Appointments, honors and activities

• Appointments and promotions:

- Pedro Irazoqui, the Reilly Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering who has been the associate head in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, will serve as the interim head of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering starting Sept. 1. An ECE Head Search Committee has been appointed by Dean Mung Chiang, and will be co-chaired by Sangtae Kim, the Jay and Cynthia Ihlenfeld Head and Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Bill Elmore (BSEE ‘75, MSEE ‘76), a co-founder and general partner of Foundation Capital and a board director of Purdue Research Foundation. “Purdue ECE is in an admirably strong shape today, and we know it will attract world-class candidates, both internal and external ones, in this search,” Chiang says. We thank the search committee for starting this critical task right away, and Pedro for serving in the interim role without being a candidate for the permanent position. Suggestions of candidates for this national search can be sent to eceheadsearch@purdue.edu.

• Faculty and staff honors:

- Rajamani Gounder, the Larry and Virginia Faith Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, is one of 84 scientists from across the United States to receive significant funding for research as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science Early Career Research Program. Gounder was selected for his research proposal “Dynamic Multinuclear Active Sites Formed from Mobilized Single Atoms on Heterogeneous Supports for Selective Oxidation Catalysis.” More information on the award can be found here.

- A team of Purdue Chemical Engineering researchers has been awarded funding from the National Science Foundation to evaluate and improve the safety-related characteristics of potassium-ion batteries. Vilas Pol, an associate professor of chemical engineering, and Arvind Varma, the R. Games Slayter Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, will receive $346,000 over a three-year period starting in June 2018 for their proposal, “Mechanistic Elucidation of Thermal Runaway in Potassium-Ion Batteries.” More information on the funding can be found here.

- Karen Foli, associate professor in the Purdue School of Nursing, will be honored by the American Psychiatric Nurses Association with an Award for Media. The award honors Foli for her work as a psychiatric-mental health nurse in regard to her book “Nursing Care of Adoption and Kinship Families: A Clinical Guide for Advanced Practice Nurses.” Foli will receive the honor at the annual APNA conference in Columbus, Ohio. More information on the APNA can be found here.

- Ilana Stonebraker, associate professor in Purdue University Libraries, is among 10 individuals recognized by Tippy Connect Young Professionals (TCYP) in the organization’s 2018 TCYP Top 10 Young Professionals Under 40 Award program. According to TCYP, annually, the organization honors 10 individuals (21-39 years old) based on their professional and philanthropic work in the community. More information can be found here.

• Notables:

- The Purdue University Police Department celebrated a promotion with a pinning ceremony for Matthew Rosenbarger, who was promoted from detective sergeant to detective lieutenant. Rosenbarger has been with the department since October 2001. He previously worked with the Benton County Sheriff’s Department. He has spent a good portion of his career at Purdue in the investigations unit.

- The Purdue College of Engineering has announced five researchers selected as 2018 Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellows, a program that recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and innovative interdisciplinary research with a broad impact on society and industry. The Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowships are awarded in memory of Lillian Moller Gilbreth, professor at Purdue from 1935 to 1948. More information on the five researchers from various universities across the world can be found here.

• Student honors:

- Two students in Krannert School of Management were selected for Poets & Quants’ list of the 100 best students enrolled in executive Master of Business Administration programs. Lucy Houchin and Saskia de Bruin received the recognition. More information is available here.  

• Rankings:

- Krannert School of Management’s Master of Science in Finance program was ranked No. 56 globally and No. 12 among U.S. programs by The Financial Times. The ranking is based on salary increases and career progression among graduates, among other criteria. More information about the ranking can be found here.

- The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management’s online master’s degree was ranked No. 12 in the country by Best Master Degrees. The ranking is based on accreditation, affordability and recognition from major publications such as U.S. News & World Report. More information about the ranking is available here.