdown. Annette Robbins, Eduardo Lopez, Alex Figueroa, Dave Ocker, Laura Estrada, Margarita Villa, Matt Phillips, Mike McClimans, Vickie Gilliam and others from Building Services went above and beyond without us even having to ask. Jacob Henry, Erin Sarafin and the Grounds crew beautified the outside of the building. Without much notice, Jeff Hemersbach and the carpentry crew came to our aid, making the halls look perfect. Tighe Lucy, Ryan Butram and the rest of Purdue IT’s End User Experience crew made our A/V dreams come true, and the Client Support Services team quickly found loaner equipment for us. And the Purdue Fire Department kept watch over the event, ensuring it was safe and wonderful. Thank you all for your help! — Michelle Radtke (Birck Nanotechnology Center)

Those who presented at recent AI Bytes events

Thank you to Cara Putman, Tim Reese, Patti Darbishire, Jing Lu, David Zwicky and Ashish for sharing information about AI tools through recent AI Bytes events. During the AI Bytes Instructor Showcase, we all enjoyed learning how Cara (Strategic Management), Tim (Statistics), Patti (Pharmacy) and Jing (Libraries) use AI in their courses. And at recent AI Bytes workshops, David (Libraries) shared how the AI tool Scite can be used when conducting research, and Ashish (Research Computing) provided valuable details about Purdue GenAI Studio and its uses. The team sincerely appreciates all the time and effort put into the presentations, which help make our events better and more fruitful for participants! — The AI Bytes team

Breanna Maxwell

Breanna (Finance and Business Operations) and her team at the Executive Offices Business Operations Center helped greatly in getting through a hard process to get some refunds processed for one of my areas. Breanna was great at keeping in touch and keeping me updated all through the process. She is also a good source of help when I reach out. — Valerie Taylor (Finance)

Tim Kite

Tim (Purdue IT) is one of the absolute best to work with at Purdue. His knowledge and expertise are second to none. Recently, while working on a project, our team hit an unforeseen problem at 3 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon with a go-live date of 5 p.m. that afternoon. We contacted Tim for help, and he immediately saw the problem and had a resolution in place within 20 minutes. He dropped everything to help us, and I cannot thank him enough for it. — Wright Frazier (Veterinary Medicine)

Margaret Anderson

Margaret (Purdue IT) is a treasure to Purdue IT, and her ability to work and solve problems is legendary in Lynn Hall. When my team was looking for a hosting solution that wasn’t tied to a career account, we reached out to Margaret. She immediately saw and understood the problem and came up with an out-of-the-box fix for us. I can’t thank her enough! — Wright Frazier (Veterinary Medicine)

Caitlin Sullivan

I would like to thank Caitlin (Hospitality and Tourism Management), catering coordinator and lead administrative assistant, for her outstanding service and accommodations for four of our fall events! She wears many hats in HTM and juggles it all with great finesse! Everyone said our events were well received, and the food was spectacular! Thank you for your quick responses to our requests and doing it with a smile always! You are a gem that shines brightly for HTM! — Annie Wheeldon (Psychological Sciences)

First-Generation Boilermakers Celebration Week planning committee

I want to thank all of my wonderful colleagues who served on the First-Generation Boilermakers Celebration Week planning committee: Jazmine Clifton (Purdue Promise); Yuliya Cormier (Center for Career Opportunities); Sara Dickey and Jacob Gerding (both Dean of Students); Christine Krull (Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning); Kim Orellana-Vi (Polytechnic Institute); Giselle Salina-Bender (Science); Renee Thomas (Provost); and Marilyn Mangin, Patrick Gee and Sherrie Tucker (all Engineering). Because of your hard work, we hosted a week of events and activities in Indianapolis that celebrated Boilermakers who are the first in their families to attend college. Your creativity, collaboration and commitment made this celebration a meaningful recognition of the Boilermaker excellence that defines first-generation students. — Scotty Secrist (Student and Community Engagement)

Alejandro Serrano

Alex (Building Services) and his team go above and beyond whenever needed. He quickly helped us clean up an unpleasant mess on short notice. I appreciate him greatly! — Rebecca Stevenson (Horticulture and Landscape Architecture)

Barb Mullenberg, Tabitha Yokley, Mindy Schultz and Kayla Smith

I want to give a huge thank-you to Barb and Tabitha (both Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology), Mindy (Pharmacy Practice) and Kayla (Pharmacy) for their incredible help during the College of Pharmacy Research Day! Mindy and Kayla were on the front line with registration, making sure everyone was checked in and everything ran smoothly. Barb and Tabitha took on the photography for the event and did an amazing job capturing all the moments. Thank you all for your time, energy and teamwork! — Jamie Moffatt (Pharmacy)

Sydney Rigert

I’d like to recognize Sydney (Animal Sciences) for her outstanding work this fall semester! Outside of her regular job duties, she has gone above and beyond in helping with departmental event setups and teardowns, assisting with any student requests, and taking on several new tasks to help our department run smoothly. Sydney serves on the ANSC Safety Committee and played a key role in creating a new standard operating procedure for using departmental equipment, while also bringing creative new ideas to the committee. Her hard work, reliability and positive attitude have improved efficiency for faculty, staff and students! — Emma Welsh (Animal Sciences)

Kim Delks

Kim (Finance) is always so helpful. She always asks what she can do to help our center. We’ve done so many projects together now, but we still meet up and run through what everyone needs and timelines. I love it; it makes things so smooth on our end. Thank you, Kim, for always being an awesome team player! — Crystal Duncan (Finance and Business Operations)

Sarah Clark

Thank you so very much, Sarah (Police), for the verbal de-escalation presentation. Your ability to tell stories and share facts about your experience is amazing. I really appreciate your perspective and comfort in what you do. I can tell it is your passion but also that you are good at what you do. That said, I just wanted to make sure that you knew you were appreciated! — Crystal Duncan (Finance and Business Operations)

Warren Quinlisk

Warren (Heat and Power) did an excellent job cleaning the Wade Utility Plant the week of Nov. 3 in preparation for the tour by our governor and the directors of utilities. — Cindy Killian (Heat and Power)

Jean Shidler

I want to recognize Jean (Science) for her unwavering commitment to supporting both our team and our students. Jean consistently brings empathy and insight to every conversation, ensuring that all feel heard and valued. Her ability to anticipate student needs and respond with care reflects her dedication and professionalism. I am so grateful to have Jean on our staff! — Kirsten Mikesell (Science)