May 25, 2018

Appointments, honors and activities

Appointments and promotions:

- Rosalee Clawson, professor and head of the Department of Political Science in Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts, will serve as interim director of Discovery Park’s Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI), effective July 1. Clawson replaces PPRI inaugural director, S. Laurel Weldon, distinguished professor of political science, who has been leading the Institute since February 2016. More information can be found here.

Faculty and staff honors:

- Arvind Varma, the R. Games Slayter Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, has been selected as a UC Regents' Lecturer at UCLA in the chemical and bioengineering department. Varma will present lectures based on his current research and education interests for two weeks during the 2018-19 academic year. More information on the selection can be found here. 

Alumni honors:

- Deborah Grubbe (B.S. chemical engineering ’77), who was recognized by the College of Engineering with an honorary doctorate for her pioneering work in improving safety in the global process industries and for her leadership role in diversifying the Purdue faculty, has been named the 2018 Delaware Valley Engineer of the Year, as part of Greater Philadelphia’s 2018 Engineers Week. Grubbe is president and owner of Operations and Safety Solutions, LLC, a consultancy that works with multinational firms in the chemical, oil and gas, construction and aerospace. More information can be found here.

- Jennifer Sinclair Curtis (B.S. chemical engineering ’83), has been selected to receive the 2018 Thomas and Donna Edgar CACHE Award for Excellence in Chemical Engineering Education. The award, presented by the American Society for Engineering Education, recognizes her significant contributions in the development of computer aids for chemical engineering education. Curtis is dean of the University of California, Davis college of engineering and courtesy faculty member at the University of Florida Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering’s department of chemical engineering. More information can be found here.

- Kim Underhill (B.S. chemical engineering ’87) president of Kimberly-Clark Professional, has been named group president of Kimberly-Clark North America. In her new role, Underhill will lead Kimberly-Clark's nearly $8 billion North American consumer business. More information can be found here.

- Matt Houck, a 2012 graduate from the Department of Physics, will compete in the upcoming season of “MasterChef.” The new season starts at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday (May 30) on Fox. Houck, an optometrist in Iowa City, Iowa, is one of 43 chefs selected to start the competition.

Student honors:

- A Purdue student team’s open-wheel race car design finished 11th at Formula SAE Michigan at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, earlier this month. The intercollegiate event featured car design and entries from 120 schools around the world. Team members spent most of the last year designing and building the car, which is judged on design, cost and several events, including an endurance race. Purdue’s car completed the 22-kilometer endurance race, finishing seventh. Based on all criteria, Purdue finished 11th overall and the team was the fourth-highest ranked American team to compete.

Rankings:

- Krannert School of Management’s master’s degree in logistics was ranked No. 10 in the country by College Choice. More information can be found here. (JP)

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